'...but all that you may do to understand the Quran is not enough. If you want to identify with the spirit of the Quran, you must practically involve [yourself] with the struggle to fulfill its mission. For the Quran is not a book of abstract theories and cold ideas, which one can grasp while seated in a cosy arm chair. Nor is it merely a religious book like other religious books, whose meanings can be grasped in seminaries and oratories.
'On the contrary, it is a Book which contains a message, and invitation, which generates a movement. The moment it began to sent down, it impelled a quiet and pious man to abandon his life of solitude and confront the world that was living in rebellion against God. It inspired him to raise his voice against falsehood, and pitted him in a grim struggle against the lords of disbelief, evil and inquity. One after the other, from every home, it drew every pure and noble soul, and gathered them under the banner of truth. In every part of the country, it made all the mischevious and the corrupt to rise and wage war against the bearers of the truth.
'This is a Book which launched a glorious movement, with the voice of a single individual, and continued to provide guidance to it for twenty-three years, till the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. At every stage during this long and heart-rending struggle between truth and falsehood, this Book showed its followers the ways to eradicate the old order and usher in the new.
'Is it, then, possible, to reach the heart of the Quran merely by reading its words, without ever stepping upon the battlefield of faith and disbelief, of Islam and Ignorance, without passing through any stage of the struggle? No, you can understand the Quran only when you take it up, begin to act upon it, and call mankind to God, and when every step you take is in obedience to its guidance.
'Then and only then, you will go through all the events and experiences which occurred during the course of its revelation. You will then pass through Makka, and Habash, and Taif; you will face Badr, Uhud, Hunayn and Tabuk. You will encounter Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab; you will meet the hypocrites and Jews; you will come face to face with those who instantly responded to this call as well as those who were drawn into Islam seeking some gain. You will come across all of these human models; you will deal with all of them.
This is a path different from the so-called 'mystic-path', which I name the 'Quranic path' that, as you pass through its various stations and stages, certain Surahs and Ayahs will disclose their full message to you, and tell you that they were revealed precisely for this stage and station that you are passing through. You may miss some linguistic and grammatical subtleties, you may miss certain finer points in the rhetoric and semantics of the Quran, yet it is impossible that the Quran will fail to reveal its full and true spirit to you.
'In the same way, no person can ever understand the legal injunctions, the moral teachings, and the political and economic directives of the Quran, unless and until he puts them into practice. Neither the individual who lives independently of the Quran nor the nation which runs its institutions in violation of its guidance can discover the spirit of the Quran.'
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Monday, January 21, 2013
QURAN, Our Guideline Book for our lifestyle.
As people would hesitate to travel without a map and guide book, so the Muslim carries with him/her the Quran; their guidebook, manual and map, to take them safely through this life into success in the Hereafter.
Human beings left to themselves achieve as much greatness as the ancient empires that ended up by destroying themselves through disease, violence, oppression and war. Even in today's world, the people, who profess high technology and 'development', are destroying themselves through the dissolution of the family, hopelessness, depression, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases, which are the product of promiscuity, and an artificial approach to life that places importance on beauty and wealth and renders the poor, weak and un-beautiful of the world, completely without value, and with little hope.
Child pornography, prostitution, drug abuse, corruption, social inequality, monopolization of money and goods, and general godlessness, spell ruin to all those who are not a part of the elite few of the modern world, who own the banks, the multi national companies and the economic reins of power.
Historians agree that the best time to have been alive in the history of the world, is the 80 or so years since the advent of Muhammad (peace be upon him). They came to this conclusion by analyzing the factors of safety, justice, peace, equality and development. What was it that turned desert nomads into the position of deserving such a title? The simple answer, is that the revelation of the Quran had a natural affect on the body, mind and spirit of individuals who submitted to the right of Allah, to be worshipped and obeyed.
The Quran outlined the position of the human being before Allah, before fellow human beings and before the whole of creation. Through the guidance of the Quran, the Muslim came to know what was expected of him/her by their Creator. They knew the rights of the people over them and even the rights of animals and nature. The Muslims came to know their tremendous responsibility to act as the viceregent of Allah on this earth; the caretaker of creation. Look around today, and notice the pollution of air, land and water, the injustices and oppression that is carried out daily in every country of the world and the monopolization of power in the hands of the unscrupulous few. The Quran remains with us, as a blessing and source of guidance. However, if we continue to act against it, it will in turn be a witness against us on the Day when all humanity's deeds and misdeeds are opened; when the cries of the helpless and oppressed will ring out and the tyrants will be brought to justice.
The cure for the ills of the world, lies in our adherence to the morals, principles and laws of the Quran. Surely, left to ourselves, we will destroy all that is around us.
Is it pride that prevents us from submitting to the Creator?
Or is it foolishness?
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Human beings left to themselves achieve as much greatness as the ancient empires that ended up by destroying themselves through disease, violence, oppression and war. Even in today's world, the people, who profess high technology and 'development', are destroying themselves through the dissolution of the family, hopelessness, depression, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases, which are the product of promiscuity, and an artificial approach to life that places importance on beauty and wealth and renders the poor, weak and un-beautiful of the world, completely without value, and with little hope.
Child pornography, prostitution, drug abuse, corruption, social inequality, monopolization of money and goods, and general godlessness, spell ruin to all those who are not a part of the elite few of the modern world, who own the banks, the multi national companies and the economic reins of power.
Historians agree that the best time to have been alive in the history of the world, is the 80 or so years since the advent of Muhammad (peace be upon him). They came to this conclusion by analyzing the factors of safety, justice, peace, equality and development. What was it that turned desert nomads into the position of deserving such a title? The simple answer, is that the revelation of the Quran had a natural affect on the body, mind and spirit of individuals who submitted to the right of Allah, to be worshipped and obeyed.
The Quran outlined the position of the human being before Allah, before fellow human beings and before the whole of creation. Through the guidance of the Quran, the Muslim came to know what was expected of him/her by their Creator. They knew the rights of the people over them and even the rights of animals and nature. The Muslims came to know their tremendous responsibility to act as the viceregent of Allah on this earth; the caretaker of creation. Look around today, and notice the pollution of air, land and water, the injustices and oppression that is carried out daily in every country of the world and the monopolization of power in the hands of the unscrupulous few. The Quran remains with us, as a blessing and source of guidance. However, if we continue to act against it, it will in turn be a witness against us on the Day when all humanity's deeds and misdeeds are opened; when the cries of the helpless and oppressed will ring out and the tyrants will be brought to justice.
The cure for the ills of the world, lies in our adherence to the morals, principles and laws of the Quran. Surely, left to ourselves, we will destroy all that is around us.
Is it pride that prevents us from submitting to the Creator?
Or is it foolishness?
islamic articles, About islam mslims, Allah, Hadith, Quran online learn arabic quran read quran Memorize Quran Online tajweed quran Teaching Quran learning quran online
7 tips for improving your relationship with the QURAN.
Are you one of those people who rarely touches the Qur'an? Or do you read daily, but don't find it is having the impact on you that it should? Whatever the case may be, these are some simple tips that can help you connect with the Qur'an.
1. Before you touch it, check your heart. The key to really benefiting from the Qur'an is to check your heart first, before you even touch Allah's book. Ask yourself, honestly, why you are reading it. Is it to just get some information and to let it drift away from you later? Remember that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was described by his wife as a "walking Qur'an": in other words, he didn't just read and recite the Qur'an, he lived it.
2. Do your Wudu (ablution). Doing your Wudu is good physical and mental preparation to remind you you're not reading just another book. You are about to interact with God, so being clean should be a priority when communicating with Him.
3. Read only 5 minutes everyday. Too often, we think we should read Qur'an for at least one whole hour. If you aren't in the habit of reading regularly, this is too much. Start off with just five minutes daily. If you took care of step one, Insha Allah (God willing), you will notice that those five minutes will become ten, then half an hour, then an hour, and maybe even more!
4. Make sure you understand what you've read. Five minutes of reading the Qur'an in Arabic is good, but you need to understand what you're reading. Make sure you have a good translation of the Qur'an in the language you understand best. Always try to read the translation of what you've read that day.
5. Remember, the Qur'an is more interactive than a CD. In an age of "interactive" CD-Roms and computer programs, a number of people think books are passive and boring. But the Qur'an is not like that. Remember that when you read Qur'an, you are interacting with Allah. He is talking to you, so pay attention.
6. Don't just read, listen too. There are now many audio cassettes and CDs of the Qur'an, a number of them with translations as well. This is great to put on your walkman or your car's CD or stereo as you drive to and from work. Use this in addition to your daily Qur'an reading, not as a replacement for it.
7. Make Dua (supplication). Ask Allah to guide you when you read the Qur'an. Your aim is to sincerely, for the love of Allah, interact with Him by reading, understanding and applying His blessed words. Making Dua to Allah for help and guidance will be your best tool for doing this.
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1. Before you touch it, check your heart. The key to really benefiting from the Qur'an is to check your heart first, before you even touch Allah's book. Ask yourself, honestly, why you are reading it. Is it to just get some information and to let it drift away from you later? Remember that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was described by his wife as a "walking Qur'an": in other words, he didn't just read and recite the Qur'an, he lived it.
2. Do your Wudu (ablution). Doing your Wudu is good physical and mental preparation to remind you you're not reading just another book. You are about to interact with God, so being clean should be a priority when communicating with Him.
3. Read only 5 minutes everyday. Too often, we think we should read Qur'an for at least one whole hour. If you aren't in the habit of reading regularly, this is too much. Start off with just five minutes daily. If you took care of step one, Insha Allah (God willing), you will notice that those five minutes will become ten, then half an hour, then an hour, and maybe even more!
4. Make sure you understand what you've read. Five minutes of reading the Qur'an in Arabic is good, but you need to understand what you're reading. Make sure you have a good translation of the Qur'an in the language you understand best. Always try to read the translation of what you've read that day.
5. Remember, the Qur'an is more interactive than a CD. In an age of "interactive" CD-Roms and computer programs, a number of people think books are passive and boring. But the Qur'an is not like that. Remember that when you read Qur'an, you are interacting with Allah. He is talking to you, so pay attention.
6. Don't just read, listen too. There are now many audio cassettes and CDs of the Qur'an, a number of them with translations as well. This is great to put on your walkman or your car's CD or stereo as you drive to and from work. Use this in addition to your daily Qur'an reading, not as a replacement for it.
7. Make Dua (supplication). Ask Allah to guide you when you read the Qur'an. Your aim is to sincerely, for the love of Allah, interact with Him by reading, understanding and applying His blessed words. Making Dua to Allah for help and guidance will be your best tool for doing this.
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7 Reasons to Read the Glorious Quran
(1) Intimate:
It dares you to disprove it. How? It says that humans can not write a book like this even if they pooled all their resources together and got help also from the spirits. The Quran said this fourteen hundreds years ago and yet no one has been able to disprove it. Billions of books have been written - but not another one like the Quran.
(2) Incorruptible:
It is the only religious sacred writing which has been in circulation for such a long time and yet remains as pure as it was in the beginning. The Quran was kept intact. Nothing was added to it; nothing was changed in it; and nothing was taken away from it ever since it was completely revealed 1400 years ago.
