The Unlettered Prophet

[abdulhakeem]

The Unlettered Prophet

Question:

Is there any evidence that the Prophet Muhammad was unable to read or write?


Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read not write whom they find written with them in the Tawraat and the Injeel, - he commands them for al-Ma’roof (i.e., Islamic monotheism and all that Islaam has ordained); and forbids them from al-Munkar (i.e., disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islaam has forbidden); he allows them as lawful al-Tayyibaat (i.e., all good and lawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.), and prohibits them as unlawful al-khabaa’ith (i.e., all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.), he releases them from their heavy burdens (of Allaah’s Covenant) and from the fetters (bindings) that were upon them. So those who believe in him (Muhammad), honor him, help him and follow the light (the Qur’aan) which has been sent down with him, it is they who will be successful."
[al-A’raaf 7:157]

Al-Qurtubi, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in his tafseer of this aayah: "Allaah says ‘al-ummi.’ Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, said: ‘Your Prophet was unlettered, unable to read or write or calculate.’ Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Neither did you (O Muhammad) read any book before it (this Qur’an), nor did you write any book (whatsoever) with your right hand . . .’
[al-‘Ankaboot 29:48]."

Ibn Katheer, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in his tafseer of the second aayah quoted [al-‘Ankaboot 29:48]:
"Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Neither did you (O Muhammad) read any book before it (this Qur’aan), nor did you write any book (whatsoever) with your right hand . . .’ i.e., ‘you (O Muhammad) lived among your people for a while before you brought this Qur’aan to them, and you never read any book or were able to write anything. Everyone among your people and others knows that you are an unlettered man, who does not read or write.’ This is how he was described in the previous Books as Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read not write whom they find written with them in the Tawraat and the Injeel, - he commands them for al-Ma’roof (i.e., Islamic monotheism and all that Islaam has ordained); and forbids them from al-Munkar (i.e., disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islaam has forbidden) . . .’ [al-A’raaf 7:157].

Hence the Prophet will remain unable to write even one line or one letter, until the Day of Resurrection. He had scribes who would write down in front of him the Revelation and letters to different regions. . . . Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): ‘. . . In that case, indeed, the followers of falsehood might have doubted.’ [al-‘Ankaboot 29:48], i.e., if you had been good at it (reading and writing), some of the ignorant people would have doubted you and said that you had learnt this from the previous Books left by the Prophets. Indeed, they say this despite the fact that they know he was unlettered and unable to write, as it says in the Qur’aan (interpretation of the meaning): ‘And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has written down, and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon."’ [al-Furqaan 25:5]"

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a Messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief and polytheism), and teaching them the Book and al-Hikmah (al-Sunnah). And verily, they had been before in manifest error."
[al-Jumu’ah 62:2]

Al-Qurtubi, may Allaah have mercy on him, said in his tafseer of this aayah:
"It was said: ‘the unlettered ones’ means those who do not write. Such were the Quraysh. Mansoor reported from Ibraaheem, who said: ‘Al-ummi (the unlettered one) is the one who neither reads nor writes. "A Messenger from among themselves" means Muhammad , who was unlettered and never read a book nor learned how.’ Al-Mawardi said: ‘What is good about the fact that Allaah sent an unlettered Prophet? There are three things:
(i) his message fulfilled the foretelling of the previous Prophets;
(ii) this made him similar to and closer to other Prophets;
(iii) this would eliminate all suspicion that he had learned the message he preached from books and writings that he had read."

I say: all of this is evidence of the miraculous nature and truth of his Prophethood.

(The above has been summarized from the Tafseer of al-Qurtubi, may Allaah have mercy on him). (www.islam-qa.com)

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[abdulhakeem]

Question #20968: The scribes of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

Question:

Who were the scribes who wrote the letters of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?.

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

Ibn al-Qayyim said:

The scholars of seerah (Prophet’s biography) have mentioned the names of the Sahaabah who used to write down the wahy (revelation) or the letters of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They were: Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab, ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwaam, ‘Aamir ibn Fuhayrah, ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Arqam, Thaabit ibn Qays ibn Shammaas, Hanzalah ibn al-Rabee’ al-Usaydi, al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Rawaahah, Khaalid ibn al-Waleed, Khaalid ibn Sa’eed ibn al-‘Aas (whom it was said was the first one to write down anything for him), Mu’aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyaan and Zayd ibn Thaabit. He requested them to do that and allocated this task to them.

Zaad al-Ma’aad, 1/117

Ibn Muflih al-Hanbali said:

A group of them wrote things down for the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), including Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Zayd ibn Thaabit, ‘Ali, ‘Uthmaan, Hanzalah al-Asadi, Mu’aawiyah, and ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Arqam, who was his regular scribe in charge of writing and responding to letters. He was the one who wrote down all the Revelation and whom the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded to learn how to write Syriac so that he could respond on his behalf to those who wrote to him in that language. So he learned it in eighteen days.

Al-Adaab al-Shar’iyyah, 2/161

And Ibn Hajar said:

Al-Qadaa’i said: Zayd ibn Thaabit used to write to the kings on his behalf, as well as writing down the revelation. And al-Zubayr and Jahm used to write down the records of zakaah.

Al-Talkhees al-Habeer, 4/346, 347

And Allaah knows best.


Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)

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[abdulhakeem]

There are hundreds of religions flourishing around the world: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Bahaism, Babism, Zoroastrianism, Mormonism, Jehovas Witnesses, Jainism, Confucianism etc. And each of these religions claim that their scripture is preserved from the day it was revealed (written) until our time. A religious belief is as authentic as the authenticity of the scripture it follows. And for any scripture to be labeled as authentically preserved it should follow some concrete and rational criteria.

Imagine this scenario: A professor gives a three hour lecture to his students. Imagine still that none of the students memorized this speech of the professor or wrote it down. Now forty years after that speech, if these same students decided to replicate professor's complete speech word for word, would they be able to do it? Obviously not. Because the only two modes of preservation historically is through writing and memory. Therefore, for any claimants to proclaim that their scripture is preserved in purity, they have to provide concrete evidence that the Scripture was written in its entirety AND memorized in its entirety from the time it was revealed to our time, in a continuous and unbroken chain. If the memorization part doesn't exist parallel to the written part to act as a check and balance for it, then there is a genuine possibility that the written scripture may loose its purity through unintentional and intentional interpolations due to scribal errors, corruption by the enemies, pages getting decomposed etc, and these errors would be concurrently incorporated into subsequent texts, ultimately loosing its purity through ages.

Now, of all the religions mentioned above, does any one of them possess their scriptures in its entirety BOTH in writing AND in memory from the day of its revelation until our time. None of them fit this required criteria, except one: This unique scripture is the Qur'an - revelation bestowed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) 1,418 years ago, as a guidance for all of humankind.

Transmission of the Qur'an: Oral & Written
Lets analyze the claim of the preservation of the Quran…

1. Memorization
'In the ancient times, when writing was scarcely used, memory and oral transmission was exercised and strengthened to a degree now almost unknown' relates Michael Zwettler.[1]

Prophet Muhammad (S): The First Memorizer
It was in this 'oral' society that Prophet Muhammad (S) was born in Mecca in the year 570 C.E. At the age of 40, he started receiving divine Revelations from the One God, Allah, through Archangel Gabriel. This process of divine revelations continued for about 22.5 years just before he passed away.

Prophet Muhammad (S) miraculously memorized each revelation and used to proclaim it to his Companions. Angel Gabriel used to refresh the Quranic memory of the Prophet each year.

'The Prophet (S) was the most generous person, and he used to become more so (generous) particularly in the month of Ramadan because Gabriel used to meet him every night of the month of Ramadan till it elapsed. Allah's Messenger (S) use to recite the Qur'an for him. When Gabriel met him, he use to become more generous than the fast wind in doing good'. [2]

'Gabriel used to repeat the recitation of the Qur'an with the Prophet (S) once a year, but he repeated it twice with him in the year he (Prophet) died'. [3]

The Prophet himself use to stay up a greater part of the night in prayers and use to recite Quran from memory.

Prophet's Companions: The First Generation Memorizers
Prophet Muhammad (S) encouraged his companions to learn and teach the Quran:

'The most superior among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it'. [4]

'Some of the companions who memorized the Quran were: 'Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Abu Huraira, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As, Aisha, Hafsa, and Umm Salama'. [5]

'Abu Bakr, the first male Muslim to convert to Islam used to recite the Quran publicly in front of his house in Makka'. [6]

The Prophet also listened to the recitation of the Qur'an by the Companions: 'Allah Apostle said to me (Abdullah bin Mas'ud): "Recite (of the Quran) to me". I said: "Shall I recite it to you although it had been revealed to you?!" He Said: "I like to hear (the Quran) from others". So I recited Sura-an-Nisa' till I reached: "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?"' (4:41) 'Then he said: "Stop!" Behold, his eyes were shedding tears then'. [7]

Many Quranic memorizers (Qurra) were present during the lifetime of the Prophet and afterwards through out the then Muslim world.

'At the battle of Yamama, many memorizers of the Quran were martyred. 'Narrated Zaid bin Thabit al Ansari, who was one of those who use to write the Divine Revelations: Abu Bakr sent me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said: "Umar has come to me and said, the people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be some casualties among the Qurra (those who memorized the entire Quran) at other place…"' [8]

'Over the centuries of the Islamic Era, there have arisen throughout the various regions of the Islamic world literally thousands of schools devoted specially to the teaching of the Quran to children for the purpose of memorization. These are called, in Arabic, katatib (singular: Kuttab). It is said that the Caliph 'Umar (634-44) first ordered the construction of these schools in the age of the great expansion'. [9]

Second Generation Memorizers:
"…Quranic schools were set up everywhere. As an example to illustrate this I may refer to a great Muslim scholar, of the second Muslim generation, Ibn 'Amir, who was the judge of Damascus under the Caliph Umar Ibn 'Abd Al-Aziz. It is reported that in his school for teaching the Quran there were 400 disciples to teach in his absence". [10]

Memorizers in Subsequent Generations:
The Number of Katatib and similar schools in Cairo (Egypt) alone at one time exceeded two thousand. [11]

Currently both in the Muslim and non-Muslim countries thousands of schools with each instructing tens of hundreds of students the art of memorizing the entire Quran. In the city of Chicago itself, there are close to 40+ Mosques, with many of them holding class for children instructing them the art of Quranic memorization.

Further Points of Consideration:
Muslims recite Quran from their memory in all of their five daily prayers.
Once a year, during the month of Fasting (Ramadan), Muslims listen to the complete recitation of the Quran by a Hafiz (memorizer of the entire Quran)
It's a tradition among Muslims that before any speech or presentation, marriages, sermons, Quran is recited.

Conclusion:
Quran is the only book, religious or secular, on the face of this planet that has been completely memorized by millions. These memorizers range from ages 6 and up, both Arabic and non-Arabic speakers, blacks, whites, Orientals, poor and wealthy.

Thus the process of memorization was continuous , from Prophet Muhammad's (S) time to ours with an unbroken chain.

"The method of transmitting the Quran from one generation to the next by having he young memorize the oral recitation of their elders had mitigated somewhat from the beginning the worst perils of relying solely on written records…" relates John Burton. [12]

"This phenomenon of Quranic recital means that the text has traversed the centuries in an unbroken living sequence of devotion. It cannot, therefore, be handled as an antiquarian thing, nor as a historical document out of a distant past. The fact of hifz (Quranic Memorization) has made the Qur'an a present possession through all the lapse of Muslim time and given it a human currency in every generation never allowing its relegation to a bare authority for reference alone" reflects Kenneth Cragg. [13]

2. Written Text of the Quran
Prophet's Lifetime:
Prophet Muhammad (S) was very vigilant in preserving the Quran in the written form from the very beginning up until the last revelation. The Prophet himself was unlettered, did not knew how to read and write, therefore he called upon his numerous scribes to write the revelation for him. Complete Quran thus existed in written form in the lifetime of the Prophet.

Whenever a new revelation use to come to him, the Prophet would immediately call one of his scribes to write it down.

