Glorious Quran
A few days ago, a vicious attempt was made to burn a copy of the Glorious Quran in Sweden. Last year, a similar incident took place in Norway, another European country. Not only Muslims but everyone with common sense is condemning this incident. The attempt to burn the religious book of Muslims in the Western countries, which claim to be peace maker in the world, is due to the hatred and prejudice against Islam and Muslims which the anti-Islamic forces use to carry out their notorious plans.
We condemn these incidents and call on the international community to enact strict legislation to punish those who commit such acts against any religious book or religious leader; as such incidents would lead to chaos and violence rather than peace in the world and will create hatred and enmity among the people. Every Muslim should, on such occasions, tell the common people with his words and actions that the Glorious Qur’an is the word of Allah which has been revealed only for the guidance of humanity, not for terrorism but for peace and tranquility.
According to the Glorious Qur’an, no one is forced to convert to Islam.
What is Quran?
Quran is a gospel which has been revealed by God Almighty through His last Messenger Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) for the guidance of the mankind till the Day of Judgment. The holy Quran is one of the attributes of God and not an external creation. It is preserved on a reserved slate [Lauh Mahfoudh] from eternity to eternity.
The purpose of the revelation of the Qur’an
The Quran has been revealed for the guidance of the mankind till the end of the world but only the pious and the righteous can benefit from this book. As God Almighty has said: “This is the Book free of doubt which is a source of guidance for the pious” [Al-Baqarah: 2].
The Beginning of the Transmission of the Quran
Allah started transmission of the Quran from the Lauh Mahfoudh kept in the heaven on a particular night during the month of Ramadan, described as Lailatul Qadr [the night of predetermination]. Thereafter it continued to be revealed in accordance with circumstances and needs bit by bit and the revelation was completed over a period of approximately 23 years. When the first verses were revealed in the vision of Mount Hira the Prophet was forty years of age. The first ayats of the Quran to be revealed in the vision of Hira were the first five verses of the Surah Al–‘Alaq which read as follows:
“Read: In the name of thy Lord who createth, Createth man from a clot. Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who teateth by the pen, Teacheth man which he knew not.”
After this first revelation transmission of the gospel remained suspended for three years. At the end of three years the same angel who had appeared to him in Hira appeared to him again and transmitted to him the first initial verses of Surah Al–Mudaththir which read as follows:
“O thou enveloped in thy cloak, Arise and warn!, Magnify thy Lord, Purify thy raiment, And shun pollution!.”
Thereafter, the revelation continued in gradual steps till the demise of the Prophet. It was completed in about 23 years.
Preservation of the Quran
As mentioned Quran was not revealed at one go but different verses were revealed bit by bit according to needs and circumstances. The first mode adopted for the preservation of Quran was its memorization [hifdh]. Therefore, Muhammad (PBUH) himself repeated the words of the ayats to memorize them well. At this a revelation came that it is not necessary to repeat the words many times at the time of their transmission but Allah will endow him with such a memory that he will not forget anything once a revelation is made. Thus the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) is the first memorizer [Hafidh] of Quran. So every year during the month of Ramadan he used to recite twicethat much of the Wahy(Quran) that was transmitted so far along with archangel Jibril(AS). He used not only to make his companions memorize the words of Quran but also taught them their meaning. The companions themselves were competing with each other to memorize the whole of Quran. Thus there were a number of companions who memorized the freshly revealed ayats and then recited them during their night-time prayers. In sum, memorization was emphasized as a mode of preservation of Quran in the first instance and this was surely the safest and most trusted mode at that time.
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) also took particular care to get the verses written by the scribes. It was his routine that whenever a part of Quran came by divine revelation he instructed the scribe of the wahy to place it at a particular place in a particular Surah. Paper had not been invented in those times. Therefore Quranic ayats were mostly recorded on stone slabs, skin pieces, date tree boughs, bamboo chips, leaves and animal bones. Among the scribes of wahy the most prominent names were: His first four successors, Zaid Bin Thabit (RA), Ubi Bin Ka’ab (RA), Zubair Bib ‘Awam (RA), and Mu’awiah (RA).
