The Holy Qur’an is to the Book of Allah the very word of
God revealed to Prophet Muhammad through archangel Gabriel (Jibrail) like the
earlier holy books sent for example to David (Da’ud) Moses (Musa) and Jesus
(Isa). It is sent for the admonition of mankind as the Qur’an itself testifies,
“And assuredly we have made the Qur’an
easy for admonition; is there then anyone who would be admonished”? (Q54:17).
The Qur’an is replete with historical discourse and allusions without being a
book of history. The Qur’an is easy for admonition, but one easy in the
absolute sense, not easy in sense that it contains no profundities of thought or
subtleties of meaning, but it is only easy in so far as lessons of meekness,
humility and willing surrenders to God can be deduced from it.
The first revelation of the Qur’an began on the 15th
night of the month of Ramadan in the 41st year after the birth
of the Prophet. The first Surah was revealed in the Cave Hira when the verse
“Recite in the name of the Lord who created…….” Was revealed. The last verse of
the Qur’an, “This day we have perfected for your
religion…..” was revealed on the 9th Dhul Hajja in the 10th
year of Hijirah (63rd year of the Prophet’s life). Taking this into
consideration we come to know that the period in which the Qur’an was revealed
in its entirely was twenty-two years, two months and twenty two days.
It is widely accepted as true that
at the death of Muhammad, there was not in existence any written collection of
revelations of Qur’an in final form. For one thing, so long as the Prophet was
alive, new revelations were continually being added oi the earlier ones. In
other words, the body of Divine revelation continued to grow throughout the
life time of the prophet. This fact does not however, nullify the other well
authenticated one, that even at that time, much of the later Qur’an must have
already been written down.
As soon as the need was realised for
securing Allah’s revelations through His Prophet Muhammad, it became necessary
not to rely solely on memory work, as a good deal of the “words” could get
lost-human memory being what it is. The people soon felt obliged to secure the
revelations from Allah by writing them down, and it is easy to understand that
to begin with, materials readiest to hand, like shoulder-blades, palm leaves,
stones, etc were used for writing purpose.
Among the earliest recorders of
these revelations were Zaid bin Thabit, Mu’awiyah bin Abu Sufiyan, Khlaid bin
al-walid and Zubair bin al-Awam all of whom were the companions of the Prophet.
Besides, in an Internationally
important commercial duty such as Mecca was, one would expect to find and there
certainly were people who wrote down revelations from Allah. The question therefore, as to whether the Prophet himself could read
or write is of minor importance. Infact, the Prophet was Ummi (unlettered) and
the Qur’an, therefore, was the greatest miracle revealed to him from Allah.
The significance role played ,by the
act of writing in the compilation of the Qur’an is more clearly revealed after
the death of the Prophet. With his death, the source of revelation ceased to
flow, and the believers, in cases of doubt, had no one whom they might cnsult
as no one had inherited Muhammad’s prophetic gift. This discourse left by him
thus acquired increased importance, for in them spoke the Prophet, or rather
God through him to his community, if they were able to interpret the words
correctly. The task therefore naturally present itself of collecting this valuable
legacy in as complete and accurate a form as possible and preserving it from
destruction. This obvious development is also confirmed by the traditions. At
this juncture, we might stop to trace the course of event that eventually
resulted to the first compilation of the Qur’an.
The most popular view holds that it
all started with the realisation of the unfortunate fact that many of the
people who knew the Qur’an by heart (Huffaz) had perished in the battle with the false prophet Musailima. This aroused
in Umar the fear that some knowledge of revelations might be lost. Umar then
induced the Caliph, Abu Bakr, to begin the collection of the scattered discourse.
The work was entrusted to the companion and the secretary of Muhammad, Zaid bin
Thabit. The latter collected everything that was written on different, often
primitive, materials and compared it with what people had retained in their
memories, and wrote them on separate leavves which he gave to Abu Bakr.
On the death of Abu Bakr the book
passed the hands of his successor, who in turned bequeathed it to his daughter,
Hafsa, the widow of the Prophet. It was this copy (Zaid bin Thabits Version)
that later formed the basis of the work of compilation done by the third
Caliph, Uthman bin Affan.
In compiling his own version of
Qur’an, Uthman drew upon material from Zaid’s compilation which was deposited
with Abu Bakr and which had passed to Umar after Abu Bakr death. When Umar
succeeded, Abu Bakr, it was passed on to him. After Umar’s murder, Hafsa, his
daughter had carefully preserved this copy of the Qur’an.