'Some people visited Zaid Ibn Thabit (one of the scribes of the Prophet) and asked him to tell them some stories about Allah's Messenger. He replied: "I was his (Prophet's) neighbor, and when the inspiration descended on him he sent for me and I went to him and wrote it down for him…" [14]

Narrated by al-Bara': There was revealed 'Not equal are those believers who sit (home) and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah' (4:95). The Prophet said: 'Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the ink pot and scapula bone.' Then he (Prophet) said: 'Write: Not equal are those believers…' [15]

Zaid is reported to have said: 'We use to compile the Qur'an from small scraps in the presence of the Apostle'. [16]

'The Prophet, while in Madinah, had about 48 scribes who use to write for him'. [17]

Abdullah Ibn 'Umar relates:… 'The Messenger of Allah (S) said: "Do not take the Qur'an on a journey with you, for I am afraid lest it should fall into the hands of the enemy"' [18]

During the Prophet's last pilgrimage, he gave a sermon in which he said: 'I have left with you something which if you will hold fast to it you will never fall into error - a plain indication, the Book of God (Quran) and the practice of his Prophet…' [19]

'Besides the official manuscripts of the Quran kept with the Prophet, many of his companions use to possess their own written copies of the revelation'. [20]

'A list of Companions of whom it is related that they had their own written collections included the following: Ibn Mas'ud, Ubay bin Ka'b, Ali, Ibn Abbas, Abu Musa, Hafsa, Anas bin Malik, Umar, Zaid bin Thabit, Ibn Al-Zubair, Abdullah ibn Amr, Aisha, Salim, Umm Salama, Ubaid bin Umar'. [21]

'The best known among these (Prophet's Scribes) are: Ibn Masud, Ubay bin Kab and Zaid bin Thabit'. [22]

'Aisha and Hafsa, the wives of the Prophet had their own scripts written after the Prophet had died'. [23]

Conclusion:
The complete Quran was written down in front of the Prophet by several of his scribes and the companions possess their own copies of the Quran in the Prophet's lifetime. However the written material of the Quran in the Prophet's possession were not bounded between the two covers in the form of a book, because the period of revelation of the Qur'an continued up until just a few days before the Prophet's death. The task of collecting the Qur'an as a book was therefore undertaken by Abu Bakr, the first successor to the Prophet.

Written Qur'an in First Generation
At the battle of Yamama (633 CE), six months after the death of the Prophet, a number of Muslims, who had memorized the Quran were killed. Hence it was feared that unless a written official copy of the Quran were prepared, a large part of revelation might be lost.

Narrated Zaid bin Thabit al-Ansari, one of the scribes of the Revelation: Abu Bakr sent for me after the casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra (memorizers of the Quran, were killed). Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said: "Umar has come to me and said, the people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle) of Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be some casualties among the Qurra at other places, whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost, unless you collect it (in one manuscript, or book)…so Abu Bakr said to me (Zaid bin Thabit): You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness) and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. Therefore, look for the Qur'an and collect it (in one manuscript)'…So I started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who know it by heart)…" [24]

Now, a committee was formed to under take the task of collecting the written Quranic material in the form of a book. The committee was headed by Zaid bin Thabit, the original scribe of the Prophet, who was also a memorizer of the complete Quran.

'…Zaid bin Thabit had committed the entire Quran to memory…' [25]

The compilers in this committee, in examining written material submitted to them, insisted on very stringent criteria as a safeguard against any errors.

1. The material must have been originally written down in the presence of the Prophet; nothing written down later on the basis of memory alone was to be accepted. [26]

2. The material must be confirmed by two witnesses, that is to say, by two trustworthy persons testifying that they themselves had heard the Prophet recite the passage in question. [27]

'The manuscript on which the Qur'an was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with Umar (the second successor), till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa, 'Umar's daughter (and wife of the Prophet)'. [28]

This copy of the Quran, prepared by the committee of competent companions of the Prophet (which included Memorizers of the Quran) was unanimous approved by the whole Muslim world. If they committee would have made a error even of a single alphabet in transcribing the Quran, the Qurra (memorizers of the Quran) which totaled in the tens of hundreds would have caught it right away and correct it. This is exactly where the neat check and balance system of preservation of the Quran comes into play, but which is lacking for any other scripture besides the Quran.

Official written copy by Uthman
The Quran was originally revealed in Quraishi dialect of Arabic. But to facilitate the people who speak other dialects, in their understanding and comprehension, Allah revealed the Quran finally in seven dialects of Arabic. During the period of Caliph Uthman (second successor to the Prophet) differences in reading the Quran among the various tribes became obvious, due to the various dialectical recitations. Dispute was arising, with each tribe calling its recitation as the correct one. This alarmed Uthman, who made a official copy in the Quraishi dialect, the dialect in which the Quran was revealed to the Prophet and was memorized by his companions. Thus this compilation by Uthman's Committee is not a different version of the Quran (like the Biblical versions) but the same original revelation given to the Prophet by One God, Allah.

Narrated Anas bin Malik: Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to Uthman at the time when the people of Sham (Syria) and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Armenia and Azherbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their differences in the recitation of the Quran, so he said to Uthman, 'O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Quran) as Jews and Christians did before'. So Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, 'Send us the manuscripts of the Quran so that we may compile the Quranic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you'. Hafsa sent it to Uthman. 'Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Said bin Al-As and Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, 'In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Quran, then write it in their (Quraishi) tongue'. They did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied and ordered that all the other Quranic materials whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt…" [29]

Again a very stringent criteria was set up by this Committee to prevent any alteration of the Revelation.

1. The earlier recension (Original copy prepared by Abu Bakr) was to serve as the principal basis of the new one. [30]

2. Any doubt that might be raised as to the phrasing of a particular passage in the written text was to be dispelled by summoning persons known to have learned the passage in question from the Prophet. [31]

3. Uthman himself was to supervise the work of the Council. [32]

When the final recension was completed, Uthman sent a copy of it to each of the major cities of Makka, Damascus, Kufa, Basra and Madina.

The action of Uthman to burn the other copies besides the final recension, though obviously drastic, was for the betterment and harmony of the whole community and was unanimously approved by the Companions of the Prophet.

Zaid ibn Thabit is reported to have said: "I saw the Companions of Muhammad (going about) saying, 'By God, Uthman has done well! By God, Uthman has done well!" [33]

Another esteemed Companion Musab ibn Sad ibn Abi Waqqas said: "I saw the people assemble in large number at Uthman's burning of the prescribed copies (of the Quran), and they were all pleased with his action; not a one spoke out against him". [34]

Ali ibn Abu Talib, the cousin of the Prophet and the fourth successor to the Prophet commented: "If I were in command in place of Uthman, I would have done the same". [35]

Of the copies made by Uthman, two still exist to our day. One is in the city of Tashkent, (Uzbekistan) and the second one is in (the Topkapi Museum) Istanbul (Turkey). Below is a brief account of both these copies:

1. The copy which Uthman sent to Madina was reportedly removed by the Turkish authorities to Istanbul, from where it came to Berlin during World War I. The Treaty of Versailles, which concluded World War I, contains the following clause:

'Article 246: Within six months from the coming into force of the present Treaty, Germany will restore to His Majesty, King of Hedjaz, the original Koran of Caliph Othman, which was removed from Madina by the Turkish authorities and is stated to have been presented to the ex-Emperor William II". [36]

'This manuscript then reached Istanbul, but not Madina (Where it now resides)'. [37]

2. The second copy in existence is kept in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 'It may be the Imam (master) manuscript or one of the other copies made at the time of Uthman'. [38]

It Came to Samarkand in 890 Hijra (1485) and remained there till 1868. Then it was taken to St.Petersburg by the Russians in 1869. It remained there till 1917. A Russian orientalist gave a detailed description of it, saying that many pages were damaged and some were missing. A facsimile, some 50 copies, of this mushaf (copy) was produced by S.Pisareff in 1905. A copy was sent to the Ottoman Sultan 'Abdul Hamid, to the Shah of Iran, to the Amir of Bukhara, to Afghanistan, to Fas and some important Muslim personalities. One copy is now in the Columbia University Library (U.S.A.). [39]

'The Manuscript was afterwards returned to its former place and reached Tashkent in 1924, where it has remained since'. [40]

Conclusion
'Two of the copies of the Qur'an which were originally prepared in the time of Caliph Uthman, are still available to us today and their text and arrangement can be compared, by anyone who cares to do, with any other copy of the Quran, be it in print or handwritten, from any place or period of time. They will be found identical'. [41]

It can now be proclaimed, through the evidences provided above, with full conviction and certainty that the Prophet memorized the entire Quran, had it written down in front of him through his scribes, many of his companions memorized the entire revelation and in turn possess their own private copies for recitation and contemplation. This process of dual preservation of the Quran in written and in the memory was carried in each subsequent generation till our time, without any deletion, interpolation or corruption of this Divine Book.

Sir Williams Muir states, " There is otherwise every security, internal and external, that we possess the text which Muhammad himself gave forth and used". [42]

Sir William Muir continues, "There is probably no other book in the world which has remained twelve centuries (now fourteen) with so pure a text". [43]

This divine protection provided to the Quran, the Last Reveled Guide to Humanity, is proclaimed by One God in the Quran:

'We* (Allah) have, without doubt, send down the Message; and We will assuredly Guard it (from corruption)' (Quran - Chapter 15, Verse 9).
*('We' is the plural of Majesty, and not the Christian plural of trinity)

Compare this divine and historical preservation of the Quran with any literature, be it religious or secular and it becomes evident that none possess similar miraculous protection. And as states earlier, a belief is as authentic as the authenticity of its scripture. And if any scripture is not preserved, how can we be certain that the belief arising out of this scripture is divine or man made, and if we are not sure about the belief itself, then our salvation in the hereafter would be jeopardized.

Thus this above evidence for the protection of the Quran from any corruption is a strong hint about its divine origin. We request all open hearted persons to read, understand and live the Quran, the 'Manual for Mankind'.



Notes
1. Michael Zwettler, The Oral Tradition of Classical Arabic Poetry, p.14. Ohio State Press: 1978.

2. Transmitted by Ibn Abbas, collected in Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6.519, translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan.

3. Transmitted by Abu Hurayrah, collected in Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6.520, translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan.

4. Transmitted by Uthman bin Affan, collected in Sahih Bukhari, 6.546, translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan.

5. Jalal al-Din Suyuti, 'Al-Itqan fi-ulum al-Quran, Vol. I, p. 124.

6. Ibn Hisham, Sira al-nabi, Cairo, n.d., Vol.I, p. 206.

7. Al-Bukhari, 6.106.

8. Al-Bukhari, 6.201.

9. Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran, tr. Bernard Weiss, M.A.Rauf, and Morroe Berger, The Darwon Press, Princton, New Jersey, 1975, pg. 58.

10. Ibn al Jazari, Kitab al-Nash fi al-Qir'at al-Ashr, Cairo, al-Halabi, n.d._ vol. 2, p. 254; also Ahmad Makki al-Ansari, al-Difa' 'An al-Qur'an. Cairo, Dar al-Ma'arif, 1973 C.E., part I, p. 120.

11. Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran, tr. Bernard Weiss, M.A.Rauf, and Morroe Berger, The Darwon Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1975, pg. 59.

12. John Burton, An Introduction to the Hadith, Edinburgh University Press: 1994, p. 27.

13. Kenneth Cragg, The Mind of the Qur'an, George Allah & Unwin: 1973, p.26.

14. Tirmidhi, Mishkat al-Masabih, No. 5823.

15. Al-Bukhari, 6.512.

16. Suyuti, Itqan, I, p. 99.

17. M. M. Azami, Kuttab al-Nabi, Beirut, 1974.

18. Muslim, III, No. 4606; also 4607, 4608; Bukhari, 4.233.

19. Ibn Hisham, Sira al-nabi, p. 651.

20. Suyuti, Itqan, I, p. 62.

21. Ibn Abi Dawud, Masahif, p. 14.

22. Bayard Dodge, The fihrist of al-Nadim: A Tenth Century Survey of Muslim Culture, New York, 1970, pp. 53-63.

23. Imam Malik, Muwatta, tr. M. Rahimuddin, Lahore, 1980, no.307, 308.

24. Bukhari, 6.201.

25. Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran, tr. Bernard Weiss, et al., 1975, p. 21.

26. Ibn Hajar, Fath, Vol. IX, p. 10.

27. ibid., p. 11.

28. Bukhari, 6.201.

29. Bukhari, 6.510.

30. Ibn Hajar, Bath, IX, p. 15.

31. Suyuti, Itqan, Vol.I, p. 59.

32. ibid., p. 59.

33. Naysaburi, al-Nizam al-Din al-Hasan ibn Muhammad, Ghara'ib al-Quran wa-ragha'ib al-furqan, 4 vols., to date. Cairo, 1962.

34. Ibn Abi Dawud, p. 12.

35. Zarkashi, al-Badr al-Din, Al-Burhan fi-ulum al-Quran, Cairo, 1957, vol. I, p. 240.

36. Fred L. Israel, Major Peace Treaties of Modern History, New York, Chelsea House Pub., Vol. II, p. 1418.

37. Makhdum, op.cit., 1938, p. 19.

38. Ahmad Von Denffer, Ulum Al-Qur'an, revised ed., Islamic Foundation, 1994, p. 63.

39. The Muslim World, vol. 30 (1940), pp. 357-8.

40. Ahmad von Denffer, Ulum Al-Quran, revised ed., Islamic Foundation, 1994, p. 63.

41. ibid., p. 64.

