Sciences of The Quran Notes
Sciences of The Quran Notes
Sciences of The Quran Notes
Al Maghrib
Ulumal Quran Sciences of the Quran
Taught by: SH. Yasir Qadhi
Any good or benefit is from Allah, all the mistakes are mine and from the Shaytan.
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 8, 2008
Sciences of the Quran: An Introductory Class
Announcements
Rules were enumerated
TORONTO A BLESSED CITY
Yasir Qadhi. Begins the lecture by praising the city of Toronto for its class turnout.
Toronto is a blessed city. To see young brothers thirsting for knowledge and selling out a
hall for the purpose of learning Islam, is a good sign.
A SIGN OF REVIVAL
This is a sign of the revival of the ummah. This is a sign that things are changing. Despite
the depressing news on television about the ummah we are seeing things happening. This
is a good sign we are seeing in the ummah.
This is a sold out crowd in the western world where we are small percentage of the
population. You are riding a wave of revival this is the beginning. I am going to different
cities and seeing big changes. I remember when we held classes that had only 70 students
and we thought that was a big turn out. We were impressed with that number.
TORONTO AL MAGHRIB BREAKS RECORDS
Toronto has broken all records in attendance out of all the Al Maghrib classes except for
one city, New York. New York is slowly growing but has not reached the level of
Toronto. We hope that this will start a competition between qiblahs (the different student
groups of Al Maghrib).
The point of this is that we are to be optimistic and this gives us hope, this gives the spirit
of revival and it is the start of a domino effect.
MAKE OUR INTENSIONS FOR ALLAH
One thing that we should be aware of is our intension for attending these classes, that it is
not a fad. On the one hand it is good that it may be a fad and a positive incentive. That is
one of the reasons why the Prophet(pbuh) wanted us to have good friends so we can give
them incentive to go. But then if this is the only motivation we need to make sure we are
learning for the sake Allah.
We are here to learn about the religion of Allah. Now that we are here we need to make
sure that we are here for Allah. A famous scholar said about his search for knowledge,
We began our search of knowledge for reasons other than Allah.
Back then things were different. To study Islam it was like a good job it had good salary
and prestige. However the scholar said
knowledge refused to come to us unless our intension was for the sake of Allah .
OBTAINING KNOWLEDGE AND RETAINING IT
You are not going to gain knowledge if you are hypocrite. You will never reach higher
levels this way. The more you study you learn then you realize that you will do it for the
sake of Allah. Make you intensions for Allah now.
The greatest sign that knowledge has affected you is that you are different after you
learned the knowledge, your life changes, you feel more spiritual. If you feel that you are
not closer to Allah after learning then you must question your intensions. Ali ibn Talib
said
Knowledge calls out to actions. Either knowledge is successful in this call and
actions will come. If actions do not come then the knowledge will go.
Prophet would make dua and sought refuge in Allah from knowledge that does not bring
me any benefit. We should make this intension too.
TOPIC OF THIS WEEKEND SEMINAR
Sciences of the Quran
Why should we study this? Here is a realistic scenario;
A NON-MUSLIM QUESTIONS YOUR RELIGION
Imagine an evangelical Christian and asks you, Why are you a Muslim. You respond
that the Quran is clearly the book of Allah. Then the non-Muslim asks you What gives
you this certainty. You respond, The Quran has been preserved from the time of the
prophet (pbuh).
If this non-Muslim studied a bit he can bring you some points that may raise doubts in
you. These points or issues you can find on the Internet. There are sites totally dedicated
to this.
This non Muslim could bring you a book of hadith and show you narrations from the
sahaba demonstrating that the Quran recited back then was different from the Quran we
know today.
Example 1. Sura Inconsistency
A sahaba said in a hadith that he knew sura Azhab which was as long as surah Al Baqara.
However sura Azhab today is not as long as sura baqarah today.
Example 2. Suras Lost
Another example was that Aisha said that there was a verse of the Quran that she placed
under her bed and a goat ate it and it was lost. The non-Muslim will ask where did that
verse go?
Example 3. Verses Changed
The non-Muslim can also show you evidence that a governor changed 12 verses of the
Quran. However this example is not very authentic.
This non-Muslim can show you verses of the Quran that are not recited anymore. There
are verses that have been abrogated that are still recorded to this day.
ARE ALL QURANS THE SAME?
The non-Muslim can ask you if you if all Qurans are exactly the same. Then you will
reply yes then he can show you Qurans that have additional letters like a Meem becomes
a Wah. You will then look into that book and you see that it was approved by the ulima.(
Issues like this are spread on the Internet. There is one web site that is dedicated to this
spreading these issues.
THE QURAN CANNOT BE IMITATED
You can tell this non-Muslim that the Quran cannot be copied or imitated and this non
Muslim will show you a book called Kitab al Furqan. This book was written as a
challenge to the Quran that it could not be imitated.
HOW DO WE DEFEND OURSELVES?
In order for us to be active Muslims to preserve our identity in the west we need to study
Ulum al Quran (sciences of the Quran). One of the benefits of studying this is that even
if we did not know all the minute details of the sciences of the Quran, studying this will
give is an understanding of where these issues are coming from.
Ulum al Quran
The translation of this is Sciences of the Quran. The word Ulum is plural so we are
talking about many disciplines. Some of these disciplines overlap with hadith, theology,
fiq, usool al fiq.
We will study different sub sciences like we do in university when we study one field.
The knowledge of Ulum al Quran are the sciences of the Quran, deals with the
knowledge of those sciences which have a direct bearing on the
- Recitation
- History
- Understanding
- and Implementation of the Quran
1. Recitation
This deals with subjects like
- Tajweed which is how we recite the Quran properly
- Qirat, blessing of reciting Quran
- the physical etiquettes of reciting Quran.
2. History
Deals with how the Quran
- Was revealed such as in stages.
- How the Quran was written down,
o the script,
o how the Quran was compiled.
o How the style of script evolved.
In regards to the script of the Uthman copy of the Quran, even the
most knowledgeable person cannot read the original script. Only those
who studied the evolution of script could read it.
- Also under this field Mecca and Medina verses.
o What is the significance?
3. Understanding
We will study categories of the Quran such as the clear and ambiguous verses. What are
the tools we use to interpret Quran (tafsir). Tafsir is a science in of itself one can give a
whole weekend course on this subject.
How is the Quran miraculous?
- If we know how the Quran is miraculous we can identify or say anything else is a
forgery.
- However no Muslim has left Islam due to false arguments against the quran
- The real danger of these false arguments against the Quran is that it can close the
doors to non-Muslims from accepting dawah.
- So we have to protect our religion with Ulum al Quran
Words of the Quran
- We will learn how the sahaba looked up the difficult words in the Quran, there were
no dictionaries at that time.