(3) Unsurpassable:
The Quran is God's final revelation to humankind. God revealed the Torah to Moses, the Psalms to David, the Gospel to Jesus, and finally the Quran to Muhammad. Peace be upon all of them. No other book will come from God to surpass his final revelation.
(4) Indisputable:
The Quran withstands the test of time and scrutiny. No one can dispute the truth of this book. It speaks about past history and turns out right. It speaks about the future in prophecies and it turns out right. It mentions details of physical phenomena which were not known to people at the time; yet later scientific discoveries confirm that the Quran was right all along. Every other book needs to be revised to accord with modern knowledge. The Quran alone is never contradicted by a modern discovery.
(5) Your Roadmap for Life and Afterlife:
The Quran is the best guidebook on how to structure your life. No other book presents such a comprehensive system involving all aspects of human life and endeavor. The Quran also points out the way to secure everlasting happiness in the afterlife. It is your roadmap showing how to get to paradise.
(6) God's Gift of Guidance:
God has not left you alone. You were made for a reason. God tells you why he made you, what he demands from you, and what he has in store for you. If you operate a machine contrary to it's manufacture specification you will ruin that machine. What about you? Do you have an owner's manual for you? The Quran is from your function for success lest you fail to function. It is a healing mercy from God. It satisfies the soul, and cleans the heart. It removes doubts and brings peace.
(7) Your Calling Card to Communicate with God:
Humans are social creatures. We love to communicate with other intelligent life. The Quran tells us how to communicate with the source of all intelligence and the source of all life- the One God. The Quran tells us who God is, by what name we should address God, and the way in which to communicate with God. Are these not seven sufficient reasons for reading the Quran?
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It dares you to disprove it. How? It says that humans can not write a book like this even if they pooled all their resources together and got help also from the spirits. The Quran said this fourteen hundreds years ago and yet no one has been able to disprove it. Billions of books have been written - but not another one like the Quran.
(2) Incorruptible:
It is the only religious sacred writing which has been in circulation for such a long time and yet remains as pure as it was in the beginning. The Quran was kept intact. Nothing was added to it; nothing was changed in it; and nothing was taken away from it ever since it was completely revealed 1400 years ago.
(3) Unsurpassable:
The Quran is God's final revelation to humankind. God revealed the Torah to Moses, the Psalms to David, the Gospel to Jesus, and finally the Quran to Muhammad. Peace be upon all of them. No other book will come from God to surpass his final revelation.
(4) Indisputable:
The Quran withstands the test of time and scrutiny. No one can dispute the truth of this book. It speaks about past history and turns out right. It speaks about the future in prophecies and it turns out right. It mentions details of physical phenomena which were not known to people at the time; yet later scientific discoveries confirm that the Quran was right all along. Every other book needs to be revised to accord with modern knowledge. The Quran alone is never contradicted by a modern discovery.
(5) Your Roadmap for Life and Afterlife:
The Quran is the best guidebook on how to structure your life. No other book presents such a comprehensive system involving all aspects of human life and endeavor. The Quran also points out the way to secure everlasting happiness in the afterlife. It is your roadmap showing how to get to paradise.
(6) God's Gift of Guidance:
God has not left you alone. You were made for a reason. God tells you why he made you, what he demands from you, and what he has in store for you. If you operate a machine contrary to it's manufacture specification you will ruin that machine. What about you? Do you have an owner's manual for you? The Quran is from your function for success lest you fail to function. It is a healing mercy from God. It satisfies the soul, and cleans the heart. It removes doubts and brings peace.
(7) Your Calling Card to Communicate with God:
Humans are social creatures. We love to communicate with other intelligent life. The Quran tells us how to communicate with the source of all intelligence and the source of all life- the One God. The Quran tells us who God is, by what name we should address God, and the way in which to communicate with God. Are these not seven sufficient reasons for reading the Quran?
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How Quran was preserved?
There are hundreds of religions flourishing around the world: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Bahaism, Babism, Zoroastrianism, Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, Jainism, Confucianism etc. And each of these religions claim that their scripture is preserved from the day it was revealed (written) until our time. A religious belief is as authentic as the authenticity of the scripture it follows. And for any scripture to be labeled as authentically preserved it should follow some concrete and rational criteria.
Imagine this scenario:
A professor gives a three hour lecture to his students. Imagine still that none of the students memorized this speech of the professor or wrote it down. Now forty years after that speech, if these same students decided to replicate professor's complete speech word for word, would they be able to do it? Obviously not. Because the only two modes of preservation historically is through writing and memory.
Therefore, for any claimants to proclaim that their scripture is preserved in purity, they have to provide concrete evidence that the Scripture was written in its entirety or memorized in its entirety from the time it was revealed to our time, in a continuous and unbroken chain. Otherwise, there is a genuine possibility that the written scripture may loose its purity through unintentional and intentional interpolations due to scribal errors, corruption by the enemies, pages getting decomposed etc, and these errors would be concurrently incorporated into subsequent texts, ultimately loosing its purity through ages.
Now, of all the religions mentioned above, None of them fit the required criteria, except one: This unique scripture is the Qur'an - revelation bestowed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) 1,400+ years ago, as a guidance for all of humankind.
Lets analyze the claim of the preservation of the Quran...
Memorization
In the ancient times, when writing was scarcely used, memory and oral transmission was exercised and strengthened to a degree now almost unknown. However, the Qur'an was preserved by memory and still is. Writing was only a secondary way of preserving it. Numerous companions (i.e. at least dozens-upon-dozens) memorized the entire Qur'an, and hundreds memorized parts of it. The Arabs at the time were an oral society.
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh): The First Memorizer
It was in this 'oral' society that Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) was born in Mecca in the year 570 C.E. At the age of 40, he started receiving divine Revelations from the One God, Allah, through Archangel Gabriel. This process of divine revelations continued for about 22.5 years just before he passed away.
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) miraculously memorized each revelation and used to proclaim it to his Companions. Angel Gabriel used to refresh the Quranic memory of the Prophet each year.
"The Prophet (Pbuh) was the most generous person, and he used to become more so (generous) particularly in the month of Ramadan because Gabriel used to meet him every night of the month of Ramadan till it elapsed. Allah's Messenger (Pbuh) use to recite the Qur'an for him. When Gabriel met him, he use to become more generous than the fast wind in doing good." (Transmitted by Ibn Abbas, collected in Sahih Al-Bukhari)
"Gabriel used to repeat the recitation of the Qur'an with the Prophet (Pbuh) once a year, but he repeated it twice with him in the year he (Prophet) died." (Transmitted by Abu Hurayrah, collected in Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6.520)
The Prophet himself use to stay up a greater part of the night in prayers and use to recite Quran from memory.
Prophet's Companions: The First Generation Memorizers
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) encouraged his companions to learn and teach the Quran:
"The most superior among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it" (Jalal al-Din Suyuti, 'Al-Itqan fi-ulum al-Quran, Vol. I p.124)
Some of the companions who memorized the Quran were: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Abu Huraira, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As, Aisha, Hafsa, and Umm Salama.
Abu Bakr, the first male Muslim to convert to Islam used to recite the Quran publicly in front of his house in Makka.
The Prophet also listened to the recitation of the Qur'an by the Companions: 'Allah Apostle said to me (Abdullah bin Mas'ud): "Recite (of the Quran) to me". I said: "Shall I recite it to you although it had been revealed to you?!" He Said: "I like to hear (the Quran) from others". So I recited Sura-an-Nisa' till I reached: "How (will it be) then when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these people?"' (4:41) 'Then he said: "Stop!" Behold, his eyes were shedding tears then'.
Many Quranic memorizers (Qurra) were present during the lifetime of the Prophet and afterwards through out the Muslim world.
'At the battle of Yamama, many memorizers of the Quran were martyred. 'Narrated Zaid bin Thabit al Ansari, who was one of those who use to write the Divine Revelations: Abu Bakr sent me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said: "Umar has come to me and said, the people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be some casualties among the Qurra (those who memorized the entire Quran) at other place..."' (Al-Bukhari, 6.201)
Over the centuries of the Islamic Era, there have arisen throughout the various regions of the Islamic world literally thousands of schools devoted specially to the teaching of the Quran to children for the purpose of memorization. These are called, in Arabic, katatib (singular: Kuttab). It is said that the Caliph 'Umar (634-44) first ordered the construction of these schools in the age of the great expansion.
Second Generation Memorizers:
"...Quranic schools were set up everywhere. As an example to illustrate this I may refer to a great Muslim scholar, of the second Muslim generation, Ibn 'Amir, who was the judge of Damascus under the Caliph Umar Ibn 'Abd Al-Aziz. It is reported that in his school for teaching the Quran there were 400 disciples to teach in his absence." ((Ibn al Jazari, Kitab al-Nash fi al-Qir'at al-Ashr, (Cairo al-Halabi, n.d._ vol. 2, p. 254, also Ahmad Makki al-Ansari, al-Difa' An al-Qur'an. (Cairo, Dar al-Ma'arif, 1973 C.E.), part I, p.120)
Memorizers in Subsequent Generations:
The Number of Katatib and similar schools in Cairo (Egypt) alone at one time exceeded two thousand. (Labib as-Said, the Recited Koran, Translated by Bernard Weiss, M.A.Rauf, and Morroe Berger, The Darwon Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1975, pg.59)
Currently both in the Muslim and non-Muslim countries thousands of schools with each instructing tens of hundreds of students the art of memorizing the entire Quran. In the city of Chicago itself, there are close to 40+ Mosques, with many of them holding class for children instructing them the art of Quranic memorization.
Further Points of Consideration:
* Muslims recite Quran from their memory in all of their five daily prayers.
* Once a year, during the month of Fasting (Ramadan), Muslims listen to the complete recitation of the Quran by a Hafiz (Memorizer of the entire Quran).
* We could get together a handful of Hafeezs of Qur'an today and they could produce the whole Qur'an from collective memory without flaw.
* It's a tradition among Muslims that before any speech or presentation, marriages, sermons, Quran is recited.
Conclusion:
Quran is the only book, religious or secular, on the face of this planet that has been completely memorized by millions. These memorizers range from ages 6 and up, both Arabic and non-Arabic speakers, blacks, whites, Orientals, poor and wealthy.
Thus the process of memorization was continuous, from Prophet Muhammad's (Pbuh) time to ours with an unbroken chain.
"The method of transmitting the Quran from one generation to the next by having the young memorize the oral recitation of their elders had mitigated somewhat from the beginning the worst perils of relying solely on written records..." (John Burton, An Introduction to the Hadith, p.27. Edinburgh University Press: 1994)
"This phenomenon of Quranic recital means that the text has traversed the centuries in an unbroken living sequence of devotion. It cannot, therefore, be handled as an antiquarian thing, nor as a historical document out of a distant past. The fact of hifz (Quranic Memorization) has made the Qur'an a present possession through all the lapse of Muslim time and given it a human currency in every generation never allowing its relegation to a bare authority for reference alone" (Kenneth Cragg, The Mind of the Qur'an, p.26. George Allah & Unwin: 1973)
Written Text of the Quran
Prophet's Time:
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) was very vigilant in preserving the Quran in the written form from the very beginning up until the last revelation. The Prophet himself was unlettered, did not knew how to read and write, therefore he called upon his numerous scribes to write the revelation for him. Complete Quran thus existed in written form in the lifetime of the Prophet.
