Archive for category: The Holy Quran

Question:
Has any change happened in Holy Quran during the history?

Answer:
1 – The proof that the copies of the Holy Qur’an that we have before us is not just one or two pieces of evidence, rather it is proven by a vast amount of evidence that no fair-minded person can study without becoming convinced that it is exactly as Allah revealed it to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

2 – There have been generations coming one after another, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it, memorizing it and writing it down. They have not omitted a single letter, and no one can change even the vowel point of a single letter. Writing is just one means of preserving it; basically it is preserved in their hearts.
3 – The Qur’an has not come down to us on its own, such that the so-called alterations could be made. Rather the interpretation of its verses, the meanings of its words, the reasons for its revelation, the grammar of its words and the commentary on its rulings have all been transmitted. When such care has been given to this Book, how could sinful hands find a way to distort even one letter of it, or add a word, or take away a verse?

4 – The Qur’an speaks of matters of the unseen, in the future, which Allah revealed to His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to show him that they came from Allah. If a human being wants to write a book, he can describe an event or express a point of view, but if any human being were to speak about matters of the unseen, in this field he can only base that on speculation and lies. But the Qur’an told of the defeat of the Romans by the Persians, at the time when there was no means of communication to inform the Arabs of this event. The same verses also foretold that they (the Persians) would be defeated after a certain number of years. If what the Qur’an said was not accurate, then the infidels would have had a great opportunity to criticize the Qur’an.

5 – If you read any verse of the Qur’an, then you go to America or Asia or the jungles of Africa, or to the deserts of Arabia or any place where there are Muslims, you will find that all of them have the exact same verse, memorized by heart or in their books; not a single letter of it will have been altered.
What would be their response if we went to one of their most trusted books by a well-known author, a book of which there are many copies in the world, all of them exactly the same, and we claimed that there was a copy of this book in some country or other in which there was extra material and alterations, and it was different from what is in their copies? Would they pay any attention?
Their answer would be the same as ours.

6– The manuscript copies which are in the Muslims’ possession cannot be proven to be authentic in this simplistic manner, for we have experts who know the history of calligraphy and we have principles and guidelines through which we may determine whether a manuscript is genuine, such as the names and signatures of the people who heard it and read it.

Question:
Did Prophet Muhammad receive Holy Quran in a written form or orally?

Answer:
The Qur’an is the final message Allah has sent to mankind. It was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through the Archangel Gabriel, who brought the Prophet complete verses or parts of verses, or passages or complete surahs, as he was commanded by Allah.

When the angel brought down to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) a passage of the Qur’an, he did not bring it written on a piece of paper [or other material]. He recited it to him and the Prophet immediately memorized it. Allah promised him that He Himself will see to it that the Qur’an is kept complete and intact and properly read. This order is contained in Quran: “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and we will assuredly Guard it (from corruption).” [Al- Hijr 15:9]

As you are well aware, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not read or write. When he received a portion of the Qur’an, he called in one or more of his scribes to write it down. Those scribes wrote the Qur’an on various forms of writing material which was available to them. These included sheets cut out of the branches of the beet tree or other writing sheets made of wood, animal hide, stone or bones.

This started even in the period when the Prophet and his companions were a small persecuted community in Mecca. Many of the companions of the Prophet had some parts of the Qur’an written down and treasured in their homes. The Qur’an is divided into 114 surahs, some of which are short, while others are very long. The revelation did not proceed with only one surah at a time, but the Prophet might have continued to receive parts of several surahs at the same time. When a passage was sent down to him, it was followed by an order from Allah, through the Angel Gabriel, indicating its position in the surah to which it belonged. These manuscripts did not form a single or coherent set.

The Prophet did not keep anything written down in his own home. But most of his companions who were with him in Mecca and Medina memorized much of the Qur’an, and some of them were able to learn it all by heart. The Prophet used to teach his companions either individually or in groups.

In Ramadan every year, the Prophet used to revise the Qur’an with the Angel Gabriel to ensure that he did not overlook any verse or part of it. In the last year of the Prophet’s blessed life, Gabriel recited the Qur’an to him twice.