42. Sir Williams Muir, Life of Mohamet, vol.1, Introduction.

43. ibid.

Sabeel Ahmed

26 February 1998.

-----------------------------
[Currently, he is the co-chairman of the Da'wa Committee and Board of Director at the Muslim Community Center, Illinois. A student of Ahmed Deedat and now works for the 1-800-662-islam hotline of ICNA. His main interest is in comparative religion.]

http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/BICNews/Sabeel/sabeel3.htm

[abdulhakeem]

note: Since it is not mentioned next to their names, we say Assalam ala sahaba ajmain (peace upon all the sahabas)


By Memorization and Oral Transmission


The Prophet (pbuh) himself was the originator of this tradition. He used to memorize the Qur'an and recite it to Angel Gabriel. As mentioned in the Qur'an,


"A Messenger (pbuh) from Allah, reciting purified pages [purified from falsehood]" (98-2).


This precedent set by the Prophet (pbuh) was continued by the best of the nations after him-the Sahaba. The first man to recite the Qur'an after the Prophet (pbuh) was Ibn Masud [Ibn Hisham]. Abu Bakr is reported to being used to reciting Qur'an in front of his house in Makkah [Ibn Hisham].


The Prophet (pbuh) himself encouraged his companions to be steadfast in their recitation of the Qur'an. He stated that the most superior among the Muslims was the one who learned the Qur'an and taught it [Bukhari]. The Prophet (pbuh) also listened to his companions' recitations as mentioned in another hadith in Bukhari, where Ibn Masud was requested by the Prophet (pbuh) to recite the Qur'an.


In addition to his personal efforts, the Prophet (pbuh) sent many teachers to different communities to teach them about Islam and Qur'an. Musab bin Umair was instructed by the Nabi before the Hijra:


"When these men (of the first pledge of Aqaba) left (for Madina) the apostle sent with them Musab bin Umair… and instructed him to read the Qur'an to them… In Madina Musab was called the 'reader'."[Ibn Hisham]


Mentioned in Itqan are 21 names of famous companion who memorized the Qur'an. Among them, the Prophet (pbuh)'s recommended Qur'an experts were Abdullah bin Masud, Salim, Muadh and Ubay bin Kab [Bukhari].


The Prophet (pbuh) mentioned the names of Zaid bin Thabit and Abu Zaid in the place of ibn Masud and Salim in another hadith about the 4 who went over the whole Qur'an with the Prophet (pbuh) before his death [Bukhari].


This tradition of memorization of the Qur'an or 'Hifz' continued through the ages and is still prevalent in perhaps the weakest times for Muslims.



By Written Text


Jam 'al-Qur'an-its Meaning


Jam 'al-Qur'an stands for bringing the Qur'an together in one of two ways: memorization and bringing of it together orally and by writing and bringing it together in the form of a book or sheets.


Hence, in the classic literature, Jam 'al-Qur'an has several meanings including learning Qur'an by heart, writing down of all revelations, bringing together of material upon which Qur'an has been written, bringing together of reports of people who have memorized the Qur'an and finally to bring together all sources whether they be written or oral.


In Itqan, Suyuti asserts that the whole of Qur'an was actually written down in the time of the Prophet (pbuh) but in different places and different documents and without order. Of course the ordering of the Qur'an was itself set by no other than the Prophet (pbuh) in his lifetime but this was in oral form.


One might ask why the Prophet (pbuh) did not leave his companion with one single book or tablet and the reasons for these which are clear as per human knowledge include the following:

The revelations did not come in one single instance but in bits and pieces over 23 years.
Due to abrogation of some verses at different times, flexibility had to be maintained.
The Surahs were not revealed in order but were later arranged in their final order by the Prophet (pbuh) (the order set by Allah's inspiration).
The Prophet (pbuh) died almost as soon as revelation completed.
No dispute existed over the Qur'an at the time of the Prophet (pbuh) and, hence, a need did not exist.
However, the Prophet (pbuh) always encouraged writing of the scriptures as it is mentioned that some prisoners of the Battle of Badr obtained their freedom by teaching some Muslims how to write [6]. The Prophet (pbuh) himself though did not write any part of the Qur'an as the Qur'an itself asserts [29-48]. Whether he knew how to write or not is irrelevant and unclear.


The Stages of Collection


In the Prophet (pbuh)'s time


It is historically proven that the Qur'an was written down in the time of the Prophet (pbuh) as mentioned earlier. And this is clear from the hadith in which Umar was on his way to kill the Prophet (pbuh) and was informed about his own family's conversion to Islam. As the narration continues, Umar attacked his sister and brother-in-law and then stopped once he saw blood on his sister. He then ordered his sister to give him the sheet which he heard his sister reading from as he was coming in. This sheet had the verses of Qur'an written on them, specifically Surah Taha [Ibn Hisham].


In fact the Prophet (pbuh) himself dictated the Qur'an to his companions. Among his scribes were Zaid bin Thabit [7] and a hadith clearly describes this where the Prophet (pbuh) called for Zaid when verse 4-95 was revealed and asked him to write the verse on a scapula bone [Bukhari].


It is also reported that the Prophet (pbuh) provided Madina visitors, who came to learn about, Islam copies of the chapters of the Qur'an to read and learn [8].


A Hadith from Muslim states that Ibn Umar was asked by the Prophet (pbuh) not to take the Qur'an on a journey with him, for he was afraid that it might fall in the hands of the enemy. The assumption that this hadith is talking about a written document is supported by Ayyub (one of the transmitters) who added that the Prophet (pbuh) said that the enemy may seize it and may quarrel with you over it [Muslim].


There is also ample proof that the Prophet (pbuh) took care of the actual arrangement of the revelation when it was written down as Zaid said: "We used to compile the Qur'an from small scraps in the presence of the Apostle." [Itqan]


Uthman further made this assertion even more clear when he said that the Prophet (pbuh) used to call someone from among his scribes and tell them to place the ayats that were revealed to him in its exact place [9].


Finally, in is mentioned in the books of hadith that the Prophet (pbuh) used to recite the Qur'an with Angel Gabriel once a year and twice in the year he died.


In conclusion, the Qur'an was written down in the time of the Prophet (pbuh) and he had assigned scribes for this purpose. He also gave instructions to the exact location of the verses and Angel Gabriel verified this arrangement by reciting with the Prophet (pbuh) every year of his life as a Prophet (pbuh).


In this vein the scholar of later times, al-Harith al-Muhasibi said:


"Writing of the Qur'an was no novelty, for the Prophet (pbuh) used to order that it be written down, but it was in separate pieces, on scraps of leather, shoulder blades and palm risp, and when (Abu Bakr) al-Siddiq ordered that it be copied from the (various) places to a common place, which was in the shape of sheets, these (materials) were found in the house of the Prophet (pbuh) in which the Qur'an was spread out, and he gathered it all together and tied it with a string so that nothing of it was lost." [Itqan]


Suhuf and Mushaf


Both the Arabic words are derived from the root 'Sahafa' meaning to write. In the Qur'an Allah has used suhuf to mean scripture or written sheets [87-19]. Suhuf, hence, means loose pieces of writing materials such as paper, etc. while Mushaf (plural=masahif) means the collected suhuf as in the form of a book.


In reference to the Qur'an, Suhuf stands for sheets on which the Qur'an was collected in the time of Abu Bakr. The order of verses was fixed (as before the death of the Prophet (pbuh)), but the sheets with the surahs on them were not bound together in the form of a book.


Mushaf, in the modern context, means the sheets that there were collected in the time of Uthman. Here the Qur'an was arranged and bound in the form of a book. The word Mushaf continues to be used in reference to the Qur'an even today.


The Mushafs of the Companions


The following is a narration by Zaid bin Thabit in Bukhari on the preparation of one of the early suhufs. This suhuf was kept by Abu Bakr until his death and then Umar until his death and finally remained with Hafsa, Umar's daughter. The narration is as follows:

"Abu Bakr sent for me after the casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra were killed). 'Umar was present with Abu Bakr who said: "Umar has come to me and said, the People have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama and I am afraid that there will be some casualties among the Qurra (those who know the Qur'an by heart) at other places, whereby a large part of the Qur'an may be lost, unless you collect it. And I am of the opinion that you should collect the Qur'9n.' Abu Bakr added, 'I said to 'Umar, "How can I do something which Allah's Apostle has not done?" 'Umar said (to me) "By Allah, it is (really) a good thing". So 'Umar kept on pressing trying to persuade me to accept his proposal, till Allah opened my bosom for it and I had the same opinion as 'Umar'. (Zaid bin Thabit added:) 'Umar was sitting with him (Abu Bakr) and was not speaking. Abu Bakr said (to me),'You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness); and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. Therefore, look for the Qur'an and collect it (in one manuscript)'. By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains (from its place) it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Qur'an. I said to both of them, 'How dare you do a thing which the Prophet (pbuh) has not done?' Abu Bakr said,


'By Allah it is (really) a good thing. So I kept on arguing with him about it till Allah opened my bosom for that which He had opened the bosoms of Abu Bakr and 'Umar. So I started locating the Qur'anic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart). I found with Khuzaima two verses of Surah at-Tauba which I had not found with anybody else (and they were):


'Verily there has come to you an Apostle (Muhammad (pbuh)) from among yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty.


He Muhammad (pbuh) is ardently anxious over you (to be rightly guided)' (9: 128).


Several companions had prepared their own 'Qur'an copies' including the following:

Ibn Masud, Ubay bin Kab, Ali, Ibn Abbas, Abu Musa, Hafsa, Anas bin Malik, Umar, Zaid bin Thabit, Ibn Al-Zubair, Abdullah ibn Amr, Aisha, Salim, Umm Salama and Ubaid bin Umar [10].


According to reports, Ibn Masud's copy was written before all 114 surahs were revealed. However, these reports are not absolutely authenticated.


Ubay ibn Kab wrote a mushaf in which 'two additional surahs' and another 'additional ayat' were reportedly found. However, on further investigation it is evident that the two 'additional surahs' were merely part of dua of qanut, which the Prophet (pbuh) recited in Witr prayers. As for the additional ayat, it was in fact a hadith of the Prophet (pbuh) in which the Prophet (pbuh) said that even if man were to given a valley full of riches, he would wish for another one and the rest of the hadith which is found in Bukhari. His arrangement of surah was different from both Umar's and Abu Bakr's mushafs [Itqan].


Ibn Abbas's mushaf also contained the 'two additional surahs' which Ubay had. His arrangement of surah was also different from all the ones mentioned above [Itqan]. The mushaf of Abu Musa al-Ashari was the same as Ubay.


Variance


As for variance one can pick the example of variances in Surah Baqara for the purpose of making the point. Ibn Masud's copy had 101, Ubay ibn Kab's had93, Ibn Abbas's had 21, Abu Musa had 1, Hafsa had 3 and Anas b. Malik had 5 [11].


Variance is found in vowelling and spelling. As an example of the former, Ibn Abbas is reported have read in Surah 111-4 hamilatun al-hatab instead of hammalata-l-hatab [12].


Some variants in Ibn Masud's copy can be found in Surah Fatiha where he read:

arshidna in place of ihdina, man in place of al-ladhina and ghaira in place of ghairi.

As for variants in another well-read surah, Surah al-Ikhlas, Ibn Masud, Ubaid and Umar omitted qul and Ibn Masud also read al-wahid in place of al-ahad. Companions who read it in the normal way include Ali, Ibn Abbas, Abu Musa, Hafsa, Anas, Zaid and Ibn al-Zubair, ibn Amr [12].


Variants and synonyms continue to be found in the Qur'anic text of today and have some value in that they are of benefit in tafsir (exegesis). For example, the words 'salat al-wusta' (the middle prayer) was read and written by Hafsa, Ubay and Ibn Abbas as salat al-Asr.


It has to be remembered that these copies were for sahaba's personal use and the order of the surahs was not of utmost importance. Later, however, once Uthman standardized the copy of Qur'an, the companions did away with their readings and complied with Uthman's copy. Moreover, most of the variant readings were usually reported only by a single person while all of the Uthmanic text is mutawatir, i.e., reported by a numerous person and hence, undoubtedly authentic.


The Mushaf of Uthman


Many events that took place during the time of Uthman made the collection of Qur'an into one volume inevitable and necessary. Some events leading to the preparation of Uthman's mushaf can be categorized as follows:

Disputes started rising about the correct recitation of Qur'an
Uthman borrowed Hafsa's copy (which as mentioned earlier was originally Abu Bakr's copy)
Four companions, including Zaid bin Thabit, were asked to rewrite the script in perfect copies
These copies of Qur'an were then sent out to the main centers of learning and replaced all materials that were in circulation.
The following narration describes the beginning of the Mushaf of Uthman:

Narrated Anas bin Malik: Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came Uthman at the time when the people of Sham and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Arminya and Adharbijan, Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur'an, so he said to Uthman 'O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Qur'an) as Jews and the Christians did before'. So

Uthman sent a message to Hafsa 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'. Hafsa sent it to Uthman. Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah bin Az-Zubair

Said bin AI-As and Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies.


Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, 'In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Qur'an, 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, Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt. Zaid bin Thabit added, 'A verse from Surah al-Ahzab was missed by me when we copied the Qur'an and I used to hear Allah's Apostle reciting it. So we searched for it and found it with Khuzaima bin Thabit Al-Ansari (That verse was):'Among the Believers are men who have been true in their covenant with Allah' (33: 23).[Bukhari]


The Mushaf Uthmani is accepted by ijma (consensus) of the Sahaba that it contained what Muhammad (pbuh) had brought as revelation from Allah [13].


Here is a chronology of events leading to the Mushaf of Uthman [directly from the book, Uloom al-Qur'an by Von Denffer]:


Chronology of the Written Text

Around 610 Muhammad (pbuh)'s (pbuh) prophethood commences. 1st revelation in cave on Mount Hira Transmitted orally, later in written form.

610-32 Muhammad (pbuh) in Makka and Madina Continuous revelation on numerous occasions Transmitted orally, after memorization by many, and writing down of revelation by various Companions upon the direct instruction of the Prophet (pbuh) himself.

632 Prophet (pbuh)'s death. Last revelation few days before this.
At the death of the Prophet (pbuh) complete revelation left behind. Complete revelation left behind both in the memories of various Companions as well as on various writing materials.

632-34 Abu Bakr's caliphate

633 During the battle of Yamama, several companions who knew the Qur'an by heart are killed Abu Bakr instructs Zaid b. Thabit to prepare a single copy of the complete revelation. During the 1st/2nd year after the Prophet (pbuh)'s death the entire revelation was copied onto sheets (suhuf). Zaid b. Thabit brings together the revelation into the suhuf, from both oral as well as written sources, demanding two witnesses for each piece. The suhuf remain with Abu Bakr.

644-56 Uthman's Caliphate. The suhuf remains with Umar. The suhuf remain with Hafsa bint Umar.

653 Campaign against Armenia and Azerbaidjan Serious differences arose among Muslimsabout the correctrecitation of the Qur'an.
Several copies of the entire revelation available throughout the Muslim lands.
Zaid and three Companions prepare a number of fresh copies from the suhuf. These copies are sent to the various Muslim regions to replace other material in circulation. Suhuf returned to Hafsa. Uthman also keeps one copy (Mushaf).

http://www.uh.edu/campus/msa/qurhad/excel/uloom3.html

[abdulhakeem]

By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

The very first injunction given to the Prophet - ‘Read in the name of your Lord who created’ - stresses the importance of knowledge (96:1). And the last words of revelation pertain to the life hereafter (2:281).

The Quran was revealed over a period of twenty-three years and was written down in its entirety during the Prophet’s lifetime, although the verses were not gathered together in one volume at that time (Al-Katani, V.2, p.384).

For the first twenty-three years the Prophet himself was the fountainhead of Qur’anic learning. Then he appointed certain of his followers to convey the message of the Qur’an after him. These were men who, having memorized the entire Quranic text with complete accuracy, were fully competent to impart its teachings. During the caliphate of Umar Faruq, the second caliph of Islam, a man who had come from Kufa to Madina told the caliph that there was someone in Kufa who was teaching the scriptures from memory. At this Caliph Umar was enraged. But when he found out that the person was none other than Abdullah ibn Masood, he regained his composure, (Istiab, Vol. I, p. 377) the reason being that Abdullah ibn Masood was one of those appointed by the Prophet himself to perform this service. Other more prominent scholars of the Qur’an were as follows: Usman, Ali, Ubayy ibn Kaab, Zayd ibn Thabit, Ibn Masood, Abu Darda, Abu Moosa Ashari, Salim Maula Abi Huzayfa.

However, these Muslims, who had been assigned this task, could not survive forever. Undoubtedly, they were going to leave the world one by one, and then there would be the risk of the Qur’an falling into the hands of less responsible, less knowledgeable people, who might not preserve it intact and who would almost certainly differ as to its true meaning. There was even the danger of its being entirely lost to posterity. With the death of 700 of the Prophet’s Companions in the Battle of Yamamah in 12 A.H., this danger began to loom large.

It has been recorded in the annals of history that “when Salim Maula Abi Huzayfa was martyred, Umar felt the danger of the Qur’an being destroyed and came to Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, to discuss this” (Fathul Bari, v. 9, p. 5). Salim was one of the few surviving companions who had been selected by the Prophet himself to spread the teachings of the Qur’an. The solution suggested by Umar to Abu Bakr was to preserve the Qur’an by making a formal compilation of it in written form.

As has been established, the Prophet always arranged for each passage of the Qur’an to be recorded in writing as soon as it was revealed. This kitabat (writing down on paper) was so meticulous a procedure that after verse 95 of chapter 4 had been revealed, and the words “except those who are disabled” were revealed again as an addition to the same verse, it was arranged that this phrase—according to Imam Malik—be written at the same moment by the transcriber. (Durr Mansoor, Vol. 2, p.203)

It was customary for the Prophet to ask the transcriber to read out the verses after writing them down. According to Zayd ibn Thabit, if any part was missed out in the writing, he would correct it and only after this written work was fully completed would the Prophet allow the propagation of those verses (Majmauz Zawaid, vol.I, p. 60).

The number of transcribers who worked at different times is put at forty-two. According to Ibn Abdul Bar, Hanzala ibn Rabi was the chief transcriber. He was asked to remain in the company of the Prophet at all times (Aqd Al-Farid, v. 4, p. 114), a foolproof arrangement whereby a number of the companions possessed passages of the Qur’an in written form by the time of the Prophet’s death. A sizeable number, four of whom are worth mentioning: Abu Darda, Muaz ibn Jabal, Zayd ibn Thabit and Abu Zayd even possessed the complete Qur’an in its present arrangement.

It has been established from authentic traditions that the angel Gabriel, who conveyed the revelations of God to the Prophet, himself arranged these verses: each year during the month of Ramadan, Gabriel would come to the Prophet and recite before him all the Quranic verses revealed up till that time in the order in which they exist today, after which the Prophet would repeat the verses in exactly the same order. This dual process has been termed al-Irza, ‘mutual presentation,’ in the books of hadith.

It has also been established that in the last year of the Prophet’s life, when the revelations had been completed, Gabriel came to the Prophet and recited the entire Qur’an in the existing order twice, and similarly the Prophet also recited to Gabriel the entire Qur’an twice. This final presentation is called al-Arz al-Akhirah in the books of hadith. (Fathul Bari, p. 659-663)

When by the help of Gabriel the Qur’an was fully and systematically arranged, the Prophet recited it to his companions on different occasions in the order with which we are familiar today. The Qur’an was thus preserved in its pristine form in the memories of tens of thousands of the companions during the Prophet’s lifetime.

The preservation of the Qur’an passed through three stages: transcription, compilation and collection. In the first stage, as soon as a chapter or a verse was revealed, it was committed to writing. The following items are mentioned in books as examples of the writing materials used:

Riqa‘a—Thin leather piece
Likhaf—Thin slates of white stone
Katf—The round bone of the shoulder of the camel
'Asib—The wide part of the root of the date branch.

In the hadith, the second stage of this process is referred to as “compilation.” That is, first the verses were written down at the time of revelation. Then, when one chapter was completed, the whole chapter (often it took several revelations to complete one chapter) was written in compiled form, i.e. arranged in proper order on riqa‘a (leather). Such copies of the compiled Qur’an (complete or incomplete) were in the possession of a large number of people during the lifetime of the Prophet. We have the well-known incident of Umar who beat his own sister and brother-in-law mercilessly for having accepted Islam. Finally, when his anger had subsided, he asked them to show him the book they were reading from. His sister replied that he could not touch it in a state of impurity and only after he had bathed himself did his sister give him the book (Ibn Hisham).

The third stage of this process is termed “Collection” that is, writing down the entire Qur’an together in one volume. The form of the bound volume consisting of pages of the same size was not prevalent in the Prophet’s time. According to a narration recorded by Bukhari, only four companions Ubayy ibn Kaab, Muadh ibn Jabal, Abu Zayd, and Zayd ibn Thabit had the entire Qur’an put together during the life of the Prophet. In Kanz al Ummal, referring to Muhammad, Ibn Kab Al-Qurzi gives us the names of five such collectors of the complete Qur’an. However the status of their collections was that of a personal possession. The official version was produced under the direction of the caliph Abu Bakr, who had it bound after arranging for all the verses to be written on square papers of the same size. Imam Malik has also recorded (citing as his source, Shahab Zahri, who had learned it from Salim, son of Abdullah ibn Umar,) that Zayd ibn Thabit wrote down all the verses of the Qur’an on al-Qaratis (papers of the same size) at the command of Abu Bakr. This volume was called Raba‘a (square). (Itqan, v. 1, pp. 84-85)

It is said that during the caliphate of Umar Faruq there were more than one hundred thousand copies of the Qur’an in circulation in Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, etc.

In later times the written Qur’an became the main source of Islamic learning. But one danger was still lurking. In sacred books even very minor differences can become a source of great controversy. It was feared that if people wrote the Qur’an on their own, differences in transcribing (kitabat) e.g. writing ‘eether’ for ‘either’ and in recitation would create widespread dissension and there would be no way of putting an end to it. For instance, just one word in the first chapter of the Qur’an was written in different ways according to the pronunciation of different dialects: maalik-e-yaumuddin, malik-e-yaumuddin and maleek-e-yaumuddin, etc.; with the passing of time and changes in the style of writing, the differences in the manuscript would have become a source of great contention. Therefore, on the advice of Umar, Abu Bakr decided to have an authentic copy of the Qur’an prepared under state patronage and thus put an end forever to the possibility of phonetic differences obscuring the true meaning of the text.

For this purpose Zayd ibn Thabit was the most competent, as he was the katib of the Prophet. Zayd and Ubayy ibn Kaab both had joined in the ‘last recitation’ having heard the Qur’an directly from the Prophet in the order still extant today. Not only had they memorized the entire Qur’an, but they also possessed the whole text in written form. The first caliph commanded them to collect all the available parts of the scriptures and to compile them. (Bukhari). After this decision had been taken, Umar made an announcement in the Mosque that whoever had any piece of writing from the Qur’an should bring it and hand it over to Zayd.

During the first caliphate, the Qur’an not only existed in written form on the bark of date palms, stones, leather, etc, but was also preserved in the memory of the companions. The Qur’an, when made into a book, was arranged in the order memorized by the companions, and the verses have been preserved in that same order right up to the present day.

Zayd ibn Thabit’s work was more a process of collection than of compilation. That is, the scattered bits and pieces of the Qur’an in written form were collected by him, not just to be assembled and bound in one volume, but to be used to verify the authenticity of the Qur’an as memorized and passed on in oral tradition by countless individuals. Once this exact correspondence between the oral and written forms of the Qur’an had been established beyond any reasonable doubt, Zayd proceeded to put the verses of the Qur’an down on paper in their correct order.

Harith Muhasibi writes in his book, Fahm As-Sunan, that the transcription of the Qur’an was nothing new, because the Prophet himself had arranged for it to be written down. But it was written separately on Riqa‘a, Likhaf, Katf, ‘Asib, etc. All the materials on which the Qur’an was written were available in the Prophet’s house, but had not been put in any special order. What the collector did was assemble all these parts and then bind them together so that no part was destroyed. (Al-Itqan, v. 1, p. 40)

This elaborate arrangement of the Qur’an was made so that there should not be even the minutest discrepancy vis-à-vis the original revelation. If this extraordinary care had not been taken, differences would have resulted from the slightest lapse in memorizing and transcription. For instance, when Umar recited this verse to Zayd ibn Thabit, “As for those who led the way, the first of the Muhajirs and the Ansar, those who nobly followed them,” Zayd said, that he remembered this verse with waw, that is, with ‘and’ after Ansar. So the investigation started, and finally the other memorizers of the Qur’an came and confirmed that the opinion of Zayd was right. So in the volume the verse was written with the addition of ‘and’.

In former times, when the accepted way of disseminating the subject matter of a book was to memories it, then recite it, it was quite exceptional that the Qur’an should have been preserved in writing as well as memorized. This was like having a ‘double checking’ system, whereby memory plus written words and written words plus memory could be constantly compared for verification.

