In the congress hall "H. Salim Šabić" of the Zagreb Islamic Center last night, the promotion of the first complete Tafsir of the Qur'an in the Bosnian language by Prof. Dr.Sc.Hfz was held. Safveta ef. Halilović.
The event began with the recitation of a passage from the Quran by Halid ef. Dolić. The promotion was opened with an introductory speech by Mr. Mirza ef. Mešić, imam of the Zagreb Mosque, who introduced the speakers to the attendees, as well as the author's biography.
Safvet Halilović was born in 1968 in Zenica. He graduated from the Gazi Husrev-beg Madrasah in Sarajevo in 1987, where he earned the title of hafiz of the Quran. He studied at the famous Islamic University of Al-Azhar in Cairo, where he graduated (1992), completed postgraduate studies and received a master's degree (1997), and a doctorate from the Department of Tafsir and Quranic Sciences (2001).
He is currently a full professor at the Faculty of Islamic Pedagogy at the University of Zenica, where he has gone through all teaching positions. In 2014, he was elected to the position of full professor for the scientific field of Tafsir and Qur'anic anthropology. He teaches the following subjects: Basics of Tafsir, Tafsir Themes, Tafsir Texts, Quranic Paradigm of Youth Education, Sira - Biography of the Prophet, Quranic Anthropology, Methodology of Quranic Interpretation and Quranic Pedagogical Principles.
He was elected to the position of professional external associate at the Faculty of Islamic Sciences in Sarajevo, where he taught Contemporary Tafsir Thought in the Arab World during his postgraduate studies. He was also engaged as an external associate at the Faculty of Islamic Pedagogy of the University of Bihać and the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Novi Pazar, and as a visiting professor he taught at the Faculty of Theology (Ilahiyat Fakültesi) of Istanbul University.
He published twenty books and over a hundred original scientific and professional works in the fields of tafsir, sira, Qur'anic anthropology, history of Islam, Islamic missionary work, upbringing and education. Some of his books have been translated into English, German, Spanish, French and Czech, and he has published several books in Arabic. He is a contributor to several Islamic newspapers and magazines.
He actively participated in numerous scientific symposia in Bosnia and Herzegovina and around the world.
He is a member of the International Union for Muslim Scholars. At the session of the General Assembly of the Union in Istanbul, in July 2006, he was elected to the Council of Trustees (Majlis el-umenā'), a narrower body that manages the World Union of Muslim Ulema, which gathers thousands of Islamic scholars from various parts of the world.
The main part of the promotion was opened with an initial presentation by the president of Mešihat of the Islamic Community in Croatia, academician mufti prof. Ph.D. Aziza ef. Hasanović.
- Thirty years were invested in this work for preparation and eleven for the performance, so before us is a work that was created for a total of forty-one years. Such a work can be written only by someone who is an excellent connoisseur of the Qur'an in every sense, who is an expert in the Arabic language, who is a hafiz of the holy Qur'an, and in the end only one who lives the Qur'an can do it - he stated.
As for the tafsir itself, it covers 2200 pages of text.
– Professor Hafiz Safvet translates the text in a tafsir manner, which means that he translates it and at the same time provides an understanding of the text. He gives the opinions of all classical muftis in the same way, but he mainly reduces it, searches for a source and relies on a tafsir of a facilitating character, which is perhaps the most important thing for us. He interprets the Quran for today's man, the man of the present, the man who lives in our time, he provides an answer to contemporary needs. Therefore, this tafsir provides an answer to what interests us specifically in our time and our space – stated Mufti Hasanović.
He also pointed out that this interpretation is important because if the Qur'an is not understood, it becomes an ordinary book.
– This tafsir provides guidance for the middle path of Islam, and the middle path is the best path. This is the first work that was not translated from other languages, but directly from Arabic. In ten months, this is the fourth edition, which means that there is a huge need for this type of literature – he pointed out.
Prof. Nezir also spoke about the work. Halilović, head of the Department of Religious Education in the Directorate for Education and Science of Rijaset Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and professor at the Faculty of Islamic Pedagogy in Zenica and the Faculty of Islamic Pedagogy in Bihać.
- Many people read and it is easy to read, every literate person knows that. Reading is easy, but understanding what is written is difficult. It is possible to read, to understand is more difficult, and to be moved by the text is the most difficult of the three. The specificity of faith within the heart and the spark of that feeling awakens this tafsir. The Prophet, peace be upon him, did not only have a mission to invite people to accept the faith, it was also necessary to keep those people in the faith. In today's time, when a large number of people already have formed attitudes on almost every topic, and it is difficult to change these attitudes, this work is refreshing in this regard. The previous messengers of God had miracles (miracles) that were visible to the people of that time, such as Musa walking on the surface of water, or Jesus resurrecting the dead. But the last prophet, Muhammad (pbuh) received the Qur'an - a miracle of reason. And the Qur'an cannot be understood without tafsir - stated Halilović.
The final word, as the main part of the promotion, was taken by the author himself.
- Even before the Qur'an, God sent announcements through which he addressed the then inhabitants of the earth, but for his last instruction, the Qur'an said in it: "We have published the Memorial (Qur'an) and We will surely guard it." And the Qur'an is preserved in two ways: through the hafiz of the Qur'an, who memorize it and preserve it for the rest of their lives, and the second way is through tafsir, which offers understanding. Misunderstanding of the Qur'an can be very disastrous for Muslim society - the author stated.
He pointed out that the Qur'an is the source from which to know the Almighty Allah, and understanding His speech is a great responsibility.
- The Tafsir I wrote went through many things, from my consultation with a contemporary ulema, to the volumes of books in the Arabic language that I studied, but mostly I looked at the needs of today's man, "listened" to what worries today's man and what he struggles with in his time, how he navigates in his space. How to be a believer and believe in God today, with all that we have, but also with what we don't have? Of course, this is what I understood from God's book and wove as much as Allah gave me the capacity - pointed out the author Safvet ef. Halilović.
This event once again demonstrated the importance of Islamic education and studying the Quran, and aroused great interest and positive reactions among the believers present.
(Reporod.info)
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