In Every Gift, One Should Look at Gift Giver
This is according to religious scholar and researcher Hojat-ol-Islam Mohammad Ali Khosravi, speaking in the fifth session in a series on the verses of the Quran. Excerpts from his remarks are as follows:
The Quran has verses. The verses of the Quran are called Ayah in Arabic. Ayah means sign. When you see a sign in the street, it is not your goal. You want to get to a place and that sign guides you. All verses and Surahs of the Quran are signs that help mankind reach the main goal, which is getting closer to God.
If someone took the verse as a goal, he has missed the path. So you should read the Quran with that in mind. For example, if you read Surah Al-Kawthar, it is about God gifting Hazrat Zahra (SA) as Kawthar to the Holy Prophet (PBUH). But from the beginning of the Surah, it is about the Creator of the world, namely God.
In every gift giving, there are four elements at work: 1- The giver of gift, 2- The receiver of gift, 3- The gift itself, 4- The goal.
In Surah Al-Kawthar, the giver of the gift is God: “We have granted you”. The receiver of the gift is the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the gift is Kawthar. There is also a goal. As you see, the giver of the gift has been mentioned twice: Inna (Surely, we…), and A’atayna (We have granted). This means that one should pay more attention to the gift giver than the receiver and the gift.
In all verses of the Quran, in every rule presented and every favor mentioned, one should see the hand of God. It is this attention to the origin of the creation that is important. All of the Quran is an expression of oneness of God. The verses of the Quran are connected to one another with Tawheed (monotheism) like beads of Tasbih (rosary) that are connected with a thread.
That we have been urged to read Surah Al-Ikhlas to be rewarded like we have read the entire Quran is because the Quran is but Ikhlas (purity of intention) and Tawheed. If we read the Quran with such an approach, our heart will get enlightened and we get closer and closer to the Qurb of God (closeness to God).
