HISTORY & IMPORTANCE OF QURAN

Compilation of the Quran

 Compilation during the Prophet's life
 Whenever the Prophet received a revelation, he would call his scribes
 He would dictate it to them and they would write it.
 They would write on leaves, stone tablets, bones of camels and pieces of leather.
 There were around 70 scribes.
 They wrote only what they were asked to write.
 The scribes would read back the verses and the Prophet would check them.
 Hazrat Uthman said; "Whether the revelation consisted of lengthy, successive verses,
or a single verse, the Prophet would summon one of his scribes and say, "Place this
verse in Surah where such and such is mentioned."
 Zaid bin Thabit said; "We would compile the Quran in the presence of the Holy Prophet."
 The Prophet used to recite the Quran with Angel Jibrael every Ramadan, and twice in the
 last year to make sure there are no mistakes.

 Reasons for compilation

 The Quran was revealed orally.
 It was revealed over a period of 23 years.
 The Quran was not in book form in the lifetime of the Prophet.
 Zaid bin Thabit said; "The Holy Prophet was taken whilst the Quran had not yet been
gathered into a book."
 The Quran was in the hearts of the Huffaz.
 Huffaaz were passing away/getting martyred
 360 Huffaz were martyred in the Battle of Yamama.
 Hazrat Umar worried for the preservation of the Quran and hence advised the caliph Abu Bakr.

 How it was compiled

 Hazrat Abu Bakr was reluctant towards Hazrat Umar’s suggestion at first.
 "Why should I start a task which was undone by the Prophet."
 After persuasion from Hazrat Umar, Hazrat Abu Bakr agree.
 Zaid bin Thabit, one of the katibeen e wahi and huffaaz, was appointed for the task.
 Zaid said; "By Allah if I had been asked to uproot a mountain and put it at another
place it would have been easier than the compilation of the Quran."
 He collected the Quran along with a group of 25 people.
 Two witnesses were demanded along with the written collections.
 Zaid bin Thabit also checked with his own memory.
 The task was completed in a short time.

 Mushaf-e-Hafsa
 The first copy was known as 'Umm' and was distributed around the empire.
 It was kept with Hazrat Abu Bakr.
 After his death, it was passed on to Hazrat Umar.
 Hazrat Umar then handed it down to his daughter, Hafsa.
 She kept it safe in a large wooden box.
 It was then titled 'Mushaf-e-Hafsa'.

 Dialect Problem
 During the caliphate of Hazrat Uthman.
 The empire had expanded to areas where Arabic was not spoken.
 There was confusion among Muslims as they could not understand the different accents
 and dialects.
 Huzaifa ibn Yemen, a companion of the Prophet, reported it to the caliph.
 Hazrat Uthman again appointed Zaid bin Thabit.
 He was accompanied by experts of the Quraish dialect such as Abdullah bin Zubair, Anas
 bin Malik and Abdullah bin Abbas.
 He took the original Mushaf-e-Hafsa and prepared transcripts according to the dialect of the
 Prophet which were sent around the empire.
 The old copies were burnt to avoid confusion.
 New copies were sent to provinces with teachers of the dialect.
 Hazrat Uthman was titled 'Jami-ul-Quran' for this service.

Revelation of the Quran

 First Revelation
 The Prophet had begun to isolate himself.
 He took to the Cave of Hira on Mount Nur, near the outskirts of Makkah as a spiritual retreat.
 In Ramadan of 610 the first revelation came.
 Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet, and said "Read"
 The Prophet replied, "I cannot read"
 The angel embraced the Prophet tightly till he couldn't bear it anymore
 The Angel again said; "Read"
 The Prophet once more replied; "I cannot read"
 The Angel embraced him tightly again.
 Angel Gabriel said for a third time; "Read"
 The Prophet said; "I cannot read"
 The Angel embraced him for a third time tightly till the Prophet couldn't bear it anymore.
 After letting go, the Angel began to recite the verses of Surah Alaq.
 "Read! in the name of your Lord, who created, created man out of a clot of congealed
blood: Proclaim! And your Lord is most bountiful, He who taught by the pen, taught man
what he knew not." (96:1-5)
 The Angel made sure that the Prophet had memorized them and disappeared.
 Prophet was shaken.
 He rushed out of the cave, stumbling around.
 He found Angel Gabriel surrounding the horizon with a bright light.
 The Angel said; "I am Gabriel and you are the Messenger of Allah."
 The Prophet rushed to his home, to Hazrat Khadija.
 He was trembling with fear and said; "Cover me, cover me"
 The Prophet narrated the events of the cave to his wife.
 Hazrat Khadija consoled him and said he was so generous and of good conduct, Allah
 would never let any harm come to him.
 Hazrat Khadija went to her cousin who is a Christian scholar, Waraqah bin Nawfal and
 narrated the events to him.
 Waraqah said; "The one who came to him is the same Holy Spirit who used to go to
Moses. He's going to be the prophet of this nation, so tell him to hold on steadfastly. He
will be called a liar. He will be persecuted. He will have to fight."

