Especially after the 1950s, divergent thinking has been studied a lot by psychologists. Innovations, discoveries and novelties have been associated with divergent thinking which intrigued the scholars in the fields of management, military and advertisement, as well as psychology and education. However, we lack studies that link the concept of divergent thinking to religious texts. One basic contribution of employing divergent thinking to religious texts would be to broaden the understanding of the texts and to seek alternative perspectives. Such endeavor seems consistent with the consideration that religion (hence, religious texts) is an everlasting source of wisdom and inspiration, and if so, why is it confined to the early interpretations? Why not become seekers of original interpreters of religious texts and discover the unveiled aspects of it? This article will discuss the perspective from psychology and religious texts to find an answer for these questions in the case of Islam.

Among the several views on divergent thinking, a brief psychological framework that can be applied to religious texts would be helpful. This framework was conceptualized by Donald Campbell (1960). According to this, in order for original ideas to appear, the initial task would be thinking in various ways. This phase is called “blind variation.” Think of the question “List possible uses of a brick.” Possible answers to such prompts would be “build a wall,” “break into pieces,” “step on it to reach something” or “use as a pillow.” Among those responses, the first one (“build a wall”) would be a conventional response while the second, third and fourth responses are non-conventional or original ideas. However, the fourth one “use as a pillow” does not seem to be an appropriate or useful response even though it is original. Therefore, appropriateness and originality may not go hand in hand and such original but non-useful and inappropriate ideas should be filtered out. This phase is called “selective retention” which makes the process of divergent thinking more valid and a functional way of idea generation. When we apply this two-stage method of idea generation to the field of theology, verse(s) of the spiritual texts could be regarded as prompts to ponder systematically.

Two basic approaches to religions should be recalled here. One school of thought, known as orthodoxy, refers to adherence to traditional and established views on the texts. Because of the persistence on the traditional views, orthodoxy was regarded in relation to dogmatism and accused of lacking originality (Shedd, 1893). Heterodoxy implies a departure from the established and traditional views of orthodoxy. Apparently, this article does not favor a strict orthodoxy as it does not add new perspectives to our understanding of the religions. On the other hand, the extent of departure which is not at odds with the general framework of a given religion is of interest. Given the two aspects of divergent thinking (blind variation and selective retention) discussed above, generation of original ideas and novel inspirations from the religious texts can be theoretically achieved without deviating from the given frameworks of the religions.

Divergent thinking for religious texts

If one thinks of religious texts of the monotheistic religions, Biblical Judaism goes back to 4th century BCE; Christianity has a history of more than two millennium. Islam, being the recent religion, has a history of 15 centuries. The texts are obviously old and for an academic field of study, there is an enormous amount of knowledge accumulated throughout the centuries by many scholars. On the other hand, those deeply rooted traditions have created their own ways of understanding which contributed to the convergence and contraction of the interpretations. Even though converging perspectives might yield more accurate interpretations, it is still possible that many subtle or alternative aspects of religious texts have probably been ignored or not yet discovered.

As time goes by, the discrepancy between the interpretation of human beings and the original texts have increased with excessive amounts of the interpretations masking the divine message of the original texts. Interpretations converged and shrank even more since new generations were simply taught what the early generations have understood instead of being encouraged to generate new meanings. The natural transmission of religious knowledge survived for centuries. Yet, it is possible to put forward that convergent thinking has been overwhelmingly weighted in the field of theology as in other fields for the purpose of finding the single best interpretation of religious texts. We owe current level of knowledge to those scholars with a divergent mind who intervened in the process of religious thinking and teaching, and enlarged the horizons of religious thought.

As a matter of fact, older interpretations of religious texts may not always be compatible with the problems and needs of contemporary life. Since the life conditions and the intellectual climate (or zeitgeist) have dramatically changed and today’s intellectuals are educated in a different mindset which separate religious thought and scientific/philosophical issues into two distinct categories, arguments of theologians have become less convincing than they used to be. Critically, this insufficiency has been attributed to the religion itself such as “opiate of the masses” rather than the religious scholars who are unable to reproduce the religious thinking in contemporary ages without removing it from its fundamentals or simply attempting to reform it. For a theologian who believes in the idea that the role and mission of religion never ends and the religion is able to guide human beings eternally, being satisfied with the traditional views and taken-for-granted interpretations should not suffice. Indeed, the attempt to inquire new ways of interpretations of the scriptures does not necessarily negate the previous interpretations because they had validity under certain conditions in the past, and can explain today to a considerable degree. In other words, employment of divergent thinking in understanding the texts should aim to enrich and widen perspectives of the individuals rather than replacing the current views and reforming the religions.

The contribution of divergent thinking to religions can be seen in the works of scholars who came up with divergent interpretations to the texts. Richness in their interpretations without imposing necessarily one unique truth provides the readers with room for elaborating on the texts and interpretations. This attitude helps people to diverge their thinking and even go beyond what they literally see in the texts.

Some examples

There are many examples of divergent interpretation in the works of Said Nursi who is a prominent twentieth century Muslim scholar. One of the foremost features of Nursi is his approach to questions, verses of Qur’an and hadiths (collection of writings that document the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) in multiple ways. For example, Nursi has shown several ways to interpret one hadith about cosmology:

People asked the Prophet what the earth rests upon. He replied that the earth rests upon a fish and another time upon an ox. This hadith has been discredited given the cosmology knowledge of human beings when it is taken literally. However, alternative explanations of the hadith show how some allegoric statements in the religious texts can be understood. His first interpretation was about the angels created by God who are responsible for every creation in the universe called as “commissioned angels.”

Two angels were created for the earth. Their names were “thawr” (meaning ox) and ‘hut’ (meaning fish). With that in mind, this verse means that the earth would not survive if these angels did not take care of it.

Another interpretation was related to the way people make their living. Especially in the past, people were making their living through farming and hunting. Ox represents the farming and fish represents hunting. The third interpretation is based on the different answers given at different times. According to this interpretation, the earth was on particular cosmological position or horoscope. Nursi also argued that this kind of response is legitimate because people at that time would not understand the complexity of the cosmology and the Prophet told them the truth in a way they would understand.

Another such example that Nursi interprets by going beyond its literal meaning is the verse about Moses (peace be upon him):

Again (remember) when Moses (on an occasion when his people were without water in the desert) beseeched water for his people, so We told him: “Strike the rock with your staff!” (As soon as he struck) there gushed forth from it twelve springs. Each tribe knew their drinking place. Eat and drink of that which God has provided, and do not go about acting wickedly on earth, causing disorder and corruption. (Qur’an 2:60)

According to Nursi, this verse prophesized the discovery of sounding underground to get water. This explanation is legitimate given the context that the solution is suggested “miraculously” after the people asked help from Moses for their need for water.

Nursi, as a divergent thinker, viewed the miracles in the Qur’an in a different way than others. In classical view, the extraordinary events that take place in Qur’an were indicative of the strength that God has granted some special people in history. Nursi did not restrict those verses within this view. According to him, those verses conveyed a more critical message for us as well as their message in their own contexts. The extraordinary events that happened in the past also indicate the ultimate level human beings can arrive at by working hard on sciences. This message of the miracles is the possibility that other people who work hard on understanding the rules of the nature designed by God could also achieve what have been wondrously achieved before. Therefore, those miracles that the Qur’an mentioned are not some stories that should solely bewilder, but call human beings to go beyond their limited knowledge and discover the further facts. If every technology that we take for granted was some sort of a miracle in the past, why not chase the new “miracles” by thinking outside of the box? As a result, the miracles in the Qur’an are more than the stories of unexplainable events. Such subtle messages however, are read only by divergent minds that transcend the cursory meanings.

