Prof Mohammad Najmul Ehsan Fatmi :
The Quran in Arabic comes from the root word ‘qara’a’ which means to ‘call’, to “proclaim” or to “recite” not silently but that which meant to be called proclaimed or recited aloud. Indeed, the very first Revelation sent down to Prophet Muhammad (Sm) through Angel Jibra’il began with the imperative form “Iqra” or “Proclaim in the name of your Lord …. ‘and, since the whole of the Revelation which spanned almost twenty three years were essentially in the nature of Proclamation, the Quran is an acronym for it.
Although oral recitation or reading it loud has remained a central media through which its messages have been disseminated and transmitted, the need to document such huge volume of messages or revelations necessitated the use of all available modes of writing them down: parchment, leaves, the flat thigh bone of camel, flat boulders (or white slates) and the like. Those writing these Revelations down were the Scribes, the devoted companions of the Prophet. It was only when the Revelations began to get larger in volume that the Prophet himself took meticulous care in compiling and arranging them in systematic order and sequence.
The Quran uses narratives in many places to convey its messages but it is neither a historical document nor a chronological story of past events. In volume, it is about the same size as the New Testament but unlike it and the Hebrew Bible (which are collection of narratives and commentaries of different persons), the Quran are the direct words of Allah spoken to Prophet Muhammad (Sm) through the Angel Jibra’il and reduced to immediate writing under the Prophet’s instruction and supervision. One divinely inspired result of such efforts we see in the millions of copies of the Quran available to us today which are exact copies of the original Revelations.
The Quran is organized into Surahs (which roughly correspond with Chapters in English) with each Surah or Chapter containing phrases or sentences called Ayats (literally denoting “signs”) or what is loosely called Verses in English although such Verses of the Quran are devoid of any poetic connotation. There are 114 Surahs or Chapters in the Quran of varying lengths arranged not in chronological order of Revelation but according to the purpose and intent of Revelations the order or sequence of which was determined by the Prophet himself under divine instruction. Ayats within a particular Surah are not always complete sentences. They could be initials or the abbreviated letters of the Arabic language or just symbols or signs in nature and creation. The shortest of Surahs (103, 108 and 110) have only 3 ayats each, while the longest of Surahs (2) have 286 ayats or verses. Again, the shortest Surah (108) contains the least number of words (10) while the longest Surah (2) has 6100 words. The longest Surah (2) also has the longest verse in it (v.282). Each Surah has a separate subject matter which is reflected in the title or a heading involving some conspicuous word such as the Heifer, the Bee, accompanying the Surah. Some titles are not so apparent in their meaning, like for example, different letters of the Arabic alphabets serving as title of the Surah [Taha (20), Ya’sin (36), Swad (38) and Qaf (50)]. Although these letters have led to a lot of speculative thinking by the scholars, the best of such thinking should contend with the fact that their meaning is best known to Allah.
Although some Surahs are revealed at one go, others have been revealed piecemeal. The classic example of the latter being the first 5 verses of Sura Alaq (96) which were the first to be revealed also, and the rest of the verses revealed much later.
The verses in the Quran (Ayats) vary considerably in length. Although the Surah diminish in size from the second Surah (which is also the longest Surah in the Quran), this descending order is not always applicable. The total number of verses or ayats in the Quran is 6131. The shortest verses come in the earliest Surahs and are generally rhymed prose. As the verses become longer, circumstantial and educational, the rhymes become relatively infrequent. Since the longer Surahs were revealed during the latter part of the Prophet’s life, the youngest Surahs are found at the beginning of the Quran while the oldest ones at the end.
All Surah have the same opening hymn, “In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful” except for one (Surah 9: Taubah). However, the same opening hymn occurs twice in Surah 27 (an-Naml): in the beginning of the Surah and in verse 30, thus making the total number of such opening hvmns consistent with 114 separate Surahs or Chapters.
In matters of style and content, the Surahs vary considerably. While the shortest of the Surahs usually concentrate on a single subject matter, the longer Surahs deal with a wide variety of subject and topics in several brief sections. A singular exception is found in a relatively long Surah (Surah 12 – Yusuf) where we find the story of Prophet Yusuf told in the most sublime of language and style. The linguistic style of the Surahs also changes from short vivid and poetic expressions of the earlier Surahs to one of somber much detailed less vivid expressions found in the latter Surahs. This is understandable since with the passage of time and the increasing challenges faced by the nascent faith, the messages have to be so ordained.
