The history of the Noble Quran

The Quran is the backbone of Islam. On this Sacred Book of Allah depends the Islamic call, state, society and the civilisation of the Muslim world. It is the last Divine revelation, which was sent down to Prophet Muhammad , the last and final of all Prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention. His task was to convey the message of worshipping the One God, Allah, without ascribing any partners to Him. The Noble Quran, which is the source of guidance and mercy to mankind, is divided into one hundred and fourteen (114) Soorahs (chapters) of varying lengths. Ninety-three chapters were revealed in Makkah, while the remaining twenty-one were revealed in Madeenah.

The first revelation that the Prophet received was Soorat Al-'Alaq, which was in Makkah where Soorat An-Najm was to later became the first to be recited openly to the people. In Madeenah, Soorat Al-Mutaffifeen was the first one revealed after the Hijrah (migration). The Prophet had to flee to Madeenah to save his own life and the lives of his followers, upon the command of Allaah.
The last verse sent down to the Prophet was the saying of Allaah which means: “…This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion...” [Quran: 5:3]

Some chapters in the Quran focus on the call to Islam as guidance for humanity. They focus upon monotheism and the fight against polytheism and idolatry. Thus, stress is laid on all that is related to faith. In other chapters, attention is given to legislation, acts of worship, relationships among people and the laws that regulate matters within the Muslim community, government, and family.

A number of chapters inform about Resurrection, the Hereafter and the unseen; others relate the stories of various prophets and their calls to their people to return to Allaah. We see how the previous nations were severely punished when they disobeyed Allaah and denied the messages of previous prophets, may Allaah exalt their mention.

In addition, several chapters focus on the story of creation and the development of human life. In fact, Makkan revelations made the Muslims' faith in Allaah firmly established. On the other hand, Madeenan revelations were meant to translate the faith into action and give details of the Divine Law.

Allaah will forever preserve the Quran against all attempts to destroy or corrupt it. Being guarded by Allaah, it will always remain pure. There does not exist a single copy with any variation from the recognised text. Any attempt of alteration has resulted in failure.

Upon the command of the Prophet his Companions would write down what was revealed of the Noble Quran. They used, for this purpose, palm branches stripped of leaves, parchments, shoulder bones, stone tablets, etc. About forty people were involved in this task. Among them was Zayd Ibn Thaabit who showed his work to the Prophet . Thus, the Quran was correctly arranged during the Prophet’s life, but it was not yet compiled into one book. In the meantime, most of the Prophet’s Companions memorised the Quran.

When Abu Bakr became Caliph after the Prophet died, a large number of the Companions were killed during the War of Apostasy. 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab went to the Caliph and discussed the idea of compiling the Quran into one volume. He was disturbed, as most of those who memorised it had died. Then, Abu Bakr called for Zayd and commissioned him to collect the Quran into one book, which became known as the 'Mus-haf.'

After Zayd accomplished this great task and organized the Quran into one book, he submitted the precious collection to Abu Bakr who kept it in his possession until the end of his life. During the caliphate of 'Umar it was kept with his daughter Hafsah who was also a wife of the Prophet .

During the Caliphate of 'Uthmaan Islam reached many countries, and readers began to recite the Quran in different ways (dialects). 'Uthmaan then had various copies made and sent them out to the different Muslim lands, lest these dialects would cause alterations to the Quran, and kept the original copy with Hafsah . Thus, the Quran remained preserved and the Caliph was very much pleased with his achievement.

Today, every copy of the Quran conforms with the standard copy of 'Uthmaan . In fact, Muslims over the ages excelled in producing the best manuscripts of the Noble Quran in the most wonderful handwriting. With the introduction of printing, more and more editions of the Noble Quran became available all over the world.

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Hajj - Then and Now

Napoléon Bonaparte: An Admirer of Islam?

'I hope the time isn't far off when I shall be able to establish a regime based on the principles of Qur'an,' Bonaparte.

