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  • Transmission of the Revelation

    Gulf Times, Qatar
    May 12 2005


    Transmission of the Revelation

    Published: Thursday, 12 May, 2005, 11:56 AM Doha Time

    Allah is the Protector of the Book

    Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has declared that He Himself will protect
    the Qur'an from any corruption or alterations: Verily it is We Who
    have sent down the Dhikr (ie. the Qur'an) and surely, We will guard
    it (from corruption) [Surah Al-Hijr 15: 9]. This stands as an
    assurance from Allah to every person who reads the Qur'an.
    Allah also wished to make the task of recitation easy to Prophet
    Muhammad (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) and the following verse
    explains it: Move not thy tongue concerning (Qur'an) to make haste
    therewith. It is for Us to collect it and give you the ability to
    recite it: but when We have recited it, follow you its recital.
    [Surah Al-Qiyaamah, 75: 16-18].
    But in the case of books of previous religions, this task was
    entrusted to the priests of those previous religions. And the rabbis
    and the priests [too judged the Jews by the Taurah after those
    prophets] for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah's Book
    and they were witnesses thereto. [Surah Al-Maa'idah 5:44]
    The stages of transmission
    1) Oral Transmission Through Memorisation and Recitation
    The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) himself was the first to
    commit a revelation to memory after the Angel Jibreel (`alaihi
    salaam) had brought it to him. When a Qur'anic verse(s) was revealed,
    the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) declared the revelation
    and instructed his companions (radiallahu `anhum) to memorise it.
    There are numerous ahadith giving account of various efforts and
    measures taken by the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) to
    ensure that the revelation was preserved in the memory of his
    companions (radiallahu `anhum).
    Narrated Uthmaan bin Affaan (radiallahu `anhu): The Prophet
    (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said: The most superior among you
    (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it. - Al-Bukhari.
    In order to safeguard the Qur'an from any alteration, Angel Jibreel
    (`alaihi salaam) used to review it with the Prophet (sallallaahu
    `alaihi wa sallam) in the nights of Ramadan. During the last year of
    the life of Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) angel Jibreel
    (`alaihi salaam) visited him to study the Qur'an twice. This was
    reported by Muslim.
    It is well known that the recital of the Qur'an during daily prayers
    is required and hence several hundreds of companions (radiallahu
    `anhum) repeatedly heard passages from the revelation, memorised them
    and used them in prayer.
    Ibn Mas'ood (radiallahu `anhu) was the first man after the Prophet
    (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam), to publicly recite the Qur'an in
    Makkah, for which he was beaten by the kuffaar (disbelievers) of
    Makkah. This event shows that even in the very early phase of Islam,
    recital of the revelation from memory was practised by the companions
    (radiallahu `anhum).
    The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) also liked to listen to
    the recitation of the Qur'an by his companions (radiallahu `anhum).
    Abdullah bin Mas'ood (radiallahu `anhu) was asked by the Prophet
    (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) to recite the Qur'an, and he started
    reciting Surah An-Nisa'. When he reached the verse, How (will it be)
    then when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O
    Muhammad) as a witness against these people? [Surah An-Nisau 4:41]
    the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) said `Stop', and his eyes
    were shedding tears.
    2. Qur'anic Teachers and Readers
    The Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) used to send teachers to
    communities in other places so that they might receive instruction in
    Islam and Qur'an. This was done even before the Hijrah.
    When these men (of the first pledge of `Aqaba) left (for Madina) the
    apostle sent with them Musa'ab bin Umair ...and instructed him to
    read the Qur'an to them and to teach them Islam and to give them
    instruction about religion. In Madina Musa'ab was called the reader.
    Report by Ibn Hisham.
    3. Recording of Qur'anic manuscripts.
    When each passage of the Qur'an was received and recited by the
    Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) it was immediately set down
    in writing by the scribes on any suitable object within reach such as
    the leaves of trees, pieces of wood, parchment or leather, flat
    stones, shoulder blades and so on. Thus it will be seen that the
    recording of the Qur'an was completed during the lifetime of the
    Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam)). This shows that in addition
