(An Introduction of the Holy Qur’an Series-Part-I)
By: Dr. Md. Wasay Zafar
Abstract
Nowadays,
it is a general perception that the Holy Qur’an is the religious scripture of
the Muslims only. But an analytical study of the Qur’an reveals that it is
addressed to the entire humanity and its central theme is the training and
guidance of the human beings. There are ample references in it which clearly
indicate that the Holy Qur’an is not a source of guidance for the Muslims only
but it provides ideological and practical guidance to the entire mankind in
every sphere of life. It does not single out any particular race, nation or
group. Everyone who accepts the invitation of the Qur'an is assured of guidance
to the straight way of life and consequently success in this life and in the
life hereafter. Thus it is a common divine treasure of the mankind as there is
air, water or sunlight. Therefore it is the immense need of the time that this
treasure should be introduced to the humanity so that they could take proper
benefit out of it. The researcher through this series of paper has tried to
fulfil this need. Next articles in this series are “The Language and the Understandability
of the Holy Quran” and “The Subject Matter of the Holy Qur’an”.
Key Words: The Quran, Surah, Aayah, Ruku’, Juz
Introduction
The Quran (Arabic: القرآن
Al-Qur’ān,
literally “the recitation”), also called the
Holy Quran or the Noble Quran is the scripture of Islam which contains the
revelations (Wahy) recited by Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallum i.e.
Peace be upon Him) preserved in a fixed written form[1]. It
is also transliterated sometimes as Qur’an,
Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran , Al-Kur’ān or Al-Qur’ān. According to Islamic belief the Quran is the book of divine
guidance and direction for the whole mankind. It was revealed to God’s final
messenger Muhammad (SAW)[2]
through the agency of the angel Jibrīl
(Gabriel)[3], over a period of approximately twenty-three years, beginning in
610 CE,
when he was forty, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death.[4] As
per the Qur’anic injunctions, Muslims believe that
the Quran is the literal word of God (Kalamullah)[5] which
was revealed in Arabic[6],
the language of the people it was initially addressed to, even though the
message was ultimately for the whole of humanity. They regard the Qur’an as the chief miracle of Muhammad (SAW), as proof of his Prophethood,[7] and
as the culmination of a series of divine messages.[8]
These started, according to Islamic belief, with the messages revealed to Adam, regarded in Islam as the first prophet, and continued with the Suhuf-e-
Ibrahim (Scrolls of
Abraham),[9] the
Tawrat (Torah or Pentateuch),[10]
the Zabur (Tehillim or Book of
Psalms),[11] and
the Injil (Evangel or the Gospels of Jesus).[12]
Thus, the Quran is the final message that confirms[13] but supersedes[14] all
the scriptures before it and reiterates the basic religion God ordained for the
people of Noah (popularly known among Hindus as Mahanuvu or Manu), the Jews and
the Christians, as well as for the Muslims.[15]
Etymology and Meaning of the Word ‘Quran’
The Holy Quran has many names. Abul Muali Azizi Ibn Abdul Malik (d.494
AH), the famous scholar of Quranic Studies has listed fifty-five names of the
Holy Quran[16]
but an analysis of the listed names reveals that he has included those names
also which are related with some attributes of the Holy Quran. In fact the
Quran has five proper names; Al-Quran,[17] Al-Furqan,[18] Al-Zikr,[19] Al-Kitab,[20]
and Al-Tanzeel,[21] which
have been mentioned in the Quran itself as proper noun but amongst all “Al-Quran”
is most famous.[22]
It appears sixty-eight times in the Quran; fifty times with a definite article
(al-) and eighteen times without it.[23]
There is much controversy among scholars about the root of the word
“Quran”. According to Abdullah Ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH), the famous commentator of
the Holy Qur’an among the companions of the Prophet, the word “Quran” is a
