بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
THE AMAZING QUR’AAN
You would call me crazy if I asked you which part of the human body is human. Is there any part of the human body that is not human? If that is the case – and it sure is – the same would be said about you if you ask which part of the Qur’aan is a miracle. Is there any part of the Qur’aan that is not a miracle?
Not Just One Miracle
بل هو آيات بينات فى صدور الذين أوتوا العلم
“On the contrary, it (the Qur’aan) is a number of clear signs in the bosoms of those who are blessed with knowledge.”
The Qur’aan is not just one single miracle. The word aayaat (signs) in the above aayah is in the plural form and therefore shows that there are many miracles in the Qur’aan. In fact, the reason why each verse is called an aayah (sign, miracle) is that each aayah is a separate miracle. The ‘ulamaa are unanimous that there are more than six thousand two hundred aayaat in the Qur’aan. This means that the Qur’aan comprises more than six thousand two hundred miracles. Furthermore, the appropriate choice of words, unique meanings, picturesque descriptions and its intonation are all miraculous.
An Academic Miracle
It is the Qur’aan’s speciality over the miracles of all the previous Ambiyaa that it is the only mu’jizah ‘ilmiyyah (academic miracle) that was ever given to a Nabi of Allah. The miracles of all the previous Ambiyaa as well as the rest of the miracles of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam were ‘amaliyyah (physical).
Miracle-Producer
Qaari Muhammed Tayyib rahimahullah mentioned in one of his lectures that the Qur’aan is not merely a miracle – it is a miracle-producer. What this means is that implementation of the teachings of the Qur’aan led to the birth of such pious servants of Allah whose followers are comparable to different umam (plural of ummah). Abu Haneefah, Sufyaan Ath-Thawri and the other mujtahideen were not Ambiyaa. “However, their accomplishments were like those of the Ambiyaa. They imbued the hearts of thousands people with Imaan…”
Besides achieving gigantic tasks like the Ambiyaa, many of the pious servants of Allah performed certain miracles. (We, the Ahlus-Sunnah, believe in the miracles of the pious.) Such miracles only occur due to the blessings of abiding to the teachings of the Qur’aan. Thus Qaari Muhammed Tayyib states further: “Due to this miracle of Muhammed sallallahu alaihi wasallam and adherence to its teachings people attained such ranks that miracles occurred at their hands.”
Preservation
The fact that, more than fourteen hundred years after revelation, the Qur’aan is still in its original form is one of its specialties which it shares with no other heavenly book. The reason for this is the divine promise of Allah to preserve it.
انا نحن نزلنا الذكر و انا له لحافظون
“Undoubtedly We revealed the reminder and undoubtedly We are its guardians.”
Just as preservation in its original form is a speciality of the Qur’aan, the fact that Allah has promised to preserve it is another one of its specialities. There is no evidence – neither in Islamic literature (the Qur’aan and the Sunnah) – nor in Biblical literature that Allah promised to preserve any of the other books that He had revealed to the previous Ambiyaa.
Method of Preservation
بل هو آيات بينات فى صدور الذين أوتوا العلم
“On the contrary, it (the Qur’aan) is a number of clear signs in the bosoms of those who are blessed with knowledge.”
Although al-kitaabah (writing and printing) contribute to Qur’aanic preservation, the words فى صدور الذين أوتوا العلم (in the bosoms of those…) indicate that the primary method in this regard is al-hifdh (memorization). Motivated by love, dedication and the reward promised by Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam, Muslims have been memorizing the Qur’aan from the time of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. Presently too, there are thousands of Muslims all over the world who have memorized the Qur’aan.
و لقد يسرنا القرآن للذكر …
“Most certainly We made the Qur’aan easy for adh-dhikr.”
Sa’eed bin Jubair radiallahu anhu interpreted adh-dhikr as al-hifdh and al-qiraa’ah. Hence the meaning of this aayah is that Allah made recitation and memorization of the Qur’aan easy. Quoting this opinion of Sa’eed bin Jubair radiallahu anhu, Al-Baghawi rahimahullah writes: “There is no other book of Allah that is read completely from memory besides the Qur’aan.” At this juncture we recall the statement of the orientalist who said that: “The number of people in Egypt who know the Qur’aan by heart far outnumber the number of people in the whole of Europe who can read the Bible by heart.” I believe that today the number of people in many non-Muslim cities who know the Qur’aan by heart far exceed the number of people in the whole of Europe who can read the Bible by heart.
Four Levels of Preservation
وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
“And We revealed the reminder to you so that you may explain to the people what has been revealed to them.”
In the light of this aayah we conclude that one of the primary duties of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam was to explain the meaning of the Qur’aan. Thus it is impossible to correctly understand the meaning of the Qur’aan without the Sunnah. Hence Allah’s promise to protect and preserve the Qur’aan is also a promise to protect and preserve the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. In short, the mabaani (words) and ma’aani (meanings) of the Qur’aan have been preserved in their original form.
