A Ray of the Qur’ān: Selected Essays of Sayyed Mahmoud Taleghani Volume III

A Ray of the Qurʾān: Selected Essays of Sayyed Mahmoud Taleghani

Volume III

بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah the Gracious, the Merciful

Contents

1. Descriptive Table of Contents

2. Acknowledgments

3. Foreword by Abbas Mirakhor

4. Transliteration of Arabic Letters

5. After Waiting So Long by Enteshar Publication Company

6. A Word and Some Explanation by Sayyed Muhammad Mehdi Jaʿfari

7. Translator’s Introduction

8. Editor’s Introduction

9. Author’s Biography by Abdolali Bazargan

10. Introduction to Sūrah Āli ʿImrān/3

11. Sūrah Āli ʿImrān (The Family of ʿImrān), 3:1–200

12. Epilogue by Sayyed Muhammad Mehdi Jaʿfari

13. Author’s Notes

14. Translator’s Notes

15. Bibliography

16. Index

17. Translator and Editor biographies

Descriptive Table of Contents

1. Acknowledgments

2. Foreword by Abbas Mirakhor

3. Transliteration of Arabic Letters

4. After Waiting So Long by Enteshar Publication Company

5. A Word and Some Explanation by Sayyed Muhammad Mehdi Jaʿfari

6. Translator’s Introduction

7. Editor’s Introduction

8. Author’s Biography by Abdolali Bazargan

9. Introduction to Sūrah Āli ʿImrān /3

10. Sūrah Āli ʿImrān (The Family of ʿImrān), 3:1–200

    1. Āyāt 1–9

       Secret of the detached letters (such as the ones that appear at the beginning of certain sūrahs of the Holy Qurʾān); descent with truth; guidance and criterion; continuous pain and punishment; unity, volition, and knowledge; decisive/clear verses ([called] muḥkamāt) and those with several possible meanings, being a llegorical or metaphorical ([called mutashābihāt); muḥkam [clear and perspicuous; void of ambiguity] and mutashābih [figurative or allegorical]; narratives concerning the mutashābihāt; perverse and seditious hearts; interpretation of the Book [the Holy Qurʾān]; rāsikhūn [those who are firmly rooted in knowledge] and the interpretation of the Book; those who are firmly rooted in knowledge and al-albāb [those endowed with knowledge and wisdom]; the depth of the belief of those (who are) firmly rooted in knowledge.

    2. Āyāt 10–20

       The hell of seeking [or greed]; projection of a contradiction and announcement of the end of amr [command, decree, matter, thing, business, a serious matter, a strange thing]; expansion of believing people versus the power of position; adornment of lusts; the endless scope of the love of lusts; divine adornment and Satanic adornment; five names and signs of the untraceable; comprehending the unity and the qisṭ [justice, equity, fairness, rightness, correctness] of the ʿālam [world, universe, cosmos; the worlds/ʿālamīn spoken of in the Holy Qurʾān are taken to mean the three species of rational creatures, viz. human beings, genii, and angels]; divine religion; disbelief in the origin; the source of perfection and excellence causes fall/downfall/ruin; absolute submission to the pleasure, the face of Allah (swt) and His absolute governance/sovereignty.

    3. Āyāt 21–32

       Sameness of objectives of the commands to fairness of the prophets (pbut); the Book of Allah [swt]; a portion of unfairness is the basis of pride, which negates the responsibilities of being a Shīʿī; the comprehensive Book and the scale of justice; volition brings about the bestowing of gifts [like the gift of life] or their withdrawal; whatever is in His hand is good; volition and benefits; piety before the powerful enemy; Allah’s (swt) knowledge is His Power over everything; perceiving good and bad deeds; obeying the Messenger (pbuh) is a sign of loving Allah [swt] [and of Allah (swt) loving the one who obeys His Messenger (puh)]; turning away from Allah (swt) is kufr [covering the truth/disbelief] and downfall.

