O Level Islamiat P1 History and Importance of Holy Quran
History, Revelations, Compilation, Structure & Relation with Other Scriptures
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History And Importance Of The “Holy Quran”
It is the Primary and Major source of Shariah”
Quran Revealed in Stages:
It was revealed from the Lauh-i- Mahfooz (the well-guarded tablet) to the lowest Heavens of the world on the Shab-i-Qadr. Later, it was revealed from Heavens to the earth in stages throughout 23 years of Prophethood by angel Jibrael. It is referred in Surah Isra and Surah-Furqan.
Reasons for Revelation in stages:
It was revealed in stages to strengthen the heart of Prophet (PBUH) by addressing him. Whenever there was need for guidance, the direction arose. Some Verses were revealed in Makkah and some in Madina. It was revealed to gradually implement the laws of Allah. Also to make believe the understanding, application and memorization of the revelation easier for the believers. It was also made easier for Prophet (PBUH) to bear the revelations.
Method used for Revelations:
Once Harris bin Hisham asked the Holy Prophet (PBUH), “How does the revelation come to you?” The Prophet (PBUH) said, “Sometimes it comes to me like the ringing of the bell and that is the most hardest on me, then it leaves me and indeed retain it in my memory what is said, some times the angel assumes the likeness of a man as needed and speaks to me and I retain in my memory what he says”.
Methods were:
- Ringing of the bells
- Felt heavy when revelations were bestowed as body weight was increased
- Face to face revelations by angel Jibrael
Revelation Of Holy Quran Bestowed 610 and 632 A.D.
The first kind of revelation exposed to the Prophet (S) was the dream during sleep. It came to him like a dawn in the morning. Solitude became dear to him and he used to stay for long in the cave Hira, busy in meditation, when on a night of Ramazan, in most references it was 27th Ramazan, angel Jibreal came to him in the form of a man and told him to „Read‟. He gave him the following verses of Surah Al-Alaq.
“Read in the name of thy Lord, who created man from the clot of congealed blood. Read! Your Lord is Most Bountiful He, who taught the use of pen and taught man which he knew not”.
After the first revelation, he was afraid and went home shivering but Hazrat Khadija (RA) calmed him. It was also confirmed as Prophet by Warqa bin Naufil. After this revelation, the revelations ceased for a certain period, it was called Fatra tul-Wahi-Later it was resumed by Surah Al-Duha, Surah Al-Muddasir and Surah Al Furqan. The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said, “Once when I was walking, I heard a voice from Heaven and lifted my eyes and there was the angel who had come to me at cave Hira sitting on a throne between Heaven and Earth. And he inspired me with awe and I returned home and said,
“Wrap me up” Then Allah Most High, sent down the inspiration.
“O you wrapped in a cloak.
Arise and warn – to His words… and pollution shun!”
He was then ordered to preach whenever a revelation came to him, it was in the form of ringing sounds, heavy that his body weight increases or face to face meeting with angel Jibrael
The Holy Prophet (PBUH) said,
“Sometimes, it comes to me like the ringing of a bell, and that is the type which is hardest on me. Then the angel departs from me and I retain in memory from him what he said. At times, the angel comes to me in the likeness of a man and speaks to me and I retain in memory what he says”.
From this time about 610 AD, the Holy Prophet (PBUH) received revelations throughout the rest of his life. He never knew that they would come, and indeed, after the first, there was no further revelation for sometime.
"When his son Ibrahim died, Abu Jahal called him „Abtar‟ and issueless. Allah revealed Surah Al-Kauthar to console him.
Hazrat Ayesha said, “I saw revelation coming down upon him in the severe cold and when that condition was over, perspiration ran down his forehead.” A companion relates that he was sitting with his leg under the leg of the Prophet (PBUH). A revelation came at that moment and felt his leg would crush under the weight.
It is said in the Quran,
“It is the Holy Quran which we have divided into parts from time to time in order that you may recite it, to men at intervals: We have revealed it by stages”. (Surah Isra)
When magic spell was made on the Prophet(PBUM) by the Quraish to stop him from preaching. He was very ill. Allah revealed Mauzitein as Surah Falaq and Surah Nas to save from the magic spell.
He received revelations both in Makkah and Madina i.e. over a period of 23 years until shortly before he departed from this world in the year after Hijra (632-A.D).
When the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was delivering his historic sermon at the time of farewell Pilgrimage, the following verse was sent down.
“This day, I have perfected your religion and completed My favours upon you. I have chosen for you Islam as Your Religion”.