    to memory in the minds of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam)
    and his companions (radiallahu `anhum), there were also written
    records kept for the benefit of future generations.
    4. Collection of Scattered Manuscripts - During Abu Bakr's Period
    When Abu Bakr (radiallahu `anhu) became the Khaleefah, he sent orders
    to compile the Qur'an in a unified copy with all the ayaat and suwar
    (verses and chapters) arranged in the right order, in which they have
    already been memorised. He had a valid reason to do so. According to
    Imam Al-Bukhari, there were heavy casualties among the Qurraa
    (reciters of Qur'an) in the battle against Musaylimah, which took
    place in Yamamah. Abu Bakr (radiallahu `anhu) feared that there would
    be some more casualties in other places too and eventually a large
    part of the Qur'an may be lost this way. So he consulted Umar ibn
    al-Khattaab and Zaid bin Thaabit (radiallahu `anhumaa), to collect
    the Qur'an.
    The formidable task of collecting the Qur'an in one Mus-haf was
    entrusted to Zaid bin Thaabit (radiallahu `anhu), who was one of the
    official scribes of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) and
    he was also present during the last recitation by the Prophet
    (sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam) before his death.
    Zaid bin Thaabit (radiallahu `anhu) followed strict rules of
    procedure in the task of collection of Qur'an.
    1. Zaid took only verses whose recitation had not been abrogated.
    2. The selected text must be certified by two witnesses as having
    been the actual dictation of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alaihi wa
    sallam).
    3. The text must have been transmitted by numerous persons (tawaatur)
    and must enjoy the consensus (Ijmaa') of the Muslim Ummah.
    4. It must be in accordance with one of the modes of recitation in
    which the Qur'an was revealed. i.e. one of the seven modes.
    This manuscript on which the Qur'an was collected, and remained with
    Abu Bakr (radiallahu `anhu) till he passed away. Then it was kept
    with Umar (radiallahu `anhu) during his rule. Finally Umar
    (radiallahu `anhu) passed the Qur'an to Hafsah his daughter
    (radiallahu `anha) who was also the wife of Prophet (sallallaahu
    `alaihi wa sallam).
    5. Copies.
    During the Khilaafah of Uthmaan Ibn Affaan (radiallahu `anhu) the
    Islamic state spread immensely and the Qur'anic reciters went to
    different regions with different modes of reading. So differences in
    reading the Qur'an became obvious in these regions. Uthmaan
    (radiallahu `anhu) borrowed the suhuf (pages) of Abu Bakr (radiallahu
    `anhu), that was kept with Hafsah (radiallahu `anha) and gave
    directives for the preparation of a standard copy that would be sent
    to all the regions.
    The Order To Collect
    According to Anas Ibn Maalik (radiallahu `anhu): People of Syria and
    the people of Iraq were waging expeditions to conquer Armenia and
    Azerbaijan. Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman who was afraid of the difference
    in recitation (of people of Sham and Iraq) of the Qur'an, came to
    Uthmaan bin Affaan and said, `O commander of the faithful! Save the
    nation before they differ about the book (Qur'an) as the Jews and
    Christians did before.'
    So Uthmaan (radiallahu `anhu) sent a message to Hafsah (radiallahu
    `anha) saying: `Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may
    compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the
    manuscripts to you.' When Hafsah (radiallahu `anha) sent it to
    Uthmaan (radiallahu `anhu), he ordered Zaid bin Thaabit, Abdullah Ibn
    Zubair, Sa'eed Ibn al-Aas and Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Haarith Ibn Hisham
    (radiallahu `anhum) to re-write the manuscripts in perfect copies.
    Uthmaan (radiallahu `anhu) said to the three Quraishi men, `In case
    you disagree with Zaid Ibn Thaabit on any point, then write it in the
    dialect of Quraish as the Qur'an was revealed in their tongue.' They
    did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthmaan (radiallahu
    `anhu) returned the original manuscripts to Hafsah (radiallahu
    `anha). Uthmaan (radiallahu `anhu) sent every Muslim province one
    copy of what they have copied and ordered that all the other Qur'anic
    materials whether written on fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies
    be burnt.
    Thus Abu Bakr (radiallahu `anhu) made one single copy from various
    verbal and written material. Uthmaan (radiallahu `anhu) made several
    copies prepared from this copy and sent them to various places in the
    Muslim world. May Allah have mercy upon and be pleased with each and
    every one of them, ameen.
    Next week insha Allah: The difference between Qur'an and Hadith, and
    other related topics

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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