Whenever a new revelation use to come to him, the Prophet would immediately call one of his scribes to write it down.
'Some people visited Zaid Ibn Thabit (one of the scribes of the Prophet) and asked him to tell them some stories about Allah's Messenger. He replied: "I was his (Prophet's) neighbor, and when the inspiration descended on him he sent for me and I went to him and wrote it down for him..." (Tirmidhi, Mishkat al-Masabih, No. 5823)
Narrated by al-Bara': There was revealed 'Not equal are those believers who sit (home) and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah' (4:95). The Prophet said: 'Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the ink pot and scapula bone.' Then he (Prophet) said: 'Write: Not equal are those believers...' (Bukhari, 6.512)
Zaid is reported to have said: 'We use to compile the Qur'an from small scraps in the presence of the Apostle' (Suyuti, Itqan, I, p.99)
'The Prophet, while in Madinah, had about 48 scribes who use to write for him' (M.M.Azami, Kuttab al-Nabi,Beirut, 1974)
Abdullah Ibn 'Umar relates:... 'The Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) said: "Do not take the Qur'an on a journey with you, for I am afraid lest it should fall into the hands of the enemy"' (Muslim, III, NO. 4606, also 4607, 4608; Bukhari, 4.233)
During the Prophet's last pilgrimage, he gave a sermon in which he said: 'I have left with you something which if you will hold fast it you will never fall into error - a plain indication, the Book of God (Quran) and the practice of his Prophet...' (Ibn Hisham, Sira al-nabi, p.651)
'Besides the official manuscripts of the Quran kept with the Prophet, many of his companions use to possess their own written copies of the revelation'. (Suyuti, Itqan, I, p.62)
'A list of Companions of whom it is related that they had their own written collections included the following: Ibn Mas'ud, Ubay bin Ka'b, Ali, Ibn Abbas, Abu Musa, Hafsa, Anas bin Malik, Umar, Zaid bin Thabit, Ibn Al-Zubair, Abdullah ibn Amr, Aisha, Salim, Umm Salama, Ubaid bin Umar'. (Ibn Abi Dawud: Masahif, p.14)
'The best known among these (Prophet's Scribes) are: Ibn Masud, Ubay bin Kab and Zaid bin Thabit' (Bayard Dodge: The fihrist of al-Nadim: A Tenth Century Survey of Muslim Culture, New York, 1970, pp.53-63)
'Aisha and Hafsa, the wives of the Prophet had their own scripts written after the Prophet had died' (Muwatta Imam Malik, Lahore, 1980, no.307, 308, translation by M. Rahimuddin)
Conclusion:
The complete Quran was written down in front of the Prophet by several of his scribes and the companions possess their own copies of the Quran in the Prophet's lifetime. However the written material of the Quran in the Prophet's possession were not bounded between the two covers in the form of a book, because the period of revelation of the Qur'an continued up until just a few days before the Prophet's death. The task of collecting the Qur'an as a book was therefore undertaken by Abu Bakr, the first successor to the Prophet.
Written Quran in First Generation:
At the battle of Yamama (633 CE), six months after the death of the Prophet, a number of Muslims, who had memorized the Quran were killed. Hence it was feared that unless a written official copy of the Quran were prepared, a large part of revelation might be lost.
Narrated Zaid bin Thabit al-Ansari, one of the scribes of the Revelation: Abu Bakr sent for me after the casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra (memorizers of the Quran, were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said: "Umar has come to me and said, the people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle) of Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be some casualties among the Qurra at other places, whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost, unless you collect it (in one manuscript, or book)...so Abu Bakr said to me (Zaid bin Thabit): You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness) and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. Therefore, look for the Qur'an and collect it (in one manuscript)'...So I started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who know it by heart)..." (Bukhari 6.201)
Now, a committee was formed to under take the task of collecting the written Quranic material in the form of a book. The committee was headed by Zaid bin Thabit, the original scribe of the Prophet, who was also a memorizer of the complete Quran.
'...Zaid bin Thabit had committed the entire Quran to memory...' (Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran, translated by Bernard Weiss, et al. 1975, p.21.)
The compilers in this committee, in examining written material submitted to them, insisted on very stringent criteria as a safeguard against any errors.
1. The material must have been originally written down in the presence of the Prophet; nothing written down later on the basis of memory alone was to be accepted. (Ibn Hajar, Fath, Vol. IX, p.10)
2. The material must be confirmed by two witnesses, that is to say, by two trustworthy persons testifying that they themselves had heard the Prophet recite the passage in question. (ibid., p.11)
They could have done it from memory, but just to be safe, they collected all of the parts of the written Qur'an just to be doubly sure.
'The manuscript on which the Qur'an was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with Umar (the second successor), till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa, 'Umar's daughter (and wife of the Prophet)' (Bukhari, 6.201)
This copy of the Quran, prepared by the committee of competent companions of the Prophet (which included Memorizers of the Quran) was unanimous approved by the whole Muslim world. If they committee would have made an error even of a single alphabet in transcribing the Quran, the Qurra (memorizers of the Quran) which totaled in the tens of hundreds would have caught it right away and correct it. This is exactly where the neat check and balance system of preservation of the Quran comes into play, but which is lacking for any other scripture besides the Quran.
Official written copy by Uthman
The Quran was originally revealed in Quraishi dialect of Arabic. But to facilitate the people who speak other dialects, in their understanding and comprehension, Allah revealed the Quran finally in seven dialects of Arabic. After Prophet Muhammad's demise, Islam spread beyond Arabia. During the caliphate of Othman, some 15 years after the Prophet's death, the Caliph learnt that, due to regional and geographical factors, non-arabs in the other territories were reading and reciting the Quran, which is in Arabic, with different accent and pronunciation. Taking present day differences in pronunciation as an example, we see Australians pronouce certain English words differently from the English people ("day", for instance, is pronounced as "dai".) Caliph Othman therefore acted swiftly to prevent the differences in pronunciation and accent from getting wider. After consultation with leading authorities, he formed a committee comprising the former scribes of the Quran to produce a standard copy in the Quraishi dialect, the dialect in which the Quran was revealed to the Prophet and was memorized by his companions, to use it by other races or dialect groups so that when they read the Quran, the accent and intonation would be the same as that made by the man who received it - Prophet Muhammad. This was done by inserting "accent" marks so that a muslim of any race, from any country and of any educational level would be able to read the Quran with the correct accent even though he may not understand the Arabic language. This standard copy of the Quran was then used as a prototype in making copies of the Quran for distribution to other principle cities. Thus this compilation by Uthman's Committee is not a different version of the Quran (like the Biblical versions) but the same original revelation given to the Prophet by One God, Allah.
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to Uthman at the time when the people of Sham (Syria) and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Armenia and Azherbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their differences in the recitation of the Quran, so he said to Uthman, 'O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Quran) as Jews and Christians did before'. So Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, 'Send us the manuscripts of the Quran so that we may compile the Quranic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you'. Hafsa sent it to Uthman. 'Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Said bin Al-As and Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, 'In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Quran, then write it in their (Quraishi) tongue'. They did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied and ordered that all the other Quranic materials whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt..." (Bukhari, 6.510)
Again a very stringent criteria was set up by this Committee to prevent any alteration of the Revelation.
1. The earlier recension (Original copy prepared by Abu Bakr) was to serve as the principal basis of the new one. (Ibn Hajar, Bath, IX, p. 15)
2. Any doubt that might be raised as to the phrasing of a particular passage in the written text was to be dispelled by summoning persons known to have learned the passage in question from the Prophet. (Suyuti, Itqan, Vol.I, p.59)
3. Uthman himself was to supervise the work of the Council. (ibid., p.59)
When the final recension was completed, Uthman sent a copy of it to each of the major cities of Makka, Damascus, Kufa, Basra and Madina.
The action of Uthman to burn the other copies besides the final recension, though obviously drastic, was for the betterment and harmony of the whole community and was unanimously approved by the Companions of the Prophet.
Zaid ibn Thabit is reported to have said: "I saw the Companions of Muhammad (going about) saying, 'By God, Uthman has done well! By God, Uthman has done well!" (Naysaburi, al-,Nizam al-Din al-Hasan ibn Muhammad, Ghara'ib al-Quran wa-ragha'ib al-furqan. 4 vols. To date. Cairo, 1962)
Another esteemed Companion Musab ibn Sad ibn Abi Waqqas said: "I saw the people assemble in large number at Uthman's burning of the prescribed copies (of the Quran), and they were all pleased with his action; not a one spoke out against him" (Ibn Abi Dawud, p.12)
Ali ibn Abu Talib, the cousin of the Prophet and the fourth successor to the Prophet commented: "If I were in command in place of Uthman, I would have done the same" (Zarkashi, al-, Badr al-Din, Al-Burhan fi-ulum al-Quran, Cairo, 1957, Vol. I, p. 240.)
Manuscript Evidence : Early Qur'anic Manuscripts in our Possession:
Most of the early original Qur'an manuscripts with us now date from after the 2nd century. There are however a number of odd fragments of Qur'anic papyri which date from the 1st century as mentioned in Die Entstehung des Qur'an. There is also a complete Qur'an in the Egyptian National Library on parchment made from gazelle skin which has been dated 68AH.
Narrations differ as to how many copies were directly ordered and sent out by the Caliph 'Uthman, but they range from four to seven. It seems certain from various Muslim historical sources that several were lost, through fire amongst other things. There are four copies that are attributed to Uthman.
1) The Tashkent manuscript.
It seems that the copy in Tashkent also known as the Samarkand manuscript may be the "Imam" manuscript which Uthman kept for himself and was killed while reading it. A book has been written called Tarikh al Mushaf al Uthman fi Tashkent by Makhdun in which he gives a number of reasons for the authenticity of the manuscript;
1. The mushaf is written in a script used in the first 50 years of Hijra.
2. It is written on parchment made from gazelle.
3. There are no diacritical marks which is indicative of early manuscripts.
4. It does not have the vowelling marks which were introduced by Du'ali who died in AH68 suggesting that it is earlier than this.
The Kufic Script
To begin with the quote of a Muslim, al-Kalkashandi, he maintains (Kitab al-A'sha 3/p.15) that Kufic is said to have been the earliest script from which the others developed, he writes: "The Arabic script (khatt) is the one which is now known as Kufic. From it evolved all the present pens."