 Time of Silence
 There was no revelation for a long period of time.
 He thought he had done something wrong which displeased Allah.
 It was a time of great depression for him.
 The Makkans mocked him that his God had forgotten him.
 At last, revelation came with Surah Al-Duha.
 Allah consoled him and reminded the Prophet of Allah's favors upon him.
 "Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is displeased. And truly hereafter will be better for you
than the present. And soon your Lord will give you so that you will be pleased."

 Final Revelation
 The last revelation came to the Prophet in 10 AH.
 The Prophet led the Hajj.
 He addressed over hundred thousand pilgrims in Arafat on the 9th of Dhul Hijjah.
 He gave his farewell sermon there.
 During the sermon he received the final revelation.
 "This day I have perfected your religion and completed my favor upon you, and have
chosen for you Islam as your religion." (5:3)

 Methods of Revelation
 The revelations came in many ways.
 Sometimes Angel Jibrael came in his real form.
 The Prophet would also get revelations from the sound of bells, buzzing of bees and dreams.
 He also got revelation directly from Allah when he went on Mairaj.
 While getting a revelation, the Prophet's physical state would change a lot.
 Zaid bin Thabit said; "The Messenger of Allah was leaning on my knee once when he received
a revelation. I felt such a heavy burden that I thought my knees would break."
  Hazrat Ayesha narrated; "On an intensely cold winter day, I saw sweat dripping from the hand
of Messenger of Allah when he received revelation."
 Hazrat Ayesha also narrated; "The Messenger of Allah was on a camel when he received
revelation. The chest of the camel remained on the ground till the revelation ended."
 Revelations came according to different situations or to answer questions, for example Surah
Anfaal was revealed about the spoils of war after the Battle of Badr. Surah Kauthar came to
console the Prophet about his male heir.

 Makki and Madani Surahs

 Makki surahs are the ones revealed before the migration to Madinah.
 They mainly teach about the core beliefs such as Belief in Allah, the Prophets and the day of
Judgement.
 Makki surahs are shorter and more rhythmical.
 They mostly address "O People."
 Madni surahs are the surahs revealed after the migration.
 Madni surahs are more detailed and longer.
 They mostly give teachings about social life.
 They mostly start with "O Believers."
 There are 86 Makki and 28 Madni surahs in total.

 Sources of Law
There are four sources of Islamic Law.
 Quran
 Hadith
 Ijma
 Qiyas
The Quran and Hadith are primary sources whereas Ijma and Qiyas are secondary. All four sources can be
derived from the verse (4:59)
"O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And
if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger"

 Quran as a source of legal thinking

 The Quran is the first source of Law
 Allah commands us to use the Quran for Sharia when he says "Obey Allah"
 The Quran is the word of Allah and its teachings cover all aspects of life
 Allah says; "We have neglected nothing in the book."
 The Quran is to be used to pass judgements, "We have sent down to you the book of
truth so that you may judge between men, as guided by God."
 The Quran has verses with clear and unclear rulings
"in it are verse precise - they are the foundation of the book - and others unspecific."
 For example, Allah says; "While Allah has made trade permitted and riba prohibited."
 This a clear command that interest is prohibited
 Such verses are taken as final law
 Some verses are vague on one occasion but explained by another verse elsewhere in the
 Quran
 For example, Allah says; "Livestock has been made permissible for you except that
which shall be recited to you"
 Allah later explains; "Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, flesh of swine, that which has
been slaughtered for other than Allah."
 When the Quran is brief, sunnah is referred to for further explanation