After Zayd ibn Thabit had prepared the entire Qur’an and bound it in the form of a book, all other materials collected from different companions, for the purpose of checking and rechecking, were all burnt. Now this volume was handed over to the caliph. After Abu Bakr’s death it remained with Umar, the second caliph. After the death of Caliph Umar it remained in the custody of Hafsa, daughter of Umar and wife of the Prophet.

During the caliphate of Uthman, Islam had spread far and wide, and the number of Muslims was legion. Moreover, the companions who taught the Qur’an had gone to different countries that had come within the fold of Islam. For instance, the Syrians learned the Qur’an from Ubayy ibn Kaab, the Kufans (the inhabitants of Kufa, a city in Iraq) learned the Qur’an from Abdullah ibn Masood and the Iraqis in general from Abu Musa Ash’ari. However, due to differences in accent and styles of writing, controversies again began cropping up. People even called one another heretics owing to such differences.

Ibn Abi Daud writes in his book, Al-Masahif, quoting Yazid ibn Muawiyah Nakhai, that once when Huzayfa ibn Al-Yaman was present in the mosque of Kufa, he found a group reciting the Qur’an. One of them recited a certain verse and said: “This is the way of recitation of Abdullah ibn Masood.” Another recited it with a different accent and said that was how Abu Musa Al-Ashari recited it. Huzayfa, enraged on hearing this, stood up and admonished this group: “Those before you (people of the book) differed just like this. By God, I will go riding to the leader of the believers, Uthman, the third caliph.”

Huzayfa was a military officer posted in Armenia and Azerbaijan, and had just come back from doing battle. But when he reached Madina, and witnessed the scene in the Prophet’s mosque, instead of going straight home, he went directly to the third caliph and addressed him thus: “O Leader of the believers! Take care of the people, before they fall victim to the differences regarding the book of God just as the Jews and the Christians did.”

During the caliphate of Uthman there entered the fold of Islam peoples whose mother tongue was not Arabic, and who were not able to speak the language with the proper accent and pronunciation. Even the various Arab tribes themselves had different accents and pronunciation. Hence the variations in the recitation of the Qur’an. The result was that the Qur’an, too, began to be written according to varying pronunciations. Ibn Qutayba writes that the Bani Huzayl tribe used to pronounce ‘hatta’ as ‘atta’. Since Ibn Masood belonged to this tribe, its members saw no reason to deviate from this pronunciation. Such differences in recitation came to be reflected in the transcription of the Qur’an, this being only one of many such examples. Given this state of affairs, Uthman, as advised by Huzayfa ibn Yaman, had copies made of the volume prepared by Abu Bakr, then sent one copy each to all cities. This task was again entrusted to Zayd ibn Thabit Ansari, who was provided with eleven people to assist him. As per the order of the third caliph, the committee wrote down the Qur’an in accordance with the spelling of the Quraysh, so that it should conform to the accent (lehja) of the Prophet of Islam. Caliph Uthman subsequently ordered that all other copies of the Qur’an, which people had written on their own, should be handed over to the government. These were all then burnt by his order.

By this method, all the copies of the Qur’an were made uniform as far as writing was concerned. However, taking natural differences into consideration—since all the people were not able to pronounce the Qur’an uniformly—permission was given for the Qur’an to be recited with seven different pronunciations and accents. The collection prepared by Abu Bakr was done one year after the death of the Prophet. The copies ordered by Uthman were produced fifteen years after the Prophet’s death.

These copies of the Qur’an, made with extraordinary care and precision, were passed on from generation to generation until the age of the press dawned. Many printing presses were then established in the Muslim world, where the beautiful calligraphy of the scriptures was reproduced after its content had been certified by memorizers of the Qur’an. Thus, once again, with the help of the memorized versions and written texts, correct, authentic copies were prepared; then with the publication of these copies on a large scale, the Qur’an spread all over the world.

It is an irrefutable fact acknowledged by the orientalists, that any copy of the Qur’an found in any part of the world at any time will be exactly the same as that handed down to the Muslims by the Prophet in his last days, arranged in the form still extant today.

http://www.alrisala.org/Articles/quranworld/preservation_of_quran.htm

[abdulhakeem]

How do we know that the Qur’an we have today is the word of God?

The importance of this question cannot be underestimated. Scriptures form the bedrock of a religion's teachings and typically compel people to follow them on the assumption that they are of divine origin. However, with so many competing claims, it is no longer sufficient to rely on mere assumption alone to feel confident that a religious scripture ought to be trusted as Truth. If being a “Muslim” means “one who surrenders to the will of Allah”, then every Muslim should know that it really is the will of Allah that one is surrendering to.

To answer the question, we first need to establish that the Qur’an we have today is the same Qur’an as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (p) and that no corruption has taken place in the transmission of that message. In other words, we initially need to prove the fact that the Qur’an has survived history, perfectly preserved. Secondly, we need to establish who the author of the Qur’an really is. This may be done by eliminating all possible authors that are unacceptable to reason. That is, we may be certain of the definite author by eliminating all unlikely authors. This two-step process is outlined below:

I. The Recording and Perfect Preservation of the Qur’an

The Glorious Qur’an, the Muslims’ religious Scripture, was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad (p) through the angel Gabriel. The revelation occurred piecemeal, over a period of twenty-three years, sometimes in brief verses and sometimes in longer chapters [1].

The Qur’an (lit. a “reading” or “recitation”) is distinct from the recorded sayings and deeds (Sunnah) of the Prophet Muhammad (p), which are instead preserved in a separate set of literature collectively called the “Ahadith” (lit. “news”; “report”; or “narration”).

Upon receiving revelation, the Prophet (p) engaged himself in the duty of conveying the message to his Companions through reciting the exact words he heard in their exact order. This is evident in his inclusion of even the words of Allah which were directed specifically to him, for example: “Qul” (“Say [to the people, O Muhammad]”). The Qur’an's rhythmic style and eloquent expression make it easy to memorize. Indeed, Allah describes this as one of its essential qualities for preservation and remembrance (Q.44:58; 54:17,22,32,40), particularly in an Arab society which prided itself on orations of lengthy pieces of poetry. Michael Zwettler notes that "in ancient times, when writing was scarcely used, memory and oral transmission was exercised and strengthened to a degree now almost unknown" [2]. Large portions of the revelation were thus easily memorized by a large number of people in the community of the Prophet (p).

The Prophet (p) encouraged his Companions to learn each verse that was revealed and transmit it to others [3]. The Qur'an was also required to be recited regularly as an act of worship, especially during the daily meditative prayers (salat). Through these means, many repeatedly heard passages from the revelation recited to them, memorized them and used them in prayer. The entire Qur’an was memorized verbatim (word for word) by some of the Prophet’s Companions. Among them were Zaid ibn Thabit, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Mu’adh ibn Jabal, and Abu Zaid [4].

Furthermore, the sequence or order of the Qur'an was arranged by the Prophet (p) himself and was also well-known to the Companions [5]. Each Ramadan, the Prophet (p) would repeat after the angel Gabriel (reciting) the entire Qur’an in its exact order as far as it had been revealed, while in the presence of a number of his Companions [6]. In the year of his death, he recited it twice [7]. Thereby, the order of verses in each chapter and the order of the chapters became reinforced in the memories of each of the Companions present.

As the Companions spread out to various provinces with different populations, they took their recitations with them in order to instruct others [8]. In this way, the same Qur’an became widely retained in the memories of many people across vast and diverse areas of land.

Indeed, memorization of the Qur’an emerged into a continuous tradition across the centuries, with centers/schools for memorization being established across the Muslim world [9]. The Qur’an is perhaps the only book, religious or secular, that has been memorized completely by millions of people [10]. Leading orientalist Kenneth Cragg reflects that “this phenomenon of Qur'anic recital means that the text has traversed the centuries in an unbroken living sequence of devotion. It cannot, therefore, be handled as an antiquarian thing, nor as a historical document out of a distant past. The fact of hifz (Qur'anic memorization) has made the Qur'an a present possession through all the lapse of Muslim time and given it a human currency in every generation, never allowing its relegation to a bare authority for reference alone” [11].

The entire Qur’an was however also recorded in writing at the time of revelation from the Prophet’s dictation by some of his literate companions, the most prominent of them being Zaid ibn Thabit [12]. Others among his noble scribes were Ubayy ibn Ka’b, Ibn Mas’ud, Mu’awiya ibn Abi-Sufyan, Khalid ibn Waleed and Zubayr ibn Awwam [13]. The verses were recorded on leather, parchment, scapulae (shoulder bones of animals) and the stalks of date palms [14].

The codification of the Qur’an (i.e. into a ‘book form’) was done soon after the Battle of Yamama (11AH/633CE), after the Prophet’s death, during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr. Many companions became martyrs at that battle and it was feared that unless a written copy of the entire revelation was produced, large parts of the Qur’an might be lost with the death of those who had memorized it. Therefore, at the suggestion of Umar to collect the Qur’an in the form of writing, Zaid ibn Thabit was requested by Abu Bakr to head a committee which would gather together the scattered recordings of the Qur’an and prepare a suhuf - loose sheets which bore the entire revelation on them [15]. To safeguard the compilation from errors, the committee accepted only material which had been written down in the presence of the Prophet (p) himself, and which could be verified by at least two reliable witnesses who had actually heard the Prophet (p) recite the passage in question [16]. Once completed and unanimously approved of by the Prophet’s Companions, these sheets were kept with the Caliph Abu Bakr (d. 13AH/634CE), then passed on to the Caliph Umar (13-23AH/634-644CE), and then Umar’s daughter and the Prophet’s widow, Hafsa [17].

Although the Qur’an was initially revealed in the Qurayshi dialect of Arabic to the Prophet (p), it was also later revealed in seven different Arabian dialects to aid the understanding of those belonging to non-Quraysh tribes [18]. At the time of the third Caliph Uthman (23AH-35AH/644-656CE), however, a companion named Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yaman observed that the people of the regions of present-day Syria and Iraq had begun disputing over various pronunciations of some of the words of the Qur’an, while new Muslims in provinces outside Arabia were unsure which dialect should be learned. Urged by Hudhayfah to take heed of how the Ahl al-Kitab (People of the Book) had differed among themselves regarding Allah’s Word, Uthman perceived the danger of divisions, disunity and corruption arising on the basis of different readings/dialects of the Qur’an which were earlier on approved by the Prophet (p) [19]. He therefore requested Hafsa to send him the manuscript of the Qur’an which was in her safekeeping, and ordered the production of several bounded copies of it (masaahif, sg. mushaf) using the Quraysh dialect (i.e. the dialect of the Prophet himself and in which the Qur'an had commenced being revealed in). This task was entrusted to the Companions Zaid ibn Thabit, Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair, Sa‘id ibn As-‘As, and Abdur Rahman ibn Harith ibn Hisham [20].

Upon completion (in 25AH/646CE), Uthman returned the original manuscript to Hafsa and sent the copies to the major Islamic provinces to replace other materials that were in circulation. He also ordered that all other extracts or copies of the Qur’an which differed from that undoubted “official” copy (including incomplete manuscripts and those with additional personal notes) be burnt so that the Qur’an would not suffer the same fate of alterations, uncertainty of authenticity and contradictory versions which characterized prior religious scriptures. This action of Uthman was unanimously approved of by the Prophet’s Companions, as evidenced in the accounts of Zaid, Mus’ab, and Ali that the Companions had gathered in large numbers to witness the burning, with no-one speaking out against it. Their accounts also reveal that many had openly declared their support for Uthman at the time, and how pleased they were with the measures he had taken [21]. It was therefore not the “Original” Qur’an that was burnt, nor a fabricated story to discredit Uthman in the eyes of the community, as some critics of Islam allege.

The story of how the Qur'an came to be preserved as described above is drawn entirely from authentic Ahadith. Some orientalist critics, however, claim that the narrations in Hadith collections cannot be trusted due to their being recorded by “Muslim sources”. These orientalists ignore the fact that news and social history have always been uncovered through eye-witness reports, and that early Muslim scholars have developed some of the most rigorous criteria to scrutinize such reports for authenticity [22]. The majority of what we know of the life of the Prophet (p) and his Companions are from mutawaatir reports (reported by many different reliable narrators, who all independently verify the same account). This continuing and dynamic science (now over thirteen centuries old) has produced highly accurate (albeit not perfect) reports of Muslim history. Through this science, thousands of scholars have repeatedly analyzed the Ahadith collections in order to identify and filter out any fabrications. The accusation that most Muslim scholarship has been based on forgery would necessarily implicate that all the geographically scattered scholars of the first four centuries of Hadith collection, who belonged to varied and competing schools of thought, collaborated together in a mutual conspiracy – an idea which neither appeals to reason nor the fact that such scholars were renowned for their piety and integrity of character.