The terms that came to be applied to these scripts by early Arabs themselves could not have the chronological significance that some later Arabs and most Western writers have put to them. For is it the case that the name of a thing (e.g. Kufic) necessarily indicates its ultimate origin? The fact is that the script which later came to be known as Kufic has its origin far earlier than the founding of the town of Kufah. Atiq Siddiqui writes: "The Kufic or the angular variety of the Arabic script, has been traced about a hundred years before the foundation of the town Kufa, 638CE (AH17) to which place the style owes its name." [Siddiqui, The Story of Islamic Calligraphy, p.9] That is to say, the town was founded in AH17, and the Kufic style originated 100 years before that time! This conclusion is agreed upon by other writers; we read in The Splendour of Islamic Calligraphy: "However, Kufic script cannot have originated in Kufa, since that city was founded in 17/638, and the Kufic script is known to have existed before that date." [Sijelmasi and Khatibi, The Splendour of Islamic Calligraphy, p.97]
Dating of the origins of this script agree with early coin and rock inscriptions which have been commented upon by Western writers, some of them being:
31 A. H.
Tombstone of Abdar-Rahman ibn Khair al-Hajari
Nabia Abbott writes: "The earliest Muslim inscription, the tombstone of Abdar-Rahman ibn Khair al-Hajari, dated 31/652 . . . It is certainly not Makkan and can safely be considered as poor Kufic." [Abbott, Rise and Development, p.19]
Pre-93 A. H.
The milestone, dated from the time of the Caliph Abdal-Malik (reign 685 - 705CE), written in Kufic script. [see Welch, Calligraphy in the Arts of the Muslim World, p.44]
107 A. H.
Umayyad coin, minted in Damascus, inscribed in early Kufic script. The inscription reads: "There is none worthy of worship but Allah, He is One and has no partner" [British Museum, Room 34]
108 A. H.
Umayyad coin, minted at Wasit, Iraq, inscribed in early Kufic script. The inscription reads: "There is none worthy of worship but Allah, He is One and has no partner" [British Museum, Room 34]
2) The Topkapi manuscript.
Concerning the Topkapi manuscript there is an interesting clause in the Treaty of Versailles Article 246: "Within six months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, Germany will restore to his majesty King of Hijaz, the original Qur'an of Caliph Uthman."
It seems that the manuscript reached Istanbul but not Medina. Sheikh Mohammed Shaibanee from the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society in Kuwait certainly considers it as Uthmanic. Mohammed Hamidullah also seems to agree but with more caution. Martin Lings, amongst others, considers it second century. The reason for this late attribution is the development of the writing style (not script) and its comparative sophistication suggests a later period that the first century.
3) The Islamic Museum in Istanbul.
This again does not seem to be an original Uthmanic manuscript, but the oldest copy from the original. It is written in Makki script, and is almost certainly before the end of the first century.
4) Hussain mosque in Cairo.
This is the oldest of all the manuscripts, and is either original or an exact copy from the original with similarity to the Madini script.
There are also other Qur'ans attributed to Uthman.
Ibn Nadim and Ibn Ain Aba claim that Ali ibn Abi Talib wrote three Qur'ans of which there is one in Dar al Qutb, Najaf in Iraq and it has written on it "Ali ibn Abi Talib wrote it in the year 40H", one in Egypt and one in Iran. It seems almost impossible that the Iman Riba manuscript in Iran is actually written by the hand of Ali because the script, although developed at his time, would not have been learnt by him since the dissentions in his rule kept him too busy to be able to learn such an art. It is however possible that he ordered someone else to write it.
The most significant Qur'an attributed to Ali ibn Talib is that in the Hussain Mosque in Egypt. The writing is early Kufic, it has many similarities to Madini, which is the form of writing that Ali would have used. It could well be Ali's own writing.
There is also existing Qur'anic writings attributed to Hassan and Hussain and Zain al Abideen (sons of Ali ibn Talib). There are also other copies such as the one attributed to Hajjaj ibn Muwawiya dated AH49 and Ukba ibn Amir dated AH52 in Turkey. More information on this topic can be found in Tarikh al Khatim al Arabi of Dr Salah ud Din al Munjid from where these details have been extracted.
It is also worth mentioning that there is no deviation in these manuscripts from the Qur'an in our possession today.
The "Institute fur Koranforschung" of the University of Munich, Germany, had collected and collated some 42,000 complete or incomplete copies of the Qur'an, gathered from all over the world. After some fifty years of study they reported that in terms of differences between the various copies there were no variants, except occasional mistakes of copyists which could easily be ascertained. The institute was destroyed by American bombs during the Second World War.
Conclusion:
It can now be proclaimed, through the evidences provided above, with full conviction and certainty that the Prophet memorized the entire Quran, had it written down in front of him through his scribes, many of his companions memorized the entire revelation and in turn possess their own private copies for recitation and contemplation. This process of dual preservation of the Quran in written and in the memory was carried in each subsequent generation till our time, without any deletion, interpolation or corruption of this Divine Book.
Sir Williams Muir states, "There is otherwise every security, internal and external, that we possess the text which Muhammad himself gave forth and used" (Sir Williams Muir, Life of Mohamet, Vol.I. Introduction)
Sir William Muir continues, "There is probably no other book in the world which has remained twelve centuries (now fourteen) with so pure a text" (ibid)
This divine protection provided to the Quran, the Last Reveled Guide to Humanity, is proclaimed by One God in the Quran:
"We (Allah) have, without doubt, send down the Message; and We will assuredly Guard it (from corruption)" (Quran - Chapter 15, Verse 9) ('We' is the plural of Majesty, and not the Christian plural of trinity)
Compare this divine and historical preservation of the Quran with any literature, be it religious or secular and it becomes evident that none possess similar miraculous protection. And as states earlier, a belief is as authentic as the authenticity of its scripture. And if any scripture is not preserved, how can we be certain that the belief arising out of this scripture is divine or man made, and if we are not sure about the belief itself, then our salvation in the hereafter would be jeopardized. Thus this above evidence for the protection of the Quran from any corruption is a strong hint about its divine origin. We request all open hearted persons to read, understand and live the Quran, the 'Manual for Mankind'.
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Imagine this scenario:
A professor gives a three hour lecture to his students. Imagine still that none of the students memorized this speech of the professor or wrote it down. Now forty years after that speech, if these same students decided to replicate professor's complete speech word for word, would they be able to do it? Obviously not. Because the only two modes of preservation historically is through writing and memory.
Therefore, for any claimants to proclaim that their scripture is preserved in purity, they have to provide concrete evidence that the Scripture was written in its entirety or memorized in its entirety from the time it was revealed to our time, in a continuous and unbroken chain. Otherwise, there is a genuine possibility that the written scripture may loose its purity through unintentional and intentional interpolations due to scribal errors, corruption by the enemies, pages getting decomposed etc, and these errors would be concurrently incorporated into subsequent texts, ultimately loosing its purity through ages.
Now, of all the religions mentioned above, None of them fit the required criteria, except one: This unique scripture is the Qur'an - revelation bestowed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) 1,400+ years ago, as a guidance for all of humankind.
Lets analyze the claim of the preservation of the Quran...
Memorization
In the ancient times, when writing was scarcely used, memory and oral transmission was exercised and strengthened to a degree now almost unknown. However, the Qur'an was preserved by memory and still is. Writing was only a secondary way of preserving it. Numerous companions (i.e. at least dozens-upon-dozens) memorized the entire Qur'an, and hundreds memorized parts of it. The Arabs at the time were an oral society.
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh): The First Memorizer
It was in this 'oral' society that Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) was born in Mecca in the year 570 C.E. At the age of 40, he started receiving divine Revelations from the One God, Allah, through Archangel Gabriel. This process of divine revelations continued for about 22.5 years just before he passed away.
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) miraculously memorized each revelation and used to proclaim it to his Companions. Angel Gabriel used to refresh the Quranic memory of the Prophet each year.
"The Prophet (Pbuh) was the most generous person, and he used to become more so (generous) particularly in the month of Ramadan because Gabriel used to meet him every night of the month of Ramadan till it elapsed. Allah's Messenger (Pbuh) use to recite the Qur'an for him. When Gabriel met him, he use to become more generous than the fast wind in doing good." (Transmitted by Ibn Abbas, collected in Sahih Al-Bukhari)
"Gabriel used to repeat the recitation of the Qur'an with the Prophet (Pbuh) once a year, but he repeated it twice with him in the year he (Prophet) died." (Transmitted by Abu Hurayrah, collected in Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6.520)
The Prophet himself use to stay up a greater part of the night in prayers and use to recite Quran from memory.
Prophet's Companions: The First Generation Memorizers
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) encouraged his companions to learn and teach the Quran:
"The most superior among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it" (Jalal al-Din Suyuti, 'Al-Itqan fi-ulum al-Quran, Vol. I p.124)
Some of the companions who memorized the Quran were: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Abu Huraira, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As, Aisha, Hafsa, and Umm Salama.
Abu Bakr, the first male Muslim to convert to Islam used to recite the Quran publicly in front of his house in Makka.
The Prophet also listened to the recitation of the Qur'an by the Companions: 'Allah Apostle said to me (Abdullah bin Mas'ud): "Recite (of the Quran) to me". I said: "Shall I recite it to you although it had been revealed to you?!" He Said: "I like to hear (the Quran) from others". So I recited Sura-an-Nisa' till I reached: "How (will it be) then when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these people?"' (4:41) 'Then he said: "Stop!" Behold, his eyes were shedding tears then'.
Many Quranic memorizers (Qurra) were present during the lifetime of the Prophet and afterwards through out the Muslim world.
'At the battle of Yamama, many memorizers of the Quran were martyred. 'Narrated Zaid bin Thabit al Ansari, who was one of those who use to write the Divine Revelations: Abu Bakr sent me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said: "Umar has come to me and said, the people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be some casualties among the Qurra (those who memorized the entire Quran) at other place..."' (Al-Bukhari, 6.201)
Over the centuries of the Islamic Era, there have arisen throughout the various regions of the Islamic world literally thousands of schools devoted specially to the teaching of the Quran to children for the purpose of memorization. These are called, in Arabic, katatib (singular: Kuttab). It is said that the Caliph 'Umar (634-44) first ordered the construction of these schools in the age of the great expansion.
Second Generation Memorizers:
"...Quranic schools were set up everywhere. As an example to illustrate this I may refer to a great Muslim scholar, of the second Muslim generation, Ibn 'Amir, who was the judge of Damascus under the Caliph Umar Ibn 'Abd Al-Aziz. It is reported that in his school for teaching the Quran there were 400 disciples to teach in his absence." ((Ibn al Jazari, Kitab al-Nash fi al-Qir'at al-Ashr, (Cairo al-Halabi, n.d._ vol. 2, p. 254, also Ahmad Makki al-Ansari, al-Difa' An al-Qur'an. (Cairo, Dar al-Ma'arif, 1973 C.E.), part I, p.120)
Memorizers in Subsequent Generations:
The Number of Katatib and similar schools in Cairo (Egypt) alone at one time exceeded two thousand. (Labib as-Said, the Recited Koran, Translated by Bernard Weiss, M.A.Rauf, and Morroe Berger, The Darwon Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1975, pg.59)
Currently both in the Muslim and non-Muslim countries thousands of schools with each instructing tens of hundreds of students the art of memorizing the entire Quran. In the city of Chicago itself, there are close to 40+ Mosques, with many of them holding class for children instructing them the art of Quranic memorization.