By Karima Saifullah

Born on the 15th of August 1769, Napoléon Bonaparte was able to shape modern European history with his military innovations and war tactics that enabled him to lead several successful campaigns against the First and Second Coalition.
The French leader, who died in May 1982, was a general during the French Revolution, the ruler of France as First Consul of the French Republic, Emperor of the French, King of Italy, Mediator of the SwissConfederation and Protector of the Confederation of the Rhine. His campaigns are studied at military academies all over the world and he is widely regarded as one of history's greatest commanders.
Regardless of whether he was a fair leader or not, one of the most impressive aspects regarding Napoléon Bonaparte was his admiration of Islam.
Bonaparte first learnt about Islam in 1789, when he proposed a military expedition to seize Egypt -- then a province of the Ottoman Empire -- in order to protect French trade interests and undermine Britain's access to India.
It has been reported that while in Egypt, Bonaparte took part in several religious ceremonies and held meetings with Muslim clerics.
Many quotes suggest that Bonaparte was a serious admirer of Islam:
"Moses has revealed the existence of God to his nation. Jesus Christ to the Roman world, Muhammad (PBUH) to the old continent,”
"I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of Qur'an which alone are true and which alone can lead men to happiness,” Napoléon Bonaparte as quoted in Christian Cherfils, ‘Bonaparte et Islam,’ Pedone Ed., Paris, France, 1914, pp. 105, 125.
Many historians discussed Bonaparte’s admiration of Islam, while others debated whether he converted to Islam or not.
‘Satanic Voices - Ancient and Modern’ by David M. Pidcock stated that the then official French Newspaper, Le Moniteur, carried the accounts of Bonaparte’s conversion to Islam in 1798 C.E.
The newspaper even mentioned his new Muslim name, which was ‘Aly (Ali) Napoléon Bonaparte’.
It has also been reported that Bonaparte commended the conversion of his General Jacques Menou, whose Muslim name was ‘Abdullah-Jacques Menou’, who later married an Egyptian, Sitti Zoubeida - who was descended from the line of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
Even if such claims are untrue, it’s clear that Napoleon Bonaparte admired the Islamic (Shari'ah) Law and attempted to apply it in his Empire.
It’s interesting that a great leader like Bonaparte admired Islam and its laws, which are much better than the secular laws applied in many countries today.
In fact, some aspects of the Shariah law still exist in the French constitution as the basis for some of their laws taken from the Code Napoléon.
A well-known case like the fatal car accident of Diana, Princess of Wales, and Dodi al-Fayed can best illustrate this. "The photographers were charged with an old part of the French Jurisprudence, for ‘not helping at the scene of an accident’- which is taken from the Shari'ah Law of Imam Malik." (David M. Pidcock, 1998 C.E.) - (Al Jazeera Magazine, 21 Nov 07)

