The Objectives of the Quran in Order of Revelation

In the Qur’an, there are more than 29 goals mentioned for the [revelation of] Qur’an, which are repeatedly noticed and referred to in more than 150 cases. What is the philosophy of this? According to the types of goals, what is the relation between those goals?

Discovering the philosophies hidden in the cases where the goals of revelation are mentioned, repetition of these goals in different verses, and branches related to each goal, will open up new horizons for researchers: 1. Creating the theoretical sensitivities for the commentator in understanding the intentions of God in the interpretation of the verses in the chapters. 2. The mental discipline of the commentator with regard to the organization and system that is obtained by examining the relations between the goals.

The theoretical foundation of this research is based on the validity of the interpretation in the order of revelation and the necessity of considering the gradual revelation of the Qur’an.

The present study tried to open new horizons for Quran researchers; Tafsir (Interpretation) in order of revelation in thematic style, is unprecedented in the Islamic world. Neglecting this style, removes a large part of the Almighty God’s intentions from the interpreter’s view.

The main goal of the research was to discover the hidden philosophy in the distribution of goals [ for the revelation of Quran] mentioned in the Quran and the system among them. The secondary goal of the research, was to show the capacity of the style of thematic interpretation in order of revelation, in the production of new knowledge.

The research data was first formed based on criticism and showing the defects of the produced knowledge; Then the verses related to the goals of [revelation of] the Quran were collected in descending order from the Quran. In the third stage, the verses were distributed according to the four periods of development of the Islamic call (Surah Fath, verse 29) and finally, the effort was made in interpretation, based on the rules of thematic interpretation and the special rules of interpretation in order of revelation. In the next step, each and every one of the 29 goals of the Qur’an were examined in the course of revelation and the philosophy of their arrangement was examined. And finally, the effort was made, to separate the general and ultimate goals from the specific and intermediate ones, and then to extract the system between these goals and to provide a tree diagram of goals of the Qur’an.

The greatest goals of the Quran are to save mankind from misery and bring him to happiness, which is the most natural need of mankind. This goal is provided through “guidance” as the biggest goal of the Quran. While the Qur’an tries to make mankind return to its nature through warning and threats, its focus is on “guidance”, a comprehensive guidance that includes all relationships between humans and other beings having free will.