    4. Āyāt 33–51

       Levels/degrees of the love of Allah [swt]; ibtilāʾ [trial; tribulation; affliction; visitation], ijtibāʾ [choosing], and iṣṭifāʾ [choosing from among the chosen prophets one who is absolutely pure/sincere to be the last Messenger of Allah (pbut)—i.e., the last prophet of Allah (pbuh) who is called musṭafā/the chosen one]; messengership/prophetic mission of chosen human beings; the origin of reproduction and inheritance; genetic science and transferring hereditary characteristics; truths higher than the boundary of human beings; paying attention to phenomena creates mental revolution; freedom from environment, society, self, etc., results in [real] freedom; Satan in various faces of guardians; plants and flowers that have no need of mutual approaching; miḥrāb is the place of encounter or battle [against Satan]; special and unknown sustenance of Mary [the holy Mother of Jesus (pbut)]; rapid/consecutive reflections/reactions regarding choosing; special characteristics and descriptions of John; Zakariyyā’s astonishment at the glad tidings of the angels; taqwā [safeguarding oneself responsively with full awareness of divine laws] as the source of increasing mental powers; the role of women in inheriting dominant characteristics/traits; qunūt [raising both hands up before one’s face in obedience], rukūʿ [bowing], and sujūd [prostration] prevent arrogance/
       conceit; who announces the unprecedented hidden news?; harmony/coordination between the words of creation and the keys to the unseen; the spirit which was sent to Mary (pbuh); what is the motivational reason for contradiction?; system and interconnected series on the earth and in the heavens; the teaching/training of Jesus (pbuh) was in the school of creation; the messengership of the Messiah (pbuh) has divine evidence; the condition for accepting an āyah is to believe in its origin.

    5. Āyāt 52–68

       As soon as kufr [covering the truth/disbelief] is felt, choosing sides/direction begins; constancy in meeting obligations creates movement and evolution; negligence of the laws of evolution and the movement of life are plots [plans] of Allah [swt]; how the death of ʿĪsā [Jesus] (pbuh), like his birth, created dispute; the broad scientific and theosophical views are not contrary to Jesus’s being taken away or to his resurrection; with the appearance of resurrection, only Allah (swt) governs; ʿĪsā (pbuh) was chosen from among Āli ʿImrān [the people/children/family of ʿImrān/father of Moses (pbuh)]; he is not the son of Allah [swt]; the oppressed Christians also wanted a tangible god; the truth that does not become clear with proof [reason] becomes clear through ibtihāl [supplication, prayer to invoke the curse of Allah (swt)]; the four fronts of ibtihāl, tabyīn [clarification], jizyah [a tribute/head tax on free non-Muslims under Muslim rule], and war; representatives who came to Medina; who is it that went for mubāhilah [a prayer to invoke the curse of Allah (swt)]?; People of the Book must doubt any thoughts that cause shirk [taking a partner for Allah(swt)]; refusing to worship idols is the creed that established the worshipping of Allah (swt); prejudice-generating affiliation closed the way of thinking; true guardianship of the prophets (pbut) is obeying the command of Allah (swt).

    6. Āyāt 69–80

       Misguidance by those who have gone astray who first turn to themselves; examples of the plan of the plotters for misguiding people; expressing the first belief and the last disbelief; wage earners/workers must pay interest and not open their eyes [not say anything]; shallow belief becomes the source of dispute for the opposition; Christianity, which arose among the indigent, became itself the means of class differences [discrimination]; fulfillment of promises/obligations is in accordance with the motive of principles of natural disposition and conscience; constant rising up is the way to return the rights and deposits [trusts]; if fulfillment of obligation is rooted in taqwā [safeguarding oneself responsively with full awareness of divine laws], it will be lasting; stages of the downfall of the transformers of promise/agreement and the covenant to material provision [of this world]; their god and book are subjugated by tribal imagination; putting aside the divinely appointed infallible Imāms and the Holy Qurʾān [its true guidance/teaching] from society; possessors of the Book [of Allah (swt)] and wisdom want others to be spiritual [or mindful toward their nurturer].

    7. Āyāt 81–92

       The covenant of the prophets (pbut) is in the form of taking and giving; informed [and aware] prophetic missions provided a leap for the history of the evolution of human beings; natural phenomena advance in the course of evolution toward perfection voluntarily; Islam is complete freedom and submission, as well as harmony with the universe; ways that the Almighty has provided for the guidance of humanity; the result of laʿnah [a curse that leads one to be driven away from the blessings of Allah (swt)] becomes the overwhelming point of the downfall of the dwellers of Hell; a human being who is in a state of evolving toward perfection [and/or excellence] is always in a state of repentance; the state of birr [piety, kindness, that which is just and proper] is an advancing, open, and expanding state; in artificially-formed societies, individuals would not reach the state of birr.