Holy Prophet’s First Experience of Revelation and nature of Prophethood
The Prophet's (PBUH) first experience was of great importance as the angel who appeared before Prophet (PBUH) in the form of a human being was the one who brought revelations to the previous prophets.
The Prophet (PBUH) was not sure what was happening. He thought, he might be possessed by evil spirits or inspired by jinns so he fled from the cave, when he was half way down the slope he heard the voice above him.
“O Muhammad (PBUH), you are the Messenger of Allah and I am Gibrail”.
It was surprising for the Holy Prophet (PBUH) at that time as he was not expecting him He had true visions during the time period before revelations but over all it was a shock for him.
The angel told him to „Read‟ but Prophet (PBUH) was not literate with formal education but he was the chosen messenger of Allah and he was embraced hard by the angel to have an open heart, so he immediately recited the words which the angel said. The night was of importance as it was of Shab-i-Qadr, 27th of Ramazan, a sacred month of the year. The Universal message started to spread as Islam by the Quran.
Compilation of The Holy Quran
The Holy Quran was perfectly preserved in an oral form from the beginning and was written down during the Prophet (PBUH) life time. The revelations were written by the scribes under the Holy Prophet's guidance.
The Holy Prophet said “call Zaid bin Sabith, for me and let him bring the board. The inkpot and the scapula bone. Then he said 'write'".
Each and every word of the Holy Quran was written down as soon as it was revealed by Allah to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) through angel Jibrael. The Holy prophet (PBUH) secretary Zaid bin Sabith used to record them exactly as the Holy Prophet (PBUH) dictated to him and he would recite it back to the Holy Prophet (S) what he had recorded. At Madina, about 40 companions are believed to have been as scribes for the Holy Quran, among them were the four caliphs, Abdullah bin Masood, Abu Hurairah, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Amr, Hazrat Ayesha, Hazrat Hafsa and Hazrat Um-e-Salamah. The Holy Prophet (PBUM) encouraged the companions to learn the Holy Quran by heart so many of the early Muslims memorized the Holy Quran immediately as the verses were revealed.
During the reign of Hazrat Abu Bakr many battles were fought including the battle of Yamamah in which a number of Hafiz-e-Quran were martyred. Hazrat Umar, therefore, suggested Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) to collect the Quran in a single book. Initially, he hesitated as it had not been done in the Prophet (PBUH) time but later he felt convinced of the wisdom of suggestion so he appointed Zaid bin Sabith to gather what had already been written in the time of Prophet (PBUH).
“If I was given the job to cut down mountains, it would have been easier than the compilation of the Holy Quran”. It was collected from written pieces of parchments, palm leaves, stones, scapula bones and from the memorization of companions.
The copy made by Zaid bin Sabith remained first in custody of Hazrat Abu Bakr (RA) and then in the possession of Hazrat Umar (RA), on his death, it was passed onto his daughter Hafsa, a widow of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). It was therefore known as Mashaf-e-Hafsa.
During the reign of Hazrat Usman (RA), the Muslim state expanded. Huzaifa bin Nauman, a companion of the Holy Prophet (PBUS) observed the difference in the reading of the Holy Quran in newly conquered areas, especially among the new converts, the accent was different which changed the meaning of several words. He got alarmed and reported this to Hazrat Usman (RA) and suggested that immediate action should happen to the Quran as had been the case with the earlier scripture of the Jews and Christians and it might also create a rift amongst the Muslims. Hazrat Usman again entrusted the task to Hazrat Zaid bin Sabith to make a number of copies from the one that was in the custody of Hafsa with the help of three colleagues, all of them from Quraish They were expressly told to follow the dialect of Quraish in case of difference over the language as the Quran had been revealed in that dialect. These copies were then distributed to all provinces of the Muslim empire. He placed the punctuation marks (Ramuz-i-Auqaf) on the verses so that the recitation must be the same as different accents had changed the meaning and to save themselves from the conflict in other periods, a final copy was made and the previous were burnt. He made Tajweed. Likewise, the Holy Quran was to be preserved for generations to come. Hazrat Usman (RA) is called Jam-e-ul-Quran for this work.
