To understand books of interpretation, it is necessary to learn the twenty main branches of knowledge well by working ceaselessly for thirty years. There are eighty subdivisions that are the branches of these twenty main branches of knowledge. One of the main branches is the knowledge of tafsîr (interpretation). These branches of knowledge had different savants and many books.

Various Arabic words that are used today have different meanings in the knowledge of fiqh than from the meanings which they have in the knowledge of interpretation. Even the same word conveys different meanings according to its place in the Qur’ân and the particles it takes. The Qur’ân’s translations by those who do not know these vast branches of knowledge or made according to today’s Arabic convey meanings far from the meanings in the Qur’ân-al karîm. Everybody understands the hints, the meanings from the symbols in the Qur’ân in proportion to the strength of his îmân.

Tafsîr is not something done simply by writing or by expressing in words. Tafsîr is a radiance (nûr) that occurs to the heart of great religious men. The books of Tafsîr (interpretation) are the keys to this radiance. As the jewels are revealed when you unlock the drawer with the key, in a similar way does a radiance occur to the heart by reading those interpretations. Those who knew the eighty branches of knowledge well understood the Tafsîrs and, in order to explain them to religiously ignorant people as we are, they wrote thousands of books suitable for people of various categories.

Valuable Tafsîrs such as Mawâkib, Tibyân, Abu’l-Lays are among them. Tibyân is an interpretation that was prepared in 1110 A. H. The interpretation by Vehbî Efendi of Konya is a book of preaching. Since there are parts containing personal views in all those newly written books, which are considered to be the most valuable, their harm is greater than their good to those who read them. Especially those tafsîrs and translations by enemies of Islam and by holders of bid’at, which have been written to defile the meaning of Qur’ân al-kerîm, are fully harmful. These are all poisonous.

A number of doubts and objections arise within the young people who read them. Besides, it is unsuitable for those who, like us, have little religious knowledge, to read tafsîrs and hadîths to learn Islam. It causes one to lose one’s îmân if an âyat or hadîth is misunderstood or doubted. A tafsîr or hadîth cannot be understood only by knowing Arabic. He who considers those who know Arabic as savants is wrong. In Beirut and in other places there are many priests whose native language is Arabic and who know Arabic literature well. Yet none of them understands Islam.

Today, August 22^nd. The Sun enters in Virgo (Sümbüle) constellation and third month of summer season begins. The Sun will be in this constellation for 31 days and will be in Libra as of 22^nd September.