There are many examples which scientific advances uncovered alternative interpretations of texts. The Fountain readers are very lucky to brainstorm novel interpretations. One example of divergent explanations about the verses of Holy Qur’an is the description of creation of iron. In one issue several years back Nuh Gedik (2006) brought an interesting comment on the 25th verse of Sura Hadid: “…And We sent down Iron, in which is great might, as well as many benefits for mankind….” Scholars used to interpret “sending down” the iron as one of the God-sent blessings coming from above, His supreme treasure consisting of everything. “Sending down” is taken as metaphorical, reflecting the relationship (status) between human beings and God, rather than its literal meaning. Even though this interpretation might be correct, Gedik argued that being “physically sent down from the sky miraculously points out to a very important scientific fact that was discovered only very recently” (Gedik, 2006).

According to Gedik, supernova explosions that create very high energy and heat can allow a heavy element like iron to form. According to this scenario, formation of iron can be attributed to supernova explosions that occur in Space and “sent down” on earth rather than the scenario that presumes iron resides under the soil as a consequence of some chemical reactions. While these two scenarios do not necessarily conflict, the former and more recent one gives birth to another interpretation.

The same verse inspired other divergent minds too. Salih S. Duran (2009) explained another mechanism that results in the “sending down” of iron. According to this argument, desert sands in varied magnitude travels on the air and are hanged on the atmosphere where the miraculous chemical reactions that reduce Fe+3 to Fe+2 are fulfilled with the help of water vapor and sun. Eventually, resultant iron materials are descended to earth with the rains. Those two novel explanations are neither the best nor the ultimate perspectives, but are worth considering while reading the Qur’an.

Limitations

More examples can be found, but a critical question still remains to be answered: Can we come up with any interpretation for the verses? Are there limitations to interpret the verses? The answer for these questions lies in the perspective that is provided in the beginning of this article where I discussed the processes of blind variation and selective retention. Religions (specifically Islam in the scope of this article) have basic belief systems and the understanding of the verses and hadiths have to be understood in accordance with this basic structure. For this reason, some original interpretations may not be the valid interpretations. In fact, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, warned “Whoever explains the Qur’an according to his [wrong] personal opinion shall take his place in Hell.” Some experts who focused on the outward meanings of the Qur’an have argued that this hadith prohibits personal interpretations at all, and understanding and interpreting Qur’an should merely rely on early interpretations like those of Ibn Abbas and other exegetes. Quasam (1982) outlined Al-Gazali’s theory regarding the recitation and interpretation of the Qur’an where he objected to the interpretation of this hadith as evidence negating the attempts to make new interpretations. He argued that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, also said that “Surely the Qur’an has an outward aspect, inward aspect, a limit and a prelude.” If there is an inward aspect, how can we achieve to learn it? Assuming that early interpretations have covered all possible meanings contradicts with the presence of inward aspect. If the outward meaning is clear and enough, and there is no need to seek anything new in it, why did Ali, the fourth caliph, say “If I so will I can certainly load seventy camels with the exegesis of the Opening Sura (chapter) of the Book” while this chapter is very short? Then the question is, how can we reconcile those hadiths which seem to conflict with each other?

Al-Gazali argued that this hadith actually prohibits the interpretations which aim to adduce arguments that favor interpreters’ own purposes or passions whether it is a valid purpose or not. With such incentive, the interpretation is simply corrupt rather than a personal effort to understand the Qur’an. A second reason is to prohibit those who try to interpret the Qur’an without any fundamental knowledge of the Qur’an and Arabic language which are necessary for the outward aspects. Therefore, this hadith should be seen as a warning for the appropriateness of the interpretations. Now, the nature of divergent thinking as suggested by Campbell (1960) should be recalled. Even though developing several meanings of the religious texts corresponding to blind variation is critical, it should be tested within the overall framework of the religions which is the criterion for the stage of selective retention.

To conclude, divergent thinking is one of the promising abilities of human intellect that many fields like education, psychology, management and military have utilized. However, the need for divergent thinkers is increased in the era which people cannot appreciate the intellectual depth in religious texts. Different and legitimate interpretations of religious texts will reform people’s minds regarding the potential in the old texts for our civilization and intellectual life. Contributions of Islamic scholars like Said Nursi should encourage other divergent minds for new inspirations and state-of-art perspectives.

Zekeriya Ozsoy is doctoral student studying educational psychology. For correspondence with the author: ozsoyzekeriya@gmail.com.

References

• Quasem, A. M. 1982. The recitation and interpretation of the Qurān. Al-Ghazālī’s theory. London: Kegan Paul International
• Duran, S. S. 2009. Iron: A boon that comes with desert sands. [Turkish-Col kumuyla gelen nimet: Demir]. Sizinti, 369, 454-457.
• Guilford, J. P. 1950. Creativity. American Psychologist. 5, 444-454.
• Gedik, N. 2006. Supernova Explosions and a Miracle of the Qur’an. Fountain, 54,
• Shedd, W.G.T. 1893. Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy. New York: Scribner’s Sons.
• At-Tirmidhi, Sunan, Tafsir, 1.

There are many possible explanations for this, not least of which is the presentation of science and the use of reason in Islamic texts, but also sociological factors, such as different economic situations during the Middle Ages, and internal political structures. There is also the fact that the Qur’an simply doesn’t contradict scientific findings .

The Middle Ages (or the Dark Ages as they used to be known) of European civilisation extended between the 5th and 16th centuries, encapsulating the Islamic Golden Age spanning the 7th to 16th centuries. It was once thought that Islamic science during this time was little more than a translation of Greek conclusions, however there is now sufficient evidence to suggest that this was a scientific revolution in its own right, and it contributed greatly to the basis of modern scientific thought. Part of the reason science played such a key role in the Golden Age of Islam is surely because of the importance placed on it in Islamic texts. There are hundreds of references in the Qur’an related to human knowledge and contemplation, including the first command of God, instructing humanity to “read.” The hadith also contains hundreds of references the Prophet made to seek knowledge, including one instance of the him saying, “Seek for science, even in China” ; the significance of China being that it is the furthest known country to the Muslim Empire. There is a moral obligation for Muslims to seek knowledge; in fact, learning is often seen as a form of worship and a quest for spiritual perfection through knowledge. This surely acted as an incentive that enabled them to become the great scientific civilization they were during the Golden Age. The Renaissance, which followed the Middle Ages, could be described as the Western equivalent

There is nothing in the Bible to discredit specific scientific discoveries, though it also doesn’t encourage the scientific pursuit in the same manner as the Qur’an. The Bible does convey an ordered world in which science is not only possible but should tend towards the truth, but any such scientific commendation can also be levelled at the Qur’an.