However, there is another theory
that it was Umar himself who ordered and supervised the collection, indeed, we
are even told (Ibn Sa’d 111/1, 2124) that Umar died before the task was
completed. Let us now see briefly how the authorizied “Uthmani edition come
into existence.
With the reign of Uthman, the third
Caliph we enter upon more solid ground. Already,there were in existence four
editions of the Qur’an. These were compiled by four men (1) Ubaiy bin Ka’b (2)
Abdullah bin Mas’ud (3) Abu Musa Abdullah al-Ashari, and (4) Miqdad bin ANur
(these edition gradually disappeared after the authorization of the final
edition in Uthman’s period).
According to a statement of Ibn
al-Arthir, the aforementioned four editions found acceptance, each in a
particular region: (1) Ubaiy’s in Damaseus (2) Miqdad’s in Hums (3) Ibn Maud’s
in Kufa and (4) al-Ash’ari in Basra.
This statement is further substaintiated by the fact that the two last named
compilers held offices in the provinces mentioned. That the existence of
several divergent versions in the matter of arrangement would produce
uncertainty among the believers is easily understood, it is only too obvious
and inevitable. To avoid unfortunate situation, something had to be done, and
that urgently too.
Tradition holds that Hudhaifa
thought that the quarrels among his followers about the correct form of
arrangements of Revelation in the sacred book, while on a campaign in Armenia and
Azerbaijan, were capable of causing division among his followers. He therefore
asked the Caliph Uthman to try to abolish this unfortunate state of affairs, so
that believers might not quarell like the Jews and Christians over the
scriptures. Uthman recognised the justice of the request and asked Hafsat to
let him have the “Suhuf” (the copy of the Qur’an in her possesion) so that
copies might be made of them. Hafsa agreed and the Caliph entrusted the task to
a commssion consisting of Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah bin Zubair, Said bin al-As
and Abdu-Raman bin al-Harith.
It is not easy to see clearly what
their work really was. If they had only to make copies of standard text, reliable
scribe would have sufficed so that the men name would at most have some sort of
supervision over the work. But they had an important assignment of arranging
after somee deliberations the chapters of the Qur’an as they exist today. It is
however proved beyond doubt that the version of Uthman was based on Zaid’s
version.
The tradition further reveals that
of the copies made, one was kept in Mecca, while three were sent as standard
text to Kufa, Basra and Damascus, that is practically to the regions in which
the four differing versions aforementioned were current. The authorised edition
was readily accepted everywhere.
The new version must have graduallly
driven out the variants because of its official authority and the general
desire of uniformity.
It was in this way that there come
into existence the authorised version of the Qur’an to the present day, and inspite
of all the vicissitudes has formed with the sunnah the solid foundation for
Muslims life and thought. It is true to say that there has not been any change
even of a word in the Holy Qur’an from the time of the Prophet till to day.
DIVISION OF THE QUR’AN
The whole text of the Qur’an is
divided into thirty equal parts. Each part, which is called Juz in Arabic is
divided into two hizbs and each hizb is divied into four quarters, each quarter
is called rabu’ in Arabic.
The Mecca and Medina suras:
The whole of Qur’an is arranged in
114 Sura (Chapters) of very unequal size. Each is shown as revealed either at
Mecca or at Medina.
The distinction between Meccan and
Medinite suras is one of time and place of revelation. The Meccan suras were revealed
before Hijra (migration) at Mecca or its vicinity, or on the Prophet’s way to
Medina before reaching it. The Medinite sura were revealed after Hijra at
Medina or its vicinity or on some occasions such as the year of the conquest,
the year of the farewell pilgrimage, or during one of the Prophet’s travels.
The Meccan suras usually consist of
brief sentence, full of enthusiasm, poetical, lofty and brilliant, denouncing
idol worship, promising paradise, and threatening with the punishment of Hell;
describing the unity and majesty of Allah, the day of judgement, with allusions
to some earlier prophets and the events of their time, rich eloquence, full of
illustrative reference to mature, with most of them beginning with one or a
number of oaths.
The Medinite chapter narrate the
same subject but generally in greater details, the verses being more prosaic
and chapter much longer, they are chiefy noted for outlining.
1. Civil and criminal laws.
2. Directions or rituals such as prayer, fasting, etc
3. Social reform
4. Moral regulation
5. Brief description of some of the important battle fought with
Quraishites and the jews,
6. Criticism and condemnation of hypocrites who professed Islam
but worked against it.
