Six Glorious Objectives of Qur'an (Koran)

A perspective that has always been the view of traditional Islam for over 1400 years which strikes at the root causes of all forms of extremism and mis-interpretations of the holy scripture.
[The overall complete picture of Qur'an is presented
as follows. All the verses of the entire Qur'an can
be categorized into the following six categories
defined by following six aims (maqasid) of Qur'an:]

The FIRST aim [of Qur'an] is knowledge of God
[Himself], including the essence [zaat/dhaat],
attributes [sifaat], and works [af'aal] of God.

The SECOND aim [of Qur'an] is definition of the Path
to God [this "Path to God", that Qur'an defines, leads
one to having an intimate relationship with God, to
have a deep knowledge of God, to have the Ma'arifa
(Gnosis) of God, to have an unwavering certitude
(Yaqeen) in God which leaves one with no doubt about
God, and to have a direct experience of God with one's
soul which is a subtle faculty God has given us to
know Him], by which the "rust" is removed from the
"mirror" of the soul, so that the light of God may be
reflected clearly in the purified soul.

The verses of the Qur'an dealing with the first aim,
knowledge of God, are called by [Imam Muhammad]
Al-Ghazali [in his glorious book "Jawahir ul-Qur'an"
(Jewels of the Qur'an)] the jewels of the Qur'an. The
verses dealing with the second aim, are called the
pearls of the Qur'an. In giving these epithets to
designated verses, Al-Ghazali emphasizes that these
two aims, knowledge of God and the way to God, are
most important.

....

The luster of the jewels and pearls is further
highlighted and reflected by the verses representing
the other four aims of the Qur'an as defined by
Al-Ghazali.

The THIRD aim [of Qur'an] is definition of human
conditions at the time of attaining to God. The
condition of spiritual fulfillment, of which the
epitome is vision of God, is symbolized by the Garden
(Jannah). The condition of spiritual bankruptcy, of
which the epitome is alienation from God, is
symbolized by Hell, or the Fire.

The FOURTH aim [of Qur'an] is definition of the
conditions of people who traveled to the Path of God,
such as the prophets of the past, and the conditions
of those who deviated from the Path to God, such as
the tyrants and oppressors of the past. The verses
describe the attitudes and behaviors that have, do,
and will lead people to felicity and misery.

The FIFTH aim [of Qur'an] is definition of the
arguments of those who reject truth, proofs against
these arguments, and exposure of the inherent
falsehood and self-deceit underlying these arguments.
The special beauty of these verses [of Qur'an] is in
their demonstration of the self-veiling operation of
hypocrisy and specious logic based on unproven
assumptions.

The SIXTH aim [of Qur'an] is definition of the
fulfillment of what is required at each stage of the
Path to God, including the manner of preparation for
the journey [to God]. These verses demonstrate the
connection between life in human society and the life
of spirit, how the self and the world may be made into
vehicles for the journey to enlightenment and
completion.

[Excerpt taken from Imam Muhammad al-Ghazali's glorious book
"Jewels of the Qur'an" (Jawahir ul-Qur'an)
http://www.ghazali.org , quoted by Thomas Cleary in
his book "The Essential Koran"
http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=30353566&loc=106&sp=1
Dr. Thomas Cleary recently completed a new modern
English translation of Qur'an called "The Qur'an - A
new translation"
http://store.yahoo.net/caravansaray/book-stl-quran-cleary.html Also at: http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=36287714&loc=106&sp=1
]