"God has
revealed (from time to time) the most beautiful Message in the form of a
Book, consistent with itself, (yet) repeating (its teaching in various
aspects), the skins of those who fear their Lord tremble thereat; then
their skins and their hearts do soften to the celebration of God's
praises. Such is the guidance of God: He guides therewith whom He
pleases"
[Surah Zumar Verse 23]
Al-Quran is the eternal miracle.
It is the last Book of Allah sent for the guidance of humanity through
the last Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him (PBUH).
Revelation of the Quran
The Quran was revealed piecemeal throughout a period of
about 23 years. The Prophet received the first revelation in 610CE, in
the Cave of Hira in the Mountain of Light (Jabale-Noor), two and a half
miles away from the House of Allah in the city of Makkah in Arabia.
The first revelation was the first five verses of Surah
(chapter) Al-Alaq:
"Iqra bismi rabbikalla dhi khalaq. Khalaqal
insana min alaq. Iqra wa rabbukal akram. Alladhi 'allama bil qalam. 'Allamal
insana malam ya’lam, " which means "Read in the name of your Lord who
created, created man from a clot. Read, for your Lord is most Generous,
Who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man what he does not know."
(96: 1-5)
The last revelation was the third verse of Surah Al-Maidah,
which was sent down to the Prophet in 632 C.E.:
"Al yawma akmaltu lakum dinakam wa atmamtu
alaikam ni'mati wa raditu' lakumul islama dinan''," which means "Today I
perfected your religion for you and completed my favor to you and have
chosen for you Al-Islam as your religion." (5:3)
Surah Al-Fatiha (The Opening Chapter) was the first complete
chapter to be revealed and Surah An-Nasr was the last.
Divisions of the Quran
Al-Quran is divided into thirty equal divisions, which are
called juz in Arabic. There are 114 chapters, of varying length. The
longest chapter is Al-Baqarah consisting of 286 verses and the shortest
chapter is AlKawthar consisting of three verses only. The whole Quran
has 6,236 verses (see
Basic Stats on The Holy Quran )
The chapters revealed before the migration of the Prophet to
Madina are called Makkan, whereas those sent down after the migration
are called Madinan.
Topics of the Chapters
Makkan chapters generally consist of brief sentences which
are full of enthusiasm, poetical, lofty and brilliant. They stress the
Unity and Majesty of Allah, the Most Exalted, Most High (SWT), denounce
idol worship, promise paradise for the righteous and warn wrongdoers of
their punishment in Hellfire, confirm the prophethood of Muhammad
(PBUH), and remind humanity of the past prophets and events of their
time.
On the other hand, the Madinan chapters are lengthy and the
verses are more prosaic. They outline ritualistic aspects of Islam such
as Zakah, Fasting, and Hajj, lay down moral and ethical codes, criminal
laws, social, economic, and state policies, give guidelines for foreign
relations, rules and regulations for battle and the captives of war.
They also contain descriptions of some of the early battles of Islam,
condemnation of hypocrites, emphasis on the unified basic message of all
the past prophets, and confirmation that the process of prophethood and
revelation is complete, so that no Prophet will come after Muhammad
[PBUH], no new book will be revealed, and Allah's religion is complete
through Al-Quran. So here Allah [SWT] exhorted the followers of truth to
make Al-Quran as their only guide.
The Importance of the Quran
The Quran is considered the eternal miracle of Islam. It is
the complete and best guide for living one's life and seeking Allah's
pleasure The teachings of the Quran are universal, addressed to all
people throughout the world regardless of their creed and color. They
enlighten man's soul, purify his morals, condemn all wrongs, order good
deeds and call for the establishment of justice and fraternity through
obeying Allah as the supreme authority. The Quran provides the
regulations that create the proper relations between man and Allah and
man and man. It leads man to understand his role in this world,
encourages him to think and ponder, and guides him in the usage of
natural resources. In short, the Quran provides all the guidance that
humanity needs. Without the guidance of the Quran, humanity would still
be groping in the darkness of ignorance.
Compilation of the Quran
The Quran was revealed piecemeal, according to the needs of
the time. Angel Jibrail [PBUH] brought it to the Prophet [PBUH] who
would memorize it. Afterwards, it was preserved in two ways.
First, through memorization, there were a number of early
Muslims who would memorize each revelation as soon as it was revealed
and thus had the whole Quran memorized at the time of the final
revelation. The tradition of memorizing the entire Quran still
continues, and a person who does so is called a Hafize Quran.
Second, the Quran was preserved through writing. Whenever
any revelation took place, it was written at once on tablets, palm
branches, shorn of leaves, or animal skin. This was done primarily by
Zaid bin Thabit, who was the main scribe out of the 42 scribes of the
revelation. The Prophet [PBUH] set the order of the chapters under the
guidance of Angel Jibrail [PBUH] and ordered his companions to maintain
that order. Abu Bakr, the first caliph of Islam, compiled the Quran, and
Uthman, the third caliph, made numerous copies and sent one copy to each
state capital.
Eternal Miracle
Al-Quran is the only ever living miracle. Today no other
miracle of any prophet exists. According to a survey, the number of
Huffaz (persons who have memorized the whole Quran) today is more than
10 million. Millions of
editions and copies were printed and handwritten in almost every part of
the world. They were also translated into most of the languages of
mankind. During the period of over 1400 years since the Quran was
revealed, not a single letter was changed. This is one of the greatest
miracles of the Quran.