KNOWLEDGE OF ULUM AL QURAN AND REQURIED KNOWLEDGE
This knowledge is a basic requirement of every Muslim. We must realize that knowledge
is of levels and of ranks. There is knowledge that all Muslims must know like
rudimentary fiq, praying, zakat etc. However if you are an iman there is knowledge that
you must know to carry out this position successfully.
Some knowledge is obligatory based on your occupation. If you are a businessman you
should know what you could buy and sell. If you do not try to find out this knowledge
you can be sinful.
If you are living in the west you should have enough knowledge to preserve your
religion. If you live in a land of kufr it is more obligatory to learn these sciences of the
Quran to defend this book.
Study the seerah(biography) of the prophet(pbuh) and you can learn how he dealt with
opposition.
In the west you will hear bad things about our Prophet(pbuh) that will make your blood
boil. You will also hear insulting things about your religion. We need to have knowledge
to defend our Rasool. These sciences will help us defend.
BENEFITS OF ULUM QURAN
Any knowledge of Quran humbles you. You appreciate the Muslims that came before.
You start to watch what you say. You become conscience of how ignorant you are. The
scholars say, the more you learn the more ignorant you realize you are. Even when we
learn secular knowledge we realize how little we knew. Every true student of knowledge
feels this.
The knowledge of Ulum al Quran is what one is required to know in order to properly
interpret the Quran.
There are many benefits but amongst them are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Sometimes some alims(scholars) who become famous may be tempted not to say I
dont know
CHAPTER 1
HISTORY OF ULUM AL QURAN
What is the history of Ulum Quran? Where did it start? Like all Islamic sciences it began
with Muhammad (pbuh).
Muhammad was blessed with succinct speech. Muhammad did not categorize what he
knew into sciences. Why did he not do it? Because everything he said was the bases of all
sciences. Everything he said was a precious jewel to categorize it would limit what he
taught.
Scholars categorized it later
WHEN DID CATERGORIZATION BEGIN?
First time the categorizations began to form was during the lifetime of the prophet. The
sahabas primary sciences were fiq and tafsir.
OTHER SCIENCES AND THEIR EXPERTS
Other sciences were there too
- Ibn abu Talib was expert in the language of the Quran.
- Ibn Mashood was the earliest converts to Islam the 6th convert. He said, I heard 70
suras directly from the prophet 2/3rds prophet taught me.
- Ibn Abbas was the interpreter of Quran . No one passed him in this regard.
- Zaid bin Thabit. Compiler of Quran. All the sahaba agreed that they wanted Zaid to
do this task
- Ayisha is a Faqihah Alima (woman scholar of Islamic Jurisprudence) the greatest no
other woman has reached this level of Islamic jurisprudence.
SAHABA AS SOURCS OF KNOWLEDGE
As the Sahaba went to different lands they were the early schools of Islam. Most of these
places were one man shows. One Sahaba would be the light for that place. Students
would accompany the Sahaba for years and learn of them. There were no formal schools
of Islam.
Three centers of learning were founded during that time. Mecca, Medina and Khufa. Just
the fact that the Sahaba were living there. The Sahabas presence was a university in of
itself, people would learn from them. They formed study groups for many years until they
became scholars themselves.
ISLAMIC SCHOOLS
Ibn Abbas was from the Meccan schools. Then the tabiyoon would start their own
universities. You see before people would study with Sahaba personalities they would
just hang out with them.
This is a contrast to today where we have classes.
WRITTEN KNOWLEDGE
Sahaba would hardly talk about one field of Islamic sciences. The Sahaba would pass on
information orally. It was the Tabiyoon who for the first time began writing information
generally.
None of the Sahaba wrote a book that was meant to be distributed to the people. They did
have their own books for personal knowledge.
Third generation of Tabiyoon Imam Malik, let me write a book that will be distributed to
the people. The book is called Muwata
TAFSIR
Tafsirs were at first sketchy, they would only do Tafsir that they had hadith with them.
This would limit the Tafsir.
FIRST COMPLETE TAFSIR
Another Tafsir, by Mukatib ibn Sulayman 150 H, considered to be the first
comprehensive Tafsir of the Quran. But he was not a great alim, he was more of a story
teller. The Tafsir is no considered scholarly work. However what distinguishes this Tafsir
is that it was the first complete Tafsir of the Quran. No one did this up until this time.
TAFSIR LOST AND FOUND
The first scholar to write a complete Tafsir was Muhamm ibn Janir al Qabari 310 H. He
was a great historian of seerah(biography of the prophet), a scholar the Arabic language.
He also made his own madhab and was an expert in Quran
He wrote a book that no one has done on Tafsir. It was really big book on Tafsir. For 100
years it was considered lost but it was found
300H THE INTELLECTUAL PERIOD OF ISLAM
Around 300 H many books began to be written in sub disciples of the Quran. This was a
movement of ummah back then around 250 350 which was the most intellectual period of
the ummah. The knowledge we rely on today was largely compiled back then. Ulum
Quran and its fields were complied at this time.
Question: How do we know the names of books that are lost if they are lost?
Answer: Because they are referenced in other books. There are many manuscripts that
are referred to in earlier books but considered lost. Governments, museums for many
reasons, hold some of these manuscripts. Even today manuscripts today are showing up
and are published.
Question: Are there any recent Tafsirs?
Answer: Tafsirs are being written today as we speak but most of these books are in
Arabic or Urdu.
Question: What is the best English translation of Tafsir?
Answer: Yasir Qadhi I do not believe in translations because they are written with one
type of mentality. What needs to be done is that classical knowledge has to be written in
English and presented by and to the western mind. However most English-speaking
people with Islamic knowledge have to be activists.
Question: What Tafsir in Arabic do you recommend?
Answer: Depends on your level understanding. Tafsir Afsadi is useful to people who
speak Arabic. If you have weak Arabic then try Tafsir Ajazaee (translated: The Easiest
of Tafsirs). This is a basic book and it give you the simplest of words.
Question: What is the best English translation of the Quran?
Answer: Saheeh International best Quran translation
Question: Is there a method to memorize the Quran?
Answer: Remind me to answer this question next week.
Question: How do we attribute a book we thought as lost, to an author?
Answer: We look at the content. Where the manuscript was found. Even the manuscripts
have an isnad(chain) so and so bought got it from so and so and that person got it from
another person, we can check the people who had the manuscript before. We can look at
the cultural context of the manuscript. We can check to see if the cultural content matches
the times and issues of the authors time period. Also we can look at the authors style.
People all write in a particular way and it is hard to deviate from that.
Question: Qadhi-This is not really a question but a sister from California wants me to
mention that she hails from there. And here is another note from a sister saying she is
from queens.
Qadhi-Is there any other city that wants to be mentioned?
WATERLOO! someone cries out.
