Quran’s Distinction from Other Written Sources
This is according to Hani Chitchian, faculty member of the Quran and Etrat School of the University of Tehran, speaking at a session on contemplating Surah At-Tawbah. Following are excerpts from his remarks.
The Quran and Etrat School of the University of Tehran has been active in Quranic fields for 24 years and has 50 specialized work teams. They study the Quran carefully and earnestly and believe that the Holy Book offers serious solutions to issues in different fields.
In reading the Quran, we are suffering from neglect and negligence, and it can be said that we have the least expectations from the Holy Book. We expect to just learn one or two moral points from it.
There are two important questions here. First, how is the Quran, as the Book of God, distinct from other books? And second, does the religion really have serious answers for human life’s fundamental issues?
We should change our outlook to the Quran to answer these two questions. This attitude in the Quran and Etrat School inspired a number of students studying at the BA, MA and PhD levels to start studying the Quran seriously and methodically, and reflect on the words, literary aspects, narratives and other aspects in understanding the verses. The outcome was reaching serious answers in specialized fields based on the Quran.
For example, three years ago, a research project was conducted at the PhD level at the University of Tehran’s Faculty of Psychology for treating depression. The outcome was amazing. While the success rate of treating depression in the control group was 32 percent in 20 sessions, the success rate for those referring to the Quranic protocols derived in the project was 76 percent in 12 sessions. The difference was so much that it led to the establishment of a Quran and psychology unit at the university, which is currently working on several PhD and MA theses.
If we want to read a Surah of the Quran, we should read it carefully and study its different dimensions. We should change the way we look at the Quran. Otherwise, no problem would be solved and we would imagine that the Quran does not have answers for specialized fields or that there are no alternatives to current ideas.
The Holy Quran provides us with answers, provided that we study it seriously, methodically and with a plan. The thesis written in the mentioned project on treating depression was selected as a top one in the Muslim world. This is a scientific work and it is not about telling a depressed person to, for example, read this or that Surah several times.
In this method, the person’s depression is studied to find the root causes. For example, if he has a sense of emptiness and void, he is told to implement the content of Surah Al-Ghashiyah in his life. He is then given exercises based on it in such areas as relationship with others, relationship with nature, etc. Acting upon God’s command as said in this Surah is very important.
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