verbal noun (masdar) and has been derived from Arabic root “Qara’a Yaqra’u”
(Arabic: يَقْرَأُ قَرَأَ) which means “to read or to recite”. His
second view is that the word “Quran” is a noun which means “that which is read”
(Arabic; “ma yaqra’u” يَقْرَأُ مَا ). According to
Qatadah, a taba’i (disciple of the companions of the Prophet), the root of the
word “Quran” is “Qar’a” (Arabic: قرء) whose meaning is
“to gather, or to compile”. Most of the scholars and commentators have accepted
the first view of Abdullah Ibn Abbas that is it means the “the act of reciting”.[24]
Muhammad Taqi
Usmani, one of the recent commentators of the Holy Quran, also agrees with him
but with a different logic. He writes that “Qara’a Yaqra’u” means “to gather,
or to compile” and it is used for the act of reciting because in it letters and
words are compiled together. He further adds that verbal noun (masdar) of
“Qara’a Yaqra’u” is also “Quranun” (قُرْآنٌ)
besides “Qira’atun” (قِرَاءَةٌ). That is why Allah
has said; إِنَّ
عَلَيْنَا جَمْعَهُ وَقُرْآنَهُ “It is for us to collect it
and to promulgate it” (The Quran: Al-Qiyamah 75:17). He further adds that in
Arabic verbal noun is also utilized sometimes as past participle. It is in this
sense that the Book of Allah is also called as “Quran” which means “the read
book”. He further pronounces that most probably to contradict the dictum of the
nonbelievers, name to the Book of Allah has been given as “Quran”. They used to
say;لَا تَسْمَعُوا
لِهَذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ “Listen not to
this Qur'án, but talk at random in the midst of its (reading), that ye may
gain the upper hand”( Ha Mim Sajdah 41:26). By giving name “Quran”, it has been indicated that message of the Quran cannot be
suppressed by such type of foolish acts. The book has been revealed to read and
it will be read till the day of resurrection.[25]
The researcher does not
agree with the last view of Allama Muhammad Taqi Usmani
as it is evident from the dictum of the nonbelievers itself
(“Listen not to
this Qur'án”) that the holy book was famous among them with the name “Quran” and
their antagonistic statement came later to the naming of the book. Therefore
nonbelievers’ statement cannot be the reason behind the nomenclature adopted
for the Holy Scripture. The reason can be understood better in the light of the
verses 16-19 of the chapter 75; Al-Qiyamah;
فَإِذَا
قَرَأْنَاهُ فَاتَّبِعْ قُرْآنَهُ ﴿18﴾ إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا
جَمْعَهُ وَقُرْآنَهُ ﴿17﴾ لَا تُحَرِّكْ
بِهِ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعْجَلَ بِهِ ﴿16﴾
ثُمَّ إِنَّ
عَلَيْنَا بَيَانَهُ ﴿19﴾
“Move
not thy tongue concerning the (Qur'an) to make haste therewith. It is for Us to
collect it and to promulgate it:.
But when We have promulgated it, follow thou its recital (as promulgated): Nay more, it is for Us to explain it (and
make it clear):”[26]
In the verse 17 both the words جَمْعَهُ (Jam’ahu) and قُرْآنَهُ (Qur’anah) have been used and in the verse 18 the word
“Qur’anah” has been repeated . Generally the commentators have taken the
meaning of “Jam’ahu” as ‘to collect the verses in a particular chapter and of
“Qur’anah” as “to recite” as has been taken by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (cited above).
But it is evident from the verse 16 that at the time of revelation, Prophet
Muhammad (SAW) used to move his tongue hastily in order to memorize the verses.
Therefore he was deterred from this act and ensured that it is the
responsibility of Allah to preserve the verses in his heart. Thus meaning of
the word “Jam’ahu”, in this verse is ‘to preserve the verse in the memory of
the prophet’. Secondly, it is known that the Quran was revealing in pieces
which had to be completed in a long period of 23 years resulting to face a
problem of sequencing the verses in a Surah (chapter). This might be the
concern of the prophet at the time of revelation. Consequently he was ensured
that sequencing of verses in a chapter in a logical order, is also the
responsibility of Allah and for this message the word “Qur’anah” has been used.