MISSSISSAUGA another person says.
through doors) over these doors there are curtains covered up. From the end of
the road there is a voice that says proceed strait, do not go into the doors. And
whenever someone opens the curtain a voice from above calls out do not lift
the curtain you will be tempted to go inside.
o Explanation: The strait path is Islam, walls are the haram the limits, the open
doors are to the haram that will lead you to them. And the voice that calls at
the end of the road is the Quran. The voice from above is the fitrah or
conscience. Hadith in at Tirmidi
REWARDS FOR RECITING QURAN
- Prophet also described the rewards for those who recite and practice Quran.
- Part of showing glory to Allah is to show respect to
o An elderly gray haired Muslim.
o Also to show respect to a person who knows Quran hafiz. Those who
memorized the book and act upon it,
o And a just ruler.
o Showing respect to these is to honor Allah
- Prophet said the one who recites Quran fluently reaches the level of angels.
- Those who do not read fluently will get double reward for the effort. Hadith Abu
Dawood
-
Hadith says when you recite the Quran you will be rewarded 10 times for every word
you recite.
Hadith says on the Day of Judgment the companion (hamid-carrier, sahib-companion)
of the Quran will be told, Recite the Quran as you used to recite in this world.
And he will rise along with his recitation. Every verse will make him rise one degree
in jannah. Then when he is finished he will end in his place in jannah.
One degree in jannah is the distance between stars.
This is for the companion of the Quran recites it and lives it.
The more you memorize and act upon it you will rise on your level in jannah.
Based on this hadith the levels of jannah are = to the number of verses in the Quran.
This is the greatest reward because there is nothing greater than memorizing the
Quran. But allah knows best.
overshadows international news. Who cares if Britney Spears is going to the hospital
again. Is this news?
When you see the tabloids in supermarkets you only see the worst of society. These
people are made as the role models.
Many of us do not feel jealous of people with taqwah or piety
However when we see money we want to be like that. Getting a high paying job and
to get prestige.
o However when you hang around with a munafiq you realize his true nature.
Last the munafiq who does not recite is bitter.
The point of this is that we should have a regular relationship with the Quran.
Chapter 3
How the Quran came to us. How was it recorded? How was it preserved? We start from
the beginning.
-
Allah created us in the best fashion and form. And Allah has made the earth for us. All
that is in the heavens and earth is for us. Everything he has provided us air water food.
Allah has also given us our spiritual needs. Allah takes care of our animal needs but how
can He not take care of our spiritual needs? To say that He does not take care of our
spiritual needs is not logical.
As a manifestation of this, Allah has been sending wahedah from the beginning of time.
The first human Adam was a prophet. Adam had knowledge of guidance. Allah has never
left human without guidance. Allah speaks to Adam. Whenever guidance comes who
ever follows it will be safe and secure.
Allah also says in 7:35 Oh children of Adam whenever my messengers come to you
whoever follows their guidance will never be scared or come to any grief or harm.
This leads to another point, mankind cannot find ultimate truth and guidance on their own
without guidance. Mainstream thought is that they can find truths from the intellect.
The very fact that Allah has sent prophets shows that we cannot find truths on our own.
This is a fundamental difference between us and them.
WAHY AND NATURE
Throughout history wahy has been constant. Allah says that every nation had a guidance
even if they had a distorted version of it. The word wahy means to inspire in secret(not in
a negative way) manner.
Inspire in a way that people do not understand. Allah used the word wahy to describe the
laws of nature. All of the laws we study in nature are not there by accident it is a wahy
that Allah has revealed to nature, to the creation.
WAHY AND NATURE EXAMPLE
For example. One of the ways to purify water is to boil it, distill it. The pure water goes
up in steam and the impurities remain behind. Allah says in the Quran that the purest
water comes from the skies. Science proves this. We consider this an immutable law of
water steaming in distillation but Allah says that if He had willed he could have made the
rain come down salty.
What are the implications of this? The laws of nature are in the control of Allah.
Allah uses the word wahy to describe laws of nature. Allah also describes wahy when it
comes to the animal world. Allah says that He inspired the bee.
Tangent. Discovery channel and national geographic is the most halal on TV. You will be
amazed how ants are born with a role. They are not taught these tasks. Also they have
cooperation with each other. How can any person watch this and not believe that it was
created.
Allah calls this type of instinct in animals wahy.
Also in people our instincts are a form of wahy.
WAHY FROM SHAYTAN
Wahy can also come from Shaytan. He can inspire us to do evil. Allah says the devils
inspire with their partners (mankind) to argue with you and reject you.
Shaytan can also inspire you with evil thoughts.
INSPIRATION TO PROPHETS
There are a number of ways this can occur 42:51 important verse. Allah says it is not
possible that any person speaks with Allah except via wahy or from behind a curtain.
Allah has a hijab of noor(light). He has spoken to 3 people we know of.
Three ways the prophet he communicated with Allah
1. Direct wahy
2. Speak with him from behind a curtain (light)
3. Send a messenger send and angel to rely information angel Jibril
We can categorize it even more.
Ibn Aqayam says wahy comes to people in 7 different ways.
1. True dreams, this is something we can all share with prophets. This is something
that is predicting something in the future that comes true. Something Good. There
are three types of dreams.
a. Evil dreams that is scary, terrifying, disgusting, all dreams of a sexual
nature are from Shaytan
b. Dreams from our own souls. Sign of this dream is that we forget of it
when we wake up. This is not relevant to us at all. Trivial dreams from
your own nafs. Some scientists say we dream every single night and we
forget the dreams.
c. Dreams from Allah. You remember it and it is good. It can be symbolic
that you may need to talk to an alim(scholar). You do not wake up
upleasent. Or it can be explicit that comes true. True dreams are 1/46 of
prophethood. That is the only fraction that is left from the prophet. Why
this fraction? Muhammad would have true dreams for 6 months. 6/23
years
SECOND TYPE OF INSPIRATION
Direct inspiration coming without the aid of an angel.
A sahaba said, I used to wish to see the wahy coming down. One time they came running
to me telling me that Muhammad was getting inspiration.(this was during the incident
where the Quraish were preventing the Muslims from performing umrah) He entered into
the tent and saw Muhammad with head down eyes and brow furrowed and sweating even
on a cold night(you cannot fake your sweat). This was a very difficult situation for the
Prophet.
Question and Answer
One of the most common question being asked is, that how is there verses that are not
included in the Quran. We will talk about that later.
Question: What is the status of Arabic in Islam. Should we learn Arabic to be a Muslim?
Answer: It is obligatory to know enough Arabic to conduct the primary acts of worship.
Anything more than this is not Fardh ayn. However you cannot be a student of
knowledge if you are not fluent in Arabic.
Question: How do we understand that, this is the speech of a noble messenger as it
says in the Quran.