What’s unique about the Qur’an, however, is that it is not as susceptible to the human fallibility excuse, in that it was written immediately after the Archangel Gabriel imparted the Revelation to Muhammad, it was arranged by Muhammad himself, and has remained unchanged since, at least when speaking of the original Arabic and not a translation. The areas of science explored in the Qur’an range greatly from astronomy to physics to biology, and all seem to be in well keeping with modern scientific findings.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Qur’an does not contain any hardline indisputable science, however. The meanings of many of the Arabic words are subtle and open to interpretation, and different interpretations of the same passages have been used to support different scientific enquiries at different times.

The rapid expansion of the Muslim empire beginning in the 7th century brought great wealth and security, and this naturally led to great advancements in science and technology, similar to the Greek and Roman empires before them. Once an empire establishes itself and can comfortably support its population in terms of food and security, it can turn sights on its lesser problems, and attempt to solve them using its ingenuity, thus making great strides in science and technology. The West had, as already noted, become stagnant in these fields following the collapse of the Roman Empire. Europe was unified once more under the Catholic Church, but there was much animosity between the destitute working class and the self-interested ruling class. It was a time of prosperity for few, and the Muslim empire attracted great minds and became the hub of scientific achievement. Viewed in this context, the Islamic Golden Age is not so much a religious achievement as it is a cultural achievement of a burgeoning civilisation.

The contrast with the Western Renaissance is clear. Galileo, a friend of the pope and of the church, is the most famous example. Upon expressing his approval of Copernican theories, he was incarcerated for heresy. The pope famously rebutted Galileo’s arguments by stating that Galileo could not assert a scientific theory that contradicted the scripture unless it could be shown that God, in his infinite power, could not have brought it about that all the evidence in support of the theory existed and the theory itself not be true. This is of course an impossibly high standard of truth for science to achieve, and furthermore put in jeopardy all scientific knowledge. Galileo was, however, purposefully antagonistic towards the church, and may have done more harm, especially for the relationship between religion and science, than he is usually given credit for. Rene Descartes was on the verge of publishing a similar paper in support of Copernicus, but suppressed it upon seeing the treatment that Galileo received. During this time, it was required that all work be approved by representatives of the church before it was published in order to avoid the publication of any heretical material. This was catastrophic for any scientific theory that may have contradicted the interpretation of the scripture as advocated by the Church. Islamic science avoided this problem. While the Church, as a figure of authority, advocated a particular interpretation of the scriptures and had in the past exercised this authority with punitive measures such as excommunication and incarceration, Islam had no centralised authority with the same level of control. The closest analogous administration is the caliphate, whose role has changed over time, but never gained the overarching power of the Christian church. This could well be due to the Muslim Empire being founded by many small tribes with Bedouin roots, and city states, who had no history of being subject to a greater authority. Also, due to their disparate nature, both culturally and geographically, such an overarching authority was a logistical impossibility. Furthermore, the legitimacy of any one caliph was always controversial; the most divisive split of course being between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims, the former believing Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s father-in-law, was his rightful successor, while the latter preferring his cousin and son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib. Such disagreement continued and constantly threatened the supreme power of the caliphate, despite Muhammad’s assertion that Muslims should fulfil oath of allegiance to only one caliph. This disagreement in turn led to a lack of a single ruling authority, and a lack of one single interpretation being enforced across the empire. Often, the interpretation of the Islamic texts varied from community to community. Further supporting a lack of enforcement was the Qur’an. “There is no compulsion in religion” can be interpreted both as a decree of tolerance to other religions, and also a decree of tolerance within Islam itself. This aspect of religious tolerance must surely have played some part in the ability of Muslims to abide alternate interpretations of their text, and also rationalise discrepancies between the text and the constantly evolving hypotheses of science. Without an authority to push an anti-scientific agenda, the Muslim Empire became a hub of scientific enquiry which, along with an unusual tolerance for religion, attracted scientific minds from across the entire region.

There is another hypothesis that should be noted, which is that the view of Christianity and science being in direct opposition to each other is unwarranted. After all, modern scientific prosperity grew out of the Christian West, and it can also be argued that without the fundamental view that nature is uniform and has an observable order and organisation, provided initially only by religion, science would never have even had a grounding on which to start. Perhaps religion and science are not as diametrically opposed as they seem, and their previous confrontations have been due to misunderstandings that are not fundamental to their positions. While it is undoubtedly true that Christianity and science have in the past had a tolerant, if not a symbiotic, relationship, it is nevertheless the case that for quite some time the two held hostile policies in regard to each other, and these policies have resulted in animosity that exists even to this day. This animosity is not a necessity, however, as demonstrated by Islam.

It seems it can then be concluded that the roots of the Islamic propensity for science are a product of both Islamic texts and sociological factors, such as a lack of a centralised authority pushing a particular interpretation of the text. The search for knowledge which the Qur’an advocates must surely have helped initiate this scientific resurgence, but it was also the ability of the Muslim population to interpret the findings of the scientific community (and it should be noted that Muslim and scientific groups were by no means mutually exclusive) in a way that didn’t conflict with their theological beliefs which allowed science to flourish. The Golden Age of the Muslim Empire should stand as an example to all cultures that science and religion can coexist, and not just tenuously, but harmoniously.

Stephen Pant is a freelance writer in Australia. He has a degree in philosophy and history from Monash University, Melbourne.

Notes

1. H.R. Turner. 1997. Science in Medieval Islam: An Illustrated Introduction, Austin: University of Texas Press, pp. 5-9.

2. George Saliba. 2007. Arabic Islamic Science and the Making of the European Renaissance, Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press.

3. A.H. Syed, Islam and Science, New Delhi, 2003, p. 111.

4. Ibid.

5. Maurice Bucaille. 1978. The Bible, the Qur’an and Science: The Holy Scriptures Examined in the Light of Modern Knowledge. Indianapolis, p. 92.

6. Syed. 2003. p. 116.

7. Syed. 2003. p. 115.

8. F. M. Donner. 1981. The Early Arab Conquests. Retrieved 16/5/2009 from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/donner.html

9. John Cottingham. 1991. The Philosophical Writings of Descartes. Cambridge: CUP, pp. xi–xiii.

10. Sachiko Murata, William Chittick. 1994. The Vision of Islam. New York, p. xxiv.

11. A. H. Siddiqui. Translation of Sahih Muslim. 2007, 20:4543.

12. Qur’an 2:256.

13. Syed. 2003. p. 112–113.

Lawrence first provides a summary of Prophet Muhammad’s life (peace be upon him) in chapters 1 and 2. In the following chapters, he offers succinct summaries of divergent interpretations of the Qur’an throughout history. Chapters 5 and 6 deal with examples of earlier interpretations of the Qur’an, by the Shi’ite scholar Jafar as-Sadiq and the Sunni Abu Jafar at-Tabari, respectively. The next two chapters cover rather mystic interpretations of the Qur’an. Chapter 8 surveys probably the greatest Islamic mystic Ibn al-Arabi, “a deep sea diver in the ocean of the Qur’an” (p. 109). Chapter 9 is about another mystic, Jalal ad-Din Rumi (or Mawlana), who sought to display the “everyday wonders” of the Qur’an in his Mathnawi. The last four chapters cover four different modern interpreters of the Qur’an. Chapters 11 and 12 deal with two Indian/Pakistani scholars. Ahmad Khan of chapter 11 offers an early rationalist (“militantly rationalist” in Lawrence’s words) critique of traditional interpretations in the face of Western intrusion into the Muslim world. By contrast, Muhammad Iqbal of chapter 12 makes a case for a redefined spiritual Islam in the late-colonial period and calls for revivification of moral Islamic values among Muslims. In chapter 13, the American interpreter W. D. Muhammad offers yet another interpretation that stresses racial equality more than anything else. Lastly, in chapter 14, Lawrence depicts the mind of the notorious Osama bin Laden, in whose interpretations military jihad takes precedence over all other issues. Lawrence argues that bin Laden “selects only those verses that fit his message, and then cites them exclusively for his own purpose” (p. 180).