The Quran has for practical and operational reasons been divided into separate parts or segments according to the purpose at hand, but never intended to change of modify the structure and contents of the Quranic arrangements. Thus, for example, we find that the companions of the Prophet dividing up the entire text of the Quran into 7 equal parts for ease of convenience in reciting the entire Quran in a week’s time. There is another tradition of reciting the entire Quran in the month of Ramadhan (or fasting), and accordingly the Quranic text was divided roughly into 30 equal parts, or each part being recited per day. Still another practice, particular during the Tarawih prayers in the month of Ramadhan, has the Quranic text subdivided into 558 self-contained paragraphs or Ruku each corresponding to a single posture of bowing during the prayer in question. There are other interesting details highlighting the characteristics of Quranic Surahs and Verses.
Quranic scholars are mostly agreed on the locational revelation of Surahs : those revealed in Makkah and Madina, with the former accounting for almost three quarters of the entire Surahs (or 85 Surahs), the rest (29 Surahs) attributable to Madina. Some Surahs have been known to be revealed at places apart from Makkah or Madina, while others distinctly revealed in Makkah is classified as a Madinte Surah, the converse is true. Such minor differences have been resolved through a consensus criterion: a Surah is a Makkan or Madinite depending on whether it was revealed before or after migration to Madina. Although no definitive pattern or characteristics emerge from the two locational features, certain peculiarities underlie each setting. It is generally agreed that Makkah Surahs contain relatively short Ayats (verses), address the fundamentals of belief (or Iman), refer to the concepts of Heaven and Hell and the Day of Judgment, Creation of Adam and the force of evil (Iblis), focus on addressing the humanity at large (0′ People, 0′ Mankind), and are concentrated in the latter part of the Quran. The Madinite Surahs, on the other hand, contain relatively long ayats (verses), mostly deal with social and legal organization of the emerging Muslim community, focus on the Dos and Don’ts, rights and obligations of believers, nonbelievers and people of the book, and mostly address believers (O’you who believe).
Revelation, transmission and preservation of the Quran : Recorded history tells us that the Quranic Revelation spanned almost 23 years in non-sequential stages before it was time for the Prophet and his devoted Companions to compile and re-arrange the basic form as we see it today. Some of the earliest of the Revelations came very sporadically and the time interval between any two Revelations were as varied as one day or several months depending on the changing needs of the time. The longer the wait, meant, of course, more agonizing moments for Prophet Muhammad (Sm). Sometimes he wished the Revelation came when he needed them most, and he would then put off any decision contingent on an anticipated Revelation until such Revelation actually came to him.
Prophet Muhammad’s (Sm) experience with Revelation was not easy and uniform though. We also know from recorded history how the very first Revelation had left him virtually trembling with fear just mustering just enough strength and courage to run home from his retreat in the cave of Hira to his beloved wife Khadija (Ra) exclaiming, “Cover me up, cover me up”. Only when the comforting words of Khadija (Ra), and the reassurance of the promised and chosen Messenger of the Lord in the personage of Muhammad by the blind sage, Waraqah, a cousin of Khadija (Ra), that he slowly regained his composure. The second Revelation was not long in coming, and he soon realised that he was being Divinely strengthened and prepared to receive more of such Messages in the months and years to come. Asked once by Harith, son of Hisham, how Revelation came to him, the Prophet reported to have said,
“It comes to me sometimes as the ringing of a bell, and this is the hardest on me, and then it leaves me and I remember what the message says ; and sometimes the angel comes in the shape of a man and he talks to me and· I remember what he says.” [Bukhari 1:1]
As subsequent Revelations grew in size and frequency, Prophet Muhammad (Sm) took upon himself the task of compiling and documenting as soon as a certain Revelation was received. He would immediately get the Scribes to write it down and ask them to read and recite it back to him so that he could verify and authenticate it. Indeed, when certain Ayats (verses) were revealed, it was the practice of the Prophet to instruct the Scribe to write and place them in a particular Surah after or before certain groups of verses making them a consistent whole. He could do this with such effortless ease that everybody would be convinced of a definite divine hand in the compilation and arrangement of the Quranic texts. The following verses of the Quran allude to this :
And those who disbelieve say : Why has the Quran not been revealed to him all at once? Thus that We may establish thy heart by it, and We have arranged it well in arranging. ” (25:32)
Surely on Us devolves the collecting of it and the reciting of it. (75: 17)
The concern with preserving the Quran was naturally in the minds of the Prophet and his devoted companions. Specifically, the Prophet would ensure that someone read and recite the Revelation directly in his presence or under an accredited and competent Reciter (or Qari), commit to memory, and finally, reduce them to writing in available materials. Although the whole of the Quran was thus read, recited and reduced to writing in scattered and fragmented forms, and the Prophet and the devoted Huffaz (plural of Hafiz) exactly knew the placement of each Surahs and their corresponding ayats (verses), the Quranic scholars are generally agreed that all the Quranic texts have not been brought under a single documented volume during the life time of the Prophet.