Answer: This appears twice in the Quran. This is the speech of the messenger In one
instance it occurs to attribute the messenger. And then this is the speech of messenger
Jibril. Jibrils speech but it did not come from them. Rather this was the words of Allah
that they transmitted.
Question: Do you have to be a hafiz to be a companion of the Quran?
Answers: The perfection of companionship with the Quran is to memorize it.
Question: Is it the same to listen and recite Quran in reward.
Answer: Both are rewarding but not the same in reward. It is an act of worship to listen
to Quran. Allah commands us to do this.
Question: Should you do sajdah when you read the Quran.
Answer: there are 11 places in the Quran where there is sajdah to do. Most agree on
this. However it is preferred that you do sajdah but it is not fardh.
Question: You said that Arabic is obligatory in salat but is it obligatory in dua
Answer: No. Only the duas in salat should be in Arabic anything else can be in another
language.
Hadith Qudsi
This is a hadith that is traced back to Allah. So what is the difference between Quran and
hadith qudsi? The primary difference that is given by most scholars is that the Quran is
the speech of Allah revealed to the prophet in the meaning and in wording.
There are differences
1. The Quran has been put forth as a miracle that can never be imitated in its style
prose or content. Qudsi is not like this
2. Quran has been promised to be preserved
3. Quran reached us in mutawaatir chains of narrations
4. Quran is an act of worship to recite. Hadith qudsi is not an act of worship to
recite.
More differences
The prophet (pbuh) when he said hadith qudsi to his companions the hadith was then
transmitted by the sahaba by meaning. The wording can change. Like when people when
they describe an event. Where is the Quran there is no differences in wording.
Preservation of Qudsi is similar to hadith.
Chapter 4
GRADUAL REVELATION
Stages of revelation. Previous scriptures torah injeel(gospel) they came down at once,
overnight in one occasion. Best example is Musas book. Allah gave him the torah. Musa
came back with the entire book. Same with other prophets they got the books in one time.
The only time this rule was broken was for the prophet (pbuh). This caused an alarm to
the people because they were used to books coming down in once.
And those who disbelieve say why is not the Quran revealed to him at once thus (it is
sent down in parts) that we may strengthen your heart thereby and we have revealed it to
you gradually in stages.
There are indications that the Quran was already written. Allah says regarding the alLawhu 'l-Mahfuz (the preserved tablet in the heavens) 85:21 22. Allah says this is a
Quran majeed full of blessing, glorious. Allah decribes himself, his throne and Quran
as majeed.
AL-LAWHU 'L-MAHFUZ
al-Lawhu 'l-Mahfuz is a tablet that everything that will happen is written on it. 50,000
years before creation. The first object Allah created was the pen. And he said to the pen
write the pen said what do I write. Allah says write everything that will happen until the
day of judgment.
The al-Lawhu 'l-Mahfuz has everything written in it and in it is a special section of
interest, the Quran. This book is with Allah. It is protected no one can touch it or harm it.
There are places even the angels cannot pass Muhammad(pbuh) passed that point. No one
can reach there. That is why it is called the protected tablet.
Second stage of revelation is that it came down from the heavens to earth. There are
seven heavens. Philosophers tried to define the heavens. Samat at dunya is the universe.
What is beyond this 7 other heavens? Of the evidence that indicates this (but Allah is sure
of this) Allah says, we have beatified the samat at dunya with stars. So all stars are
contained in the samat at dunya.
The second stage of revelation is implied in the Quran. Allah revealed Quran in some
place in samat dunya, we do not know where. Ibn Abbas said Allah revealed the Quran
from heavens down to samat at dunya. Allah sent down all of it to the house of honor on
the night of qadr in the month of ramadhan. We also know this in sura baqarah 185.
One important point is that when any companion like Ibn Abbas said about the Quran
talks about ilm of the unseen it cannot be his opinion. We take it as hadith. Because he
could not have made it up he must have heard it from the Prophet(pbuh).
Why did Allah send down Quran in one night and then gradually. Some scholars said
that it combined the methodology of the previous prophets. Allah did not want to break
away from that tradition. Allah wanted to give something special for the prophet.
NUMBER OF AYAT REVEALED.
Sometimes Jibril came down with one sura in its entirety. Falaaq, Nas revealed at once.
Sometimes other verses came down parts at a time. Sura baqarah revealed in 8 years.
Hijirah to the battle of badr this is when the bulk of baqara came down.
Sometimes 2 3 words came down. Of these is imran 95 allah say they are not the same
those who sit idling and those who strive for the sake of allah.
Ibn um maktoon. He came with a stick tapping in the masjid. He was blind. He told the
prophet that he was blind that he could not strive he could only sit. Then Allah revealed 3
words after that.
Jibril came down with different amounts.
REVELATION FREQUENCY
Another question that arises, the frequency of revelation, was it consistent? Sometimes
Jibril would not come with revelation for months. The mushriks would tease, we see your
companion left you (Jibril) or Allah has left you. But then Allah revealed a verse saying
that Allah has not left him. Frequency varied.
There was one trend. The frequency increased as time progressed. The demands of the
ummah increased.
WISDOM OF GRADUAL REVELATION
There are a number of wisdoms. Some of them are mentioned in the Quran others can be
derived.
1. To strengthen the resolve of the prophet against the disbelievers.
2. To simplify its memorization and understanding by the sahaba
a. The sahaba would memorize 10 verses at a time. They would not move on
until they perfect the action and the commands of those verses
3. To prove the truthfulness of the Prophet (pbuh) this way the Quran can respond
to accusations made by the Mushrik(idolaters). There were many challenges made
against the Quran. Story goes that the Quraish came to learned Jews to ask them
for challenging questions to the Prophet. The jews gave the Quriash 3 questions to
ask the prophet(pbuh).
1. What happened to musa and his companion khidr
2. What is the soul and
3. And what was the case of the 7 people in the cave.
GRADUAL REVELATION AND CONSISTENCY
If the Quran was a human document made by the prophet (pbuh) over the same amount
of time there would be contradictions. The prophet (pbuh) would speak to small and
large groups and it would all be the same during all those years.
Nisa 82 if this Quran came form other than Allah they would have found much
contraction in it.
GRADUAL REVELATION BENEFITS AND WISDOMS
The Muslim ummah was revealed gradually to help them with worship. One example of
this was the prohibition of alcohol. This made it easier to follow.
One may ask can a new Muslim apply this type of graduality that the Sahaba
experienced.
The Sahaba back then had to slowly enter Islam because they were coming out of
Jahiliyah(ignorance) . Also they needed to have a community Allah gave them this
concession. But today there is an ummah. Reverts have an established Muslim
community to turn to.
Another wisdom and benefit in this regard is the fact that a gradual revelation helped ease
the burden of revelation on the Prophet(pbuh). He felt great difficulty in the revelation
process. This gradually made it easier.