In one unusual chapter (chapter 7), Lawrence portrays a Christian interpreter of the Qur’an, Robert of Ketton, who was the first person to translate the Qur’an into a Western language (Latin) in the twelfth century. An Englishman, Robert of Ketton moves to Toledo and becomes part of a Christian group that translates scientific texts from Arabic into Latin. He eventually finds himself heading a team project to translate the Qur’an into Latin. In a time of heated and continuous warfare between Christians and Muslims, Robert of Ketton takes a more noble way of engaging with Muslims. Islam was to be approached “not by arms, but by words; not by force, but by reason” (p. 100).

In an era when both adherents and critics of the Qur’an make claims as to what “real Islam” is, Bruce Lawrence’s survey of Qur’anic interpretations reminds us that all interpretations of the Qur’an are but partial representations that favor certain sections and meanings over others. In so doing, The Qur’an: A Biography becomes a friendly reminder that it takes more humility than most of us assume to understand and appreciate the richness of the verses of the Qur’an.

As a final note, for the more academic reader the book has a significant flaw. Although he provides a “further reading” list which includes most of the books he cites, except for the verses from the Qur’an, Professor Lawrence does not provide direct references for other quotes or opinions. I hope he will remedy this gap in a future edition.

With all respect for its grandeur, I have to confess my inability and insufficiency to elaborate on the depth of meaning and richness of expression and style of the Qur’an. A considerable number of studies have been dedicated to the Qur’an, and many more studies will be carried out on this topic. There is no doubt that all these studies have presented valuable content for any seeking person to grasp the gist of what the Qur’an stands for and to believe in its message, and they mirror the order of Islam in its true essence. However, it would not be right for anyone to claim that they have come up with a perfect interpretation of the endless content of this expository atlas of humankind, the universe and the truth of Divinity. The Qur’an can be interpreted only to the extent that a heavenly and Divine word can be interpreted by human perception. Thus, although it does not seem to be possible to spell out this huge atlas within the measures of an article, we cannot stay indifferent to or neglect studying the Qur’an with the excuse that our interpretations are deficient or the power of our discourse is inadequate. Everyone has the right to study the Qur’an, more than that, it is a duty upon those equipped with necessary, accurate knowledge. We should work harder to better understand the Qur’an, while the learned should wield all their perceptiveness and sensations toward understanding it and conveying its message, allowing a wider audience to learn more from it.

The Qur’an is a miracle of eloquence honored with the merit of being the voice of all ages. It is the most luminous expression of the Divine Speech, around whose light the angels hover like moths. If we take into consideration its Source and purpose of revelation, its first representative(s) and the impact it leaves on hearts, then we must realize that it is not a book to put to one side. When the Qur’an speaks, angels fall deep into a silent vigilance, spirit beings fall prostrate, and the jinn, enchanted with its voice, set out to the deserts to meet it.

The Qur’an is the expression and explanation of God’s laws of creation or “nature,” and the strongest and immutable source of religious rules and pillars. The Qur’an is the indisputable Book that includes the most reliable criteria for studying existence (the whole universe and humankind), thus for all individual, familial, social, or ethical problems we must seek wisdom and illumination from the Qur’an; it cries out that its source is the all-encompassing Knowledge of the One Who knows everything with their causes and results. The Qur’an has captivated everyone to whom its voice has reached-provided they were not prejudiced-with its holistic perspective, comprehensive discourse and style, the vastness of its content and meaning, its delicate expressions, its magical expounding in proportion to the different levels of knowledge and understanding, and its capacity to penetrate souls. Neither its friends nor its foes have been able to come up with something in a similar style or an utterance that is equal in grandiosity, the former motivated for imitation, the latter in fury to choke off its voice, despite their efforts for almost fourteen centuries, even when they use the same material and concentrate on the same issues. Their works have never been able to overcome artificiality, they have never been appreciated by masters of literary skills, and they have never evoked any lasting or effective influence.

The Superiority of the Qur’an

The Qur’an has such a musical harmony and delicate correlations between the topics it deals with, be they interrelated or apparently unrelated with each other, so that one is able to realize, with only the slightest effort of comprehensive thinking, that many apparently unrelated topics have points of junction. The mastership of discourse belongs to the Qur’an, which no literary personality can challenge, and enables those of its audience who are unprejudiced and can judge with some reason to obtain some things from it, introducing them to deeper contemplation beyond their horizons of thought. If once they can judge fairly and let their souls delve into this heavenly waterfall of expression, all other speech-like voices will immediately turn into nothing but rumblings.

Above all, the Qur’an has come from an all-encompassing Knowledge; it contains and explains the meaning and content of human and non-human existence, of humankind, nature, and all the worlds; it is both their language and interpreter of their purpose of creation. It speaks to multifarious dimensions of its audience all at the same time: while addressing the mind, it does not neglect to speak to the heart in its own language; when it calls out to the consciousness, it does not push emotions aside; while conversing with the faculties of reasoning and logic, it does not leave the soul without any favor. All faculties and senses, external and internal, benefit from the Qur’an, which gives each its share without giving rise to any deprivation and contradiction. They all receive their share from this heavenly table, each to the extent of its capacity, and enjoy a most harmonious composition.

All Divine Scriptures, especially before human interpolations were mixed with the original texts, possessed the same holistic approach and all-embracing quality; nevertheless the superiority and widest comprehension of the Qur’an are evident in proportion to the profundity of the spirit of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. It is by no means possible to show any other heavenly or man-made book which excels it with its content and extensiveness. It is by no means an exaggeration to claim its uniqueness in dealing with humanity, the universe and Divinity in the most comprehensive, as well as the most exquisite fashion, while interpreting them in the best forms of synthesis and analysis in its own way.

Topics in the Qur’an

All of the topics that the Qur’an deals with are the most valuable treasures of the truths pertaining to Divinity and the realm of creation. Some of these truths are decisive or explicit in meaning and content, and others are concise, metaphorical, and allegorical, the explanation of which has been entrusted to the one who brought the Qur’an, upon him be peace and blessings, and the scholars favored with inspiration. The Qur’an never complicates any of the matters it presents or analyzes. It presents topics concerned with the essentials of faith, worship, and morality, and basic principles of individual and social life clearly and succinctly; while for matters requiring comprehensive thinking, reflection, and careful consideration, it demands deeper examination and scrutiny, and suggests turning to God, without approving of burdening oneself with grave matters that one cannot shoulder. Like a magical chandelier which continuously shines brighter, it is a means for brand new discoveries at diverse wavelengths as hearts and minds go deeper in thought, thus offering Divine gifts of all kinds to our internal and external senses. With its blessings and inspirations augmenting in excess, and light rain becoming a deluge, and with its endless beauty and glittering lights, the Qur’an showers banquets one within another to those who ponder and study it.