History of Quran compilation

A AzizThe Prophet (saas) used to recite the Qur'an before angel Jibreel (Gabriel) once every Ramadan, but he recited it twice (in the same order we have today) in the last Ramadan before his death. Jibreel also taught the Prophet (saas) the seven modes of recitation. The verses were written by scribes, selected by the Prophet, on any suitable object - the leaves of trees, pieces of wood, parchment or leather, flat stones, and shoulder blades. Scribes included Ali Ibn Abi Talib, Mu'awiyah Ibn Abi Sufyan, Ubey Ibn Ka'ab, Zayed Ibn Thabit. Several hundred companions memorized the Qur'an by heart.Umar Ibn Al-Khattab urged Abu Bakr to preserve and compile the Qur'an. This was prompted after the battle of Yamamah, where heavy casualties were suffered among the reciters who memorized the Qur'an. Zayed, with the help of the companions who memorized and wrote verses of the Qur'an, accomplished the task and handed Abu Bakr the first authenticated copy of the Qur'an. The copy was kept in the residence of Hafsah, daughter of Umar and wife of the Prophet.Uthman ordered Zayed Ibn Thabit, Abdullah Ibn Al Zubayr, Saeed Ibn Al-Aas, and Abdur-Rahman Ibn Harith Ibn Hisham to make perfect copies of the authenticated copy kept with Hafsa. This was due to the rapid expansion of the Islamic state and concern about differences in recitation. Copies were sent to various places in the Muslim world. The original copy was returned to Hafsa, and a copy was kept in Madinah.Two Of these copies exist in the world today, one in Istanbul and the other in Tashkent. Whosoever is so inclined may compare any printed text of the Holy Qur'an with those two copies, shall find no variation. And how can one expect any discrepancy, when there have existed several million Huffaz in every generation since the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and in our own time? Should anyone alter a syllable of the original text of the Qur'an, these Huffaz would at once expose the mistake. In the last century, an Institute of Munich University in Germany collected FORTY-TWO THOUSAND copies of the Holy Qur'an including manuscripts and printed texts produced in each period in the various parts of the Islamic World. Research work was carried out on these texts for half a century, at the end of which the researchers concluded that apart from copying mistakes, there was no discrepancy in the text of these forty-two thousand copies, even though they belonged to the period between the 1st Century Hijra to 14th Century Hijra and had been procured from all parts of the world. This Institute, alas! perished in the bombing attacks on Germany during World War II, but the findings of its research project survived. Another point that must be kept in view is that the word in which the Qur'an was revealed is a living language in our own time. It is still current as the mother tongue of about a hundred million people from Iraq to Morocco. In the non-Arab world too, hundreds of thousands of people study and teach this language. A modern Arabic-speaking person can comprehend the Holy Qur'an with as much proficiency as did the Arabs of fourteen centuries ago. This, then, is an important attribute of Muhammad (PBUH), which is shared by no other Prophet or Leader of Religion. The Book which God revealed to Him for the guidance of mankind is today's in its original language without the slightest alteration in its vocabulary. Also you mention in your last line "all Muslims do: Defend the Quran at any cost" Give me one good reason why shouldn't. The Qur'an is the most sacred Book in the world. It is the uncreated word of Allah, given as the greatest blessing to the whole mankind through the last Messenger Mohammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). We all know that Allah the Almighty, being the Creator, Protector and Sustainer of the universe has taken the responsibility of giving guidance to the people. For this purpose He has sent Messengers to all places in all times with glad tidings for the good doers and severe warnings of punishment to those who reject the divine Message. Allah has revealed divine books and pages of instructions to several prophets. But all the prophets before Mohammad (pbuh) were sent to a particular time and to a particular community. Their messages were confined to their respective areas. That is why the books revealed to them are not found now in the original form, though some copies with enough additions and omissions are kept with some communities and they consider it divine still today. A sincere attempt to see the actual conditions of these scripts reveals that Allah has sent Taurat to Moosa (Moses), Injeel to Isa (Jesus) and Zaboor to Dawood (David) - peace be on them - before the prophethood of Mohammad (pbuh). Originally all these were from Allah with divine instructions to their community. But by the passage of time the followers of those books misinterpreted the verses and made their own words in the book so as to suit and safeguard their interests. But the case of the Qur'an is entirely different. Since Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) has been sent to the whole mankind till the Day of Judgment and since he is the Last Messenger to the universe, Allah made the Holy Qur'an the last of His divine revelation and He Himself took up the responsibility of protecting it from all possible malpractices and misintrepretations. Thus we can see that the Qur'an is the most widely read Book in the whole world. It is noteworthy that even after 14 centuries the Revelation exists in its original form without being affected even by a single change to any of its letters. Allah says: "Surely We have sent down the Qur'an and will protect it". This is very much clear and everybody will agree to this fact. (Source: Islam online)

Evolution of the science of the Quran –I

The Era of the Companions:
The Quran is the final revelation sent by Allaah to Prophet Muhammad . It is an eternal miracle that grows in clarity and strength with time and each new scientific discovery. It was revealed over nearly twenty-three years, during which the Prophet taught it and explained it to his companions . He sallallaahu' alayhi wa sallam also answered all of their questions and did not die before completely delivering the message of the Quran, making it clearly understood.
At the same time, the Companions were very keen to memorise, understand and practice it. Due to their mastery of Arabic, the purity of their minds and hearts, and because they had witnessed the Quran being revealed under many circumstances and in response to diverse events, they were able to accumulate much understanding and knowledge of the Quran.
Some of them actually mastered its knowledge. Abdullaah bin Mas'ood was one of those who realised this great achievement. He described his knowledge of the Quran by saying: “I swear by Allaah that there is not a verse of the Quran except that I know where and why it was revealed, and if I knew of anyone who knows the Book of Allaah more than I do, I would travel to him.” [Al-Bukhaari]
Other Companions devoted all of their lives to the Quran. Abdullaah bin 'Umar for example, was reported by Imaam Maalik in ‘Al-Muwatta’ as having spent eight consecutive years completely memorising and learning Soorah (chapter) Al-Baqarah (the second Quranic chapter).
It was also reported that the Companions used to say, “It is considered to be a great thing that one of us learns the Soorahs Al-Baqarah and Aal 'Imraan (The second and third chapters).” And that: “They used to learn the Quran from the Prophet ten verses at a time, and that they would not go beyond them until they had learned all possible knowledge and actions in them and applied them.”
This great knowledge was not all written down as text, except for what was written down by some Companions . The reason was that the basic process of teaching and learning in those times was the oral tradition. Only the Quran itself and those Companions' writings were received in written format by the next generation of Muslims.
However, many of the Companions were known for their excellent knowledge and understanding of the Quran. People like 'Uthmaan, Ali, Zayd, Ubay, Ibn Mas'ood, Ibn 'Abbaas and Ibn 'Umar as well as others, had many brilliant and inspired students, such as Mujaahid, Qataadah and 'Ataa' who then conveyed that knowledge to the rest of Ummah (Muslim community) as the practice of writing down knowledge became widespread.
The Companions’ circles of teaching were attended by hundreds of students. As those students went back home, they taught others the same knowledge as they had learned. Within a short period of time, the Companions’ knowledge, was spread across the vast Muslim lands.
What is so remarkable is that after writing became popular, the pieces of knowledge collected from different scholars who had never seen or known one another were found to be the same and, therefore, supported one another – showing consistency in the knowledge and the guidance of Islam.
To this day and forever, no other Ummah or religion can claim similarity to this unique feature of Islam.
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Author: Hassen A Laidi