QUESTION AND ANSWER
Question: When we memorize the Quran can we memorize Arabic alone without
knowing the Tafsir(explanation)?
Answer: It is better to memorize the Quran with learning the tafsir and meaning. But if
you are young you should just memorize it all without meaning because you have a sharp
memory.
Question: Can you repeat the three versions of the satanic verses
Answer: First version says is that the prophet (pbuh) could not tell the difference
between Jibrils speech and Shaytans, it has a weak chain lacks authenticity.
Second version Muhammad (pbuh) recited the verse to Muslims but then Shaytan
screamed out in a voice only the mushrik could hear.
Third version the power of the sura was so powerful that the mushrik bowed down. The
Muslims in Abyssinia came back to Mecca based upon that rumor.
If you read the verse in context then you will find that this satanic verse is cancelled by
six verses follow these verses make fun of idol worship. To affirm idols and then neglect
it.
CLEARING MISCONCEPTIONS
There are verses in the Quran that say that the Quran cannot be tampered with. It has
been in the protected tablet. The trustworthiness of Jibril has been assured. Shura 191.
The trustworthy angel has come down with it. Allah assures the prophet(pbuh) that he
will not mess up anything in the Quran.
Sura Qiyamah refers to Muhammad (pbuh) not to preceed the jibril in reciting it. Allah
tells him to listen to the Quran when he hears it. Allah tells him he will memorize it.
Allah promises he will not forget it. Muhammad had a different memory than others.
THE PROPHET NOT DIVINE
Although he did once make a mistake in salat al fajr, he stumbled on a verse. The Sahaba
did not corrected him. When Muhammad (pbuh) stumbled no one corrected him.
Muhammad (pbuh) asked the sahaba why he was not corrected.
To show that the prophet (pbuh) is not divine. He above all humans but not divine.
Likewise Allah told the prophet (pbuh) to convey the message. The memory of the
prophet is confirmed. Sura mahida say that the prophet (pbuh) must proclaim what Allah
has given you if you dont do it you have not fulfilled your task. Allah promised that He
will protect them from the people.
Some say, how is it that the Prophet(pbuh) was tortured or hurt if he was protected. He
was protected by Allah. There were some minor bruises but Allah promised that the
message would be conveyed. It was a miracle that one man was able to withstand many
assassination attempts.
Allah even ruled out the possibility that the prophet(pbuh) might tamper with the
message. Allah has ruled out this.
Sura 69 v 44-46 Allah says, If the prophet had forged something against us (ie. lied) we
would have held him by the right hand and would have cut his artery.
No human being can lie about Allah and not be exposed in this world.
Chapter 5
WHAT ARE THE FIRST AND THE LAST REVELATIONS?
The first verse revealed, it is agreed, sura iqara.
It is reported in the sera and hadith.
Some scholars of the past had different opinions.
1. First opinion First 5 verse of al laq
2. Second opinion Al mudaththir was the first verse to be revealed. Two sahaba were
talking. One sahaba said it was sura Alaq was the first verse revealed and the
Jabar said that it was al mudaththir. Prophet said that he left the cave and heard a
voice and looked up into the sky. Scholars say that Jabar may have walked in on
the middle of the story the Prophet (pbuh) was telling of the incident and did not
catch the first part of the story.
3. Third opinion is that sura fatihah. May have been the first sura revealed but does
not mean that it was the first revelation
4. Fourth opinion is that bismillah was the first to be revealed but there is no shread
of evidence for this.
LAST REVELATIONS
There are 11 opinions.
2:278, 2:281, 2:282 <- one opinion
In Bukhari it says that 110:1-4 is last sura to be revealed not last verse
The commonly held opinion of the masses was the one he said in his last hajj.
2:281 ibn abbas said the last verse Muhammad received was this one. This is the
strongest opinion because it talks about the end of life, last day
ANOTHER SECTION
the relative first and last verses. The scholars took the subjects and ordered in revelation.
Subject Wine for example.
S2 V 219 wine indication something was wrong
Sura Nisa do not come to prayer drunk
Maida 91 prohibited drinking of alcohol
Question: Was the hijab rulings special to the prophets(pbuh) wives only?
Answer: Sura azhab was for the wives of the prophet(pbuh) but in another verse Allah
address all the believing women. This prophets wives only interpretation of hijab is a
modernist opinion.
Question: If you say the Quran is in Arabic why are we studying in English?
Answer: The Quran can be explained in any language. These are the sciences of the
Quran and that can be taught in any language. Knowledge does not have to be in Arabic.
I am not teaching the Quran(i.e. Arabic words and grammar of Quran).
Question: You said that you need an instructor to learn the Quran, can we take a CD or
the Internet as an instructor?
Answer: These tools are for intermediate level for a student but it cannot replace it as a
Sheikh. A Sheikh can correct your mistakes. However it is better than nothing. When you
do listen to CD or Internet recordings pay attention to the pronunciation, Tajweed rules
etc.
Question: Can a woman in her menstrual cycle recite Quran from memory?
Answer: You cannot touch Quran in impure state but you can touch it with gloves on.
You can recite in your mind silently. In this state you cannot recite the Quran but you
can recite it if you are scared of losing what you memorized. This is applicable for people
who are Tajweed teachers. This type of recital is not for worship but for a job. You can
listen to Quran in state of impurity because Ayisha said Muhammad (pbuh) used to
recite Quran in the mosque and lean into his home (his home was attached to the
mosque) and let Ayisha listen to his recital while she was in menstrual cycle.
2. It helps you sift through abrogated verses. Later verses take precedence over
earlier verses. Abrogation can only occur in fiq not in creed or morality.
3. It helps us understand the seerah(biography of the prophet). When we see the
suffering of Muhammad in Meccaand all of the verses that comfort him. Then
later we see the verses of jihad. We see how the problems evolve in the seerah.
4. It lays out the proper methodology of dawah. Helps us plot out the methodology
of revival. We can learn a lot from the makkan stage how to treat non muslims.
When we are in a Madinan stage we treat them differently. These have not been
abrogated. Towards establishing a vision for Muslims in the west.
5. Shows the detailed preservation of our religion. Sometimes it does not matter if it
was revealed night or day but we still have this knowledge. This information has
been preserved and gives us confidence that our religion was preserved.
The green version of the Quran the Medina printing has very good Madini. World class
scholars took part in making the references.
Day Three
Today there is more difficult and juicy issues. Qirat is what we might be talking about
today. This has the most issues with laymen and scholars.
Chapter Seven
Asbab An nuzzool. Plural of sabab. Means the cause of something. So asbab means the
causes. Nuzool is revelations. So the translation is the causes of revelations.
To be more precise, the event or occurrence (a specific incident) that was the direct cause
of the revelation of a particular verse or surah.