True understanding of existence and what lies beyond the sensed dimension of the cosmos, and also humankind with its spiritual depths is possible only through the Qur’an. They discover in its bright realm straight thinking and real sources of reflection, and are thereby saved from the vicious circles of deception and misjudgments based on probabilities. There is no other source of knowledge that is not mistaken or not entrusted to uncertainty or doubt other than this miraculous Speech from God, the All-Knowing of the Unseen. The Qur’an explains and presents everything explicitly, plainly, and correctly. It enables us to understand that it is we who make errors in evaluating the issues, giving rise to contradictory judgments and in filling in the gaps entrusted to reflection. Understanding and interpreting the Qur’an correctly is not only a duty upon us, but also a requirement of our fidelity to it. The fulfillment of this duty and fidelity is closely related with the erudition of every capable and well-equipped individual and in their living in devotion to God. Such individuals dive into this vast ocean with utmost sincerity and commitment for the good pleasure of God, uncovering the truth so that it flourishes. They proceed toward this infinite horizon with caution, composure, comprehensive thought, and without surrendering to their carnality. The Messenger, who brought the Qur’an from God, is their first and greatest guide; they follow the pious scholars among the earliest generations of Islam in the light of its expressions, which are decisive and explicit in meaning and content. They are less likely to err; their efforts to attain the pleasure of God are rewarded with special treatment. Their interpretations and explanations of the Qur’an are each a hue and adornment of Qur’anic uniqueness.

A sound interpretation

On the other hand, the Qur’an cannot be explained as it deserves in consideration of its position and loftiness with rudimentary Arabic and the limited scope of dictionaries; such an attempt would also be manifest disrespect to this heavenly monument of speech. It should be rendered in other languages as is required. Anything concerning Qur’anic expositions (tafsir) should be very well versed and before they are launched, every tafsir should be tested against the exalted Islamic sciences. What falls to us is not to bring the Divine Word down to our level of perception and expression in its immeasurable immensity and depth, excusing such an act as we have translated it for the benefit of everyone. While it is a duty, an appreciation of, or an act of respect toward the Qur’an for experts to make the Qur’an known to everyone via exposition, interpretation, or a commentary, such an attempt would be paramount to insolence if one did not have a high command of Arabic grammar, the principles of rhetoric or eloquence, knowledge of the study of Qur’anic exposition (tafsir), the methodology of hadith studies (Traditions of Prophet) and Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh). The Qur’an cannot be translated as a novel is; even the translation of a novel calls for an expertise in its own genre. Forging the way toward a sound interpretation of the Qur’an, it would be better to discuss first what a “translation” is, and what tafsir (exposition) and ta”wil (commentary) mean. Translation is the rendering of a text or statement in one language into another language, while preserving the meaning. An accurate translation would be to transfer the exact meaning of every word—if this is ever possible—while preserving the relationships between word combinations. On the other hand, a literal translation of the words only, or an exclusively semantic translation would be a deficient translation. To a certain extent we can also talk about translation software; however, the current technology or even more advanced technology to come is not able to help very much in the translation of substantial literary works. Consider the situation when the text is the Word of God, which addresses all times, conditions, and levels and therefore the exposition of which with all its depths is considerably dependent on time, inspiration, and circumstances. Some works of literature are said to be impossible to accurately render; then it is clear that there is no way that the Holy Qur’an, with its immense profundity, can be expressed by an ordinary translation. Many Muslim scholars, including Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, are of the opinion that it is impossible to translate the Qur’an, due to the aforementioned and many other considerations. Some other scholars, on the other hand, approach the matter cautiously, but more moderately, provided that the prerequisites underscored above have been abided with. The late Hamdi Yazýr, one of the greatest contemporary expounders of the Qur’an, states that the translation must exactly correspond to the original text in terms of explicitness and indications, conciseness and comprehensiveness, generalizations and specifics, restrictedness or exclusiveness and inclusiveness, powerfulness, and appropriateness, and eloquence and style. Therefore, prose or poetry can be translated into another language which is as developed as the original language, with the condition that the translator is well-versed with the subtleties of both languages; however such a translation is hardly possible for a book which addresses the mind and heart, the soul and all the senses together, with all its diverse literary delicacy, and its vigor and exuberance. And what happens if the book to be translated is a work of God that transcends all other books Divine or non-Divine with its dimensions beyond time and space, and speaks to all ages?!…

To be understood and to be lived by

The Qur’an is, in the words of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, a Divine interpretation of the book of existence; it is the voice and breath of the laws of creation, the true interpreter of things and events that bear multifarious meanings, a candid expounder of this world and the world to come, the revealer of the treasure of the Divine Names hidden in the heavens and on the earth, the mysterious key to the mysteries beyond all things, the plain language of the beyond manifested in this world; the sun, the foundation, and the geometry of the spiritual world of Islam, the sacred map that explicitly lays out the worlds of the Hereafter with clearly drawn lines, the voice and clearest interpreter of the Divine Essence, Attributes, and Names, the most reliable teacher of all humanity; the air, the water, and the light of the Islamic world, and the Word of the All-Exalted, All-Majestic Being, Who is the Creator and Lord of all worlds, and His decree and address. This is not to say that the Qur’an cannot be understood; on the contrary and most importantly of all, it was revealed to humanity to be understood and to be lived by. However, its phrases are so deep and have so many meanings, its content is so multi-layered, that even if we can know and understand the meaning of every single word, and sense certain things from word combinations, we will certainly miss many truths that are contained in styles, indications, suggestions, connotations, and purposes, that cannot be fully reflected in any translation. I am of the opinion that every person who approaches the Qur’an with an open mind can perceive all of the above characteristics, and thus appreciate that its sublimity and transcendence cannot be confided to a simple translation. A translation might certainly have some value in proportion to the translator”s learning, knowledge, horizon of perception, and skills; however, it can never convey the Qur’an in all its profundity; therefore no translation, nor no commentary or interpretation can be called the Qur’an itself. A number of books have been written about Qur’anic interpretation and commentary, while objections to the Qur’an and some of its contents have been repeatedly addressed. Many more interpretations and commentaries will continue to be prepared in the future too, just as many new objections will be answered, and this will perhaps continue until the end of time. How many new doubts will be manufactured about the Qur’an; how many more times will minds be exposed to contamination; what new unthinkable plots will Satan, our eternal enemy, play on weak believers; what new scenarios, unheard of until today, will the devils of humankind and jinn put on the stage to tempt humanity; how many more times will they induce suspicion with regards to our values and agitate people? Such animosity has always existed and will continue to exist. Thankfully, hundreds of people with zeal to serve the Religion, will always stand to face them by exploring new depths of that Book of lofty truths and strive to interpret that Eternal Speech, which they hold in the greatest esteem. The mischievous organizations of Satan and his companions will always be challenged by the companions of the Qur’an.

An abridged version of Fethullah Gulen”s introduction to The Qur’an with Annotated Interpretation in Modern English by Ali Ünal.

Some people discount the reality of dreams, saying that dreams are the result of a person’s dominant fluid.(1) If melancholy (black bile) is dominant, people dream of graves, as well as scary, terrifying, and dark-colored items. If choler (yellow bile) is dominant, they dream of fire, candles, and naturally colored yellowish items. If phlegm is dominant, they dream of water, rivers, waves, and white items. If blood is dominant, they dream of wine, fragrant plants, and such musical instruments as dulcimers and flutes.