Whatever copies of Quran were made during the life time of the Prophet were recorded on scattered articles. It so happened during the reign of the first successor of the Prophet AbuBakr As-Siddiq (RA) that a large group of the memorizers of Quran was martyred during the Battle of Yamamah. Then Umar Farooq (RA) advised Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (RA) to consolidate Quran into one piece. Initially the latter was not prepared to take up this task but then agreed to it and appointed the scribe of wahy Zaid Bin Thabit (RA) to coordinate the work of consolidation. Thus began the process of consolidation of the fragments of Quran.
Zaid Bin Thabit (RA) himself was not only the scribe of revelation but had also memorized the whole of Quran. Besides him there were still hundreds of memorizers of Quran. However, he did not rely solely on any one source but exhausted all the available sources. He did not include any ayat in his consolidated copy unless it was authenticated from multiple sources. Moreover, the texts which had been written directly under the supervision of the Prophet were intact and available with the companions of the Prophet. Zaid (RA) collected them all and made them the basis of his consolidated copy. Thus the fragments of Quran were consolidated and put together during the reign of the first successor of the Prophet AbuBakr Siddiq (RA).
By the time Uthman Ghani (RA) became the third successor of the Prophet Islam had spread beyond the Arabian Peninsula to the distant non-Arab lands. The new converts in these areas began to learn Quran from the surviving companions of the Prophet and those who followed them. The companions had learned the recitation of Quran from the Prophet in different styles. Therefore each companion took to teach Quran to his disciples according to the recitation style learnt from the Prophet. Thus this variation in recitation styles spread far and wide. Then people began to assert the correctness of their style and incorrectness of other styles. This was an unwelcome phenomenon as Quran itself has allowed it to be recited in different styles. So Uthman (RA) sent a message to Hafsa (RA) calling for the copies of the consolidated text of Quran which had been prepared under the direction of Abu Bakr (RA). Thereafter, he constituted a committee with Zaid Bin Thabit (RA) as head to prepare copies of Quran from the consolidated text of Abu Bakr (RA) with an ordering of the Surahs. After that, ‘Iraab [diacritical marks] were inserted in each word. The copies of this uniform text were distributed in all Islamic areas. That put an end to the difference in recitation styles. The whole community now recited Quran uniformly. For the sake facilitating the teaching of the text to children the text was divided into 30 parts. The sign of ruku’ was also put to facilitate the recitation of Quran during cycles of a salat.
Ancillary Information on Quran
Stages: The text of the Quran has been divided into seven stages [manzil] so that a person desirous of finishing his recitation within a week can recite one stage daily.
Parts: The text has been divided further into 30 parts [juzw]. Anybody who wants to finish his recitation within a month can recite one part daily.
Surahs: The holy Quran is divided into 114 big, medium and small surahs. Every Surah begins as a rule with bismillah except Surah At–Taubah. In Surah An–Naml bismillah is embedded in an ayat. Thus te number of bismillah is also 114, equal to the number of Surahs.
The titles of these Surahs are merely indicative, not thematic titles. The index is taken from a particular wordoccurring in that Surah. For instance, Surah Al–Fil [Elephant] has nothing to do with elephant. It is after a similar word occurring in the text and serves like a tag.
Verses: There are over 6000 verses [Ayaat] in the Quran.
Prostration: There are 14 verses in the Quran recitation or hearing of which makes it obligatory to prostrate before God immediately.
Makkiand Madani: Surahs and verses revealed during the 13 year stay of the Prophet in Mecca are called Makki Surahs and Surahs and verses revealed during ten years after Prophet’s migration to Madinah are called Madani.
Themes of Quran
Theologians have formulated an elaborate list of the themes of Quran. In a nutshell they may be classified into (1) beliefs, (2) Commands, and (3) episodes. Since Quran has dealt with general principles only we have to find out the particulars about the beliefs and commands in the traditions of the Prophet. That is to say that we cannot understand the contents of the Quran without a reference to the traditions of the Prophet.