    8. Āyāt 93–109

       Wrestling of Jacob with Allah [swt] and being named Isrāʾīl; prohibitions of Banī Isrāʾīl were for adhering to the domination of their high priests; artificial prohibitions, heavy burdens, and other yokes; Kaʿbah is the house of people, without any barrier for the blossoming of abilities; the objective of the designer of the House was to spread peace and security in the world; prediction and the promise of the Holy Qurʾān against the sinister 1917 Balfour Declaration; whoever becomes a kāfir [a coverer of the truth/disbeliever] is one who ignores one’s own needs; bending the way of Allah [swt] with leadership slogans; believers must advance vanguards and not turn back; perfect/complete taqwā is the source of knowing the āyāt/signs of Allah [swt]; if clinging to the rope of Allah [swt] becomes weakened, then society falls; to know virtues, goodness, and evil, the establishment of an aware group is necessary; practical results of enjoining good and forbidding evil; turning away from enlightening the āyāt [of the Holy Qurʾān/signs of Allah (swt)] entails horror and abjection; the concerns of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) for discussion among the people [of the Muslim community] and the text of the Ḥadīth [tradition]; kufr [covering the truth/disbelief] after belief entails fire, smoke, and darkness; attention to color [of a person’s skin] and race is the result of inattention to history and the future of humanity; ẓulm [injustice, oppression, tyranny] is caused by the ignorance and self-serving attitude of humanity.

    9. Āyāt 110–120

       Explanations [or rationalizations] that have been given for the term kuntum [are/were]; the call [invitation] by the prophets (pbut) was a strong blow to the inner [reality] of human beings and to the depth of history; an ummah [nation] appears from among the upright people and frees society; the universal nature [of all people] seeks a Beloved and clinging to Him results in virtue [perfection]; the belief of the People of the Book unifies the scattered nation; if prudent people leave their responsibility, the enemy will not leave them; the universal messengership [prophetic mission] of the Messiah (pbuh) was afflicted by polytheism and delusions; abjection and distress of the Jews are the natural result of kufr, transgression, and violation [of the laws of Allah (swt) and the rights of people]; earth will be inherited by the servants [of Allah (swt)] who fulfill their obligations and do good deeds, but not by those who are irresponsible; people who rose up and began marching became humble before the Majesty [of Allah] (swt); how is the ground for the uprising of a nation prepared?; the strongest conditional guarantee of growth [advancement] for a concerned human being; whatever is true results in virtue [perfection], and whatever is false burns the resource; foreign advisors try to change the system for themselves and to their benefit; the emergence of world colonialism represents these āyāt so clearly; the body and nerves of someone used to darkness are incompatible with light; by resisting and safeguarding yourself from doing wrong, the plots of enemies will not hurt you decisively.

    10. Āyāt 121–129

        The Uḥud battlefield is the prelude to formal alignment of Islam against kufr; weakened believers acquired stability [or strength] by divine walāyah [guardianship, guidance]; what is the truth [reality] of the number of angels and the keeping force?; patience and piety lead behavior to the inner energies [forces]; the commissioned angels give insight to be prudent about the future and stability; thus, the ones who have a higher belief and objective increase their ability to resist; your task is messengership, while punishment and forgiveness are by the will of the Almighty Allah (swt).

    11. Āyāt 130–136

        The doubts of individuals with weak belief in the promises of the victory of Allah (swt) and His Messenger (pbuh); cleansing society of exploitation is the cause of all causes of victory; complete obedience to Allah (swt) and His Messenger (pbuh) entails freedom from the bonds of other than Allah [swt]; speed in [asking for] forgiveness leads to freedom, light, and guidance; controlling anger is a sign of taqwā [safeguarding oneself responsively with full awareness of divine laws/piety], and it shows that one’s will is in the hands of a believing intellect; for a believing monotheist, sin brings awareness and motivation toward the Truth [Allah (swt)].