A number of orientalists (such as Ignaz Goldziher [23]) have been attached to the theory that certain variations in some of the reports make the entire story of the Qur’an’s codification dubious. Yet other scholars have pointed out that these differences are often reconcilable due to context of each narration (contexts which, incidentally, are also recorded in Ahadith collections), and the time of narration (some referring to earlier instances, such as prior to the completion of the entire Qur’an [24]). Muslim scholars also note that the number of memorizers was great for any given portion of the Qur'an and therefore if any error had been made in Uthman's codification, someone would have pointed it out. Furthermore, the majority of the reports indicate that the text of Uthman's codification is mutawaatir – ie. transmitted and agreed upon by many people – while other variant readings were only used by a sole companion or occasionally two or three [25].

Jeffrey Lang [26] points out that orientalists often base their conclusions on mere speculation or fragmentary data which also stem from the same Hadith collections that they criticize. In line with Edward Said’s comments on the underlying biases of Western scholarship [27], he also remarks that the bulk of orientalist analysis has been so predisposed to write off discrepancies in the body of early Muslim literature as evidence of Hadith fabrications that it often overlooks clear evidence that easily explains otherwise. An example of this is the frequent criticism that Ahadith were forged in the second and third century after Hijrah to support jurists’ legal rulings. Azami [28] explains that such accusations often relied on a faulty comparison of legal and hadith literature when in fact they are two distinct fields. One involves narrating and verifying Ahadith, the other involves deriving legal opinions and discussions from such Ahadith. Inferences about one science cannot validly be made by studying the development of another. The theory that all Ahadith about the collection of the Qur'an were forged in the second and third century has been further refuted by proof that much of the Ahadith were actually written down in the first century [29].

In an excellent attempt at objective analysis of Western criticism of Hadith traditions, Jeffrey Lang [30] concludes that Muslim scholars’ deductions of history hold ground more solidly with the available evidence than their orientalist counterparts’. Orientalist theories are further addressed and refuted in the works of Ali [31], Azami [32], Abbott [33], Siddiqi [34], and Abdul Ghafar [35].

Despite such defective theories, many orientalists themselves have admitted like Gibb that “It seems reasonably well established that no material changes were introduced and that the original form of Mohammed’s discourses were preserved with scrupulous precision” [36]. John Burton, at the end of his substantial work on the Qur’an’s compilation, says with reference to criticisms made of different readings narrated in Ahadith that “No major differences of doctrines can be constructed on the basis of the parallel readings based on the Uthmanic consonantal outline, yet ascribed to mushafs other than his. All the rival readings unquestionably represent one and the same text. They are substantially agreed in what they transmit…” [37]. He further states that the Qur'an as we have it today is “the text which has come down to us in the form in which it was organized and approved by the Prophet…. What we have today in our hands is the mushaf of Muhammad.” [38]. Kenneth Cragg describes the transmission of the Qur'an from the time of revelation to today as occurring in “an unbroken living sequence of devotion” [39]. Schwally concurs that “As far as the various pieces of revelation are concerned, we may be confident, we may be confident that their text has been generally transmitted exactly as it was found in the Prophet's legacy” [40].

The historical credibility of the Qur'an is further established by the fact that one of the copies sent out by the Caliph Uthman is still in existence today. It lies in the Museum of the City of Tashkent in Uzbekistan, Central Asia [41]. A facsimile of the mushaf in Tashkent is available at the Columbia University Library in the USA [42]. This copy is proof that the text of the Qur’an we have in circulation today is identical with that of the time of the Prophet and his companions. A copy of the mushaf sent to Syria (duplicated before a fire in 1310AH/1892CE destroyed the Jaami' Masjid where it was housed) also exists in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul [43], and an early manuscript on gazelle parchment exists in Dar al-Kutub as-Sultaniyyah in Egypt. More ancient manuscripts from all periods of Islamic history found in the Library of Congress in Washington, the Chester Beatty Museum in Dublin (Ireland) and the London Museum have been compared with those in Tashkent, Turkey and Egypt, with results confirming that there have not been any changes in the text from its original time of writing [44].

The Institute for Koranforschung, for example, in the University of Munich (Germany), collected over 42,000 complete or incomplete ancient copies of the Qur’an. After around fifty years of research, they reported that there was no variance between the various copies, except the occasional mistakes of the copyist which could easily be ascertained. This Institute was unfortunately destroyed by bombs during WWII [45].

Thus, due to the efforts of the early companions, with Allah’s assistance, the Qur’an as we have it today is recited in the same manner as it was revealed. This makes it the only religious scripture that is still completely retained and understood in its original language. Indeed, as Sir William Muir states, “There is probably no other book in the world which has remained twelve centuries [now fourteen] with so pure a text” [46].

The evidence above confirms Allah's promise in the Qur'an: “Verily, We have revealed the Reminder, and verily We shall preserve it.” (Q.15:9). The Qur'an has been preserved in both oral and written form in a way no other book has, and with each form providing a check and balance for the authenticity of the other.

But though it is proven that the text of the Qur’an has remained intact till today, how are we sure that that words actually originated from God and not some other source? This takes us to look at the authenticity, authority, or source of the Qur’an.

II. Source or Authority of the Qur’an

Concerning the authorship of the Qur’an, Muslims believe that it was revealed verbatim (ie. word for word) by God, to Muhammad (p). Non-Muslims, however, who do not support this view can have no differences with Muslims concerning the fact that the Qur’an was at least first witnessed to be uttered by Muhammad (p), a Makkan Arab in the 7th century CE and, as proved above, there have been no changes to the records of his utterances since then.

Muslims’ claim of “internal evidence” for the divine authorship of the Qur’an, ie. from statements to that effect in the Qur’an itself (e.g. Q.4:82; 6:19; 6:92; 27:6; 45:2, etc.), is understandably looked upon with skepticism, as nearly anyone can quote passages from his or her scripture that claim the scripture in question is revelation from God. We are therefore forced by reason and objectivity to look elsewhere for “external evidence” of the Qur’an’s divine source or authority.

The simple proposed structure for the presentation of this “external evidence” is an elimination process, where we get to the answer of the question – “Who is the author of the Qur’an?” – by eliminating all alternative answers to this question which are definitely implausible. In other words, the definite or (at least) most probable author or source of the Qur’an is identified by eliminating unacceptable alternative candidates.

There are various contradictory views and opinions held by some non-Muslims as to the source of the Qur’an. The following list of “possible” authors reflects the main theories.

Muhammad (p)
Some other Arab poet(s), scholars, etc.
Some non-Arab scholars, or poets or religious personalities
Monks or Rabbis (i.e. from the Bible or Judeo-Christian sources)
Satan (or other deceitful “spirits” or “aliens”, etc.)
God
We may now proceed to examine from a closer study of the Qur’an and history how plausible these theories are.

Muhammad: unlettered and uneducated

The fact that Muhammad could neither read nor write (Q.29:48) is well known and uncontested by even his non-Muslim contemporaries and present day historians. He had no schooling or teacher of any kind. He had never been known to compose oral poetry or prose. The Qur’an, with its all-embracing laws and freedom from all inconsistencies, has its greatness acknowledged even by non-Muslim scholars [47]. Its contents treat social, economic, political and religious legislation, history, views of the universe, living things, thought, human transactions, war, peace, marriage, worship, business, and everything relating to life - with no contradicting principles. The Qur’an has never been edited or revised as it was never in need of any revision or correction. How were such vast subject areas expounded upon with such precision by a 7th century Arab with no formal education or even the ability to read what scant material there may have been in his environment on such topics? Where and when has history ever produced an illiterate and uneducated author of such a scripture?

Muhammad’s known integrity

Muhammad’s sincerity, truthfulness and integrity were so well known that he was even nicknamed “Al-Ameen” (The Trustworthy) by his pre-Islamic community. Not a single lie is recorded against him, and many modern Western orientalists have themselves admitted that contrary to any deliberate deception, that the Prophet (p) had a profoundly sincere conviction that it was revealed to him by God Himself is undeniable [48].

If his integrity had been in question, and he was supposed to have been motivated by the desire for personal glory to produce the Qur’an, why then would he disclaim authorship and instead claim it was from God, especially when the pagan Makkans had conceded that no one could produce such a scripture (Q.2:23-24, 17:88, etc.), but only marvel at it? His enemies even offered him kingship over Makka and any riches he desired if only he would stop reciting. If it was true that he desired his personal glory and leadership, why would he decline the offer when it was presented to him and instead prefer a life of humility, simplicity, persecution, sanctions, and even hostile attack by those who felt threatened by the Message of One God?

In addition, how reasonable is it to believe that unlettered Muhammad (p) would author the Qur’an for personal benefit and then within the Qur’an correct and reprove himself? For example:

“He frowned and turned away when the blind man came to him…” (Q.80:1-2),

“…And you did fear men, though God is more deserving that you should fear Him” (Q.33:37).

See also Q.18:23-24, etc. Why would he embarrass himself when he could simply omit or favorably modify such verses in the Qur’an? They were certainly not to his advantage if his goals were power and prestige. The existence of such verses only proves that Muhammad (p) was indeed a truthful and sincere Messenger of God!

The style of the Qur’an

There is a world of difference between the style of the Qur’an and Muhammad’s own style as recorded in the books of Ahadith. The differences between the two in every respect – style and contents – are immediately evident. The sayings of Muhammad (Ahadith) are conversational, oratorical, and expository, of a kind the Arabs were already familiar with. By contrast, the style of the Qur’an is authoritative (“We created the heavens and the earth…”; “Say!...”) and challenging (“… had it (the Qur’an) been from any other than God, they would have found therein much discrepancies” (Q.4:82;, “… Say then: “Bring a chapter like it and call, if you can, on other than God…” (Q.10:38); “… then bring a chapter like unto it… and if you can not — for surely you cannot, then…” (Q.2:23-24)).

Which fallible human being would write a book and challenge humanity to find discrepancies in it, as does the author of the Qur’an (Q.4:82)? Would any sensible student after writing an exam paper add a note to the lecturer saying “Read my answers with care and find any discrepancies or mistakes in it if you can!”? The style of the Qur’an is simply that of the All-Knowing Creator.

Furthermore, the Qur'an is a literary masterpiece of Arabic which was and remains unrivaled in its eloquence. Its rhythmic style, rhyme, near-haunting depth of expression, majesty, and “inimitable symphony, the very sounds of which move men to tears and ecstasy” [49], shook the foundations of a society which had prided itself on its oratory skills. Contests were held every year in Makka for who could recite the longest and most eloquent pieces from memory. When the Qur’an was revealed, all such contests were brought to a halt, as there was no more competition.

Like the miracle of Moses’ stick turning into a real snake which outdid the ability of all the Pharaoh's magicians at a time when the Egyptians were noted for their mastery of sorcery and magic, and the miracle of Jesus’ healing of the blind and bringing the dead back to life which outdid the ability of all the doctors at a time when the Jews were noted for their mastery of medicine, the Qur’an was the Prophet Muhammad’s own miracle [50]. How could such magnificent and unrivaled expressions emanate from a man who, for 40 years, was never known for any such ability?

Similarities and discrepancies between the Qur’an and the Bible

The mere existence of similarities between any two books is insufficient to prove that one must have been copied from the other. Both could have drawn information from a third common source, thus accounting for some similarities between them. This, in fact, is the argument of the Qur’an that Allah is the Source of all authentic revelation (Q.4:47).

Some scholars have noted that the only Christians the Prophet (p) is recorded as having been personally introduced to prior to his mission did not spend long enough time with him to teach him of their scripture, and no other historical record mentions anyone who taught the Prophet from among the Jews and Christians [51]. Furthermore, the Arabs of his time were very eager to discredit him. Hence, if there was any secret teacher, he would most likely have been exposed by them then.

Furthermore, could the Qur’an have been copied from the Bible if they exhibit serious creedal differences? Regarding doctrines such as the concepts of God and prophethood, sin and forgiveness, the Qur’an differs significantly with the Bible. The Qur’an in fact addresses Jews and Christians directly when correcting what it states are corruptions in their own scriptures. Interestingly, Qur’anic revelations of doctrinal problems with Christianity were sent largely in the Makkan period, prior to the Prophet’s migration to Madina, where he would have encountered many more Jewish and Christian scholars.

Even in the case of narration common to both scriptures, vital discrepancies can be observed. For example, the Qur’an, unlike the Bible:

— does not blame women for the mistake committed by Adam and Eve (peace be upon them) in disobeying God in the Garden of Eden. (Compare Genesis 3:12-17 with Q.91:7-8 and 2:35-37);

— emphasizes that Adam and Eve repented to God (Q.7:23) and were forgiven by Him (Q.2:37);

— mentions that the eventual dwelling of Adam and Eve on Earth was already part of God’s plan even before He created them (Q.2:30), and not a sort of punishment (Genesis 3:17-19).