Further Points of Consideration:
* Muslims recite Quran from their memory in all of their five daily prayers.
* Once a year, during the month of Fasting (Ramadan), Muslims listen to the complete recitation of the Quran by a Hafiz (Memorizer of the entire Quran).
* We could get together a handful of Hafeezs of Qur'an today and they could produce the whole Qur'an from collective memory without flaw.
* It's a tradition among Muslims that before any speech or presentation, marriages, sermons, Quran is recited.
Conclusion:
Quran is the only book, religious or secular, on the face of this planet that has been completely memorized by millions. These memorizers range from ages 6 and up, both Arabic and non-Arabic speakers, blacks, whites, Orientals, poor and wealthy.
Thus the process of memorization was continuous, from Prophet Muhammad's (Pbuh) time to ours with an unbroken chain.
"The method of transmitting the Quran from one generation to the next by having the young memorize the oral recitation of their elders had mitigated somewhat from the beginning the worst perils of relying solely on written records..." (John Burton, An Introduction to the Hadith, p.27. Edinburgh University Press: 1994)
"This phenomenon of Quranic recital means that the text has traversed the centuries in an unbroken living sequence of devotion. It cannot, therefore, be handled as an antiquarian thing, nor as a historical document out of a distant past. The fact of hifz (Quranic Memorization) has made the Qur'an a present possession through all the lapse of Muslim time and given it a human currency in every generation never allowing its relegation to a bare authority for reference alone" (Kenneth Cragg, The Mind of the Qur'an, p.26. George Allah & Unwin: 1973)
Written Text of the Quran
Prophet's Time:
Prophet Muhammad (Pbuh) was very vigilant in preserving the Quran in the written form from the very beginning up until the last revelation. The Prophet himself was unlettered, did not knew how to read and write, therefore he called upon his numerous scribes to write the revelation for him. Complete Quran thus existed in written form in the lifetime of the Prophet.
Whenever a new revelation use to come to him, the Prophet would immediately call one of his scribes to write it down.
'Some people visited Zaid Ibn Thabit (one of the scribes of the Prophet) and asked him to tell them some stories about Allah's Messenger. He replied: "I was his (Prophet's) neighbor, and when the inspiration descended on him he sent for me and I went to him and wrote it down for him..." (Tirmidhi, Mishkat al-Masabih, No. 5823)
Narrated by al-Bara': There was revealed 'Not equal are those believers who sit (home) and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah' (4:95). The Prophet said: 'Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the ink pot and scapula bone.' Then he (Prophet) said: 'Write: Not equal are those believers...' (Bukhari, 6.512)
Zaid is reported to have said: 'We use to compile the Qur'an from small scraps in the presence of the Apostle' (Suyuti, Itqan, I, p.99)
'The Prophet, while in Madinah, had about 48 scribes who use to write for him' (M.M.Azami, Kuttab al-Nabi,Beirut, 1974)
Abdullah Ibn 'Umar relates:... 'The Messenger of Allah (Pbuh) said: "Do not take the Qur'an on a journey with you, for I am afraid lest it should fall into the hands of the enemy"' (Muslim, III, NO. 4606, also 4607, 4608; Bukhari, 4.233)
During the Prophet's last pilgrimage, he gave a sermon in which he said: 'I have left with you something which if you will hold fast it you will never fall into error - a plain indication, the Book of God (Quran) and the practice of his Prophet...' (Ibn Hisham, Sira al-nabi, p.651)
'Besides the official manuscripts of the Quran kept with the Prophet, many of his companions use to possess their own written copies of the revelation'. (Suyuti, Itqan, I, p.62)
'A list of Companions of whom it is related that they had their own written collections included the following: Ibn Mas'ud, Ubay bin Ka'b, Ali, Ibn Abbas, Abu Musa, Hafsa, Anas bin Malik, Umar, Zaid bin Thabit, Ibn Al-Zubair, Abdullah ibn Amr, Aisha, Salim, Umm Salama, Ubaid bin Umar'. (Ibn Abi Dawud: Masahif, p.14)
'The best known among these (Prophet's Scribes) are: Ibn Masud, Ubay bin Kab and Zaid bin Thabit' (Bayard Dodge: The fihrist of al-Nadim: A Tenth Century Survey of Muslim Culture, New York, 1970, pp.53-63)
'Aisha and Hafsa, the wives of the Prophet had their own scripts written after the Prophet had died' (Muwatta Imam Malik, Lahore, 1980, no.307, 308, translation by M. Rahimuddin)
Conclusion:
The complete Quran was written down in front of the Prophet by several of his scribes and the companions possess their own copies of the Quran in the Prophet's lifetime. However the written material of the Quran in the Prophet's possession were not bounded between the two covers in the form of a book, because the period of revelation of the Qur'an continued up until just a few days before the Prophet's death. The task of collecting the Qur'an as a book was therefore undertaken by Abu Bakr, the first successor to the Prophet.
Written Quran in First Generation:
At the battle of Yamama (633 CE), six months after the death of the Prophet, a number of Muslims, who had memorized the Quran were killed. Hence it was feared that unless a written official copy of the Quran were prepared, a large part of revelation might be lost.
Narrated Zaid bin Thabit al-Ansari, one of the scribes of the Revelation: Abu Bakr sent for me after the casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra (memorizers of the Quran, were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said: "Umar has come to me and said, the people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle) of Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be some casualties among the Qurra at other places, whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost, unless you collect it (in one manuscript, or book)...so Abu Bakr said to me (Zaid bin Thabit): You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness) and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. Therefore, look for the Qur'an and collect it (in one manuscript)'...So I started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who know it by heart)..." (Bukhari 6.201)
Now, a committee was formed to under take the task of collecting the written Quranic material in the form of a book. The committee was headed by Zaid bin Thabit, the original scribe of the Prophet, who was also a memorizer of the complete Quran.
'...Zaid bin Thabit had committed the entire Quran to memory...' (Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran, translated by Bernard Weiss, et al. 1975, p.21.)
The compilers in this committee, in examining written material submitted to them, insisted on very stringent criteria as a safeguard against any errors.
1. The material must have been originally written down in the presence of the Prophet; nothing written down later on the basis of memory alone was to be accepted. (Ibn Hajar, Fath, Vol. IX, p.10)
2. The material must be confirmed by two witnesses, that is to say, by two trustworthy persons testifying that they themselves had heard the Prophet recite the passage in question. (ibid., p.11)
They could have done it from memory, but just to be safe, they collected all of the parts of the written Qur'an just to be doubly sure.
'The manuscript on which the Qur'an was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with Umar (the second successor), till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa, 'Umar's daughter (and wife of the Prophet)' (Bukhari, 6.201)
This copy of the Quran, prepared by the committee of competent companions of the Prophet (which included Memorizers of the Quran) was unanimous approved by the whole Muslim world. If they committee would have made an error even of a single alphabet in transcribing the Quran, the Qurra (memorizers of the Quran) which totaled in the tens of hundreds would have caught it right away and correct it. This is exactly where the neat check and balance system of preservation of the Quran comes into play, but which is lacking for any other scripture besides the Quran.
Official written copy by Uthman
The Quran was originally revealed in Quraishi dialect of Arabic. But to facilitate the people who speak other dialects, in their understanding and comprehension, Allah revealed the Quran finally in seven dialects of Arabic. After Prophet Muhammad's demise, Islam spread beyond Arabia. During the caliphate of Othman, some 15 years after the Prophet's death, the Caliph learnt that, due to regional and geographical factors, non-arabs in the other territories were reading and reciting the Quran, which is in Arabic, with different accent and pronunciation. Taking present day differences in pronunciation as an example, we see Australians pronouce certain English words differently from the English people ("day", for instance, is pronounced as "dai".) Caliph Othman therefore acted swiftly to prevent the differences in pronunciation and accent from getting wider. After consultation with leading authorities, he formed a committee comprising the former scribes of the Quran to produce a standard copy in the Quraishi dialect, the dialect in which the Quran was revealed to the Prophet and was memorized by his companions, to use it by other races or dialect groups so that when they read the Quran, the accent and intonation would be the same as that made by the man who received it - Prophet Muhammad. This was done by inserting "accent" marks so that a muslim of any race, from any country and of any educational level would be able to read the Quran with the correct accent even though he may not understand the Arabic language. This standard copy of the Quran was then used as a prototype in making copies of the Quran for distribution to other principle cities. Thus this compilation by Uthman's Committee is not a different version of the Quran (like the Biblical versions) but the same original revelation given to the Prophet by One God, Allah.
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to Uthman at the time when the people of Sham (Syria) and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Armenia and Azherbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their differences in the recitation of the Quran, so he said to Uthman, 'O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Quran) as Jews and Christians did before'. So Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, 'Send us the manuscripts of the Quran so that we may compile the Quranic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you'. Hafsa sent it to Uthman. 'Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Said bin Al-As and Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, 'In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Quran, then write it in their (Quraishi) tongue'. They did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied and ordered that all the other Quranic materials whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt..." (Bukhari, 6.510)
Again a very stringent criteria was set up by this Committee to prevent any alteration of the Revelation.
1. The earlier recension (Original copy prepared by Abu Bakr) was to serve as the principal basis of the new one. (Ibn Hajar, Bath, IX, p. 15)
2. Any doubt that might be raised as to the phrasing of a particular passage in the written text was to be dispelled by summoning persons known to have learned the passage in question from the Prophet. (Suyuti, Itqan, Vol.I, p.59)
3. Uthman himself was to supervise the work of the Council. (ibid., p.59)
When the final recension was completed, Uthman sent a copy of it to each of the major cities of Makka, Damascus, Kufa, Basra and Madina.
The action of Uthman to burn the other copies besides the final recension, though obviously drastic, was for the betterment and harmony of the whole community and was unanimously approved by the Companions of the Prophet.
Zaid ibn Thabit is reported to have said: "I saw the Companions of Muhammad (going about) saying, 'By God, Uthman has done well! By God, Uthman has done well!" (Naysaburi, al-,Nizam al-Din al-Hasan ibn Muhammad, Ghara'ib al-Quran wa-ragha'ib al-furqan. 4 vols. To date. Cairo, 1962)
Another esteemed Companion Musab ibn Sad ibn Abi Waqqas said: "I saw the people assemble in large number at Uthman's burning of the prescribed copies (of the Quran), and they were all pleased with his action; not a one spoke out against him" (Ibn Abi Dawud, p.12)
Ali ibn Abu Talib, the cousin of the Prophet and the fourth successor to the Prophet commented: "If I were in command in place of Uthman, I would have done the same" (Zarkashi, al-, Badr al-Din, Al-Burhan fi-ulum al-Quran, Cairo, 1957, Vol. I, p. 240.)
Manuscript Evidence : Early Qur'anic Manuscripts in our Possession:
Most of the early original Qur'an manuscripts with us now date from after the 2nd century. There are however a number of odd fragments of Qur'anic papyri which date from the 1st century as mentioned in Die Entstehung des Qur'an. There is also a complete Qur'an in the Egyptian National Library on parchment made from gazelle skin which has been dated 68AH.