General reasons are asbab an nuzool. Like to guide mankind this is a reason but not asab
an suzool. We are talking about a specific situation.
Categories
1. Most Quran does not have a specific cause.
2. Revealed with a cause like sura ikhlas as a response to a question of the Lord. Nas
and falaq a response o the prophet(pbuh) afflicted with magic.
SOURCES OF ASBAAB AN NUZOOL
There is no guessing of causes. Either we know or we dont. There are two sources.
1. Hadith of the Prophet(pbuh).
2. Statement of the companions.
If causes are not found in these sources then we dont know.
ISSUE IN HADITH WORDING
The issues come when it comes to the phrasing of the Sahaba. When the Sahaba say this
verse was revealed concerning XYZ. Scholars wonder if people were doing this XYZ at
this time or for the future. So it is ambiguous. Some phrasing can be ambiguous. Other
phrases are not ambiguous. We take circumstances of the time to remove ambiguity.
MULTIPLE ASBAAB AN NAUZOOL
Sometimes we get more than one source for causes. Scholars have guidelines.
1. Accepting authentic narration over the weak narration. Example, the Lord has not
abandoned you Allah said in the Quran. This was a response because people said
that Allah abandoned the Prophet(pbuh) by not giving him revelation for a long
time and they made fun of him because of it. Another weak narration related to
the incident was that a dead dog was the reason for not getting revelation.
2. If both are authentic. Take eyewitness accounts over hearsay. For example in the
Quran when it says They ask you about the spirit. This was a response to n
incident involving the Quraish. They wanted to stump the prophet(pbuh) with
difficult questions to disprove his prophet hood. There are two sources for this
incident
In this case the man wanted to know if the verse revealed only applied to him alone and
not the rest of the ummah.
ABUSE OF CAUSES OF REVELATION
People try to abuse asbaaban nuszzol we take the rulings to the generality of the wording.
Like the guy above the cause was not for this ruling but not restricted to this type of sin it
applies to all sins and forgiveness
THE BENEFITS
You will not understand the verse until you know the cause of revelation. Some verse in
the Quran will be mistakenly understood if you dont know the cause. You will think
you understand it but you will not understand it.
Example
2:158 Allah says, Safa and marwas are of the signs of Allah. So whoever does hajj or
umrah there is no sin upon you if you walk between them. (saf)
Urwah was a mahram of ayiha his aunt. How does this verse indicates that this saf is
wajib. The above verse shows that it is not wajib. She said, this was not revealed for this
rather when the Muslims came to Meccato do the umrah or hajj, they felt awkward doing
the sai. They thought that this was a pagan ritual.
Nailah Esaf were idols placed on the mountain tops. The non Muslims used to touch them
when they walked between the two idols. Safa and marwah were holy things before
jahiliah, Allah says. Allah made it holy before these idols.
So when you know the cause for the verse you can understand it better.
Sura 2: verse 115
Allah says, to Allah belongs the east and the west so wherever you turn you will find the
face of Allah.
Some people misinterpret that you can pray in any direction.
The cause was that the sahaba was praying in the desert and it was cloudy so they could
not find the direction. But in that occasion they could not find the direction because the
sun or mountains were covered and there was a sandstorm.
Tangent. Sandstorms are frightening it can be so dark you cannot see you hand in front of
you hands. The sand can hit you everywhere in you eyes, mouth, (beard) everywhere.
So the Sahaba started to pray and assumed different directions for salat. The verse said
that in those situations it does not matter where you pray.
MISUNDERSTANDING OF SAHABA
Sahaba were known to make mistakes. Their mistakes are worth knowing. Huda ibn
Mathoon, he considered it permissible to drink alcohol. He quoted Maida 93 to Umar Bin
Khitab when he came to question him as to why he drank alcohol.
Allah says. If you are pious and righteous there is not sin in what you eat.
Umar ibn khatib did not accept this interpretation. It was then explained to Huda ibn
Mathoon. How was this misunderstanding corrected? He was explained the cause of
revelation of this verse.
The cause was that the sahaba were concerned that some brothers died before Allah
prohibited alcohol. They were worried that their shaheed would not be accepted.
However the answer was, yes it would be accepted, because of this verse.
We still apply this verse today for people who do not know the rulings of Islam. Like a
new convert. There is no sin for what he or she did not know.
ANOTHER BENEFIT OF KNOWING THE CAUSE OF REVELATION
We apply the verse in the manner they were intended.
FINAL BENEFIT
To give honor to the Sahaba who were the cause of the verses coming down. We increase
our respect for the Sahaba in this regard.
QUESTION AN ANSWER.
Question: Is there is a cause of revelation for no compulsion in religion?
Answer: Certain children of the Ansar had children who were raised by the Jews and the
children grew to adults. The parents wanted to force the kids to become Muslims. The
meaning is that you cannot become Muslim by force.
Chapter Eight
THE COMPILATION OF THE QURAN
This is the most contested issue of the Quran especially by the Orientalist.
As a Muslim we believe in the promise of Allah, regarding the fact that Allah will
preserve the Quran
Hijr verse 9, we are the ones who revealed the dhikr. It was emphasized
Qiyahma 15-17 We will collect it for you and make sure you will recite it
properly.
Sura 40: 41 42 It is a magnificent powerful book. No evil can approach it from in
front of it or behind it.
Sura baqarah. There is no doubt in this book
It will remain pure and pristine. Allah has promised to keep the Quran preserved.
PRESERVATION OF PREVIOUS SCRIPTURES
In contrast to the books before, Allah did not promise to preserve the previous scriptures.
In fact for the previous scriptures the protection of those books were the responsibility of
those ummah of the past. The Quran says that, They wrote the book with their own
hands and claimed that it was from Allah. They knowingly forged books.
Today those books exist in the old and new testament. Where does it say this? maidah 44
Allah says, the priest and the rabbi were the ones put in charge of taking care of these
books they were the ones witnessing over this book.
Therefore from the beginning we have an advantage over them. Only we have gotten this
promise. With this promise in mind lets talk about the preservation of the Quran.
CHALLANGERS OF THE QURAN SAY IT IS PRESERVED
Even those who challenge the authenticity of the Quran they admit that there is no
comparison to the preservation of this book.
Those of the most right wing of Orientalists claim that most of the Quran was from
Muhammad that other was added from here and there. Even the worst enemy of the
Quran recognizes that the Quran was preserved but they cannot say the same to their
own books. They do not know where their books come from.
HOW WAS THE QURAN PRESERVED
We must understand the Arab culture. Literacy was not common in Mecca less than 15
people knew who to read and write. In contrast to our society it is not the norm to be
illiterate. That is why Allah calls the Arabs umi (unlettered) Allah calls the Prophet one
that could not read or write
62:2 He is the one who has sent amounts the umieen a prophet from among themselves.