From: Al Jumu’ah Magazine Vol. 14 Issue 6

Evolution of the sciences of the Quran - II

After the Era of the Companions:
It was through the efforts of such Companions as the four Caliphs, Ibn 'Abbaas, Ibn Mas'ood, Zayd bin Thaabit, Abu Moosa Al-Ash’ari, Ubay bin Ka’b and 'Abdullaah bin Az-Zubayr among others, that all of the knowledge related to the Quran was transferred and conveyed to the Taabi’een (the second Muslim generation after the companions) and from them onto the rest of the Ummah (Muslim Nation).
Among these successors, some are noteworthy: Mujaahid, 'Ataa' bin Rabaah, 'Ikrimah, Qataadah, Al-Hasan Al-Basri and Maalik bin Anas . These great scholars laid the foundation for the subject of Tafseer (exegesis) of the Quran, as well as the numerous other branches of knowledge that eventually comprised the sciences of the Quran.
Very little was written in specialised books or treatises in the first Hijri century, but many were later documented towards the end of the second century, marking the beginning of what is referred to as 'The Era of Scriptwriting.'
Since most scholars were focused on Hadeeth (prophetic statements), this remarkable era provided the first collections of Ahadeeth (plural of Hadeeth) dealing with the subject of Tafseer, such as those collected by Shu’bah bin Al Hajjaaj (160 AH), Waaki’ bin Al-Jarraah (197 AH), 'Abdur-Razzaaq (211 AH), and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (240 AH) whose collection exceeded 100,000 Ahadeeth, but never reached us except what has remained as part of his Musnad (Hadeeth collection).
So, Tafseer originated as an oral tradition that was transmitted along with other topics of the Sunnah (Prophetic tradition) to find its place in the books of Sunnah. If any of these scholars had written a Tafseer book, then it was either lost or has not yet reached us. The first major, authentic and complete Tafseer compilation was written by Imaam Ibn Jareer At-Tabari (310 AH) . Many similar writings followed it.
Many other books were written that dealt with other topics and subjects related to the Quran. These writings primarily focused on a single issue or theme per book. Of the many books written throughout the centuries, only some have been checked, edited and printed. Imaam Ali bin Al-Madeeni (234 AH) for example, wrote about the Circumstances of Revelation, Imaam Abu 'Ubayd Al-Qaasim bin Salaam (224 AH) wrote about Abrogation and about the Qiraa’aat (modes of Quranic recitation), while Imaam Ibn Qutaybah’s (276 AH) book dealt with the subject of Mushkil (unclear or problematic) words and meanings of the Quran.
This thematic approach continues to this day, and Al-Baqillaani (403 AH) wrote about the miraculous nature of the Quran while Al-Maawardi (450 AH) chose to discuss its Amthaal (proverbs or parables). Later, Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim (751 AH) wrote about the oaths or vows that are found in the Quran.
The first book known to use the term and was entitled '`Uloom Al-Quran' was written by Imaam Ali bin Ibrahim al-Hawfi (430 AH) . It is available but missing some volumes, and is still in manuscript form, and has not yet been printed. This book deals with and covers topics that partially comprise what we consider today as Sciences of the Quran, which is a major treatment of topics related to the Quran.
Later, Imaam As-Suyooti (911 AH) wrote 'Al-Itqaan Fi `Uloom Al-Quran' that followed the same lines of '`Uloom Al-Quraan', but in an abridged format, with added topics, and is printed today in two large volumes. These two works are considered the classical references on the subjects of the Sciences of the Quran. Today, there are more than a hundred books written on all aspects related to the Quran and Tafseer, some of which have been translated into English.
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Author: Hassen A Laidi
From: Al Jumu’ah Magazine Vol. 14 Issue 6