Narrations differ as to how many copies were directly ordered and sent out by the Caliph 'Uthman, but they range from four to seven. It seems certain from various Muslim historical sources that several were lost, through fire amongst other things. There are four copies that are attributed to Uthman.
1) The Tashkent manuscript.
It seems that the copy in Tashkent also known as the Samarkand manuscript may be the "Imam" manuscript which Uthman kept for himself and was killed while reading it. A book has been written called Tarikh al Mushaf al Uthman fi Tashkent by Makhdun in which he gives a number of reasons for the authenticity of the manuscript;
1. The mushaf is written in a script used in the first 50 years of Hijra.
2. It is written on parchment made from gazelle.
3. There are no diacritical marks which is indicative of early manuscripts.
4. It does not have the vowelling marks which were introduced by Du'ali who died in AH68 suggesting that it is earlier than this.
The Kufic Script
To begin with the quote of a Muslim, al-Kalkashandi, he maintains (Kitab al-A'sha 3/p.15) that Kufic is said to have been the earliest script from which the others developed, he writes: "The Arabic script (khatt) is the one which is now known as Kufic. From it evolved all the present pens."
The terms that came to be applied to these scripts by early Arabs themselves could not have the chronological significance that some later Arabs and most Western writers have put to them. For is it the case that the name of a thing (e.g. Kufic) necessarily indicates its ultimate origin? The fact is that the script which later came to be known as Kufic has its origin far earlier than the founding of the town of Kufah. Atiq Siddiqui writes: "The Kufic or the angular variety of the Arabic script, has been traced about a hundred years before the foundation of the town Kufa, 638CE (AH17) to which place the style owes its name." [Siddiqui, The Story of Islamic Calligraphy, p.9] That is to say, the town was founded in AH17, and the Kufic style originated 100 years before that time! This conclusion is agreed upon by other writers; we read in The Splendour of Islamic Calligraphy: "However, Kufic script cannot have originated in Kufa, since that city was founded in 17/638, and the Kufic script is known to have existed before that date." [Sijelmasi and Khatibi, The Splendour of Islamic Calligraphy, p.97]
Dating of the origins of this script agree with early coin and rock inscriptions which have been commented upon by Western writers, some of them being:
31 A. H.
Tombstone of Abdar-Rahman ibn Khair al-Hajari
Nabia Abbott writes: "The earliest Muslim inscription, the tombstone of Abdar-Rahman ibn Khair al-Hajari, dated 31/652 . . . It is certainly not Makkan and can safely be considered as poor Kufic." [Abbott, Rise and Development, p.19]
Pre-93 A. H.
The milestone, dated from the time of the Caliph Abdal-Malik (reign 685 - 705CE), written in Kufic script. [see Welch, Calligraphy in the Arts of the Muslim World, p.44]
107 A. H.
Umayyad coin, minted in Damascus, inscribed in early Kufic script. The inscription reads: "There is none worthy of worship but Allah, He is One and has no partner" [British Museum, Room 34]
108 A. H.
Umayyad coin, minted at Wasit, Iraq, inscribed in early Kufic script. The inscription reads: "There is none worthy of worship but Allah, He is One and has no partner" [British Museum, Room 34]
2) The Topkapi manuscript.
Concerning the Topkapi manuscript there is an interesting clause in the Treaty of Versailles Article 246: "Within six months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, Germany will restore to his majesty King of Hijaz, the original Qur'an of Caliph Uthman."
It seems that the manuscript reached Istanbul but not Medina. Sheikh Mohammed Shaibanee from the Revival of Islamic Heritage Society in Kuwait certainly considers it as Uthmanic. Mohammed Hamidullah also seems to agree but with more caution. Martin Lings, amongst others, considers it second century. The reason for this late attribution is the development of the writing style (not script) and its comparative sophistication suggests a later period that the first century.
3) The Islamic Museum in Istanbul.
This again does not seem to be an original Uthmanic manuscript, but the oldest copy from the original. It is written in Makki script, and is almost certainly before the end of the first century.
4) Hussain mosque in Cairo.
This is the oldest of all the manuscripts, and is either original or an exact copy from the original with similarity to the Madini script.
There are also other Qur'ans attributed to Uthman.
Ibn Nadim and Ibn Ain Aba claim that Ali ibn Abi Talib wrote three Qur'ans of which there is one in Dar al Qutb, Najaf in Iraq and it has written on it "Ali ibn Abi Talib wrote it in the year 40H", one in Egypt and one in Iran. It seems almost impossible that the Iman Riba manuscript in Iran is actually written by the hand of Ali because the script, although developed at his time, would not have been learnt by him since the dissentions in his rule kept him too busy to be able to learn such an art. It is however possible that he ordered someone else to write it.
The most significant Qur'an attributed to Ali ibn Talib is that in the Hussain Mosque in Egypt. The writing is early Kufic, it has many similarities to Madini, which is the form of writing that Ali would have used. It could well be Ali's own writing.
There is also existing Qur'anic writings attributed to Hassan and Hussain and Zain al Abideen (sons of Ali ibn Talib). There are also other copies such as the one attributed to Hajjaj ibn Muwawiya dated AH49 and Ukba ibn Amir dated AH52 in Turkey. More information on this topic can be found in Tarikh al Khatim al Arabi of Dr Salah ud Din al Munjid from where these details have been extracted.
It is also worth mentioning that there is no deviation in these manuscripts from the Qur'an in our possession today.
The "Institute fur Koranforschung" of the University of Munich, Germany, had collected and collated some 42,000 complete or incomplete copies of the Qur'an, gathered from all over the world. After some fifty years of study they reported that in terms of differences between the various copies there were no variants, except occasional mistakes of copyists which could easily be ascertained. The institute was destroyed by American bombs during the Second World War.
Conclusion:
It can now be proclaimed, through the evidences provided above, with full conviction and certainty that the Prophet memorized the entire Quran, had it written down in front of him through his scribes, many of his companions memorized the entire revelation and in turn possess their own private copies for recitation and contemplation. This process of dual preservation of the Quran in written and in the memory was carried in each subsequent generation till our time, without any deletion, interpolation or corruption of this Divine Book.
Sir Williams Muir states, "There is otherwise every security, internal and external, that we possess the text which Muhammad himself gave forth and used" (Sir Williams Muir, Life of Mohamet, Vol.I. Introduction)
Sir William Muir continues, "There is probably no other book in the world which has remained twelve centuries (now fourteen) with so pure a text" (ibid)
This divine protection provided to the Quran, the Last Reveled Guide to Humanity, is proclaimed by One God in the Quran:
"We (Allah) have, without doubt, send down the Message; and We will assuredly Guard it (from corruption)" (Quran - Chapter 15, Verse 9) ('We' is the plural of Majesty, and not the Christian plural of trinity)
Compare this divine and historical preservation of the Quran with any literature, be it religious or secular and it becomes evident that none possess similar miraculous protection. And as states earlier, a belief is as authentic as the authenticity of its scripture. And if any scripture is not preserved, how can we be certain that the belief arising out of this scripture is divine or man made, and if we are not sure about the belief itself, then our salvation in the hereafter would be jeopardized. Thus this above evidence for the protection of the Quran from any corruption is a strong hint about its divine origin. We request all open hearted persons to read, understand and live the Quran, the 'Manual for Mankind'.
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Who Wrote the Holy Quran?
Quran, in Arabic, could only have been written by ONE of 3 possible sources:
1. the Arabs
2. Mohammad (peace be upon him)
3. God (Allah)
(NOTE: The first part is not meant to be a rigorous proof. It is something to ponder upon. However, the second part, about Mohammad [pbuh] wrote it' contains more extensive proof.)
Besides the above mentioned sources, Quran couldn't possibly have been written by ANYONE else.
No other source is possible, because Quran is written in pure, rich, and poetic Arabic, which was not known to anyone other than the above mentioned sources, at that time. The Arabic language was at its peak in expression, richness, vocabulary, artistic, and poetic value during the time the Quran was being revealed. Anyone speaking the classical Arabic (the Arabic of Quran at the time it was revealed) would argue that a non-Arab entity couldn't possibly have written such an extensive and brilliant piece of literature in the Arabic language. Quran could only have been written by an Arabic speaking entity. An entity, who's knowledge, style, vocabulary, grammar, and way of expression was so powerful that it impacted the entire Arabian peninsula, the east, the west, and continues to impact people all over the globe today!
At no other time, in the history of Arabic language, had it ever achieved its peak in expression, literature, and development, than the time of Arabia during the 6th Century, the time when Quran was being revealed. At no other time in the history of Arabic language had the language ever achieved its highest potential than the time of Arabia during the 6th Century, the time when Quran was being revealed. The language reached its peak in richness, artistic value, and poetry, during that time. With the Arabic language at its peak, and the best of Arabic writers, poets present in Arabia, it is impossible that a non-Arabic speaking entity would write a book like Quran and have such a dynamite impact on the Arabs!
So only an Arabic speaking entity could have write Quran. With that in mind, we're left with three choices:
1 - the Arabs wrote it
2 - Mohammad (pbuh) wrote it
3 - Allah (swt) Inspired it
Lets examine the three choices one by one.
(1) Arabs Wrote it?
What Quran teaches goes DIRECTLY against the pagan Arab culture, religion, and gods, that existed before the Quran was revealed. Quran condemns idol worshipping, but the Arabs, loved their idol gods, and worshipped them regularly. Quran raised the status of women; the pagan Arabs treated women next to animals. The Arabs would never write something that goes against their most important belief of idol worshipping. Quran goes against most of the social habits (such as backbiting, slandering, name calling, etc) which the Arabs were heavily indulged into. Quran condemns and prohibits taking interest on money, whereas, the Arabs freely levied heavy interest rates in loans and businesses. Quran condemns and prohibits Alcohol drinking, whereas, the Arabs consumed alcohol freely. The Quran condemns and prohibits gambling, whereas, the Arabs were some of the worst gamblers. The Arabs would never write something so comprehensively against just about all of their customs and culture and religious beliefs, as the Quran is.
During the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the Arabs would indulge in all the social habits that the Quran condemns and prohibits. How can Arabs then write something that would negate their entire society's norms and ideologies?
Did a group of Arabs or an individual Arab write Quran? Perhaps a rebel Arab Bedouin, or a society's misfit, or someone with different ideals and norms decided one day to write Quran? The answer to those questions are also 'no'. Because, if we read Quran, we notice that there is no author! No individual has his/her name written on the cover of Quran! Anytime an individual writes a book, he/she writes his/her name on the cover. The author's name always appears on his/her book, and there is always an author who is credited for writing that book. No one in the history of the world has EVER claimed to have written the Quran, nor anyone's name ever appeared in front of the Quran as been the 'author'. This is the only book in the world without an author. No one in the world has ever been accused of writing the Holy Quran, except the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), by non-muslims.
Quran has no author, and no group or individual in Arabia ever claimed to have written it, nor any group or an individual recited, taught, and explained Quran except the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers. The Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) was the only Arabian who first practiced, explained, and preached Quran, and ended up making a lot of Arab tribes enemies. Any historian, Muslim or non-Muslim would argue that the only possible source of Quran can be the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), the man responsible to recite it, teach it, and explain it to the people of Arabia. In fact, many historians today still think that only Mohammad (pbuh) could possibly have written it.