And this prophet is reciting to them a book
sura araf 158 Allah says, oh mankind I am a messenger sent to all of you from the king of
the heavens and earth.so believe in the prophet who is unlettered.
LITERACY AND MUHAMMAD(PBUH)
We should we proud of this, why? Generally unlettered is not a good thing. Lettered
people are better than unlettered. In fact Muhammad released prisoners of war to teach
kids to read and write. So why is Allah praising the prophet(pbuh) for being unlettered.
Why do we learn to read and write? So we can obtain knowledge. So we can
communicate. We need this as humans. But what if we had a direct link to Allah? What
use is the knowledge of men? So for the prophet(pbuh) he has so much knowledge for an
unlettered person. Also it is a miracle. He did not know how to read but he got all this
information that would not be accessible to person that could not read.
Sura 29 verse 48, You were not of those who used to recite books before this Quran was
revealed.
If he were a literate person then there would be some reason to doubt his prophecy. For
40 years he was not known for any literal activities not even poetry. The Arabs were into
poetry. All of a sudden he produces the most beautiful poetry and eloquence. Poets could
not challenge him.
QURAN WRITTEN DOWN
With this background in mind the quran could not have been written down by
Muhammad or the sahaba. Quantity was less at the start. However the earliest reference
to writing down of the Quran was from the conversion of the Umar. Umar wanted to kill
Muhammad that day and was told that his sister was a Muslim so he went to deal with
her.
We know that his sister had a parchment of Quran. Umar then beat his sister but his
sister said do what you want I will not leave Islam, and then Umar felt softness in his
heart and wanted to read the parchment.
Muhammad(pbuh) was concerned with teaching Quran to his companions. The purposes
of the earliest haliqa(study circle) was to teach the Quran. A sahaba said any time a new
Muslim came the prophet would assign someone to him to each him Quran. The Quran
was memorized, the Arabs had good memories.
THOSE WHO WROTE QURAN SCRIBES
The prophet also set apart scribes to write the Quran down. Kitabu a wahi, these were
scribes that would write down the revelation. There were probably 25 but all the khalifas
were scribes. Ibn Massod, muawiah close scribe of Muhammad(pbuh). The main scribe
was Zaid in Medina.
Whenever an ayat was revealed the prophet(pbuh) would call the scribes. There were few
scribes in the Mecca stage. In Medina would call the scribes to come then he would
dictate the Quran to the scribes.
In one narration in bukhari when Allah revealed nisa 95 the prophet of Allah said. Call
for me zaid ibn thatbit and tell him to being his writing instruments (leather parchment).
Write down the verse. (zaid then wrote down the verse under the supervision of the
prophet.)
Every time revelation came down it would be written down on separate parts. Not one
book. Zaid said, we used to compile Quran from different bits and pieces. This is how it
was done during the time of the prophet.
Later on when more suras were revealed Muhammad gave a commandment, do not write
anything from me other than the Quran. Anything else let him wipe it away. This hadith
was later abrogated. He allowed the Sahaba to write hadith in later medina stage. This act
was to preserve the Quran. But as Islam kept on growing literacy so they were writing
down. Islam spread literacy to everywhere they went.
In the later medina stage people were becoming increasingly literate so
Muhammad(pbuh) had to give a general command.
SAHABA AND THEIR OWN QURAN
Some sahaba had their own person copy of the quran but the arrangement of the suras
was different. The order of the suras were not defined yet.
Abdulah ibn Massud had extra material in his Quran, had duas written from
Muhammad. If you understood the consequences of the time, writing material was scarce.
Ubay ibn kaab he wrote two duas and hadith in one book. Writing martial was scarce.
RECITATION WITH JIBRIL
Another way to preserve Quran Muhammad(pbuh) would recite all Quran he knew to
Jibril and Jibril would recite back. Muhammad(pbuh) would later say to his wife aisha,
Jibril would recite all of Quran every year in Ramadan but this year Jibril recited it
twice. The only conclusion I would get is that I will die.
The prophet would recheck his own memory. By reciting with Jibril we must know that
there was an order to the Quran and they also knew what was abrogated.
This is a sunnah of reciting from teacher to student which exists to this day.
THE LAST RECITATION WITH JIBRIL
Zaid ibn thabid witnessed the last recitation that the prophet did with Jibril. He was the
main scribe of the prophet. Also a linguistic genius. He learned Hebrew in two weeks.
Prophet(pbuh) said I dont trust the yahood or what they write so go learn their language.
COMPILATION OF QURAN
There was no complete Quran during the time of the prophet(pbuh). There were verses
still to be revealed and verse arrangements not finalized. Muhammad himself did not
command Quran to be compiled.
The reasons why there was no need for compilation of Quran needed during time of the
Prophet(pbuh).
1. There was not pressing need. Sahaba was there.
2. Also to have this book was not possible because the Quran was still being
revealed.
3. Arrangement of the verses and surahs could be not be finalized until the quran
was complete.
4. Abrogation of certain verses.
Immediately after the death of the prophet(pbuh) the Quran was compiled which was the
best time because revelation ended.
THE FIRST COMPILATION OF THE QURAN WHY IT CAME ABOUT
During the battle of Yamamah, 70 companions who had memorized the Quran were
martyred. This happened one year after the death of the prophet. These were the primary
preservers of the Quran. This alarmed Umar. Umar went to Abu bakr and said, oh
khalifah we lost 70 people who memorized Quran let us compile the Quran to keep it
for eternity.
WHO WAS THE BEST MAN FOR THE JOB
Abu bakr said, how can I do something that the prophet did not do. Umar continued to
convince him that this is something that you should do. Abu bakr worried that it was a
bidah. But it was not an innovation because the preservation of the Quran is part of
Islam to benefit the ummah. Abu bakr was convinced. They both agreed. Then they
suggested Zayd bin Thabbot was chosen for the job. They chose him for several reasons
- Main secretary scribe of Muhammad (pbuh) when they called on Zaid, Zaid said, how
can I do what the prophet did not do. They told Zaid he was best for the job because
he was the one who wrote down the wahy of the prophet.
- Zaid was one of the neighbors of the prophet. This facilitated the fact that he would
be called rather than others. Ibn abi dawud has this hadith.
- Another reason why chosen was for his linguistic skills. Today we would call him a
linguist.
- Another reason one of the few people who memorized the Quran while the prophet
who was alive. Very few people would manage to memorize the Quran while they
were alive. Of them 4 most famous
1.
2.
3.
4.
These people would always check to see if new revelation would come.
ZAIDS BACKGROUND
Zaid ibn Thaabit was younger than others and had a sharper memory. He was 11 when
Muhammad (pbuh) came to Medina. The teens would be treated as adults in those days.
Teens were intellectually capable of interacting with adults. Lived his teenage years with
the Prophet(pbuh). Zaid was present at the final recitation of the Quran.
