The Qur’an

• What is The Qur’an? Muslims believe the Qur’an is The Word of Allah (God Almighty). It is the Islamic main source of Divine Law (Shari’ah), along side the Hadith [sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)].
• When was it revealed? It was revealed in 609 C.E. for a period of 23 Years.
• How was it revealed? It was in two different ways. Either directly by revelation from Angel Jibril (Gabriel), or indirectly, through (true) dreams.
• Who wrote the Qur’an? The first writing was done after the death of the Prophet (pbuh) during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr, and the second during the Caliphate of Uthman.
• What is the Qur’an about? The Qur'an is a Message from Allah to humanity. It deals with all the subjects which concern human beings, but its basic theme is the relationship between Allah and His creatures
• What Language is the Qur’an in? The Qur’an was revealed in Arabic, which was the strongest language and most well developed at its time.
• The Qur’anic text . The Qur’an is made up of “Surahs” or chapters, and each Surah has a number of “Ayats” or verses.
• Miracles of The Qur’an . The Qur’an is full of miracles which were revealed 1400 years ago; some of which science has just recently discovered.
• Where can I get my copy? Please contact anyone from the Islamic society for you free copy today
• More information and Further reading . Online English Quran is available at www.thenoblequran.com

Holy Quran recitation with english subtitles
(Part Of Surat Luqman and Surat Al-Sajdah)

The Qur’an (A Summary of Usool at-Tafseer)

A Summary of Usool at-Tafseer by Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips; and Miracles of The Qur’an by Harun Yahya

1. The Qur’an: The Unique Book

The word “Qur’an”, a verbal noun, is equivalent in meaning to “qira’ah”, as both come from the verb “qara’a” which means “to read”. That is, the Qur’an literally means “a reading or reciting”.

However, the term “Qur’an” has been historically used specifically used to refer to the book Muslims believe was the final revelation sent to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the very word of Allah (God Almighty): a complete record of the exact words revealed by Allah, through the Angel Jibril (Gabriel), to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The Qur’an is the principle source of every Muslim’s faith and practice.

“It is He Who has sent down the Book (the Qur'an) to you [Muhammad (pbuh)] with truth, confirming what came before it. And he sent down the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel). Aforetime, as a guidance to mankind, And He sent down the criterion [of judgement between right and wrong (this Qur'an)]. Truly, those who disbelieve in the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah, for them there is a severe torment; and Allah is All-Mighty, All-Able of Retribution.”(Aali Imran 3:3 - 4)

“Allah has sent down the best statement, a Book (this Qur'an), its parts resembling each other in goodness and truth, oft-repeated. The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it (when they recite it or hear it). Then their skin and their heart soften to the remembrance of Allah. That is the guidance of Allah. He Guides therewith whom He pleases and whomever Allah sends astray, for him there is no guide.”(Az-Zumar 39:23)

2. History of the Quran

2.1 When was it revealed?

The Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in sections through out the twenty-three years life of his prophet hood (609 C.E. to 632 C.E.). Whenever a problem arose or whenever Allah wanted to give the Prophet (pbuh) and his followers special advice, Allah would send angel Jibril with parts of the Qur’an, which he would recite to the Prophet (pbuh). Thus, the Qur’an was not revealed all at once in its complete form like the earlier books of revelation (Torah, Bible, etc.), but in parts over a period of time. The Method of Wahy (Revelation) was in two ways: directly, in the form of true dreams or in the form of direct conversations; and indirectly, by way of the angel of revelation, Jibril. These ways are identified by Allah in the Qur’an as follows:

“It is not given to any human being that Allah should speak to him unless (it be) by Inspiration, or from behind a veil, or (that) He sends a Messenger to reveal what He wills by His Leave. Verily, He is Most High, Most Wise.”(Ash-Shura 42:51)

The Various Sections of the Qur’an were generally revealed to solve the problems which existed among the Muslim communities in both Makkah and Madinah. Since the problems and needs of Makkah were different from those of Madinah, the revelations of Makkah and Madinah have special characteristics of their own.

