In Surah Aali-Imraan Allah talks about the Aayaat of Quran, he says there are Aayaat which are crystal clear, and there are also Aayaat which are vague.
The vagueness of some Aayaat is also a part of Allah’s wisdom too. How so?
Allah says in Aayah 7, “. . . . فَأَمَّا ٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِمۡ زَيۡغٌ۬ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَـٰبَهَ مِنۡهُ” “As for those who have a curve/deviation inside their hearts, then they are in pursuit of what is vague in it . . . “
That there are a group of people who become obsessed with the ‘vague’ details in the Quran. That they can’t help themselves with digging into details of that which do not matter, that has no value or benefit.
There’s so much of the Deen/religion to be learnt, but some people just want to go after and pursue the vague things.
This is actually a very interesting form of hypocrisy really, this deviation in the heart that Allah talks about. Our Deen demands from us practical changes in life. Like for example, in your financial dealings, social dealings, ethical dealings and so on.
Yet there are people who don’t really want to make changes in their life, so they distract themselves. What they do is, they make these vague Aayaat their pet projects, so much so that it becomes the priority in their lives.
Every time you bring up the topic of change in their lives, they deviate into talking about the vague topics. Dare i say, talking about things like “Istiwaa ‘Alal ‘Arsh. What does that mean???”
So people go into these subjects, to basically distract from the fact that they are not obeying the very obvious commandments of Allah that are staring them in the face, and they’d rather just talk about the vague stuff.
You’ll find these very philosophical, abstract conversations among people who are not very religious. When they do talk about Islam, they just talk about that stuff. Secondary issues.
Why? Because it gives the impression that yes, they do think about Islam.
But they keep you wrapped up in this topic, so that the practical elements and commandments of the book never come up.
They put them selves into Fitnah, and those around them, as the Aayah continues “ٱبۡتِغَآءَ ٱلۡفِتۡنَةِ”.
A couple words along in the Aayah, then Allah says “وَمَا يَعۡلَمُ تَأۡوِيلَهُ ۥۤ إِلَّا ٱللَّهُۗ ” that “No one at all knows certain interpretations except for Allah’
Purpose of this post is to encourage people to leave out trivial vague matters in the Deen, and focus on what we already know, and that which is required from us by Allah. What Allah makes a priority for us to focus on, not what we ourselves think is a priority.
Don’t waste time and energy, lest you become a Fitnah for yourself, and a Fitnah for others, as the Aayah mentions. May Allah grant us understanding and the ability to implement Quranic teachings into our life. Aameen!