7. Exhortation to defend the cause of Islam, and
8. A brief description of the past Prophets and events
illustrating the fundamental principles of Islam
The word Qur’an is derived from the
root qira’an which means reading or reciting and the holy book is called the
Qur’an, showing that it meant for reading or reciting. Every portion of it was
both written and recited and hence it is the Kitab as well as the Qur’an.
The Qur’an is considered the eternal
miracle of Islam as superior to what was revaled to the former messengers, as
the best guide for seeking Allah’s pleasure and for obtaining salvation, and as
the perfection of all moral codes.
The teaching of the Qur’an are
universal, addressed to all people throghout to the world regardless of their
origins, and revealed to mankind to enlighten man’s spirit, purify gis morals,
unify his society and replaced the domination of the powerful with justice and
fratenity. As confirmed in Sura XVI, 89, all human problems can be solved
through the Qur’an, either directly or indirectly: “And we reveal the scripture
to you as an exposition of all things”.
The content of the Qur’an deal
primary with the supreme truth and with virtue. All the rest of the text
concerning such matters as knowledge of the soul, the sciences of the nature of
the heavens and the earth, history prophecy, warnings, and the likeserve only
as means to strengthen the message of the Qur’an, to give it more weight and
conviction.
The Qur’an, the principal basis of
Islam, shows us that Islam cannot find its way into any heart or mind without
acceptance of its two fundamental branches viz, beliefs and code of laws. Islam
requires first of all, a deep belief in it without any doubt or suspicion as is
made clear in the Qur’an: “say (O
Muslims): we believe in Allah and that which is revealed to us and that which
was revealed to Ibrahim, and that which Musa and Isa received, and that which
the Prophets receieved from their Lord, we make no distinction between any of
them, and to Him we have surrendered” (Q2:136).
The code of laws provides the
regulations with establish the proper relation between man and Allah, such as
formal worship, fasting and other religious duties. The laws guide man in his
relations with his brothers in Islam and non Muslims, in organising the
structure of the family and encouraging reciprocal affection, they lead man to
an understanding of his role in the universe, encouraging research into the
nature of man and animals and guiding man in the use of the benefits of the
natural world.
The Qur’an makes clear that the
result of submission is faith, and the effect of the code of law is good
behaviour:”Lo! Those who believe and do
good works, there are the Gardens and Paradise for welcome, wherein they will
abide, with no desire to be removed from thence”. (Sura XVIII, 107-108). “Lo! Those who say: Our Lord is Allah and
thereafter walk aright, there shall no fear come upon them, neither shall they
grieve (Sura XLVI. 13).
The Qur’an calls upon all people to
cooperate for the benefit of all humanity regardless of race, sex, colour, rank
and other difference. All people are equal before Allah, “O Mankind Lo! We have created you male and female and have made you
nations and tribes that you may know each other. Lo! The noblest among you in
the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct”. (XLIX, 13).
The Qur’an relates the stories of
the people before us and the Prophets who had been sent to them. It shows the
consequences of their good response or their disobedience to them, giving as
examples, the people of Nuh, Hud, Salih, Ibrahim, etc.
In short, humanity needed the Qur’an
and the Qur’an met its need. It has dealth with the faith, the devotional
practices, the relations betweeen man and God and between man and others. It
has dealth with the principles and the ideals that must be followed by man and
it encouraged him to research into the heavens and earth. No wonder the Qur’an
has been so important without it humanity would still be living in darkness and
ignorance.
In conclusion, for knowledge on the
text in Arabic, transliteration, translation and commentary of some selected
Surahs of the holy Qur’an, I refer you
to these books, introduction to the Qur’an by A. Rahman I. Doi and Qur’an and
Tafsir by M. Bashir Sambo and Muhammad Hiqab. While for the knowledge on text,
translation and commentary of the whole Qur’an, look for the holy Qur’an Vol. I
and Vol. II by Yusuf Ali.
Baba Ali Mustapha is of Ngarannam
Ward, Bolori II, near 7up Junction, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
Reference:
1Introduction to the Qur’an by A. Rahman I. Doi, published by
Hudahuda Publishing Company, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
2
Qur’an and Tafsir by M. Bashir Sambo and Mohammad A. Hiqab,
published by Islamic Publication Bureau, 136A Isolo road, Mushin, Lagos,
Nigeria.
3
The Holy Qur’an, Vol. I and Vol. II by Abdullahi Yusuf Ali,
published in Lahore, Pakistan.
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