The Quran, more than any other single phenomenon known to
us, has fundamentally affected the religious, social and political
history of the world. No other sacred scripture has ever had a similarly
immediate impact upon the lives of the people who first heard its
message and, through them and the generations that followed them, on the
entire course of civilization. It shook Arabia, and made a nation out of
its perennially warring tribes; within a few decades, it spread its
world-view far beyond the confines of Arabia and produced the first
ideological society known to man; through its insistence on
consciousness and knowledge, it engendered amongst its followers, a
spirit of intellectual curiosity and independent inquiry, ultimately
resulting in that splendid era of learning and scientific which
distinguished the world of Islam at the height of its cultural vigor…..
.... and never has any other book supplied to so many, and over so long
a span of time, a similarly comprehensive answer to the question, "How
shall I behave in order to achieve the good life in this world and
happiness in the life to come?"
The Quran represents the ultimate manifestation of God's grace to man,
the ultimate wisdom, and the ultimate beauty of expression: in short the
true Word of God.
“It is He Who sends down manifest Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses,
lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) to His slave (Muhammad)
that He may bring you out from darkness into light”[Surah
(Al-Hadeed 57:9]
Allah has told us in the Qur’aan the stories of the earlier
and later generations and the creation of the heavens and the earth. He
has explained in detail what is halaal and what is haraam, the basics of
good manners and morals, the rulings of worship
and dealings with others, the lives of the Prophets and the righteous,
and the reward and punishment of the believers and disbelievers. He has
described Paradise, the abode of the believers, and He has described
Hell, the abode of the disbelievers. He has made it (the Qur’aan) an
explanation of all things:
“And We have sent down to you the Book (the
Qur’aan) as an exposition of everything, a guidance, a mercy, and glad
tidings for those who have submitted themselves (to Allah as Muslims)” [Surah
Al-Nahl 16:89]
The Qur’aan explains the names and attributes of Allah and
what He has created. It calls us to believe in Allah, His angels, His
Books, His Messengers and the Last Day:
“The Messenger (Muhammad) believes in what has
been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one
believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They
say,) ‘We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers’ —
and they say, ‘We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our
Lord, and to You is the return (of all)’”[Surah Al-Baqarah 2:285]
The Qur’aan describes the Day of Judgement and what will
happen after death – the resurrection, the
gathering, the judgement and being brought to account. It describes the
Cistern, the Siraat (bridge over Hell), the Balance [in which deeds will
be weighed], the blessings and torment, and the gathering of mankind on
that great Day:
“Allah! Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right
to be worshipped but He). Surely, He will gather you together on the Day
of Resurrection about which there is no doubt. And who is truer in
statement than Allah?[Surah Al-Nisaa’ 4:87]
The Qur’aan calls us to examine and ponder the signs of
Allah in the universe and the verses of the Qur’aan:
“Say: ‘Behold all that is in the heavens and the earth’”[Yoonus 10:101]
“Do they not then think deeply in the Qur’aan,
or are their hearts locked up (from understanding it)?”[Muhammad 47:24]
The Qur’aan is the Book of Allah for all of mankind:
“Verily, We have sent down to you (O Muhammad)
the Book (this Qur’aan (Quran / Koran)) for mankind in truth. So
whosoever accepts the guidance, it is only for his ownself; and
whosoever goes astray, he goes astray only for his (own) loss. And you
(O Muhammad) are not a Wakeel (trustee or disposer of affairs, or
guardian) over them”[Surah Al-Zumar 39:41]
The Qur’aan confirms the Books which came before it, the
Tawraat (Torah) and Injeel (Gospel), and it
is a witness over them, as Allah says:
“And We have sent down to you (O Muhammad) the
Book (this Qur’aan) in truth, confirming the Scripture that came before
it and Muhaymin (trustworthy in highness and a witness) over it (old
Scriptures)”[Surah Al-Maa'idah 5:48]
After the Qur’aan was revealed, it became the Book for all
of mankind until the Hour begins. Whoever does not believe in it is a
kaafir who will be punished with torment on the Day of Resurrection, as
Allah says:
“But those who reject Our Ayaat (proofs,
evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), the torment will
touch them for their disbelief (and for their belying the Message of
Muhammad)”[Surah Al-An’aam 6:49]
Because of the greatness of the Qur’aan and the signs,
miracles, parables and lessons contained therein, in addition to its
eloquence and beautiful style, Allah says:
“Had We sent down this Qur’aan on a mountain,
you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rent asunder by the
fear of Allah. Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind
that they may reflect”[Surah Al-Hashr 58:21]
Allah has challenged mankind and the jinn to produce
something like it, even one Surah or one Aayah, but they could not do
that and will never be able to do that, as Allah says:
“Say: ‘If the mankind and the jinn were together
to produce the like of this Qur’aan, they could not produce the like
thereof, even if they helped one another’”[Surah Al-Israa’ 17:88]
Because the Qur’aan is the greatest of the heavenly Books,
the most complete, the most perfect and the last of them, Allah
commanded His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) to convey it to all of mankind, as He says:
“O Messenger (Muhammad)! Proclaim (the Message)
which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then
you have not conveyed His Message. Allah will protect you from mankind”
[Surah Al-Maa'idah 5:67]
Because of the importance of this book and the ummah’s need
for it, Allah has honored us with it. He sent it down to us and has
guaranteed to preserve it. Allah says:
“Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the
Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’aan) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)”
[Surah Al-Hijr 15:9]
Courtesy:
Usool al-Deen al-Islami by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Tuwayjri
(www.islam-qa.com)