Surraiya Encyclopaedia of Grand Qur´ān

Introduction

In Library Terminology, Encyclopaedia is defined: 

"A work containing information on all branches of knowledge or treating comprehensively a particular branch of knowledge (such as history or chemistry). Often has entries or articles arranged alphabetically."

The difference between encyclopaedia and a dictionary is about the focus. Encyclopaedia focus on factual information concerning any subject while a dictionary focuses on linguistic information about its entries. 

Human cognitive capability is capacity limited. Our conscious brain can process information from the environment to a certain limit; sudden and persistent influx of information will heat up the "processor" of our brain (It was the rationale of intermittent revelation of Qur’ān: 25:32). It is known that an average man like me can attend to one complex task at a time. Thereby, studying a discourse by frames facilitates cognition process. Encyclopaedic knowledge is conveniently stored in the mind as frames that act as background knowledge for interpreting and comprehending the discourse. Frames as cognitive repository help and serve understanding concepts more explicitly by men of ordinary prudence.

The best discourse is that which is organized and presented in the manner most suited for the human cognitive and learning process. A discourse will become grand if it serves simultaneously as encyclopaedia, and as dictionary of its important words. The Divine Discourse; authored by the Creator of Cognitive machinery, the Grand Qur’ān introduces a conceptual frame and then explains it in revolving manner to render it explicit from all angles.

It is loudly proclaimed in the Grand Qur’ān:

Qur'an is thus exalted encyclopaedia of information about all that exists, the past, present, and the future, relevant to the needs of humanity and what he ought to know. What is the causative factor of information? It is the Will of a Living Who desires to share that information with others. Information, thus, arises only through an intentional, volitional act of the Living Being. Therefore, information is but a variable quantity depending on the desire and decision of the Sender:

The Divine Discourse - Grand Qur’ān statistically comprises of about 86,986 words. But when viewed by the  number of Roots used for nouns and verbs. which is just 1646, it has employed a small vocabulary of language. Par excellence succinctness of the Divine Discourse can be visualized by comparing the statistics of text with the density of information embedded therein portrayed in these words:

Smaller the vocabulary of a book and greater the semantic density, it becomes facilitator for the reader to conveniently comprehend it and keep increasing his understanding layer after layer by again reading it while untying few knots as we liquefy solids into liquid form.

If one was to describe the entire field of epistemology in one word, it is ONTOLOGY, the word coming from the Greek, meaning "being, "that which is", present participle of the verb "be". It is the origin of Philosophy - Metaphysics, the "Existence".

For any action - verb, the presence of Being is understood. His act can yield another being. It will introduce second concept and a relationship; it is the second field of study in Metaphysics. It is the relationship between The First Being and the being caused by an act of the First Being. Thereby, the First Being can only be perceived and known as an Abstract, the Absolute entity but cannot become the object of observation - a document (Library terminology), reason being He was not caused to be.

The blueprint of a thing precedes the thing taking existence in physical realm. Thus a material thing firstly exists in "Abstract Realm" and takes existence and becomes known to others when the Primal Originator so desires and decides:

It is the point in time when Allah the Exalted has completed, firmly decided, effected an affair, originating matter or life, or reverting life to dead matter. Thereby, launching the already accomplished and effected matter or affair in the Physical Realm as tangible and cognizable reality, requires only that Allah the Exalted might say a Word "" commanding for "" that effected Reality; "You become in evident-tangibly existing state, take effect in Physical Realm". Sequentially, that [say abstract but effected] thing-matter gets physical execution-appearance-tangibly existing state, becomes that which can be known-cognizable by others.

The Affair, Matter determined and decided by Allah the Exalted is always passive to take physical existence-get executed

How things are "transited" from Abstract Realm to Physical Realm again finds mention:

: It is from Root "ر و د". The basic perception infolded is that of "going to and fro; will, wish, desire, or intend". It is Form-IV Verb from مصدر-اِرَادَةٌ Verbal noun. This is causative in meanings. It denotes a desire, or intention to cause a thing converted from its present state to a state desired or intended. Once this state alteration is intended, in respect of anything, the only action to effect it is that "We might say for that thing ---", "He the Exalted might say for that thing--" just one commanding word: "" meaning, "You, the intended thing-event-matter-person get in the intended physical state". : Thereby, in compliance to the Command of Allah the Exalted, that intended thing and affair takes existence in Physical Realm. It becomes a Reality cognizable by all that exists in the Physical Realm.

It may be noted that the Object of Verb: , are: and .  And then these objects are Subject-doer of both verbs . Therefore, they are already a "Reality" who are the recipients of commanding Word: "". The intended action is that they convert and emerge as a Reality in a different Realm-Physical Word. They are directed to become in a known and perceivable state to the Existents of Physical World.

It is thus evident that Allah the Exalted is referring to, let us presume for convenience of our perception, an "idea/thought" of a thing that has yet to emerge in its physical shape-existence as an "object". It indicates that the "image" or "verbal specification" of the object-thing exists prior to its physical manifestation. This also holds true for such human creators who develop or invent something from the already existing matter, though it may be vague at idea stage.

Our knowledge is dependent upon the existence of matter and awareness of its name-code, which verbally mirrors it through words composed with letters and consonants of a language making us cognizant of it. Cognizant is he who can verbally mirror the image of that thing for others. This being the ground reality, We could not say with certainty regarding whether thought-idea-image-name-word mirroring the physical object is the first in existence, or the object mirrored by that Word was first in existence. Grand Qur’ān has clarified for us in simple words that the idea, thought, wish and will of a Living precedes the emergence of a physical reality. The idea, thought and perception and verbal description of the thing precedes its taking physical existence. It comes into Physical Realm only in compliance to a Word.

Thereby, the study - Ontology can be divided in two main branches; the Absolute - Abstract Realm - Allah the Exalted, and the Physical Realm. We will segment all the concepts relating to both the realms in the sequence it finds mention in the Divine Discourse. In other words, we will study the Creator; and the created, i.e. matter and life and how both the realms interact.