Q 5: Some people have the audacity to misinterpret the Book of Allah, giving meanings to the Ayahs according to their whims to mislead people. For example, regarding Allah’s saying (Exalted be He) in Surah Al-‘Imran (the meanings of which are translated as): Those who remember Allâh (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides , some people interpret it as dancing in remembrance of Allah, mumbling meaningless words and swinging to the right and to the left while saying: “Allah is Ever-living, Allah is Ever-living” and such like. These people render birth control, singing by women, (hyperbolic) eulogy of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and using musical instruments in doing this, as permissible. For this, we would like you to enlighten us about our religious affairs, help us to rightly understand them and answer back Mubtadi‘s (those who introduce innovations in religion) as well as recommend useful references.

A: The soundest method for interpreting the Holy Qur’an is to interpret it using the Qur’an itself, the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace be upon him), the statements of the Sahabah (Companions of the Prophet) and those who rightly followed them. This can also be achieved by resorting to language styles and techniques and Shari‘ah objectives. As for the interpretation you mentioned regarding Allah’s saying (Exalted be He): Those who remember Allâh (always, and in prayers) standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides and that some interpret it by dancing in the remembrance of Allah, mumbling meaningless words and swinging to the left and the right while saying, “Allah is Ever-living”, is a false interpretation that absolutely has no basis in the Shari‘ah. We recommend you to read the interpretation of the Ayah mentioned above and the like from books of Tafsir (explanation/exegesis of the meanings of the Qur’an) by Ibn Jarir Al-Tabary, Ibn Kathir, Al-Baghawy and the like, to recognize the Truth from trusted exegetes. (Part No. 4; Page No. 208) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.