Other significant variations can be seen in the stories of Solomon [52], Abraham [53], Ishmael and Isaac, Lot, Noah [54], Moses and Jesus [55] (peace be upon them).

The Qur’an also mentions a good amount of historical information about which the Bible is completely silent. From which portion of the Bible were the following copied?

The stories of the people of ‘Ad and Thamud, and their Prophets, Hud (p) and Saleh (p).
The dialogue between Prophet Noah (p) and his son before the flood (Q.11:42-43).
The dialogue between Abraham (p) and his father (Q.6:74), as well as between he and a king (Q.2:258), and between he and his people (Q.22:70-102; 29:16-18; 37:83-98; 21:57).
The mention of the city of Iram (Q.89:7).
The Pharaoh of the Exodus having drowned, with his body preserved as a sign for people of future generations (Q.10:90-92).
Jesus’s miracles of speaking from the cradle (Q.3:46), and his producing (by God’s will) a bird from clay (Q.3:49), etc.
For further examples, see the following references from the Qur’an: 21:69, 2:260, and 3:37.

Qur’anic teachings about Satan and about morality

Some claim that the Qur’an was the work of the devil [56]. Let us examine how much sense (or non-sense) this allegation makes.

If he authored or inspired the Qur’an, why would Satan curse himself and call himself the worst enemy of man (Q.35:6; 36:60)? Why would Satan command that before reciting the Qur’an, one must first say “I seek refuge in God from Satan the accursed ” (Q.16:98)? How could Satan so vehemently condemn himself? Is it really acceptable to common sense to hold the view that Satan would ask people to do good, to be moral and virtuous, to worship none but God, to not follow Satan or his whispers, and to avoid and struggle against evil?

To hold such a view is clearly repugnant to reason, as Satan has only undermined himself through this means if he is the author. Even the Bible attests: “And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end.” (Mark 3:26 [57]). This argument applies to any “Satanic forces”, be they “evil spirits”, “deceitful aliens”, etc.

The Qur’an’s factual contents and scientific information

Within the Qur’an are recorded facts about ancient times that were unknown to Muhammad’s contemporaries and even to historians in the first half of the 20th century. In scores of verses, we also find references to scientific wonders, some only recently discovered or confirmed, regarding the universe, biology, embryology, astronomy, physics, geography, meteorology, medicine, history, oceanography, etc. Below are some examples of modern scientific discoveries mentioned in the Qur’an:

– The Lost City of Iram (Qur’an 89:7)

The existence of the city of Iram was unknown to any historian in the world prior to the excavation in Syria (in 1973) at the site of the ancient city of Ebla where clay tablets found there confirmed that the people of Ebla used to do business with the people of Iram. Details of this can be found in the National Geographic magazine of December, 1978. So unknown was the city of Iram until recently that even some Muslim commentators, out of embarrassment or feeling apologetic for their religion, have commented on this mention of the city in the Qur’an as being perhaps figurative, saying that Iram was possibly a man and not a city! How did the author of the Qur’an know of the existence of the city of Iram (Q.89:7) when no one else knew it?

– Worker bees being female (Qur'an 16:68)

A subtle yet extraordinary precision in describing a natural phenomenon occurs in Q.16:68: “And your Lord inspired the bee, (saying), 'Take for yourself dwellings in hills, on trees and in what they (mankind) build.’” The imperative “take” above is the translation of the Arabic word “ittakhidhi”, which is a feminine form (for Arabic verbs, unlike English ones, differentiate between the sexes). In Arabic, the female form is used when all those it refers to are female, whereas the masculine is used when a group contains at least one male. Therefore the Qur’an is in fact saying: “Take for yourself, you female bees, dwellings…”

A swarm of bees comprises three types: a queen, the worker bees who collect honey and build the hive, and the male drones, whose sole purpose is to impregnate the queen and are then killed off by the worker bees. These worker bees are all females with underdeveloped sex organs. Thus the phrasing of this command in the Qur’an is in perfect correspondence with the fact that male bees do not participate in the construction of the hive or “dwelling”, which is the sole work of the females.

– Mountains as “stakes” and stabilizers

In his co-authored book entitled “Earth” [58], Professor Emeritus Frank Press says that mountains have underlying roots. These roots are deeply embedded in the ground; thus, mountains have a shape like a stake. [59].

This is just how the Qur’an has described mountains. The Creator is recorded in the Qur'an (78:6-7) as saying: “Have We not made the earth as a resting place (for you), and the mountains as (its) stakes?”

Modern earth sciences have shown that mountains have deep roots underground, and that these roots can reach several times their elevations above the surface of the ground. So the most suitable word to describe mountains on the basis of this information is the word “stake”, since most of a properly set (tent) stake is hidden underground. How did the author of the Qur'an know such a precise description when the theory of mountains having deep roots was introduced only in the latter half of the nineteenth century [60].

Mountains also play an important role in stabilizing the crust of the earth. They hinder the shaking of the earth. The author of the Qur’an states: “And He has set firm mountains in the earth so that it could not shake with you…” (Q.16:15) Likewise, the modern theory of plate tectonics holds that mountains work as stabilizers of the rapidly spinning earth. This knowledge about the role of mountains just began to be understood in the late 1960’s. [61].

– The spherical shape of the Earth

In several places (Q.7:54; 36:37; 31:29), the Qur’an directs us to consider the alternation of night and day as another sign from the Almighty. For example, the verse 39:5 states: “…He wraps the night around the day and He wraps the day around the night.” The Arabic verb “kawwara” means “to coil or wrap around” and has the connotation of wrapping or winding something around a spherical object, such as winding a strand of yarn around its ball, or a turban cloth around a person's head.

From the perspective of the planet Earth, this is exactly what takes place in that a half sphere of night followed by a half sphere of day is continually being wound around its surface. An observer from space, looking at Earth from a distance, would see in fact what appears to be the winding of day and night around the planet in a circular motion. When observing from a stationary angle, the light of the day appears to merge into the night and vice versa. This is due to the earth’s rotation and the sun’s relatively stationary position in relation to the earth. The Qur’an’s use of words in this description is thus remarkable.

– The expanding universe (Qur'an 51:47)

By studying the galactic spectrum, scientists have recently established that the universe is expanding. In the Qur’an (51:47), we read: “The firmament, We have built it with power. Verily, We are expanding it.” The word “samaa‘a” means firmament or heaven in the sense of the extra-terrestrial world, and the word “musi‘un” is the present plural participle of the verb “awsa‘a”, which means “to widen, to extend, to expand.” This fact is confirmed in Stephen Hawking's classic book “A Brief History of Time” [62].

– The “Big Bang” (Qur'an 21:30)

In Qur’an 21:30 we read:

“Have not those who disbelieve seen that the heavens and the earth were fused (ratq) and then We broke them apart (fataqa), and We made every living thing out of water. Will they then not believe?”

Scientists have postulated for a long time now that the universe was originally a single primary mass of nearly infinite density that subsequently split into multiple fragments after a tremendous explosion, called the “Big Bang.” It has also been established that all living cells consist mostly of water, which is the essential element for the existence of life as we know it. The word “maa'a” is commonly translated as “water” but refers to both water in the sky and in the sea, and in fact any sort of liquid [63]. The verse above therefore is in agreement with scientific observations.

Jeffrey Lang also notes that “the more interesting observation is that this challenge to unbelievers was proclaimed in the seventh century. We may ask ourselves: Which unbelievers are being addressed here? For the contemporaries of Muhammad, this revelation had many compelling aspects, but this question could not have made much sense to them unless there was some ancient, and presently unknown, Arabian mythology to which they could relate it. Was it then meant to be understood by people of a much later era who would be familiar with modern scientific findings?” [64].

– That at one point in time, the whole universe was nothing but a cloud of “smoke” (Q.41:11)

The description of the Qur'an of the universe as having been shaped out of a cloud of smoke: “And He who turned [His design] to the skies when it had been smoke...” (Q.41:11) is now an undisputed principle of modern cosmology. The term “smoke” is most befitting to explain the opaque, highly dense and hot gaseous composition that existed prior to the universe's expansion. New stars are in fact still forming, as astronomers explain, from the remnants of that primary “smoke” [65]. It is virtually inconceivable that a person of seventh century Arabia could have known such information about the beginnings of the universe.

– The Qur’anic description of the development of the human embryo

The Qur’an (23:12-14) describes the development of the embryo at a microscopic level inside the womb in the following manner: “Man We did fashion from a quintessence of clay. Then We placed him as (a drop of) seminal fluid in a place of rest firmly fixed. Then We fashioned the seminal fluid into a leech-like thing that clings (the word “alaq” is sometimes incorrectly translated as a blood-clot). Then We fashioned that leech-like thing that clings into a chewed-like lump. Then We fashioned the chewed-like lump into bones and We clothed the bones with flesh. Then We developed out of it another creature. So hallowed be Allah, the Best of Artisans”; Q.96:1-2: “...who fashioned man from a leech-like thing that clings”; and Q.22:5: “We fashioned you out of dust, then out of a drop of fluid, then out of a leech-like thing that clings, then out of a morsel of flesh - partly formed and partly unformed...” The incredible accuracy of these descriptions of the various stages of embryonic development are confirmed in Keith Moore and T.V.N. Presaud's 5th edition textbook “The Developing Human” and others [66].

These are just a few of the numerous scientific revelations in the Qur'an. Readers who are interested in further examples, are referred to “The Bible, the Qur’an and Science” by Maurice Bucaille [67], “Struggling to Surrender” p.33-38, by Jeffery Lang [68], “The Qur’anic Phenomenon” by Malik Bennabi [69], “The Developing Human”, 3rd edition, by Keith L. Moore [70], “A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam”, by I. A. Ibrahim, [71], “The Sources of the Qur’an” by Hamza Mustapha Njozi [72], “The Basis of Muslim Beliefs” [73] and “The Amazing Qur'an” by Gary Miller [74], etc.

How many well trained modern scientists and geniuses with the aid of hi-tech equipment, satellites, telescopes, microscopes and computers were required to discover the above facts, and over what time span? Is it even conceivable that any human being over 1,400 years ago could have produced a scripture with such information in it, let alone a person who had never been educated?

Although the inability of man to encompass all the mysteries and complexity of creation is mentioned in the Qur’an (67:3-4), the revelation nevertheless seems to point to various natural phenomena as if urging human beings to enquire and verify what is said – again, with such an attitude of confidence that one can only assume the author is indeed challenging our disbelief. To be generous to the skeptic, perhaps one or two of the scientific revelations were the result of nothing more than a good guess or coincidence, but how probable could it have been that they all were?

Comparing Qur’anic statements that deal with the physical universe with certain scientific notions leads us to discover profound similarities. But, more notably, as Dr. Maurice Bucaille observes, the Qur’an is distinguished from all other works of antiquity that describe or attempt to explain the workings of nature in that it avoids mistaken concepts. For in the Qur’an, many subjects are referred to that have a bearing on modern knowledge without a single statement that contradicts what has been established by present-day science. [75].

Dr. Bucaille goes as far as to conclude his study with the following remark: “In view of the level of knowledge in Muhammad’s day, it is inconceivable that many statements in the Qur’an which are connected with science could have been the work of a man. It is, moreover, perfectly legitimate, not only to regard the Qur’an as an expression of Revelation, but also to award it a very special place, on account of the guarantee of authenticity it provides and the presence in it of scientific statements which, when studied today, appear as a challenge to explanation in human terms.” [76].

Conclusions

In examining the possible source of the Qur’an we have covered the following points:

Muhammad’s being unlettered,
Muhammad’s integrity,
The Style of the Qur’an,
Discrepancies between the Qur’an and the Bible,
Qur’anic teachings about Satan and about morality, and
The Qur’an’s factual contents and scientific information.
These points were presented to aid us in our “elimination process” of unacceptable sources or authors of the Qur’an, as follows:

Muhammad (p): We might start by eliminating Muhammad (p) from the list of possible authors of the Qur’an. There is just no way he could have authored the Qur’an in view of points 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 presented above.

Other Arab Poet(s), Scholar(s), etc. We can also eliminate any other Arab from the list of possible authors in view of points 2, 3 and 6 (at least).

Some non-Arab: The reasons for the elimination of any Arab from the list also eliminate any non-Arab scholar, poet or religious personality.

Christian Monks or Jewish Rabbis (i.e. Judeo-Christian sources): This alternative source of the Qur’an is unreasonable in view of points 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6.

Satan (or other deceitful spirits or aliens, or anyone on his side, etc.): This option is also unacceptable in view of the points discussed, especially under 5.