    12. Āyāt 137–148

        The obvious way of understanding traditions is the same as traveling on earth; is not the command fanẓurū [“and see”] obligatory, like other Qurʾānic ordinances and [prophetic] traditions?; the historical insights of the Holy Qurʾān are for all people of the world, in their entire history; believers are better with the condition that belief has established a pillar in them; the current divine tradition is the same law of deliberation and continuity; deliberation is a permanent phenomenon emanated from the general will of the Almighty; “Verily, we are Allah’s and verily to Him we shall return” [2:156]; believing personalities emerge from the encounter of deliberations; being on the side of the truth does not guarantee victory, for the tradition of Allah [swt] is something else; deliberations and events are for building superior human beings and patient believers; has jihād [struggle in the way of Allah (swt) in a balanced, just, and fair manner] made Muslims long for death?; escaping from the battlefield is a manifestation of the attraction of jāhiliyyah [ignorance]; there is no free will concerning death for anything that is living, moving, and breathing; imagination of a victor is the result of seeing the waves of events and their eye-catching bubbles; the gain of this world is little, and with displeasure, while the benefit of the hereafter is clear and good.

    13. Āyāt 149–163

        Weakening of will and belief is the prelude to submission to the enemy and losing one’s heart to him/her; wherever there are polytheists and those who have experienced oppression, there is an army of tawḥīd [monotheism]; at the end of a difficult psychological situation, the will of Allah [swt] stops the final blow of the enemy; every anguish brings another anguish, which is subsequently followed by disobedience, arrogance, and failure; accumulated anguish becomes the source of awareness and revitalization, and the shower of the mercy of the Truth [Allah (swt)]; the source of concern and intellectual anxiety is people’s own selves; knowing [recognition] of sunan [laws, rules, ordinances, lines of conduct, modes of life, practices, usages, habits, traditions] is a kind of knowing [recognizing] Allah (swt); the chosen martyrs rise up and become distinct until they land on the resting place of exaltation; forgiveness is a critical energy that revitalizes; intellectual inability is the source of moral inability, and intellectual courage is the source of every kind of bravery; consultation is the basis of Islamic society, so that thoughts and abilities [talents and aptitudes] become manifest; consultation frees people from the bonds of imitation and intellectual fear; it provides a brave view and mental personality; pardon, mercy, and generosity of the holy Prophet (pbuh) changed the vengeful enemies into sacrificing believers; for compensating defects and mistakes, there is no remedy except trust that depends on faith [belief]; prophets are not despotic and/or deceptive; they try to open people’s eyes and ears and to free them; abiding in the pleasure of Allah (swt) removes every barrier from the way of evolution toward perfection.

    14. Āyāt 164–175

        Favor upon the believers [by Allah (swt)] is the completion of the prophethood/messengership with regard to faith/belief; reciting the āyāt of the Holy Qurʾān and comprehending it, as well as purification and wisdom, are the wishes of a perfection-seeking and searching human being; what are presently the principles of social education [or of upbringing and training] in the view of the scholars of education?; the entire world, all world dwellers, including its ordinary human beings, are manifestations of divine laws and rules; defending life and belonging is a natural and conscientious responsibility; closed thought and sight and limited outlook about death and life restrict every kind of thinking and insight, as well as the field of action and movement, leading to hopelessness and downfall at the end; martyrs try to be a way of connection for the people of the future and those who are still in this world, and also to show their glad tidings to them; an example and a condensed summary of the understandings of the chosen ones from among humanity about a more exalting life and the survival of human beings; after the announcement of the pardon by Allah (swt) and His Messenger (pbuh), these people, through constancy, good deeds, and piety, quelled their anger against the transgressors, who were the cause of such defeat, and by being good to them and refraining from blaming and rejecting them, they pulled them to the gathering of Muslims; connecting oneself to Allah (swt) and depending on His power manifest the increase in one’s believing personality [integrity].

    15. Āyāt 176–189

        Buyers of kufr [covering the truth/disbelief] and sellers of the natural capital of belief cannot deliver the slightest loss to Allah (swt); in accordance with the divine law, events, calamities, and trials must occur so that those who are polluted by kufr, ignorance, and their attractions are separated and distinguished from the purified and mature harbingers; the deepest wisdom [or logical reason] of infāq [justly spending and filling economic and social gaps among individuals in society without reproach and/or harm], which springs out of belief and nearness [to Allah (swt)] is the prevention of one’s spirit/soul and intellect from being bound and chained to various worldly attachments; in the entire history of existence, fire has burned [some] of Banī Isrāʾīl and it is a flame of character, behavior, and conduct that originate from their inner side; fire is neither from Allah (swt) nor from the people; people who are shaken and uprooted, and who escape that fire, enter Paradise; they are the winners who have reached their higher wish; tests and trials that occur in the course of people’s lives are prerequisites to an awareness of the reality of death, to an insight beyond it, and to the end of life—all of which open the horizons of one’s view and strengthen that person’s feeling of responsibility; just because certain people take a step in the way of truth and open their hands in spending [donating] (and become proud of it, expecting veneration of themselves about what they have not done without benefiting and serving people), does not mean that they are immune from punishment and are saved; all such people are subject to punishment and downfall, and they have no salvation.