This leads one to conclude that the Prophet (pbuh) must have written it!
(2) Mohammad (pbuh) wrote it?
First, he was illiterate !! How can an illiterate person come up with such a rich, poetic, intellectual, and inspiring text that it rocked the entire Arabia?
Mohammad (pbuh) never went to school! No one taught him. He had no teacher of any kind in any subjects. How can he have the knowledge of all the science, astronomy, oceanography, etc that is contained in the Quran? (For example, the mention of ocean currents, stars, earth, moon, sun and their fixed paths in Surah Rahman; and many other scientific statements that are found in Quran, and cannot be stated in this short article)
When Quran was revealed, the Arabic language was at its peak in richness, poetic value, literature, etc. Quran came and challenged the best literature in Arabic, the best poetry in Arabic of the time. Muhammad (pbuh) being illiterate couldn't possibly have come up with something so immaculate that it even exceeded the best of poetry, and literature in Arabic at the time of the language's PEAK development. Arabic language had never been so rich in expression, poetic value, vocabulary, and variety in literature, as it was in the time of Quran. At a time like this, Quran came and exceeded the best of Arabic in all aspects of the language: poetry, literature, expression, etc. Any classical Arabic speaker would appreciate the unbeaten, unchallenged, and unmatched beauty of the language of Quran.
An illiterate man is simply not capable of writing such a book.
Mohammad (pbuh) had no reason to come up with something like Quran, and cause the entire society of Arabia to become his enemy. Why would he do something like that? Why would he write something going against almost all of the norms of the society, and lose his family, relatives, friends, and other loved ones, and not to mention all the wealth he lost. Also, what the prophet Mohammad (pbuh) used to say is recorded in what we call his hadeeth (sunnah). If we look at the Arabic style of the hadeeth, and compare it with the style of Quran, we can clearly see that they are clearly DIFFERENT, and DISTINGUISHABLE Arabic styles. The prophet (pbuh) spoke in public. It does not make sense that a man has two UNIQUE, Distinguishable, and completely different styles of speech in public. Yet another reason why Mohammad (pbuh) couldn't possibly have written Quran.
Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years ! A very long time! Is it possible for someone to maintain the same exact style of Arabic speech , as demonstrated in Quran over 23 years?
Here's what the famous Scholar, Ahmad Deedat said:
WAS QURAN WRITTEN OR INSPIRED?
"Behold! The angels said: "O Mary! God has chosen you and purified you - Chosen you above the women of all nations."" Qur'an-3:42
THE SOURCE OF HIS MESSAGE
"Chosen you above the women of all nations." Such an honor is not to be found given to Mary even in the Christian Bible!
Knowing full-well, and believing as we do, that the whole Quran is the veritable Word of God, we will nevertheless agree, for the sake of argument, with the enemies of Muhammad (pbuh) for a moment, that he wrote it. We can now expect some cooperation from the unbeliever.
Ask him, "Have you any qualms in agreeing that Muhammad (pbuh) was an Arab?" Only an opinionated fool will hesitate to agree. In that case there is no sense in pursuing any discussion. Cut short the talk. Close the book!
With the man of reason, we proceed. "That this Arab, in the first instance, was addressing other Arabs. He was not talking to Indian Muslims, Chinese Muslims, or Nigerian Muslims. He was addressing his own people - the Arabs. Whether they agreed with him or not, he told them in the most sublime form - words that were seared into the hearts and minds of his listeners that Mary the mother of Jesus -A JEWESS- was chosen above the women of all nations. Not his own mother, nor his wife nor his daughter, nor any other Arab woman, but a Jewess! Can one explain this? Because to everyone his own mother or wife, or daughter would come before other women.
Why would the Prophet of Islam honor a woman from his opposition! and a Jewess at that! belonging to a race which had been looking down upon his people for three thousand years? Just as they still look down upon their Arab brethren today.
SARAH AND HAGAR
The Jews get their cock-eyed racism from their Holy Bible, where they are told their father, Abraham, had two wives -Sarah and Hagar. They say that they are the children of Abraham through Sarah, his legitimate wife; that their Arab brethren have descended through Hagar, a "bondwoman", and that as such, the Arabs are inferior breed.
Will anyone please explain the anomaly as to why Muhammad (pbuh) (if he is the author) chose this Jewess for such honor? The answer is simple - HE HAD NO CHOICE - he had no right to speak of his own desire. "IT IS NO LESS THAN AN INSPIRATION SENT DOWN TO HIM." (Qur'an, 53:4)
SURA MARYAM
There is a Chapter in the Holy Quran, named Sura Maryam "Chapter Mary" (19) named in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ (pbuh); again, such an honor is not to be found given to Mary in the Christian Bible. Out of the 66 books of the Protestants and 73 of the Roman Catholics, not one is named after Mary or her son. You will find books named after Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul and two score more obscure names, but not a single one is that of Jesus or Mary!
If Muhammad (pbuh) was the author of the Holy Quran, then he would not have failed to include in it with MARYAM, the mother of Jesus, his own mother - AMINA, his dear wife - KHADIJA, or his beloved daughter - FATIMA. But No! No! this can never be. The Quran is not his handiwork!
Another Muslim writes (in a post):
From: Abu Abdullah;
I was reading about the charge that the prophet, Muhammed (pbuh), has written the Quran himself. Before you go any further in reading this post, please ask yourself whether you are a honest truth seeker or just another argumentative person, if the former, continue, otherwise, save your time and jump to the next post.
Islam is based on faith that is supported by a number of strong miracles such as knowing what events to take place ahead of time or coming up with supernatural deeds in front of people. The holy Quran has these signs and much more. First, The holy Quran predicted many events to take place ahead of the time of the revelation of that verse; for example, predicting the destruction of Persian empire at a time where the later had a monumental victory over Rome. If the prophet, as some people claim, has written the Quran, then he would have put his future in real jeopardy (50% chance) since neither satellite photos nor on-ground intelligence personnel were available to him at the revelation time. Further, numerous details about many natural phenomena were detailed in the Quran and, until recently, they were proven by experts to be amazingly accurate. For example of the physical development of the fetus inside the womb along with timing given by many verses matches exactly what leading authorities in Embryology are claiming to be recent discoveries. Moreover, verses that gives descriptions about the creation of the universe and the function of mountains in balancing earth and many other descriptions/explanations are available to be read and to be understood. If the prophet was the author, wouldn't he be prone to make weak inferences similar to those who claim that earth is square and whoever says otherwise should be killed?
The prophet also has demonstrated many supernatural miracles not by his own power, but by the power of the creator. He went to Jerusalem back in one night and gave a detailed description of the carnival that was traveling on that route and also specific accident happened to them at that night (in those days, it takes a month or so for a round-trip). In another occasion, he provided water for an entire army from a small plate between his hands. There are many other miracles that require serious truth seeker to read about and to think about it.
From the above, it reasonable to conclude that the Quran is not the PROPHET CREATION. HE HAD NO WAY TO PREDICT ALL THESE EVENTS AND TO BE RIGHT ALL THE TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN KNOWING THAT THE PROPHET HIMSELF WAS ILLITERATE!
Embryology and Life Sciences in Quran
"The Developing Human. Clinically Oriented Embryology"
Keith L. Moore
5th Edition, Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Co. (1982)
The work by Prof. Keith Moore is probably the most detailed study of the subject. Prof. Keith Moore is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy, University of Toronto.
His books on anatomy and on embryology are used at many medical school as standard instruction books. The Yale Medical school uses both his books. The Yale Bookstore phone number for Medical books is: (203) 772-2081. Their general information number is (203) 432-4771. (New Haven, Connecticut)
He is the authority on embryology. I strongly recommend the latest edition of the latter book as it mentions how accurately the Qur'an describes embryo development.
Prof. Moore has said: "It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur'an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God or Allah because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Mohammed must have been a messenger of God or Allah."
Prof. Marshal Johnson, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Director of the Daniel Baugh Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. He says: "The Qur'an describes not only the development of external form but emphasizes also the internal stages -- the stages inside the embryo of its creation and development, emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary science.... If I were to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I know today and describing things, I could not describe the things that were described. I see no evidence to refute the concept that this individual Mohammed had to be developing this information from some place, so I see nothing in conflict with the concept that Divine Intervention was involved..."
That leaves us to our third option: God INSPIRED it!
May Allah Guide Us All to Straight Path. Ameen.
QURAN: Chapter 4, Verse 82: "Do they not consider (ponder) on the Quran? If it had been from anyone except Allah, they would surely have found in it much discrepancy (contradictions)."
Still unsure or doubtful? Quran is the word of Allah. Allah challenges to His creations:
Chapter 2, Verses 23 & 24: "And if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to our servant, Then produce a Chapter like thereunto; And call upon your witnesses or helpers besides Allah, if you are truthful. But if you cannot, and surely never shall you can do it, Then guard against the Fire, Whose fuel is men and stones, Which is prepared for those who reject."
Try reading and understanding the meaning with explanation of the following verses also! Chapter 10, verse 38 Chapter 11, verse 13 Chapter 17 verse 88.
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1. the Arabs
2. Mohammad (peace be upon him)
3. God (Allah)
(NOTE: The first part is not meant to be a rigorous proof. It is something to ponder upon. However, the second part, about Mohammad [pbuh] wrote it' contains more extensive proof.)
Besides the above mentioned sources, Quran couldn't possibly have been written by ANYONE else.
No other source is possible, because Quran is written in pure, rich, and poetic Arabic, which was not known to anyone other than the above mentioned sources, at that time. The Arabic language was at its peak in expression, richness, vocabulary, artistic, and poetic value during the time the Quran was being revealed. Anyone speaking the classical Arabic (the Arabic of Quran at the time it was revealed) would argue that a non-Arab entity couldn't possibly have written such an extensive and brilliant piece of literature in the Arabic language. Quran could only have been written by an Arabic speaking entity. An entity, who's knowledge, style, vocabulary, grammar, and way of expression was so powerful that it impacted the entire Arabian peninsula, the east, the west, and continues to impact people all over the globe today!
At no other time, in the history of Arabic language, had it ever achieved its peak in expression, literature, and development, than the time of Arabia during the 6th Century, the time when Quran was being revealed. At no other time in the history of Arabic language had the language ever achieved its highest potential than the time of Arabia during the 6th Century, the time when Quran was being revealed. The language reached its peak in richness, artistic value, and poetry, during that time. With the Arabic language at its peak, and the best of Arabic writers, poets present in Arabia, it is impossible that a non-Arabic speaking entity would write a book like Quran and have such a dynamite impact on the Arabs!
So only an Arabic speaking entity could have write Quran. With that in mind, we're left with three choices:
1 - the Arabs wrote it
2 - Mohammad (pbuh) wrote it
3 - Allah (swt) Inspired it
Lets examine the three choices one by one.
(1) Arabs Wrote it?