These claims cover only one type of dream. However, there is more than one type of dream. For example, a true dream originates from the inner talk of soul. Dreams caused by the four above-mentioned fluids are not true, are confused, and are no more than illusions. Hence they resemble disorderly collections of plants of different sizes, colors, and conditions that are bundled together.

True dreams descend from the spiritual mind. If, however, what is seen is inspired by images and views left in one’s imagination and memory by the imaginative faculty while one is awake, then they are called confused dreams.

Dream interpretation requires a person with subtle and deep knowledge who can see and understand the relations between images in the soul and unseen events. This knowledge allows inferences to be made based on the person’s surrounding events. The main beneficiary of such knowledge is the dreamer, for he or she either receives glad tidings of the future or warnings about things to avoid or abandon.

God guides His servants to the true path in various ways, one of which is warning them of the consequences of their actions. Sometimes these warnings are communicated through Prophets, natural phenomena, disasters, or dreams. He also encourages His servants to find the straight path by thinking about various natural phenomena.

Dreams are not mere manifestations of feelings and thoughts in our subconscious, as claimed by some psychologists. Scholars divide untrue dreams into six categories:

• Dreams resulting from the carnal soul’s wishes or desires. For example, people dream that they are with their close friends, of things that scare them, that they are eating (if they sleep while hungry) or vomiting (if they sleep with a full stomach), and that they are in a burning fire (if they sleep outside in bright sunlight).

• Dreams requiring total ablution that, being of a sexual nature, need no interpretation.

• Nightmares shown by Satan to scare believers. These are harmless.

• Dreams personally inspired by Satan. Such dreams cannot be considered true.

• Dreams caused by distress, trouble, and other personal circumstances.

• Dreams reviewing important past experiences.

These have no merit in terms of interpretation.

True Dreams

True dreams are very valuable and essential, since they serve as a contact with the Unseen, they open a window to the Unseen directly by using the spiritual faculties present in one’s essence, and by avoiding the external stimuli coming from the senses connected to the physical world. Through this window a person looks at the prospective events and encounters some of fate-related scriptures or spectacles of the Tablet (al-Lawh al-Mahfuz). He or she sees the hidden reality of some events. At the same time, the imagination of the dreamer intervenes and puts these realities into the mundane images. Some of these dreams happen as in their interpretations. It is known from authentic narrative records that before his prophethood, the Prophet’s (p.b.u.h.) dreams came true exactly as they were seen. (Bukhari, vol. 1, book 1, no. 3).(1)

True dreams result from a superior development of premonition, which exists in everyone and even in many animals. Most important of all, true dreams show that even minute events are known, recorded, and foreordained by God. For this reason, there is no happenstance, and events do not happen by chance or without a plan (Bayram, 41).

There are four types of true dreams:

• True dreams coming from God and are so clear that no interpretation is necessary. Anyone can have such a dream, and several will be presented below.

• Dreams conveying glad tidings from God about something that the person will perform. Some-times these dreams are sent to warn His servants away from evil or to expose their faults that need to be corrected so that they can follow the true path.

• Dreams representing reality through symbols and that come from the spiritual world.

• Dreams in which the agencies of the dream’s witness, the dreamer’s soul, and the place seen in the dream are important.

Nonbelievers, as seen in the case of the King of Egypt during the time of Prophet Joseph,(2) and even children can have true dreams.

For example, when he was seven years old, Prophet Joseph told his father that: “Father, I saw (in a dream) eleven stars, the sun, and the moon prostrating before me.” His father replied: “My son, don’t tell this vision to your brothers, lest they plot against you. Verily, Satan is the open enemy of humanity. God will choose you and teach you how to interpret dreams (and other things). He will perfect His favor on you and on the offspring of Jacob, as He perfected it on your fathers, Abraham and Isaac, aforetime. Your Lord is All-Knowing, All-Wise” (12:4-6). Everything came true later in Egypt.

Factors influencing a dream’s interpretation

A person’s similar or even identical dreams at different times might result in very different interpretations. Therefore, factors such as the time, sort, season, and even the day of a dream must be considered by the interpreter. An example is given below. Someone once told Abu Bakr that he dreamed someone had given him 70 tree leaves. Abu Bakr replied that the person would receive 70 sticks. Within a week, the person was beaten 70 times with a stick. A year later he had the same dream. This time, Abu Bakr told him he would earn 70,000 gold coins. When asked why the same dream had such radically different meanings, Abu Bakr replied: “When you had the dream last year, the trees were dropping their leaves, and branches were becoming like sticks. Hence, I interpreted so. But this year your dream was in spring (the trees were coming into leaves), and so I interpreted this year as I did.” Before long, the man earned 70,000 gold coins (Bayram, 44). The best time for interpreting a dream is between true dawn and sunrise, for at this time both the dreamer and the interpreter have clear minds free from fatigue and earthly affairs, and the dreamer can remember more of the dream’s details.

Signs of a true dream

The first sign of a true dream is that you wake up instantly after it. Those who receive good news do not sleep, just as those who receive good tidings and signs from God do not sleep; rather, they get up as soon as the dream has finished. A second sign is the continuation of the images seen. In other words, all of the dream’s details remain in the person’s mind. A person can have a true dream concerning family members, relatives, siblings, friends, and others.

Some famous historical dreams

• One day, King Philip the Lame of Macedonia dreamed a fire started in his house and spread all over the world. When he returned home, he saw that his wife had given birth to Alexander (“the Great”). He understood that his son would tyrannize everybody, terrorize the world, turn everything upside down, and destroy everything. He wanted to kill the child, but his wife prevented it.

• Osman I, founder of Ottoman State, visited Sheikh Edibaali to ask about an issue. He was treated well in the guestroom. That night before going to bed, he noticed that the Qur’an was in a case hung on the wall. Out of respect, he did not stretch himself out on the bed, but read a couple pages of the Qur’an and then kept it on his heart, while sitting on his knees, all night. Falling asleep around dawn due to extreme fatigue, he dreamed of a plane tree emerging from his chest and growing so large that its branches and leaves covered a vast area in three continents. When he related the dream to Edibaali the next morning, the scholar told him: “O Osman, you will establish a state that will spread over three continents, here at Sogut.” And so he did: The Ottoman State expanded to Europe, Asia, and Africa, and ruled a potentially chaotic region in peace for centuries. In addition, the plane tree came to be the symbol of Ottoman State.

• On April 14, 1865, a sweating President Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth president of the United States, jumped out of his bed because of a dream. He changed his clothes, read for a while, and then laid back down to sleep. Feeling that his dream was waiting for him on the bed, it took a few hours to go back to sleep. In the morning, he told his dream to his wife, relatives, and even the Congress. In his dream, the White House servants were running around a coffin draped in American flag and told him that the president was inside it. His relatives interpreted it positively, saying that he would have a long life. That night, he went to see a play at a nearby theatre with his wife, still thinking about his dream. During an exciting scene of the play, the balcony door opened, and John Wilkes Boothe fatally shot President Lincoln. His dream had come true in less than 24 hours. History records many other such dreams.

