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Understanding The Relevance Of Qur’anic Guidance In Changing Times
As-salamu alaikum.
We all believe that the Qur’an is a book of guidance for humanity until Qiyamah.So I would like to understand: when the Qur’an addresses certain situations, social practices, or circumstances that have changed or no longer exist today, how should we understand the relevance of those verses in our time?
I would like to give a few examples:
- Slavery: The Qur’an discusses relations with one’s wife and “those whom your right hands possess.” Since slavery has been abolished and this institution no longer exists today, how is this guidance relevant to Muslims in our time?
- Two women as witnesses: In Qur’an 2:282, two women are mentioned in place of one man in a particular financial-contract context. At that time, men were generally more involved in financial and commercial affairs, whereas today women are equally involved in education, business, finance, and professional life. How should we understand the relevance and application of this verse in today’s circumstances?
- Zihār:The Qur’an says: “Even if any of you says to his wife, ‘You are to me like my mother’s back’…” (Qur’an 58:2). Since this particular expression and practice is largely unfamiliar or absent in our societies today, how should we understand the relevance of such a specific ruling in our time?
Please answer by explaining the underlying principle and addressing all three questions I have asked.
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Understanding The Relevance Of Qur’anic Guidance In Changing Times
updated 3 hours, 1 minute ago
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Not every guidance or instruction in the Qur’an is universal. Some are there for their historical significance. Many directives were given in response to specific circumstances and situations. Their applicability beyond those circumstances depends on the nature of the directive and the underlying reason or cause (
illah) for which it was revealed. If that cause and nature are general and applicable to other situations, then the directive can also be extended to those situations; if they are specific, then the directive remains specific.For example, the Qur’an instructed believers that if they wished to have a private meeting with the Prophet, they should first give something in charity. This restriction was later removed. The particular instruction does not require us to act upon it today, but it remains historically significant because it reflects a specific situation and its context.
By contrast, directives such as establishing prayer or engaging in Jihad have a more general character because their underlying causes and nature are not confined to a particular historical circumstance. Therefore, their applicability extends beyond the specific situations in which they were initially revealed.
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