Structure of The Holy Quran
The Holy Quran is divided into 30 equal parts (siparas) and seven Manzils. Each part is called Al Juze in Arabic. Every part is again divided into four parts. The Holy Quran consists of 114 Surahs chapters of unequal length Surah. Al Baqarah, having 286 verses is the longest, while Surah Al-Kausar is the shortest. It has only 3 ayats or verses 86 surahs were revealed in Makkah and 28 were revealed in Madina. The total number of verses is 6247 and if we add Bismillah, then it is 6360. The longer chapters are further divided into sections called Ruku. Each Ruku has number of verses indicated in the margin by the last letter. Every Ruku has three figures, the top figure is the number for a part whereas the middle figure denotes the number of verses in a particular Ruku. The number of the Surah is printed just after the title at the top of the page, reference to the Holy Quran is indicated by the number of Surahs followed by a colon and the number of verses, thus 2:5 means fifth verse of the second Surah. Quran was revealed piecemeal in 23 years, according to the needs and requirements of different stages through which the Islamic movement was passing.
Makki Surahs
These were revealed in Makkah. They impart the knowledge of reality, Oneness of Allah, Uniqueness of His attributes, certainty of the day of Judgement, description of Hell and Heaven need of Prophethood with brief answers to the common arguments that misled to adopt the wrong ways of life. They invite people to accept the reality and the fundamentals of morality that would lead to the welfare and success of the entire humanity. They stress on the importance of fear of Allah, His Powers, His Knowledge in order to build modern values and character. They are characterized by short concise verses with rhymes and a strong rhyme, couched in a fluent literally language that touches the hearts. They denounce the hard heartedness and arrogance of the leaders of the Quraish by repeating the word KALLA‟ (never). They contain verses exalting the Majesty of Allah followed by the injunctions of persuasion to perform Sajdah. They address the people as “O! you mankind. The surah starts in some cases with non connected alphabets like “Haameem‟ and „Swad‟ etc.
Madni Surahs
They were revealed in Medina. They contain detailed teachings in all aspects of life. They contain social, economic and spiritual laws which are important for the organization and development of an Islamic state. They invite people of the book to Islam by refuting their wrong beliefs and involving in a dialogue with them, rebuking them for their denial of the truth after knowing it. They contain the permission, persuasion and regulations of Jihad. They also teach moral behaviour in the case of defeat and victory. The verses taught the Muslims, the principles of war, how to treat the prisoners and prepare them with weapons. There are long verses and some verses address the people. „O you who believe‟.
Relation of Quran With Other Scriptures
The Holy Quran accepts the truth of the sacred books of the world, the basis of the relationship in which the Holy Quran stands to other scriptures is therefore that they are all members of one family. They have a divine origin. This relation is set forth in the Holy Book itself.
“And We have revealed the Book to you, with the truth verifying what is before it and a guardian over it”.
The Quran is not only an authentic, but also is the guardian over other sacred books of all of the prophets of Allah. Those teachings of all of the Prophets had undergone alterations and only a revelation from Allah could separate the pure Divine teachings from the mass of error which had grown around it. The Holy Quran has particularly chosen the gospel to show in what ways the erroneous doctrines had almost entirely suppressed the truth preached by a Prophet of Allah.
The Holy Quran further claims that it came as a judge to decide the differences between the various religions.
“Certainly we sent apostles to nations before you and we have not revealed you the Book: except that you may make clear that about which they differ.”
The Holy Quran makes it clear what is obscure in earlier scriptures and explains fully what is satan briefly. Further the Holy Quran claims that it came as a perfect revelation of Divine will. It says
“This Day I have perfected your religion for you, completed my favours upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
Six hundred years before the birth of the Prophet(S). Jesus Christ declared in plain words that he could not guide the world to perfect truth because at that stage the world was not in a fit condition to receive it.
“I have yet many things to say unto you but you cannot bear them now, How be it when, He, the spirit of truth will come, He will guide you unto all truth” (Gospel of John).
Superiority of Holy Quran
The Holy Quran exists in its original form as revealed to the Holy Prophet (PBUH) over 1435 years ago. God has promised to protect it from all kinds of dangers at all times.
“We have without doubt revealed the reminder and We will guard it.”
The other old books do not exist in their original forms, they are modified, corrupted and changed by their followers. The old books are a mixture of divine words and words of men. The Holy Quran is free of such adulteration. The language of the Holy Quran is Arabic is a living language spoken and understood by millions of people all over the world, while the languages of other books are dead language. The Holy Quran is a universal Book addressed to people of all ages.
“We have explained in this Quran for the benefit of mankind”.
Allah revealed old books to a particular nation for a particular period but Quran is the last and perfect Book of Allah which deals with every aspect of human life, social, economic, legal, political and moral etc. It is a complete code of life, there is ample proof about the authenticity of Quran on several places and occasions when they were revealed, but there is no historical evidence to the authenticity of old books.