 Sunnah as a source of legal thinking

 The sunnah is the second source of Islamic law
 Allah commands us to follow the sunnah when he says; "Obey the Messenger"
 Allah also says; "Verily in the Messenger of Allah you have the best model to follow."
 The sunnah explains the unclear verses of the Quran
 "And we revealed to you the message that you (O Messenger) may make clear to the people
what was sent down to them."
 For example, Allah says; "Establish Prayer."
 However, the Quran does not tell the method of prayer
 The Prophet explains it with his hadith
 The Prophet said; "Pray as you have seen me pray"
 "There is no salah without Fatiha"
 Another example is, Allah says; "Pay Zakat"
 However, details are not told, how much is to be paid and to whom
 The Prophet explains in his hadith
 The Prophet said; "There is no zakat due on less than five awsaq of dates, there is no
zakat due on less than five awaq of silver and there is no zakat due on less than five camels"
 The Prophet also explained the meanings of words of the Quran which were unknown
 Allah says; "And forbidden to you are khabaith", The Prophet explained the meaning of
khabaith as animals with fangs and birds with claws”
 The hadith explains whatever is unclear from the Quran, Allah says "You can eat and drink
 until you find difference between the white thread and the black thread.", companions thought
 that this means to literally identify a black and white thread apart, the Prophet explained that it
 means the break of dawn to start the fast
 The hadith develops on the laws of the Quran and provides exceptions and details
 For example, Allah says; "And for all, we have made heirs to what is left by parents and
 relatives", this verse about inheritance says all relatives can inherit
 However, the Prophet said; "A murderer will not inherit"
 He also said; "A Muslim does not inherit from a non-Muslim, and a non-Muslim does not
inherit from a Muslim"

 Ijma
 Ijma is the third source of sharia
 It is the consensus of Muslims scholars over an issue
 it is referred to when there isn't clear guidance in the Quran and Sunnah
 Muslims have to follow the ijma of scholars; Allah says; "Obey Allah, Obey the Messenger and
those charged with authority among you." The authority here refers to scholars.
 Allah says; "Whoever contradicts the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and
follows other than the believers' way, we shall keep him in the way he has chosen and land him
in hell."
 Allah tells us to consult scholars; "If you don't know then ask those who possess knowledge."
 Allah also says; "If they had referred it to the Messenger and such of them as they are in
authority, those among them who are able to think out the matter would have known it"
 The Prophet said; "My nation will not agree upon an error"
 The Prophet said; "Avoid branching path and keep to general community"
 All of these references prove Ijma is correct and must be followed
 The Prophet encouraged mutual discussion, the battle of Uhud and Trench are examples of this

 Examples of Ijma:
 According to ijma, marriage with grandmother and granddaughter is forbidden, on basis of the
verse; "Prohibited to you in marriage are your mothers, daughters, sisters." Quran and sunnah are
silent on grandparents and grandchildren, scholars agree it is forbidden.
 Grandfathers are given right in inheritance according to Ijma on the basis of the verse; "It is
prescribed when death approaches any of you, if he leaves any goods, he should make a
bequest to parents and next of kin"
 Compilation of Quran under Hazrat Abu Bakr
 Tarawih prayers under Hazrat Umar
 Two Azans for Friday prayer under Hazrat Uthman
 The Prophet said; "Follow my path and the path of the rightly guided caliphs"

 Qiyas
 Qiyas is a comparison between new situations and the Quran and Sunnah
 It is used when the Quran and Sunnah are silent about a new issue and there is no ijma
 An individual scholar compares the new situation with a situation from the Quran and Sunnah
 The proof of Qiyas is when Allah says; "if you quarrel over anything, refer it to Allah and the
Messenger."
 The Prophet sent Mu'az to Yemen and said; "How will you judge?" Mu'az said, "I will judge
according to what is in the Book of Allah." The Prophet said, "What if it is not in the Book of
 Allah?" Mu'az said, "Then with the tradition of the Messenger of Allah." The Prophet said,
 "What if it is not in the tradition of the Messenger of Allah?" Mu'az said,"Then I will strive to
form an opinion." The Prophet said, "All praise is due to Allah who made suitable the messenger
of the Messenger of Allah."
 "I will strive to form an opinion" is evidence of Qiyas
 Scholars find a resembling situation in the Quran or Sunnah (Asal), and compare it with the new
situation (Far) and try to find an underlying common point (Illa) to give the final ruling (Hukm)

 Examples of Qiyas:
 Drinking wine is forbidden in Quran due to intoxication, hence all modern intoxicants are haram
too by Qiyas
 Everything like studying and playing should be left at the time of Friday azan too based off the
verse; "When Azan is proclaimed on Friday then leave your businesses and hasten towards the
mosques for the remembrance of Allah.”