Added to the above, the methods of recitation and writing of the Qur’aan have also been preserved. You may not read the Qur’aan in just any manner. You have to recite the Qur’aan in accordance with the laws of at-tajweed. Adherence to the laws of at-tajweed ensures that the method of recitation adopted by Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam is preserved. Similarly, you may not write the Qur’aan in just any manner. For example, the word could be written in two ways:
1. Kaaf,taa,alif and baa (كتاب)
2. Kaaf,taa and baa with an elongated fathah on the taa (كتب)
Both ways are found in the Qur’aan. Sometimes the first way is adopted and sometimes the second. However, it is not permissible for us to choose either of the two ways whenever we desire. Instead, it is compulsory for us to write it in the same manner as the Sahaabah radiallahu anhum. Thus we may adopt the first way only when they have done so . . . Specifications of when to follow the first way and when to follow the second and many other details of this nature are found in the books of ar-rasm. Any way, this science of ar-rasm ensures the preservation of the writing of the Qur’aan. In view of the above, we could say that the Huffaadh are the khulafaa (deputies) of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam in preserving the words of the Qur’aan, the experts of ar-rasm are his khulafaa in preserving it’s script, the Qurraa are his khulafaa in preserving it’s recitation and the Mufassireen, Muhadditheen and Fuqahaa are his khulafaa in preserving it’s meaning.
At-Tajweed And the Different Qiraa’aat
This brings us to another two specialities of the Qur’aan:
1. It is the only book in the world that is read with at-tajweed.
2. It is the only book that may be read in so many different ways without any contradiction.
Al-Isnaad (Chain of Narration)
Till today qualified qurraa are able to trace their academic lineage to Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. This academic lineage is known as al-isnaad (chain of narration). It is another speciality of the Qur’aan which no other heavenly book can boast of. Besides the Qurraa, there is hardly a single Haafidh who has memorized the Qur’aan without a teacher. The same is said about the teachers and there teachers. . . This is also a form of the isnaad of the Qur’aan. With regards to the issue of al-isnaad, Muhammed bin Haatim Al_Mudhaffar rahimahullah said that: There is no nation, past and present, which has a continuous isnaad . . . They mixed their (heavenly) books with their own narrations to the extent that they are unable to differentiate between the revealed word of the Tawrah and the Injeel and the narrations of unreliable narrators that they had added to these books.
Double Revelation
By double revelation we refer to the fact that the Qur’aan was revealed twice:
1. From Al-Lawh Al-Mahfoodh (The Protected Tablet) to the lowest sky. This revelation took place on the Night of Al-Qadr. On this occasion the whole Qur’aan was revealed at the same time.
2. From the lowest sky to Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. This revelation took place over a period of twenty three years. In this instance the revelation took place in installations; few aayaat at a time.
This brings us to another two specialities of the Qur’aan:
1. It is the only heavenly book to have been revealed twice.
2. It is the only heavenly book to have been revealed in installations. All the books were revealed all at once.
A Miracle
Despite the long period of time during which the Qur’aan was revealed, there is a remarkable consistency in its eloquence and literary style. This undoubtedly proves that the Qur’aan is definitely not the composition of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam. If it is, we would have detected some inconsistency in eloquence and style.
و لو كان من عند غير الله لوجدوا فيه اخنلافا كثيرا
“If it was from anybody besides Allah they would have found many inconsistencies in it.”
A Few Other Specialities
A few other specialities of the Qur’aan are:
1. It is a cure for spiritual and physical ailments.
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآَنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ا
“And We revealed in the Qur’aan that which is a cure and a mercy unto the believers.”
قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاء
“Say: it is guidance and a cure unto those who believe.”
2. It is the only (heavenly) book which may not be touched without tahaarah (wudoo).
لَا يَمَسُّهُ إِلَّا الْمُطَهَّرُونَ
“Only the pure (those who have tahaarah) may touch it.”
3. It is the only book which Allah himself described as completely true and fair.
وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلاً لاَّ مُبَدِّلِ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
“And the word of your Rabb is completely true and fair.”
Note:
As Muslims we believe in all the previously revealed books. We therefore believe that in their original form they were also completely true and fair. Can the word of Allah ever be false or unfair? However, besides the Qur’aan no other book is still in its original form. Hence the reason why only the Qur’aan was described as completely true and fair is that Allah knew that with the passing of time all the other books would be tampered with. Therefore, description of such books as completely true and fair would eventually be misleading.
4. Being the last wahi (divinely revealed book) Allah declared it the muhaimin (guardian) of all the previous books.
و أنزلنا اليك الكتاب بالحق و مصدقا لما بين يديه و مهيمنا عليه
“And We revealed the book with the truth in such a condition that it confirms the truth of the previous books and guards them.”
The meaning of this is that because the Qur’aan is the last wahi (revelation) and divinely protected from any form of alteration, all the previous books should be understood in the light of the Qur’aan. Hence, whatever conforms to the teachings of the Qur’aan should be accepted. However, whatever contradicts it should be rejected.
5. On the Day of Qiyaamah the Qur’aan will intercede on behalf of those who read it in the worldly life. Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wasallam said:
اقرأوا القرآن فانه يأتي شفيعا للأصحابه
“Read the Qur’aan because it will come as an intercessor on behalf of its companions.”
Do you desire the intercession of the Qur’aan on the Day of Qiyaamah? I definitely do. If that is the case, let us strive to strengthen our imaan (belief) in it, read the Qur’aan regularly, implement its teachings and pass its message on to others.
و آخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين
Abu Hudhaifa Muhammed Karolia
27 جمادى الأخرى 1431
11 June 2010
Al-Jaami’ah al-Mahmoodiah
Springs