What Quran teaches goes DIRECTLY against the pagan Arab culture, religion, and gods, that existed before the Quran was revealed. Quran condemns idol worshipping, but the Arabs, loved their idol gods, and worshipped them regularly. Quran raised the status of women; the pagan Arabs treated women next to animals. The Arabs would never write something that goes against their most important belief of idol worshipping. Quran goes against most of the social habits (such as backbiting, slandering, name calling, etc) which the Arabs were heavily indulged into. Quran condemns and prohibits taking interest on money, whereas, the Arabs freely levied heavy interest rates in loans and businesses. Quran condemns and prohibits Alcohol drinking, whereas, the Arabs consumed alcohol freely. The Quran condemns and prohibits gambling, whereas, the Arabs were some of the worst gamblers. The Arabs would never write something so comprehensively against just about all of their customs and culture and religious beliefs, as the Quran is.
During the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the Arabs would indulge in all the social habits that the Quran condemns and prohibits. How can Arabs then write something that would negate their entire society's norms and ideologies?
Did a group of Arabs or an individual Arab write Quran? Perhaps a rebel Arab Bedouin, or a society's misfit, or someone with different ideals and norms decided one day to write Quran? The answer to those questions are also 'no'. Because, if we read Quran, we notice that there is no author! No individual has his/her name written on the cover of Quran! Anytime an individual writes a book, he/she writes his/her name on the cover. The author's name always appears on his/her book, and there is always an author who is credited for writing that book. No one in the history of the world has EVER claimed to have written the Quran, nor anyone's name ever appeared in front of the Quran as been the 'author'. This is the only book in the world without an author. No one in the world has ever been accused of writing the Holy Quran, except the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), by non-muslims.
Quran has no author, and no group or individual in Arabia ever claimed to have written it, nor any group or an individual recited, taught, and explained Quran except the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his followers. The Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) was the only Arabian who first practiced, explained, and preached Quran, and ended up making a lot of Arab tribes enemies. Any historian, Muslim or non-Muslim would argue that the only possible source of Quran can be the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), the man responsible to recite it, teach it, and explain it to the people of Arabia. In fact, many historians today still think that only Mohammad (pbuh) could possibly have written it.
This leads one to conclude that the Prophet (pbuh) must have written it!
(2) Mohammad (pbuh) wrote it?
First, he was illiterate !! How can an illiterate person come up with such a rich, poetic, intellectual, and inspiring text that it rocked the entire Arabia?
Mohammad (pbuh) never went to school! No one taught him. He had no teacher of any kind in any subjects. How can he have the knowledge of all the science, astronomy, oceanography, etc that is contained in the Quran? (For example, the mention of ocean currents, stars, earth, moon, sun and their fixed paths in Surah Rahman; and many other scientific statements that are found in Quran, and cannot be stated in this short article)
When Quran was revealed, the Arabic language was at its peak in richness, poetic value, literature, etc. Quran came and challenged the best literature in Arabic, the best poetry in Arabic of the time. Muhammad (pbuh) being illiterate couldn't possibly have come up with something so immaculate that it even exceeded the best of poetry, and literature in Arabic at the time of the language's PEAK development. Arabic language had never been so rich in expression, poetic value, vocabulary, and variety in literature, as it was in the time of Quran. At a time like this, Quran came and exceeded the best of Arabic in all aspects of the language: poetry, literature, expression, etc. Any classical Arabic speaker would appreciate the unbeaten, unchallenged, and unmatched beauty of the language of Quran.
An illiterate man is simply not capable of writing such a book.
Mohammad (pbuh) had no reason to come up with something like Quran, and cause the entire society of Arabia to become his enemy. Why would he do something like that? Why would he write something going against almost all of the norms of the society, and lose his family, relatives, friends, and other loved ones, and not to mention all the wealth he lost. Also, what the prophet Mohammad (pbuh) used to say is recorded in what we call his hadeeth (sunnah). If we look at the Arabic style of the hadeeth, and compare it with the style of Quran, we can clearly see that they are clearly DIFFERENT, and DISTINGUISHABLE Arabic styles. The prophet (pbuh) spoke in public. It does not make sense that a man has two UNIQUE, Distinguishable, and completely different styles of speech in public. Yet another reason why Mohammad (pbuh) couldn't possibly have written Quran.
Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years ! A very long time! Is it possible for someone to maintain the same exact style of Arabic speech , as demonstrated in Quran over 23 years?
Here's what the famous Scholar, Ahmad Deedat said:
WAS QURAN WRITTEN OR INSPIRED?
"Behold! The angels said: "O Mary! God has chosen you and purified you - Chosen you above the women of all nations."" Qur'an-3:42
THE SOURCE OF HIS MESSAGE
"Chosen you above the women of all nations." Such an honor is not to be found given to Mary even in the Christian Bible!
Knowing full-well, and believing as we do, that the whole Quran is the veritable Word of God, we will nevertheless agree, for the sake of argument, with the enemies of Muhammad (pbuh) for a moment, that he wrote it. We can now expect some cooperation from the unbeliever.
Ask him, "Have you any qualms in agreeing that Muhammad (pbuh) was an Arab?" Only an opinionated fool will hesitate to agree. In that case there is no sense in pursuing any discussion. Cut short the talk. Close the book!
With the man of reason, we proceed. "That this Arab, in the first instance, was addressing other Arabs. He was not talking to Indian Muslims, Chinese Muslims, or Nigerian Muslims. He was addressing his own people - the Arabs. Whether they agreed with him or not, he told them in the most sublime form - words that were seared into the hearts and minds of his listeners that Mary the mother of Jesus -A JEWESS- was chosen above the women of all nations. Not his own mother, nor his wife nor his daughter, nor any other Arab woman, but a Jewess! Can one explain this? Because to everyone his own mother or wife, or daughter would come before other women.
Why would the Prophet of Islam honor a woman from his opposition! and a Jewess at that! belonging to a race which had been looking down upon his people for three thousand years? Just as they still look down upon their Arab brethren today.
SARAH AND HAGAR
The Jews get their cock-eyed racism from their Holy Bible, where they are told their father, Abraham, had two wives -Sarah and Hagar. They say that they are the children of Abraham through Sarah, his legitimate wife; that their Arab brethren have descended through Hagar, a "bondwoman", and that as such, the Arabs are inferior breed.
Will anyone please explain the anomaly as to why Muhammad (pbuh) (if he is the author) chose this Jewess for such honor? The answer is simple - HE HAD NO CHOICE - he had no right to speak of his own desire. "IT IS NO LESS THAN AN INSPIRATION SENT DOWN TO HIM." (Qur'an, 53:4)
SURA MARYAM
There is a Chapter in the Holy Quran, named Sura Maryam "Chapter Mary" (19) named in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ (pbuh); again, such an honor is not to be found given to Mary in the Christian Bible. Out of the 66 books of the Protestants and 73 of the Roman Catholics, not one is named after Mary or her son. You will find books named after Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul and two score more obscure names, but not a single one is that of Jesus or Mary!
If Muhammad (pbuh) was the author of the Holy Quran, then he would not have failed to include in it with MARYAM, the mother of Jesus, his own mother - AMINA, his dear wife - KHADIJA, or his beloved daughter - FATIMA. But No! No! this can never be. The Quran is not his handiwork!
Another Muslim writes (in a post):
From: Abu Abdullah;
I was reading about the charge that the prophet, Muhammed (pbuh), has written the Quran himself. Before you go any further in reading this post, please ask yourself whether you are a honest truth seeker or just another argumentative person, if the former, continue, otherwise, save your time and jump to the next post.
Islam is based on faith that is supported by a number of strong miracles such as knowing what events to take place ahead of time or coming up with supernatural deeds in front of people. The holy Quran has these signs and much more. First, The holy Quran predicted many events to take place ahead of the time of the revelation of that verse; for example, predicting the destruction of Persian empire at a time where the later had a monumental victory over Rome. If the prophet, as some people claim, has written the Quran, then he would have put his future in real jeopardy (50% chance) since neither satellite photos nor on-ground intelligence personnel were available to him at the revelation time. Further, numerous details about many natural phenomena were detailed in the Quran and, until recently, they were proven by experts to be amazingly accurate. For example of the physical development of the fetus inside the womb along with timing given by many verses matches exactly what leading authorities in Embryology are claiming to be recent discoveries. Moreover, verses that gives descriptions about the creation of the universe and the function of mountains in balancing earth and many other descriptions/explanations are available to be read and to be understood. If the prophet was the author, wouldn't he be prone to make weak inferences similar to those who claim that earth is square and whoever says otherwise should be killed?
The prophet also has demonstrated many supernatural miracles not by his own power, but by the power of the creator. He went to Jerusalem back in one night and gave a detailed description of the carnival that was traveling on that route and also specific accident happened to them at that night (in those days, it takes a month or so for a round-trip). In another occasion, he provided water for an entire army from a small plate between his hands. There are many other miracles that require serious truth seeker to read about and to think about it.
From the above, it reasonable to conclude that the Quran is not the PROPHET CREATION. HE HAD NO WAY TO PREDICT ALL THESE EVENTS AND TO BE RIGHT ALL THE TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN KNOWING THAT THE PROPHET HIMSELF WAS ILLITERATE!
Embryology and Life Sciences in Quran
"The Developing Human. Clinically Oriented Embryology"
Keith L. Moore
5th Edition, Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Co. (1982)
The work by Prof. Keith Moore is probably the most detailed study of the subject. Prof. Keith Moore is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy, University of Toronto.
His books on anatomy and on embryology are used at many medical school as standard instruction books. The Yale Medical school uses both his books. The Yale Bookstore phone number for Medical books is: (203) 772-2081. Their general information number is (203) 432-4771. (New Haven, Connecticut)
He is the authority on embryology. I strongly recommend the latest edition of the latter book as it mentions how accurately the Qur'an describes embryo development.
Prof. Moore has said: "It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur'an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God or Allah because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Mohammed must have been a messenger of God or Allah."
Prof. Marshal Johnson, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Director of the Daniel Baugh Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia. He says: "The Qur'an describes not only the development of external form but emphasizes also the internal stages -- the stages inside the embryo of its creation and development, emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary science.... If I were to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I know today and describing things, I could not describe the things that were described. I see no evidence to refute the concept that this individual Mohammed had to be developing this information from some place, so I see nothing in conflict with the concept that Divine Intervention was involved..."
That leaves us to our third option: God INSPIRED it!
May Allah Guide Us All to Straight Path. Ameen.
QURAN: Chapter 4, Verse 82: "Do they not consider (ponder) on the Quran? If it had been from anyone except Allah, they would surely have found in it much discrepancy (contradictions)."
Still unsure or doubtful? Quran is the word of Allah. Allah challenges to His creations:
Chapter 2, Verses 23 & 24: "And if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to our servant, Then produce a Chapter like thereunto; And call upon your witnesses or helpers besides Allah, if you are truthful. But if you cannot, and surely never shall you can do it, Then guard against the Fire, Whose fuel is men and stones, Which is prepared for those who reject."
Try reading and understanding the meaning with explanation of the following verses also! Chapter 10, verse 38 Chapter 11, verse 13 Chapter 17 verse 88.
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