God (i.e. Allah): In the absence of any more acceptable alternative as source and author of the Qur’an, one is more or less forced by reason to accept the Qur’an for what it claims to be – revelation from God through His Prophet Muhammad (p). This position seems reasonable not just because it is the only option that cannot be objectively eliminated, but because it is only reasonable to expect that a book with such qualities and contents would come from man’s Creator and Guide. Of all the possible sources of the Qur’an, it is also only the last alternative – God – who even claims in the Qur’an itself to be the author of the scripture.

The position, therefore, which holds that Allah is the author of the Qur’an still stands, and the challenge (or falsification test, Q.4:82) remains open to anyone to disprove the Qur’an’s claim to being revelation from Allah. Having undertaken this task ourselves, the Muslim's contention that the Qur'an is the Word of God appears not just a product of blind faith but, in fact, a product of very sound and reasoned judgment in light of all the available evidence. Indeed, after having assessed the evidence, it would be blind faith to contend otherwise!

Note: The evidence for the Divine Authorship of the Qur’an is also evidence for the existence of the Divine. Allah must exist, unless a more reasonably acceptable author of the Qur’an can be produced!

References

[1] Muhammad Hamidullah, Introduction to Islam, London: MWH Publishers, 1979, p.17

[2] Michael Zwettler, The Oral Tradition of Classical Arabic Poetry, Ohio State Press, 1978, p.14

[3] Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith No.546

[4] Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith No.525

[5] Ahmad von Denffer, Ulum al-Qur'an, The Islamic Foundation, UK, 1983, p.41-42; Arthur Jeffery, Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur'an, Leiden: Brill, 1937, p.31

[6] Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith No.519

[7] Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith Nos.518 & 520

[8] Ibn Hisham, Seerah al-Nabi, Cairo, n.d., Vol.1, p.199

[9] Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran, translated by Morroe Berger, A. Rauf, and Bernard Weiss, Princeton: The Darwin Press, 1975, p.59

[10] William Graham, Beyond the Written Word, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993, p.80

[11] Kenneth Cragg, The Mind of the Qur'an, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1973, p.26

[12] Jalal al-Din Suyuti, Al-Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an, Beirut: Maktab al-Thaqaafiyya, 1973, Vol.1, p.41 & 99

[13] Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Al-Isabah fi Taymeez as-Sahabah, Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1978; Bayard Dodge, The Fihrist of al-Nadim: A Tenth Century Survey of Muslim Culture, NY: Columbia University Press, 1970, p.53-63. Muhammad M. Azami, in Kuttab al-Nabi, Beirut: Al-Maktab al-Islami, 1974, in fact mentions 48 persons who used to write for the Prophet (p)

[14] al-Harith al-Muhasabi, Kitab Fahm al-Sunan, cited in Suyuti, Al-Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an, Vol.1, p.58

[15] Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith Nos.201 & 509; Vol.9, Hadith No.301

[16] Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, Fath al-Bari, Vol.9, p.10-11

[17] Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol.6, Hadith No.201

[18] Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith Nos. 513-514; Jalal al-Din Suyuti, Al-Itqan fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an, Beirut: Maktab al-Thaqaafiyya, 1973, Vol.1, p.41

[19] Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith No.510

[20] Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.4, Hadith No.709; Vol.6, Hadith No.507

[21] see Nizam al-Din al-Naysaburi, Ghara'ib al-Qur'an wa Ragha'ib al-Furqan, Cairo, 1962; Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masaahif, p.12, in Arthur Jeffery, Materials for the History of the Text of the Qur'an, Leiden: Brill, 1937; and Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi, Al-Burhan fi Ulum al-Qur'an, Cairo, 1957, Vol.1, p.240 respectively

[22] including a continuous chain of reporters, each reporter's memory skills and record of honesty, evidence that they were there at the time of the event, as well as textual consistency with the Qur'an and other established Ahadith.

[23] Ignaz Goldziher, Muslim Studies II, London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971

[24] For an example of this, see the discussion of the variance in the manuscripts of some Companions in footnote 41, p.48 in Von Denffer, Ulum al-Qur'an, The Islamic Foundation, UK, 1983

[25] Bilal Philips, Usool at-Tafseer, Sharjah: Dar al-Fatah, 1997, p.159

[26] Jeffrey Lang, Struggling to Surrender, Maryland: Amana Publications, 1994, p.92

[27] Edward Said, Orientalism, NY: Pantheon Books, 1978

[28] Muhammad M. Azami, Studies in Early Hadith Literature, Beirut, 1968

[29] see, for example, Fuad Sezgin, Geschichte der Arabischen Schrifttums, Leiden: Brill, 1967, Vol.1; Muhammad Hamidullah, Sahifa Hammam ibn Munabbih: The Earliest Extant Work on the Hadith, Paris: Centre Cultural Islamique, 1979

[30] Jeffrey Lang, Struggling to Surrender, Maryland: Amana Publications, 1994, p.90-105

[31] Muhammad Mohar Ali, Sirat al-Nabi and the Orientalists, Vol.1A & B, Madina Munawwara: King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an, 1997 (A very comprehensive analysis of the major theories - well worth the read)

[32] Muhammad M. Azami, Studies in Early Hadith Literature, Beirut, 1968

[33] Nabia Abbott, Studies in Arabic Literary Papyri, Vol.1: Historic Texts, Chicago, 1957, & Vol.2: Qur'anic Commentary and Tradition, Chicago, 1967

[34] Muhammad Z. Siddiqi, Hadith Literature, Calcutta: Calcutta University Press, 1961

[35] Suhaib H. Abdul Ghafar, Criticism of Hadith among Muslims, IFTA, 1984

[36] H.A.R. Gibb, Mohammedanism, London: Oxford University Press, 1969, p.50

[37] John Burton, The Collection of the Qur'an, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977, p. 171

[38] John Burton, The Collection of the Qur'an, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977, p.239-40

[39] Kenneth Cragg, The Mind of the Qur'an, London: George Allen & Unwin, 1973, p.26

[40] Schwally, Geschichte des Qorans, Leipzig: Dieterich'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung,1909-38, Vol.2, p.120

[41] Yusuf Ibrahim al-Nur, Ma' al-Masaahif, Dubai: Dar al-Manar, 1st ed., 1993, p.117; Isma'il Makhdum, Tarikh al-Mushaf al-Uthmani fi Tashqand, Tashkent: Al-Idara al-Diniya, 1971, p.22ff

[42] The Muslim World, 1940, Vol.30, p.357-358

[43] Yusuf Ibrahim al-Nur, Ma' al-Masaahif, Dubai: Dar al-Manar, 1st ed., 1993, p.113

[44] Bilal Philips, Usool at-Tafseer, Sharjah: Dar al-Fatah, 1997, p.157

[45] Mohammed Hamidullah, Muhammad Rasullullah, Lahore: Idara-e-Islamiat, n.d., p.179

[46] Sir William Muir, Life of Mohamet, London, 1894, Vol.1, Introduction

[47] see Fredrick Denny, Islam, NY: Harper & Row, 1987, p.88; Dr. Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, the Qur’an and Science, Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1983, p.163; and H.A.R. Gibb, Wither Islam, NY: A.M.S. Press, 1932, p.350; etc.

[48] see for example, H.A.R. Gibb, Mohammedanism, London: Oxford University Press, 1962, p.25

[49] Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Quran, New York: The Muslim World League, 1977, p.vii

[50] Sahih al-Bukhari Vol.6, Hadith No.504; Sahih Muslim Vol.1, Hadith No.283

[51] Bilal Philips, Usool at-Tafseer, Sharjah: Dar al-Fatah, 1997, p.127-128

[52] eg. the Qur'an rejects that this Prophet was ever a worshipper of idols – compare Q.2:102 with 1 Kings 11:4

[53] eg. the Qur'an describes the account of the story of God's command to sacrifice his son as occurring in a dream with his son as a willing participant before being saved by God's intervention, while the Bible speaks of God speaking directly to him and his son as unaware of his plans - compare Q.37:99-111 with Genesis 22:1-19

[54] The Bible describes the Great Flood as covering the entire Earth whereas the Qur'an describes the flood as a local event only, a description which is more consistent which scientific evidence - compare Q.25:37 with Genesis 7:23

[55] A critical difference is the Qur'an's insistence that Jesus (p) was never truly crucified

[56] see Norman Daniel’s Islam and the West: the Making of an Image, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 1989, p.83, 94, etc.

[57] cited in H.M. Njozi, The Sources of the Qur'an: A Critical Review of the Authorship Theories, Saudi Arabia: WAMY Publications, 1991, p.96

[58] Frank Press and Raymond Siever, Earth, W.H. Freeman, 1986.

[59] See also E.J. Tarbuck and F.K. Lutgens, Earth Science, 8th edition, Prentice-Hall, 1997, p. 157

[60] Z.R. El-Naggar, The Geological Concept of Mountains in the Qur’an, The Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers and the International Institute of Islamic Thought, Research Monograph Series No.3, 1991

[61] ibid.

[62] Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, London: Bantam Books, 1990, p.13

[63] Maurice Bucaille, What is the Origin of Man?, Paris: Seghers, 1983, p.166

[64] Jeffrey Lang, Struggling to Surrender, Maryland: Amana Publications, 1994, p.36

[65] Stephen Weinberg, The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe, London: Andre Deutsch, 1977, p.94-105. See also I.A. Ibrahim, A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, Houston, Darussalam Publishers, 1997, p.14

[66] K.L. Moore and T.V.N. Presaud, The Developing Human, 5th edition, Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co., 1993, p.8. See also I.A. Ibrahim, A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, Houston: Darussalam Publishers, 1997, p.6-11; Maurice Bucaille, What is the Origin of Man?, Paris: Seghers, 1983, p.182-188; and Jeffrey Lang, Struggling to Surrender, Maryland: Amana Publications, 1994, p.34

[67] Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1978

[68] Jeffrey Lang, Struggling to Surrender, Maryland: Amana Publications, 1994

[69] Malik Bennabi, The Qur'anic Phenomenon, transl. A.B. Kirkary, Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1983

[70] Keith Moore, The Developing Human, 3rd edition, Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co., 1982

[71] I.A. Ibrahim, A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam, Houston: Darussalam Publishers, 1997

[72] H.M. Njozi, The Sources of the Qur'an: A Critical Review of the Authorship Theories, Saudi Arabia: WAMY Publications, 1991

[73] Gary Miller, The Basis of Muslim Beliefs, Kuala Lampur: Prime Minister's Department - Islamic Affairs Division, 1995

[74] http://users.erols.com/ameen/amazingq.htm

[75] Maurice Bucaille, The Bible, the Qur'an and Science, Indianapolis: American Trust Publications, 1978

[76] ibid., p.163

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[AbuMubarak]

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http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Articles/sunnah/message_of_the_prophets_seerat.htmshukran for the input

[AbuMubarak]

Words of Wisdom from Prophet Mohammadhttp://www.islamfortoday.com/images/saws.gif (http://www.islamfortoday.com/athar16.htm#mohammed)


1.. "Acquire knowledge, it enables its professor to distinguish right from wrong; it lights the way to heaven. It is our friend in the desert, our company in solitude and companion when friendless. It guides us to happiness, it sustains us in misery, it is an ornament amongst friends and an armour against enemies." (widely attributed to the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh))

2.. "A Muslim who plants a tree or sows a field, from which man, birds and animals can eat, is committing an act of charity." (Muslim)

3.. "There is a polish for everything that takes away rust; and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of Allah." (Bukhari)

4.. "What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of human beings, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the sufferings of the injured." (Bukhari)

5.. "The most excellent Jihad is that for the conquest of self." (Bukhari)

6.. "If you put your whole trust in Allah, as you ought, He most certainly will satisfy your needs, as He satisfies those of the birds. They come out hungry in the morning, but return full to their nests." (Tirmidhi)

7.. "When Allah created his creatures He wrote above His throne: 'Verily, my Compassion overcomes my wrath." (Bukhari & Muslim)

8.. "Allah will not give mercy to anyone, except those who give mercy to other creatures." (Abdullah b. Amr: Abu Daud & Tirmidhi)

9.. " 'Son, if you are able, keep your heart from morning till night and from night till morning free from malice towards anyone.' Then the Prophet said: 'O my son! This is one of my laws, and he, who loves my laws verily loves me.' " (Bukhari)

10.. "Say what is true, although it may be bitter and displeasing to people." (Baihaqi)

11.. "Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith." (Muslim)

12.. "When you see a person who has been given more than you in money and beauty, look to those, who have been given less." (Muslim)

13.. "If you do not feel ashamed of anything, then you can do whatever you like." (Abu-Masud: Bukhari)

14.. "O Lord, grant me your love, grant me that I love those who love you; grant me, that I might do the deeds that win your love. Make your love dearer to me than the love of myself, my family and wealth." (Tirmidhi)

15.. "It is better to sit alone than in company with the bad; and it is better still to sit with the good than alone. It is better to speak to a seeker of