The first effort at compiling the Quran in one volume for ease of preservation and reproduction can be traced to the time of the first Khalifa, Abu Bakr Siddique (RA). It so happened that in the Battle of Yamama (11th Hijri or 632 CE) a large number of Huffaz perished and embraced martyrdom and if this foretold what would happen to the already dwindling number of such Huffaz, the Quran, it was revealed Scriptures argued, would suffer the same fate as the earlier. Umar bin Khattab (RA) (the second Khalifa) argued forcefully with the Incumbent Khahlifa, Abu Bakar Siddique (RA) why such a single compilation had become imperative. The reigning Khalifa was at first reluctant Since in his opinion, the Prophet would have done so if he had thought it was absolutely necessary. Umar bin Khattab ultimately prevailed over the Khalifa and Zaid bin Thabit, considered then the most competent of the four authorities on the Quran was given the responsibility of bringing about an authentic single volume with the help and assistance of the other noted Huffaz.
The compiled work of Zaid bin Thabit was kept with Hafsa (Ra) daughter of .the second Khalifa, Umar bin Khattab (RA) until a dispute rose .In the recital of some verse during the Salat (Prayer) in terms of their pronunciation. This was during the time of the third Khalifa, Uthman (RA). Apparently, different dialects got in the way certain verses were pronounced and these were reflected in some of the manuscripts in circulation then. Uthman (Ra) could realize the seriousness of the emerging problems and he constituted a commission headed by Zaid bin Thabit, the same Scribe who got the first compilation done during the reign of the first Khalifa Abu Bakar Siddique (Ra).
There were specific instructions from Khalifa Uthman: that the commission prepare a Master copy from the compiled collection, and If there any differences in the recitation of the Quran, the recitation of the. Quraish should be the standard for acceptance. Accordingly, four official copies were submitted to Khalifa Uthman (Ra) and the rest of compilations kept as individual copies were ordered to be destroyed. All future reproductions or copies must tally with this official one. Three such copies (on parchment or paper) are available which dates back to Uthman’s time: one in Tashqand, the second in India Office Library, London, and the third, Tope Kapi Sarai Museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Fortunately, but not surprisingly, these copies exactly match with the Quranic texts currently in circulation all over the world.
The Protection of the Quran : a Divinely Ordained one
Since the Quranic Revelations through the last of Allah’s Messenger, Prophet Muhammad, are the culmination of Allah’s favour to mankind, the Quran is very emphatic on how Allah intends to do with His Message :
“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” – 15:9.
Although the mode of this divine “guarding”, of course, remains in the domain of the All-Knowing Creator, the angels and mankind are also inspired by the same Creator to do their share of “guarding and protecting”. This is manifest in the continuous glorification of Allah by the angels and in the rehearsing and reciting of the verses of the sublime Quran every single day by the devout Muslims wherever they happen to reside. But human frailties being what they are (and the history is replete with evidence of the fate of divine scriptures sent to earlier prophets getting corrupted and made extinct by the very people entrusted with its protection, the rabbis and the doctors of law), Allah has taken upon Himself the task of protecting the Quran
“Nay, this is a Glorious Quran (inscribed) in a Tablet preserved!’ (85: 21 :22)
There are no further explanations of what is actually meant by a Tablet Preserved and this has led to scholars and commentators to speculate on its meanings. To ibn Kathir (in his Tafseer), the phrase means, it is among the higher rank groups (i.e., angels), preserved and protected from anything being added or taken away, or any alteration or changes. According to Muhammad Asad, a Quranic translator, “Some commentators take it (i.e. the expression, “the Preserved Tablet”) in its literal sense and understand that it is an actual “heavenly tablet” upon which the Quran has been inscribed for all eternity; to many others the phrase has always had a metaphorical meaning : namely, an allusion to the imperishable quality of this divine writ. This interpretation is pointedly mentioned as justified by, e.g., Tabari, Al-Baghawi, Razi or Ibn Kathir, who all agree that the phrase “upon a well-guarded tablet” relates to God’s promise that the Quran would never be distorted, and would remain free of all types of additions, diminutions and textual changes.”