In this Book, the Holy Prophet's life, the history of the Arabs and the events which occurred during the period of the revelation of the Quran have no

In this Book, the Holy Prophet's life, the history of the Arabs and the events which occurred during the period of the revelation of the Quran have not been mingled with the Divine Verses, as is the case with the Bible. The Quran is the pure word of God. Not one word therein is not divine. Not a single word has been deleted from its text. The Book has been handed down to our age in its complete and original form since the time of Prophet Muhammad. From the time the Book began to be revealed, the Holy Prophet had dictated its text to the scribes. Whenever some Divine Message was revealed, the Holy Prophet would call a scribe and dictate its words to him. The written text was then read out to the Holy Prophet, who, having satisfied himself that the scribe has committed no error of recording, would put the manuscript in safe custody. The Holy Prophet used to instruct the scribe about the sequence in which a revealed message was to be placed in a particular Surah (chapter). In this manner, the Holy Prophet continued to arrange the text of the Quran in systematic order till the end of the chain of revelations. Again, it was ordained from the beginning of Islam that a recitation of the Holy Quran must be an integral part of worship. Hence the illustrious Companions would commit the Divine verses to memory as soon as they were revealed. Many of them learned the whole text and a far larger number had memorized different portions of it. Method of preservations of the Quran during the Prophet's time: Besides, those of the Companions (pbut) who were literate used to keep a written record of several portions of the Holy Qur'an. In this manner, the text of the Holy Qur'an had been preserved in four different ways during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet (PBUH): The Holy Prophet (PBUH) had the whole text of the Divine Messages from the beginning to the end committed to writing by the scribes of revelations. Many of the Companions learned the whole text of the Qur'an, every syllable of it, by heart. All the illustrious Companions, without an exception, had memorized at least some portions of the Holy Qur'an, for the simple reason that it was obligatory for them to recite it during worship. An estimate of the number of the illustrious Companions may be obtained from the fact that one hundred and forty thousands Companions had participated in the Last Pilgrimage performed by the Holy Prophet (PBUH). A considerable number of the literate Companions kept a private record of the text of the Qur'an and satisfied themselves as to the purity of their record by reading it out to the Holy Prophet (PBUH). Method of preservations of the Quran after the demise of the Prophet: It is an incontrovertible historical truth that the text of the Holy Qur'an extant today is, syllable for syllable, exactly the same as the Holy Prophet (PBUH) had offered to the world as the Word of God. After the demise of the Holy Prophet, the first Caliph Hadhrat Abu Bakr (PBUH) assembled all the Huffaz and the written records of the Holy Qur'an and with their help had the whole text written in Book form. In the time of Hadhrat 'Uthman (PBUH) copies of this original version were made and officially dispatched to the Capitals of the Islamic World. Two Of these copies exist in the world today, one in Istanbul and the other in Tashkent. Whosoever is so inclined may compare any printed text of the Holy Qur'an with those two copies, he shall find no variation. And how can one expect any discrepancy, when there have existed several million Huffaz in every generation since the time of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and in our own time? Should anyone alter a syllable of the original text of the Qur'an, these Huffaz would at once expose the mistake. In the last century, an Institute of Munich University in Germany collected FORTY-TWO THOUSAND copies of the Holy Qur'an including manuscripts and printed texts produced in each period in the various parts of the Islamic World. Research work was carried out on these texts for half a century, at the end of which the researchers concluded that apart from copying mistakes, there was no discrepancy in the text of these forty-two thousand copies, even though they belonged to the period between the 1st Century Hijra to 14th Century Hijra and had been procured from all parts of the world. This Institute, alas! perished in the bombing attacks on Germany during World War II, but the findings of its research project survived. Another point that must be kept in view is that the word in which the Qur'an was revealed is a living language in our own time. It is still current as the mother tongue of about a hundred million people from Iraq to Morocco. In the non-Arab world too, hundreds of thousands of people study and teach this language. The grammar of the Arabic language, its lexicon, its phonetic system and its phraseology, have remained intact for fourteen hundred years. A modern Arabic-speaking person can comprehend the Holy Qur'an with as much proficiency as did the Arabs of fourteen centuries ago. This, then, is an important attribute of Muhammad (PBUH), which is shared by no other Prophet or Leader of Religion. The Book which God revealed to Him for the guidance of mankind is today's in its original language without the slightest alteration in its vocabulary.