    16. Āyāt 190–200

        Translation of some words; contemplating the creation of the heavens and the earth leads to being purposeful and having a goal; the final goal is manifesting the comprehensive, completed, and condensed existence of human beings and their education on the path of evolution toward completion; certain people must proclaim and call to explain the course and destination of humanity clearly; their call and school must open the way for pure, natural intellects and for cognizance; belief in the Nurturer, forgiveness of sin, and atonement for offenses make abilities bloom and harmonize energies until they all are attracted to goodness and become the flying mates of the righteous; deeds of every believer and every dependent on the Nurturer, no matter who, never become ruined; the āyāt that express the method and movement of a healthy and a natural intellect toward learning and perceiving the origin of creation are: “Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day, are signs for men of understanding. Those who remember Allah, standing, sitting, and reclining, and reflect and contemplate on the creation of the heavens and the earth … So their Lord heard their prayer and answered: ‘I will not suffer the work of any worker to be lost, male or female,’… And Allah, with Him is the excellent reward” [3:190–195]; they also express awareness of intellectual and practical principles and standards, as well as familiarity with the guidance of the messengers of Allah (pbut); people realize that these messengers will always be the standard of learning for a clean and pure divine religion, and that people follow these standards and not the persons; in a realistic and prudent view, the benefits of the kāfirūn [the coverers of the truth (disbelievers)] is little, finite, and fire-generating; the reward of the believers in divine perfection, and those who are mindful of benefits and bounties, is so much higher and endless; the Almighty Allah (swt) keeps account of rights and limits of belief, and of actions; He considers the account of people who view them the same, and yet sees their deeds in a different way.

11. Epilogue by Sayyed Muhammad Mehdi Jaʿfari

12. Author’s Notes

13. Translator’s Notes

14. Bibliography

15. Index

16. Translator and Editor biographies

Acknowledgments

In the course of completing this translation for its publication and distribution, which has been a spiritual journey and a labor of love, there are numerous individuals and institutions to whom I have come to owe sincere thanks for their educational, intellectual, material, and spiritual help. A list of their names would fill several pages and, hence, while I am deeply thankful to everyone who has helped to make this work possible in one way or another, not being named here in no way lessens the degree of my appreciation for their support during any phase of completing this unique task.

First I express my thanks to our dear family friend of more than fifty years, Mr. Mehdi Tabeshian, for his trusting recommendation to the Alavi Foundation that, thankfully, sponsored the translation of all volumes of A Ray of the Qurʾān (ARQ), and then to its president, Hamid Yazdi, MD, who facilitated the transfer to me of all the rights of publication and distribution of ARQ.

Even the most sincere and profound gratitude would not be sufficient to express my humble gratitude to Mariam Froelich Agah, my beloved wife, whose excellent command of the English language as well as her familiarity with Latin and French, and being conversant in Farsi, along with her extraordinary patience and immeasurable generosity in every step of the entire project, whether editing, reviewing, or preparing ARQ for publication, guaranteed the completion of this endeavor. Putting it simply, without her acceptance to edit the translation of ARQ while also taking loving, motherly care of our five children and teaching full time, I would not have committed myself to this translation.

My wife and I are very appreciative of our daughters, Sadiqeh, Aman, and Ayat, for their vital contributions in typing well over 3,000 pages of this text, which include English and Qurʾānic Arabic. Our gratitude also goes to Sadiqeh for designing the format of the original English manuscript, to Aman for her assistance with initial proofreading, and to Ayat for assuming the responsibility of communication and coordination with the publisher. We also greatly appreciate all the advisory and editorial work undertaken by Dr. Ayat Agah and Dr. Randy Ramal on ARQ. Their care, scholarly knowledge, and editorial experience, as well as their encouragement and support, have been invaluable in getting this work ready for publication. We are also thankful to our son Bashir for his professional consultation and highly appreciate the cover design by our son Nazir.

