Sharjah Ruler: Al Saadi's Quran interpretation beyond contention

His Highness Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi stated in a telephone interview on the “Al Khat Al Mubashir” programme (the direct talk), hosted by Mohammed Hasan Khalaf, Director General of the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority and broadcast on Sharjah Radio and Television, “I chose this book from among several Tafsir (interpretation) volumes for its clarity and ease of expression, since the author does not use ambiguous phrases in his interpretation, making it understandable to anyone who reads it.”

"Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Nassir Al Saadi, may his soul rest in peace, avoided redundancy and digression, so he placed the page of the Holy Quran in a quarter of a page of the book and the remaining three quarters of the page for "interpretation," His Highness added.

“One of the best things about this interpretation, in my opinion, is that the author avoided addressing the contentious issues,” His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi remarked.

He went on to say, "Bringing up contentious matters enhances them. I recall an incident when Sheikh Mohamed Al Tandy, may God have mercy on him, was planning to host a television show on Sharjah TV, I told him I had some requirements, so he asked, "What requirements?" I explained, “Do not mention the contentious issues, since discussing them increases them and intensifies their danger, which is not permitted, so you must avoid that." "Agreed," he said.

“However, as I sat watching him present the first episode on television, I noticed that the first question he asked was, "Was the Messenger bewitched or not?" So, after that, I spoke to him and told him that I am responsible for a society and I do not want to stir up any controversy or disagreement.”

"As for Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al Saadi, may his soul rest in peace, he did not discuss the issue of disagreement, and his approach is the approach of the predecessors," His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah stated and went on saying, “many interpretations today deviate from the spirit of the Quran. Authors must be accurate in their deductions and deal with the spirit of the verse, such that the content of the verse matches that of the interpretation, does not deviate from it, and does not diverge too far. The Holy Quran is a book for discipline, education, and morals, and it contains what a person might elicit and adopt as a conduct in education and life as a whole.”

On the biography of Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Nassir Al Saadi, may God have mercy on him; His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi commented: "I read Sheikh Abdul Rahman's biography, and the late was from an isolated Bedouin area, and when King Saud bin Abdul Aziz learnt of his illness, may God have mercy on him, he sent a jet to the nearest airport to him. By the grace of God, I accompanied him to Beirut, where he was cured. Sheikh Abdul Rahman, writes that the doctor advised him to spend a period of recovery in a hotel after an operation, he said, “I want to heal between books.” So, the ambassador said to him, “I will bring you the books you want.” He then asked for the book “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” by the American writer, Dale Carnegie.

His Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, concluded his talk by saying, “The sources of knowledge provide us with great benefit and joy; books are like ships with which we travel through time, not just for watching; rather for wisdom, culture and science, as I said earlier”

Then he recited lines of Arabic poetry that read:

Glory's springs appear smiling
You were visited by pen companions 
For book lovers, light vessels were lined up
Seize the moment as thought forums chanted