And indeed, the Quran has remained conspicuously so in its original and unaltered form even to this day attesting to Allah’s promise of “guarding and protecting” it from any alterations, additions or deletions. No other divine scriptures can lay claim with regard to their originality and pristine characteristics.
The Protection and Dissemination of the Quran : a divinely inspired human efforts
Since the time the first of the Quranic Revelations came to the Prophet and directed him to Rehearse and Proclaim the Messages, it set into motion a process where awe and wonder gradually turned into a sense of urgency to spread them around. It took a while for the Prophet to realise what has indeed happened when the angel Jibra’il conveyed the first Revelation:
“Proclaim (read) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher Who created — created man out of a leach like clot. Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, He Who taught (the use of) the Pen, taught man that which he knew not.” [96:1-5]
Trembling with fear and awed in amazement the Prophet ran home to his beloved wife Khadija (Ra) who gave him the much needed warmth and comfort for him to regain his composure. When he told his wife of this amazing experience, she knew that something miraculous had indeed happened for then she headed for his cousin Waraqa who when told of this event could only chant, “Holy! Holy!” “By Him in Whose hand is the soul of Waraqa, there hath come unto Muhammad the greatest Namus (the Greek Nomos, in the sense of the Divine Law or Scripture, here identified with the Angel of Revelation) even he that would come unto Moses. Verily Muhammad is the Prophet of this people. Bid him rest assured.”
The rest is history – recorded events of monumental proportions that catalogue how the first of these Revelations and the subsequent ones were to spread and radiate all around. The Prophet himself as the first memoriser blazed the way the Quranic verses were to be preserved in the hearts and minds of the devout Muslims so that not a single verse was forgotten or ignored. This he made sure by reciting them to his companions on and off. The Divine Providence also made sure this process was kept up. Allah, through Angel Jibra’il used to refresh the Quranic memory of the Prophet once a year. Furthermore, the Prophet would often stay awake a greater part of the night in prayers and meditation with recitation of the Quran.
Prophet Muhammad also encouraged his companions to do the same by saying :
“‘The most superior among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur’an and teach it.” (Sahih Bukhari, 6:546)
He used to ask the companions to recite the Quran and liked to hear them recite it to him. This created as it were the first generation of Quran reciters and memorizers. Their numbers grew steadily until a significant number were martyred in the battle of Yamama. The Muslim Ummah then took several critical decisions to safeguard this tradition of preserving the Quran. One was to establish thousands of schools devoted to teaching the children and making them learn the Quran by heart. The other was to formalise the practice of documenting the Quran in written form (which however started in the early period of the Quranic Revelations with the Prophet endorsing the practice). There are no divine scriptures as voluminous as the Quran which is committed to memory in full by so many millions of people (including preadolescent children) down the centuries as the Quran is – a living proof of the miraculous nature of the Quran. This tradition forms a continuous unbroken chain from the Prophet Muhammad’s time to date. Indeed, this verbal transmission of the Quran from one generation to the next, according to John Burton, “had mitigated somewhat from the beginning the worst perils of relying solely on written records. But written records had their merits in the context of the preservation of the Quran which were not available to earlier divinely inspired scriptures. Although each copy of the Quran was handwritten separately there was divine intercession as well. How else could one possibly explain why all handwritten manuscripts looked the same, differing only in the styles of writing them down. Handwritten manuscripts were cleared as a correct replica once they passed through a consistency check from the “memorised” version – a process termed “double-checking.”
The Muslims are reminded again and again in the Quran how the “people of the Book” changed and altered their divine scriptures and sold them at “miserable prices”.
There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues; (as they read) so that you would think it is a part of the Book but it is no part of the Book; and they say “That is from Allah” but it is not from Allah: it is they who tell a lie against Allah, and (well) they know it!” (3:78)
“Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: “This is from Allah” to traffic with it for a miserable price! Woe to them for what their hands do write and for the gain they make thereby.” (2:79)
“O People of the Scripture! Why confound ye truth with falsehood and knowingly conceal the truth?” (3:71)
To millions of devout Muslims down through the ages, this warning has also served to instill in them a rock-like determination to do their part in preserving the Quran both in letter and in spirit.
–Rediscovering The Quran