As a result the correct interpretation of the verses cited above is; “O
prophet; do not move your tongue hastily in order to recite the verses of the
Quran, the responsibility of preserving the verses in your mind and also the
sequencing the verses in a surah and their compilation is ours. So when we
compile it in a proper sequence, follow that sequence (in recitation).It is
also our responsibility to make clear the meanings of the verses.” Thus from
the above discussion it can be concluded that the book revealed on the prophet
Muhammad (SAW) is called “Quran” because letters, words, verses and surah
(chapters) are arranged in it in a particular sequence and the view point of Qatadah regarding
the root of the word “Quran” is more strong.[27]
As has been
discussed in the beginning the Quran has four other proper names; Al-Furqan,
Al-Zikr, Al-Kitab and Al-Tanzeel. Each name
possesses its own
distinct meaning but its use usually converges with that of Quran in certain
context. Al-Furqan means “discernment” or “the criterion” (between right
and wrong), Al-Zikr means "remembrance" or “message” used to
refer to the Qur’an in the sense of a reminder and warning, Al-Kitab,
the “book” and Al-Tanzeel means “revelation”
or “message which has been
sent down at intervals”. Other important synonyms of the Quran are; Al-Huda ("the guide”), Al-Hikmah (“the wisdom”), Al-Nur ( “the light” or
“illumination”), Al-Mauizah (“admonition”), Kalamullah (“the word of God”),
and Suhuf (“Scripture”).The term Mus'haf ("written work") is often used to
refer to a particular Qur'anic manuscript but is also used in the Qur’an to
identify earlier revealed books.
Organization
of the Holy Quran
The Quran is composed of 114 parts or chapters of varying length. Each
chapter is called a Surah in Arabic meaning literally
‘eminence’ or ‘high degree’.
The titles of the chapters are usually derived from a name or the key issue or
event discussed in the text, or from the first letters or words of the surah. Muslim scholars are of the view that Muhammad
(SAW) gave the chapters their names on God's directive.[28] On the basis of place of revelation surahs or
chapters are classified in two categories; Makki (Meccan) and Madani (Medinan).
The surahs which were revealed in Makkah before the hijrat (the prophet’s
migration to Madinah) are called Makki surahs and they are 88 (eighty-eight) in
number while those revealed after hijrat are called as Madani surahs. Again
there are certain exceptions with Makki verses in Madani surahs and vice-versa
and this was done stringently in accordance with the divine scheme as envisioned
by Allah through prophet Muhammad (SAW).[29]
Regarding the arrangement of surahs in the Quran there are two
viewpoints. The first view is that the present arrangement has been given by
the companions of the prophet with their mutual agreement or consensus. The
second and most accepted view is that this is also in accordance with the
divine scheme as communicated by Allah to the Prophet through the angel Gabriel. However Islamic scholars agree that the
arrangement of chapters is not connected to the sequence of revelation.[30] The first surah,
Al-Fatihah (“The
Opening”), is relatively short (twenty-five words) and from the second surah,
Al-Baqarah (the longest having 6,100
words, nearly one twelfth of the entire book) onward, the surahs gradually
decrease in length, though this is not a fixed and rigid rule. The last
sixty surahs occupy nearly as much space in the Quran as the
second. All surahs, except the ninth one (At-Taubah),
begin with ‘Bimillah hir-Rahman nir-Rahim’, an Arabic phrase meaning ‘In the Name of God,
Most-Gracious, Most Merciful’.
Again
every surah of the Quran is comprised of several sentences or
phrases, each of which is called an Aayah, meaning literally ‘a Sign’
or ‘an Omen sent by Allah’. The word Aayah is generally translated in
English as ‘verse’ comparing its use for one of the numbered subdivisions of a chapter in the Bible. At the end of each verse a sign like that of a
small circle “Ο” is given in the Mus’haf to recognize
the verse. The number of verses varies from surah to surah resulting in the
variation in the length of the surahs. About the total number of verses in the
Holy Quran, there is much controversy among the Muslim scholars since the
inception of Islam; some recognize 6000 verse, some 6204, some 6214 and some
others 6216, 6219, 6225, 6236 and 6616, though the words in all the cases are
same.[31]
The most popular edition of the Quran with English translation and commentary
by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, which is distributed by the Ministry of Hajj &
Endowments, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and which has been made the basis of this
research, contains 6236 verses.