Footnotes

1. In ancient and medieval philosophy and physiological theory, it was believed that there are four basic fluids (humors) in human body, of which the dominant element determines a person’s temperament and features. In the ancient physiological theory still current during the European Middle Ages and later, the four cardinal humors were blood, phlegm, choler (yellow bile), and melancholy (black bile). The variant mixtures of these humors in different persons determined their “complexions” or “temperaments,” their physical and mental qualities, and their dispositions.
2. The King dreamed that he saw seven fat cows eaten by seven lean ones, and seven green ears of corn and seven dry ears of corn. Joseph told him that for seven years he should order the corn to be left in the ear and conserved, except for that which they needed to eat. After that, seven years of hardship would come and destroy everything but what they had stored. After that, a year of plenty would come, and the people would have enough food and would press (wine and oil) (12:46-49).

References

• Bayram, Ali, and M. Sadi Cogenli. Ruya Tabirleri Ansiklopedisi (The Encyclopedia of Dream Interpreta-tions). Istanbul: 1993.
• http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/002.sat.html#002.0507.
• Hakki, Erzurumlu Ibrahim. Marifetname (The Book of Wisdom). Turkey (then Ottoman State): 1756 ce (compiled and simplified by M. Faruk Meyan, Istanbul: 1993).
• Ibn al-Arabi, Muhyiddin. Tabirname-i Muhyiddin Arabi (The Book of Dream Interpretations by Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi). Istanbul: 1270 ah / 1854 ce.
• Ibn Sirin, Muhammad. Muntehab al-Kalam fi Tafsir al-Ahlaam (The Preferred Words for Dream Interpretations). Egypt: 1359 ah / 1940 ce.
• Ivadullah, Ahmed al-Sabahi. Delil-u Tafsiri’l Ahlaam (The Evidence of Dream Interpretation). N.p.: 1974. —Tafsiirul Ahlam min Vahyi’d-Din ve’l-Ilm. N.p.: 1974.
• Miras, Kamil. Sahih-i Buhari Muhtasari: Tecrid-i Sarih Tecumesi ve Serhi. (The Translation and Commentary of Selections from Sahih al-Bukhari). Istanbul: 1972
• Al-Nablusi, Abdulgani. Ta’tir al-Enam fi Ta’bir al-Menam (The Beautiful Fragrances of Sleep with Dream Interpretation). Egypt: 1359 ah / 1940 ce.
• Suleyman, Avanzade M. Muabbir Yahut Yeni ve Mukemmel Tabirname (The Interpreter or New and Excellent Book of Dream Interpretation). Istanbul: 1329 ah / 1913 ce. Tabirname (The Book of Dream Interpretation). Istanbul: 1274 ah / 1858 ce.
• Unal, Nurettin and Hekimoglu Ismail. Ilimde, Teknikte, Edebiyatta, Tarihte, Dinde Ruya ve Tabirleri (Dreams and Their Interpretations in Science, Technique, Literature, History, and Religion). Istanbul: 1982.
• Al-Zahiri, Khalil b. Shahin. Al-Isharat fi ‘Ilm al-‘Ibarat. Egypt: 1359 ah / 1940 ce.

Dreams have fascinated people of all cultures and all ages. The Cuna Indians of South America have such high regard for dreams that they are even discussed at town council meetings. A person who had dreamt about a fish book, for example, would he excused from community labour as he would be considered at high risk of receiving a snake bite.

Dreams have affected the course of history and contributed to many forms of art and literature. Among the world’s most famous paintings is Rousseau’s The Dream. Shelley’s Frankenstein and Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde were inspired by nightmares, while Charlotte Bronte admitted that her writing block was broken while asleep.

Descartes, at the age of twenty-three, apparently had several dreams in which he saw new perspectives on philosophy and mathematics. The conquest of Spain was carried out by Tariq Ibn Ziyad after being visited by Muhammad, upon him be peace, in a dream.

There have been many approaches to dreams, some are mentioned by Professor Van de Castle of the University of Virginia Medical School in his book Our Dreaming Mind. He says he has been ‘the white-coated scientist attaching EEG electrodes to a subject’s head and face to study his or her sleep and dream patterns’ as well as being ‘a pyjamaclad subject’ for other researchers. He has spent time ‘talking with natives of tropical forests and islands about their dream beliefs, tabulating tens of thousands of scores from written dream reports’.

Ibn Sirin takes a different approach. He was a prominent member of first generation of Muslims and a famed oneirocritic, dream interpreter. He was described by his contemporaries as ‘a traditionalist of good faith, inspiring confidence, great and dignified’. He died in lOOH/78OCE after making a considerable contribution to Islamic scholarship. Whereas Our Dreaming Mind gives an interesting overview of dreams across many cultures. Ibn Sirin ‘s Interpretation of Dreams offers the principles of dream interpretation according to Islam.

Ibn Sirin explains that the one who is able to interpret dreams should possess knowledge of the Book of God, the sayings of Muhammad and a mastery of the Arabic language. ‘He must be a physiognomist one who is able to judge character through facial features, and have a temperament, noble manners and sincerity.’ This is because, according to Islam, the dream is one forty-sixth part of prophethood. This new publication is a translation of a classical text which influenced many Muslim writers including, undoubtedly, Dr Umar Azam, the author of Dreams in Islam.

Dr. Azam, in his book, describes and interprets the dreams of some of his close friends and family. It is far less thorough than Van de Castle’s research and lacks the authority that Ibn Sirin has built up over the centuries but it makes an interesting contribution to the field of dreams, For example, he explains the three types of dream according to Islam.

A good dream is a favour from God indicating His approval of the ‘dreamer’s righteousness’ and ‘should only be told to loved ones.’ The second type of dream is what Azam calls the ‘own’ dream. It is the suggestion of ‘one’s own mind’. They are mainly ‘evil’ and the correct response is to ask for God’s pardon. The third type of dream is inspired by Satan and is the result of God’s anger. The correct response is to blow over the left shoulder three times and seek refuge in God and not tell anyone.

Azam also puts the concept of dreams according to Islam in its Qur’anic context, quoting the passage of the Qur’an which describes the dream of the prophet Joseph.

The foundation for interpreting dreams according to Islam is the Qur’an, the sayings of the Messenger and popular Islamic culture.

When a stone appears in a dream, it is understood to be a symbol of hardness. This is based on the Qur’anic verse, ‘Then your hearts became hard after that-so that they were like stones, or even harder still’ (al-Baqara, 2:74).

A boat symbolizes health, for it says in the Qur’an, ‘So we rescued him and the companions of The Ark’, (al-Naml, 27:15).

lbn Sirin explains that ‘a crow can represent a wicked man and a mouse a wicked woman, in conformity with the hadith of the Prophet, upon him be peace, which specifically mentions a mouse as a small wicked thing’. A long arm is synonymous with generosity according to Arab culture. These principles and many others are expounded in The Interpretation of Dreams. It also lists specific examples about dreams on subjects including dreaming of the angels, prophets, pious people, etc.; trees fruits and vegetables; jewellery, household articles, weapons, parts of the body, animals and a variety of human states.

An example is ‘snow’. He says:

Snow hail and ice can herald punishments and worries, unless the snow is not very thick and located in a place where people are accustomed to seeing it fall, in which case it is synonymous with fertility. To see oneself fetching water in a container and to see the water icing over signifies goods frozen with him, sleeping capital. Hail is never a good augury’.

