“What is the Lens of Wording?

Here are some key questions for the Lens of Wording:

1. What is the purpose of this ayah and each part of it being stated?
2. Why was it said in this particular way, with these words?
3. What can I appreciate through the word order and grammar, especially where there is added emphasis or other features that differ from what’s normally expected?

“What can help me reflect with the Lens of Wording?”

Then there are methods to ponder on specific forms of Quranic speech, such as parables, supplications, and the Divine Names. As we said before, the Arabic language is a major factor in being able to explore the Quran through its wording. But in this short post, I am going to show you how much you can reflect on wording even without that knowledge; of course, works of Tafsir will help a great deal.

“Where should we begin?”

Let’s consider the Fatihah, which is deserving of our reflection every day as we recite it in our prayers. To keep things brief, I’ll share just a few out of hundreds of questions we could ask, and how these lead onto deeper reflection.

“All praise is for Allah”

– why is this a statement rather than a declaration like “I praise Allah?” This makes me feel God’s perfection compared to my inability to express His praise.

“Lord of all worlds”

– why not only “the world” but many worlds, and what could this meaning extend to as our knowledge of the cosmos expands?

“The Most Compassionate, Most Merciful”

– why are these various names placed in this pivotal prayer: Allah, Rabb, Rahman, Rahim, Malik? And what is the specific place of mercy, reaffirmed at the head of every surah?

“Master of the Day of Judgment”

– what is the implication of His sole ownership of, and sovereignty on that Day? What is the subtlety of “Yawm al-Din” compared with its other names?

“You we worship and You we ask for help”

– what does it mean that I am now reciting this as a statement from myself? But also, why is it in the plural and not “I worship and I ask”?

“Guide us along the Straight Path”

– what are the indications of the Arabic root of مستقيم and their implications here as a description for that path? Can the words here be exchanged for synonyms for “guide” and “path”, or do we understand something from these in particular?

“The Path of those You have blessed;

not those who have anger upon them,*

or those who are astray.”

– what can we take from the blessing (ni‘mah) being ascribed directly to God, while the negative things are expressed indirectly or ascribed to the wrongdoers?* What can we understand about the three categories laid out here, aside from their identification with specific communities in the hadith?

[*Note: many translations say for example: “those who earned Your anger”, while the Arabic text doesn’t make explicit whose anger is intended. That itself is a meaningful distinction in the wording, which is often lost in translation. So while we make the best use of translations, we should keep in mind their limitations.]

This is just the beginning of what we can ask, and we can find that the exegete scholars have asked and answered such questions before. The point is that reflection is NOT about just grabbing a quick answer, but taking the time to appreciate the point and increase in our reverence for Allah ﷻ and His words.