- Beliefs: Quran has laid utmost emphasis on beliefs particularly the belief in one-ness of God, messengership of Muhammad (PBUH), the Day of Judgment, etc. Besides Quran mentions a number of other beliefs like belief in angels of God, belief in divine scriptures, belief in predetermination, reward and punishment, Hell and Heaven, the punishment in the grave, the reward in the grave, the happenings on the Day of Judgment, etc.
- Commands: Under this come the religious obligations of performance of salat, fasting during Ramadan, payment of zakat, and hajj [pilgrimage to Makkah]. Quran has laid utmost emphasis on performance of salat and payment of zakat.
Social norms: Norms of interpersonal relations and social intercourse, and everything covered under the head of rights of fellow human beings.
Economic norms: Norms governing production and exchange, the questions of halal and haraam in earning and expending one’s income.
Ethical norms: Norms pertaining to individual and social life.
Political norms: Norms governing the relationships between the rulers and the ruled.
Judicial norms: Norms governing administration of civil and criminal justice.
- Episodes and stories of the past prophets and their communities.
Our Obligations towards Quran
Recitation of Quran
Traditions of the prophet have established great virtue in recitation of holy Quran. As narrated by Abdullah Bin Masud (RA) the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) pronounced: “One who read a letter from the book of God he will get one goodness and one goodness will beget ten of its like. I don’t say alif–laam–meem is a single letter. But alif is one letter, laam is one letter, and meem is one letter [Tirmidhi].
Memorization of Quran
The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) has stated that on the Last Day every person who is a reciter of Quran shall be asked to keep on reciting Quran and simultaneously keep on rising to the higher levels of the paradise. He will be asked to recite slowly as he used to do during his worldly life. His highest place will be where he recites his last ayat [Muslim].
Comprehension of Quran
Since the objective behind the revelation of Quran is the guidance of the mankind its very purpose will be lost if it is not read with understanding. We must, therefore, try our best to understand Quran by all available means including the guidance of theologians and religious scholars. It is crystal clear that we cannot comprehend Quran without a reference to the teachings of the person who was the recipient of wahy. Allah has proclaimed: “And We revealed to you the message that you may make clear to the people what was sent down to them [An-Nahl: 44]. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us not only to read Quran on our own but also to attend regularly the lectures and discourses of religious scholars and prayer- leaders of masaajid.
Acting upon Quran
Theory is meaningless without practice. If we do not act according to the commandments and prohibitions of Quran the very purpose of the transmission of Quran will be lost, that is the enlightenment and guidance of mankind.
Preaching Quran’s message
It is a mission of the Islamic community that by moulding their own lives in accordance with Quranic teachings they should become a model to be emulated by our children, our families, our neighbourhoods, our countrymen and the whole of mankind. Amrbil ma’roof wa nahy’anil munkar [Exhortation to good deeds and dissuasion from evil deeds [abominations] is a duty of believers which has been reiterated in the Quran many times. In Surah Al-‘Asr, out of the four requirements for success of believers one is the preaching of haqq [Right]. Let us reconnect ourselves with holy Quran.
We and Quran
From the above discussion it follows that the holy Quran shall remain a guide for the mankind for all time to come. This Book of God has covered comprehensively all aspects of the life of the individual and society. The sayings and traditions of the holy prophet amply supplement the teachings of Quran.
Alas in the rough and tumble of today’s competitive life we have become negligent of the imperatives of our faith and belief and distancing ourselves from the teachings of Quran.
Today our emphasis is on providing worldly education to our children to the exclusion of religious education. We do not have any time to think over Quran and make it our guide.
In sum, our well-being in this life and success in the life hereafter is dependent on our rededication to Quran and the Sunnah of his prophet.
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Writer : Dr. Mohammad Najeeb Qasmi