No words can properly express our appreciation and sincere thanks to Abdolali Bazargan, scholar of Qurʾān and Islamic Studies, prominent lecturer in Farsi on various ethical, religious, societal, and spiritual topics, and prolific author of numerous publications, including the six volumes of Qurʾān-e Ḥakīm: Farsi Translation and Explanation, which is in the process of being translated into English, and In the Presence of the Sublime Qurʾān: A Commentary on Part 30, Chapters 78–114, which was translated into English in 2016. Bazargan’s perceptive advice and instructive guidance on publishing ARQ, beginning with Volume 1, have been most valuable. Moreover, being a lifelong associate and closely familiar with the thought, work, and legacy of Sayyed Mahmoud Taleghani, Bazargan provided a firsthand authentic biography of the author of ARQ, which lends eminence and notability to the publication of the English translation of ARQ.

We have been spiritually guided for decades by our dearest and highly respected family friend, Dr. Abbas Mirakhor. This guidance has continued into this work from its very inception through his erudite and keen scholarly Qurʾānic knowledge, his actual encouragement and introduction of ARQ to Peter Lang by his friend and co-author, Professor Hossein Askari, whom we also sincerely thank, and it has led to our great benefiting from his informative and eloquent foreword and endorsement of ARQ.

We thank Professor Mohammad H. Faghfoory, also a very dear and longtime family friend, for his endorsement of ARQ. This endorsement aids significantly in the introduction of ARQ and its eminent author to the English-speaking reader, especially his and other university students of Qurʾānic and religious studies across the academic world.

Foreword

Dr. Abbas Mirakhor

English-language scholarship in the field of Qurʾānic Studies owes a debt of gratitude to the translator, editor, and publisher for making available one of the most important contemporary commentaries of the Qurʾān. Coming four decades after the passing of the Author—al-Sayyid Mahmoud Taleghani (RA)—the translation makes this authentic voice of human liberation accessible to a much wider audience across the world. It is not possible to overstate the importance of this long-awaited translation of the invaluable, awe-inspiring, and cogent contribution to understanding the causes of and solutions to the problems of human societies. The commentary represents a distinctive and eloquent voice of a consciousness that, enlightened by the Qurʾān, understood well the roots and nature of the social-political-economic malaise of Muslim societies and how to solve them.

The commentary—penned by one of the most important Muslim scholar-activists of the twentieth century who was intimately familiar with the sufferings of ordinary human beings living under conditions of massive inequalities and political oppression—analyzes critical issues of governance, human rights, dignity, freedom, and equality. This is done within a framework informed by the author’s deep understanding of the Qurʾān and within the context of the ground reality of the contemporary society. For his views, he was shunned by religious establishment, persecuted by political authority, but adored by ordinary people, especially the young that bestowed upon him the honored title of “the great teacher,” among other titles of endearment mentioned in the introduction to the translation. The fact that Sayyid Mahmoud’s social and political activism earned him repeated arrests, torture, and exile, plus the fact of his status as a religious authority, gave him the credibility and the platform to address—within the context of the teachings of the Qurʾān—political, social, and economic problems that his people were facing. His charisma, eloquence, and his practical knowledge of the Qurʾān captivated the imagination of the young and old. They found Taleghani’s teachings and arguments that the Qurʾān ordains human rights, dignity, freedom, and justice while giving its unequivocal support to struggle against oppression, tyranny, and injustice quite profound and compelling. This grass root support gave him the opportunity to organize social movements aimed at achieving personal and collective liberation from internal and external oppression. Based on his commentary alone, if not his personal struggles and sacrifices, a persuasive case can be made that Taleghani could well be considered among the first Muslim liberation theologians of the twentieth century.

With simplicity, eloquence, and accessibility, the commentary envisions the praxis of the Qurʾān in what its author refers to as “the dynamic Islam” (Islam mutaḥarrik). That is, an ideology of action on behalf of human liberation. He taught that the Qurʾān is not a static and outdated document that was to be studied theoretically and in the abstract by elites while only for the rest its importance and relevance was the blessings that accompanied its presence in weddings and funerals. Taleghani argued that the Qurʾān is instead a living, vibrating source of light and guidance, a moral/ethical compass, and a call to action for all humans inclusively. It calls for action not only against external tyranny but also for struggle to liberate the “self” from internal bondage to instinctual desires and passions. Without efforts to effectuate internal liberation, struggle for external liberation becomes vacuous and ineffective. He warned that those who struggle for freedom from external sources of tyranny, without exerting effort at achieving internal liberation, develop penchant for authoritarianism and oppression once the external revolt they lead against tyranny succeeds.