The final section includes interpretations of dreams in which verses of Qur’an are heard. For example, the chapter al-Fath indicates the reciter is loved by God, whereas the chapter al-Hajj indicates that one will soon perform the pilgrimage or if in a state of illness, indicates that death is approaching.

The interpretation of dreams has a long history. Gudea, a Sumerian king who reigned in the city of Lagash around 2200Bc, had his dreams preserved on two clay cylinders. He sought the help of Gatumdug, supposedly a goddess, to interpret them. The Jews, like their monotheistic brethren believed dreams are gifts from God. Psalm 127 says ‘the Lord giveth unto His beloved in their sleep’. There are 217 references to dreams in the Talmud. The ancient Egyptians also attached great importance to dreams attributing them to their god of dreams, Serapis. They went thorough many procedures including prayers and incantations to inspire the desired dream. Van de Castle vividly describes this historical development of dream theory. In doing so, he mentions Ibn Sirin describing him as ‘a kind of abstract personage, the very incarnation as it were of Arab oneiromancy’. He proceeds to eighteenth-century European romanticism and its evolution into the views of psychologists like Freud, Jung, Hall and Perls.

Like Azam, he offers us his research findings and attempts to draw generalizations. He presents examples which lead him to conclude that ‘dream imagery has the potential to serve as a “mental X-ray,” allowing diagnosis of an impending physical problem before it shows up with full-blown, obvious symptoms in waking life. He suggests that dream imagery, for example, changes during pregnancy and discusses the meaning of repetition.

Azam uses a small sample of what he describes as ‘pious Muslims’ classifying their dreams according to the concept of Dreams in Islam. Van de Castle describes his thirty year search for a clearer understanding of The Dreaming Mind. The translation of The interpretation of Dreams is a great contribution to the concept of interpretation and a definitive statement on interpretation of dreams in Islam. Each, in its own way, helps the reader towards understanding dreams.

Another feature of the human visual system is the ease with which interpretation is carried out. We see a scene as it is – trees in a landscape, books on a desk, products in a factory. No obvious deductions are needed and no overt effort is required to interpret each scene. In addition, answers are immediate and available normally within a tenth of a second. The important point is that we are for the most part unaware of the complexities of vision. Seeing is not a simple process.

We are still largely ignorant of the process of human vision. However, man is inventive and he is now trying to get machines to do much of his work for him. For the simplest tasks there should be no particular difficulty in mechanization but for more complex tasks the machine must be given man’s prime sense, i.e. that of vision. Efforts have been made to achieve this, sometimes in modest ways, for well over 30 years. At first, such tasks seemed trivial and schemes were devised for reading, for interpreting chromosome images and so on. But when such schemes were confronted with rigorous practical tests, the problems often turned out to be more difficult.

Computer vision blends optical processing and sensing, computer architecture, mechanics and a deep knowledge of process control. Despite some success, in many fields of application it really is still in its infancy.

With the current state of computing technology, only digital images can be processed by our machines. Because our computers currently work with numerical rather than pictorial data, an image must be converted into numerical form before processing.

The field of machine or computer vision may be sub-divided into six principal areas (1) sensing, (2) pre-processing, (3) segmentation, (4) description (5) recognition and (6) interpretation. Sensing is the process that yields a visual image. The sensor, most commonly a TV camera, acquires an image of the object that is to be recognised or inspected. The digitizer converts this image into an array of numbers, representing the brightness values of the image at a grid of points; the numbers in the array are called pixels. Pre-processing deals with techniques such as noise reduction and the enhancement of details. The pixel array is fed into the processor, a general-purpose or custom-built computer that analyses the data and makes the necessary decisions. Segmentation is the process that partitions an image into objects of interest. The segmentation of images should result in regions which correspond to objects, parts of objects or groups of objects which appear in the image. These features of these entities, along with their positions relative to the entire image, help us to make a meaningful interpretation. Description deals with the computation of features such as size, shape, texture, etc. suitably for differentiating one type of object from another. Recognition is the process that identifies these objects. Finally, interpretation assigns meaning to an ensemble of recognised objects.

Any description of the human visual system only serves to illustrate how far computer vision has to go before it approaches human ability.

In terms of image acquisition, the eye is totally superior to any camera system yet developed. The retina, on which the upside-down image is projected, contains two classes of discrete light receptors – cones and rods. There are between 6 and 7 million cones in the eye, most of them located in the central part of the retina called the fovea. These cones are highly sensitive to colour and the eye muscles rotate the eye so that the image is focused primarily on the fovea. The cones are also sensitive to bright light and do not operate in dim light. Each cone is connected by its own nerve to the brain.

There are at least 75 million rods in the eye distributed across the surface of the retina. They are sensitive to light intensity but not to colour.

The range of intensities to which the eye can adapt is of the order of 1010, from the lowest visible light to the highest bearable glare. In practice the eye per forms this amazing task by altering its own sensitivity depending on the ambient level of brightness.

Of course, one of the ways in which the human visual system gains over the machine is that the brain possesses some 1010 cells (or neurons), some of which have well over 10,000 contacts (or synapses) with other neurons. If each neuron acts as a type of microprocessor, then we have an immense computer in which all the processing elements can operate concurrently. Probably, the largest manmade computer still contains less than a million processing elements, so the majority of the visual and mental processing tasks that the eye-brain system can perform in a flash have no chance of being performed by present-day man-made systems.

Added to these problems of scale is the problem of how to organize such a large processing system, and also how to program it. Clearly, the eye- rain system is partly hard-wired but there is also an interesting capability to program it dynamically by training during active use. This need for a large parallel processing system with the attendant complex control problems illustrates clearly that machine vision must indeed be one of the most difficult intellectual problems to tackle.

Part of the problem lies in the fact that the sophistication of the human visual system makes robot vision systems pale by comparison.

Developing general-purpose computer vision systems has been proved surprisingly difficult and complex. This has been particularly frustrating for vision researchers, who experience daily the apparent ease and spontaneity of human perception.

As can be seen from the information given above, developing a computer-vision system requires knowledge. Hence the eye performs better and better than even the best computer-vision system, the very complex eye-brain system also requires more comprehensive knowledge to build. When man understands and discovers the functioning of the eye-brain system, better computer-vision systems will be developed. That means the eye-brain system (like other systems in the body of human being) is a very deep and rich knowledge source. As this system has links with other systems in the body, it obviously shows that the maker of these systems is One who knows everything about every single part of the whole body, for not only the eye-brain system but the entire body develops accordingly.

So, who can be the maker of this fantastic eye-brain system? If it is said that it is self-creating, this has no meaning because everybody knows that such an important system cannot create itself, just as a computer-vision system cannot give itself existence. As for chance, is it possible for such a system, which is full of knowledge for human being to imitate in order to develop computer- vision systems, to be made by chance at all? Of course not. So who is the maker of the eye-brain system?

The maker or the creator of this system can only be One who has supernatural power. He says in His Holy Book:

‘Have we not made for him (human being) a pair of eyes?’ (The Holy Qur’an 90.8).

Yes, indeed, He made them just as He made the whole of the rest of the cosmos with His unlimited knowledge.

REFERENCES

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