2.2 Who Wrote the Quran?

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was unable to read and write. And so he (pbuh) would recite the Qur’an to his companions, who would then memorise and write down the Qur’an. He would recite the Qur’an to them in a number of different ways, including during Prayer. Because there was no paper in Arabia at that time, the Qur’an was written down on anything that was available. The Companions wrote the verses of the Qur’an on date palm leaves, flat stones, tree bark, wood, dried animal skins, and even the shoulder blades of camels and sheep. Thus, the Qur’an was preserved in the Hearts of Muslims, as well as written down during the life time of the Prophet (pbuh). Later on, Zayd Ibn Thabit was appointed by Caliph Abu Bakr to be in charge of collecting and writing down the whole Qur’an into one book, after the Prophet’s (pbuh) death.

The Qur’an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in Arabic.  So, any Qur’anic translation, either in English or any other language, is neither a Qur’an, nor a version of the Qur’an, but rather it is only a translation of the meaning of the Qur’an.  The Qur’an exists only in the Arabic in which it was revealed.

“A Book whereof the Verses are explained in detail; A Qur'an in Arabic for people who know.”(Fussilat 41:3)

The Qur’an was revealed in seven different dialects, and after the expansion of the Islamic state, because of the different ways of reading the Qur’an, some Arabs boasted that their dialect was superior and eventually this cause problems, which resulted in confusion to Muslim provinces outside of Arabia. Consequently, one of the companions of the Prophet (pbuh), called Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, requested for the Caliph Uthman to call all the Major companions together and come up with a solution. It was decided that Zayd ibn Thabit would run a committee of four Qur’anic scholars and would make seven official copies from the original Qur’an, which was compiled in Caliph Abu Bakr’s time and limit the people to its recitation (dialect).

The seven copies were sent to Makkah, Madinah, Syria, Koofah, Bahrayn, Yemen, and Basrah. Caliph Uthman ordered one official reciter to be sent with each copy in order to clean up any problems that might later arise. All other Qur’ans with the different dialects were destroyed and all new copies were made from the original one.

There is a misconception that Caliph Uthman destroyed other “versions” of the Qur’an, but clearly, as indicated above, he simply decided to use the original dialect that it was revealed it, so that no confusion arose for people whose first language was not Arabic. However, the method of recitation does not affect the message in any way.

Allah has guaranteed that He will protect the Qur'an from human tampering, and today's readers can find exact copies of it all over the world. The Qur'an of today is the same as the Qur'an revealed to Muhammad (pbuh).

The best candidate for one of the manuscripts commission by Caliph Uthman, is in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Most of the other copies were either destroyed in Fires, or lost after World War 1. The same principles of analysis that were applied to Bible manuscripts by Bible scholars, and which exposed its many flaws and changes, have been applied to Qur’anic manuscripts gathered from around the world. Ancient manuscripts from all periods of Islamic history found in the Library of Congress in Washington, the Chester Beatty Museum in Dublin, Ireland and at the London Museum have been compared with those in the museum of Tashkent, Turkey and Egypt. The result of such studies confirms that there has not been any changes in the text from its original writing.

“And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down (i.e. the Qur'an) to Our slave [Muhammad (pbuh)], then produce a Surah (chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful.”(Al-Baqarah 2:23)

2.3 What is the Qur’an About?

The Qur'an is a Message from Allah to humanity. It deals with all the subjects which concern human beings: wisdom, doctrine, worship, transactions, law, etc., but its basic theme is the relationship between Allah and His creatures.  At the same time, it provides guidelines and detailed teachings for a just society, proper human conduct, and an equitable economic system.

“Verily, this Qur'an guides to that which is most just and right ...”(Al-Isra 17:9)

3. The Qur’anic Text

A verse of the Qur’an is called an “ayah”, which literally means a sign or token by which a person or thing is known, and a chapter is referred to as a “surah”, which literally means enclosure or wall. The order of the ayahs in each surah was set by the Prophet (pbuh) himself, as indicated in a number of “hadiths” [recorded sayings or actions of the Prophet (pbuh)]