The verses of the
Holy Quran are not standard in length or words. An individual verse may be of just a few
letters or several lines. For example first verse of the second surah,
Al-Baqarah contains only three letters “الم ﴿١﴾” denoted in English by “A.L.M.” and
pronounced as “Alif, Lam, Mim”
whereas two hundred eighty second (282nd) verse of the same surah comprises 15 lines
in the Mus’haf (Mus’haf-ul-Madinah-al-Nabwiyah) distributed by Late King, Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia, Fahad ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Saud. Some of the longer Aayahs like 282nd of Al-Baqarah are
much longer than the smaller surahs like Al-Asr (103), Al-Kauthar (108),
Al-Ikhlas (112) etc. Regarding the arrangement of verses in a particular surah, Muslim
scholars agree that this is according
to the direction of the Prophet (SAW) as communicated to him by the angel Gabriel with the divine sanction.[32] Abdullah Ibn Abbas reported Uthman (R.A.) as saying that it was the revered
practice of the Holy Prophet (SAW) that he, soon after the revelation of a
certain portion of the Qur'an, used to summon some of his scribes and pointedly instruct them to write the
verses in the surah in which such and such has
been mentioned (i.e. after such and such verse); and when one or two verses
were revealed, he used to say similarly regarding them.[33]
Besides the division
of the Quran into Surahs, some other divisions have also been made after the
death of the Prophet (SAW) for the convenience of recitation and study which
has no influence on the original structure, as they are mere marks on the sides
of the pages denoting the specific part. All the Surahs, with the exception of the
first and the last thirty five, have been divided into sections each of which
is called a Ruku’ and denoted by the
sign ‘ﻉ’. Each section deals generally with one subject and contains a number
of related verses. The number of verses thus varies from section to section
resulting in the variation in the length of the sections. Total number of
sections in the Holy Quran including the first and the last thirty five surahs
of one section, are 557. Another important division of the Quran which is
chiefly associated with the process of its memorization in a more organized way
is that of 30 roughly equal parts each of which is called a ‘Juz’ in Arabic (plural ‘Ajza’). Every Juz contains two units called Ahzab
(singular ‘Al-Hizb’), each of which is further divided into four parts
called serially as ‘Rub 'al-Hizb’ (first quarter of the Hizb), ‘Nisf
'al-Hizb’ (second quarter of the Hizb) and Thalathat Arba 'al-Hizb’ (third
quarter of the Hizb). The last quarter of the Hizb is not indicated by
any special name because where it ends, the mark of the next Hizb is given in
the Mus’haf. In the month of fasting, Ramadan, one ‘Juz’ of the
Quran is usually recited every night in a special prayer called
‘Qiyam-e-Ramadan’, generally known as ‘Taraweeh’ and the entire Quran is
completed in the thirty days of the month. The Qur’an is also divided into seven stations
called Manazil (singular, Manzil)
for the purpose of reciting it completely in 7 days as was the practice
among the companions of the Prophet (SAW).
Notes & References
[1] . Pearson, J.D., Al-Kur’ān, The Encyclopaedia of Islam (New Edition), E. J. Brill, Leiden,
the Netherlands (1986), Vol. V, P. 400.
[4] . Ibid, Al-Isra 17: 106, Al-Furqan
25: 32 and Al-Insan 76: 23. See also Mansoorpuri, Quazi Mohammad Sulaiman
Salman, Rahmatullil Aalmeen, Itaqad
Publishing House, New Delhi (2001), PP. 42-43, 273, 365-366.
[15]. Ibid, Ash-Shura 42: 13. The researcher’s statement that
Hindus are the people of the Prophet Noah is based on the research of Maulana Shams Naved Usmani as presented in
his book “Agar Ab Bhi Na Jage To” published by Farid Book depot (Pvt.) Ltd. New
Delhi (1989), PP. 32-37.
[16]. Al-Suyuti, Allama
Jalaluddin “Al-Itqan Fi Uloom-Al-Quran” , Islamic Book Foundation, New Delhi,
(1999), Vol. I, PP. 132-134.
[23]. Azmi, Altaf Ahmad “Quran ki Wajah-e-Tasmiyah”, Quarterly
Majallah Afkar-e-Alia, Mau (India), Vol. 6, No.1, January-March 2009, P31.
[26]. The
Holy Quran: Translation & Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (Revised & Edited
By The Presidency of Islamic Research, IFTA, Call & Guidance), The Ministry
of Hajj & Endowments, K.S.A. (1413 AH), Al-Qiyamah75: 16-19.
[33]. Jami’ Tirmidhi, Book of Exegesis of the
Quran, Chapter 10; About Surah Al-Taubah, Hadith No. 3097 and Sunan Abudawud,
Book 3, Hadith Number 0785.
*****
No comments:
Post a Comment