Final reason his piety and his Knowledge of Quran. He was a specialist in Ulum al
Quran.
ZAIDS MYTHOLOGY OF COMPILATION
Zaid could have compiled the Quran strait from his mind but he did not do that.
How did Zaid compile the Quran? Zaid said, had abu bakr and umar told me to move a
mountain from one place to another it would be easier than doing this compilation of the
Quran. Shows how he was conscience of the task at hand. He was aware of the future
repercussions of his task.
ZAIDS ANNOUNCEMENT
He made an announcement. He wanted copies of Quran that were written from the
mouth of the Prophet(pbuh). Written in front of the prophet(pbuh) so he told them to
come to the Masjid. He compiled the Quran from these pieces.
MISSING VERSES
Zaid could not find the last two ayats of taubah. He did not add it but then he found it. He
knew what was missing but did not add them unless it fit his criteria.
ZAID COMPLETED COMPILATION OF QURAN
When Zaid finished his task this was the first time 12th year of hijrah it was started on the
13th year it was done. In 1 year in a half if was compiled. All of the major Sahaba was
alive at this time. No famous Sahabi died. The original documents were brought to
compile the Quran. The entire Quran was compiled. Zaid compiled it and it was a team
effort of all of the Sahaba done in medina.
THE ABU BAKR VERSION OF QURAN
There was some difference of opinions of how the suras were arranged . however there
would have been some documentation of any different order. This was called the abu
bakr version. Then this was given to Umar. Then there was a committee of 6. Umar told
them you choice amounst you on who should keep the mushaf.
The mustaf was passed to the daughter of the prophet(pbuh) .
PURPOSE OF THE COMPILATION
The mushaf was meant to preserve the Quran. It was not meant to be the standard
reference.
BURNING OF QURANS
Western people thing that burning is a sign of disrespect. Muslims burned it to protect it.
How do you get rid of Qurans. It was written on leather, which is hard to get rid of.
There were no paper shredders back then. The governors who were in charge of this task
destroyed the rest of the Qurans. So all copies of Quran were to be copied from the
standard version
THE STANDARD QURAN SENT WITH A RECITER
Uthman sent the book and a reciter along with the book. Sent physical book and a qari.
He sent;
Abdullah ibn said (mekkah)
mukharah ibn shooah (syriah)
abu ablul rahman assulameen (Kufah)
Abu ibn qias(basrah)
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO COMPILATIONS OF QURAN
1. Reason of compilation was different.
a. Abu Bakr version caused by deaths of Sahaba who memorized quran
b. Uthmans version cause because Muslims were fighting over style or
recitation.
2. Number of people involved
3. Number of copies
a. Abu Bakr copy 1
b. Uthman 4
4. Uthman mushaf was meant to be standard. Abu Bakr was not meant to be
standard no Quran to destroy
5. Abu bakrs compilation was from scratch Uthman was a rewriting of Abu Bakrs
compilation
Uthmans burning of all Quran was a drastic move. It was this move that preserved to this
day. Uthmans wise decision not to have variants of Quran.
UTHMANI SCRIPT
Compilation of the Quran and the differences of Abu bakrs compilation and Uthmans
compilations. There are a number of differences. This brings us to different topics.
We come to the topic to the spelling of the words of the Quran, Uthmani script, we have
to differentiate font, spelling and style.
Fonts change the shape how the words are shaped.
The script of the Uthmani Quran. Must we conform to the uthmani spelling? Vast
majority ulima said that it is obligatory.
One opinion was that this script was sanctioned by the Prophet(pbuh). Not a very strong
position because he did not know how to read.
Second because the Sahaba agreed to this writing style. This is the stronger opinion. Ijma
of Sahaba that Quran had to be written in that script.
Some ulima say that you can update to your script because there was no implicit
restrictions.
But all publishing houses say that the Quran should be the same. To have this sanctity.
FONT SCRIPT OF UTHMAN MUSHAF
Issue of fonts and scripts(writing style, the font) classical Arabic at the time of the
prophet(pbuh) was written in an archaic type of font. No person today can read this script
unless you were schooled and taught. The script is an ancient script.
Old kufic script maif script.
One thing you noticed in these scripts is that there were no dots or tashqeel (vowel
sounds). These were not added. Ancient Arabic did not differentiate ba ta etc. it was
understood by context.
FIRST MARKS ADDED TO QURAN
As Islam began to spread the new Muslims found it difficult to read his script. People
began to add dots and tashqeel dots. The first to add marks Abul Aswal a Duali died 69
AH died. He heard a person mispronounce the Quran to make a statement that was the
difference of iman and kuffer. He heard a person say that Allah has nothing to do with
the idolaters and the prophet. This was due to one vowel sign missed.
This man decided to write the Quran with marking a particular. 60 H first tashqeel was
born. 25 years after Uthman compilation. Then after noqat dots emerged. The non arabs
could not tell what letters represented what. Nasr ibn asim 89 H and yahya ibn yamir
100h.
These added naqat dots. However their version is still difficult to understand due to the
font.
These marks were then added in a different color to differentiate what was Quran and
what were the words of Allah. Many of the early scholars were cautious of these changes.
SCHOLARS RULINGS ON MARKS
Imam Malik was asked about these dots. Imam Malik said, as for the major mushaf they
should not be added. But for the minor books for kids you can add it. Many of the major
scholars were cautious about this. Why were they cautious about this? They wanted to
stick for what the Sahaba did.
MARKS NOW ARE COMMON
The convenience of these marks took over. Then the scholars agreed at the practicality of
it. Before you find few then later both then now you cannot find a Quran without these
marks.
NUMBERING STARTS
The Sahaba did not have numbering of verses. Later on when the numbers were added
they added a Ha 5 then an ayn to mark where you were. Then 5 10 5 10. then later they
put numbers. These were small changes over time.
ANOTHER CHANGE FONT CHANGE
Very early on the font needed to be updated. This font was ancient Arabic. Before Islam
came this was their font. Islam came and gave them a civilization. They had an extremely
rudimentary script. Hali ibn Ahmad died 170. He updated ancient kufi script. Other
calligrapher ibn mukla died 327 introduced the Naskhee script which we are familiar
with.
Ibn al muwal took it to a different level. He created beautiful script. Todays script is a
type of naskhee script.
There is al maghribi script in morocco influenced by kufi script. They evolved their
tashqeel differently. Their Quran is in maghribi script
PRINTING THE QURAN
With the advent of the printing press the first Quran that printed was in germany 1694.
The Germans started study Islamic sciences 1960 there were no rivals in their studies in
Islam. Germany and ottoman Turks were allied. Germans are the most unbiased with
Islamic studies compared to the other Orientalists.
This German who was yahoodi printed Quran for the first time. Huge percentage of
orietalist are yahoodo. Abraham Hinkeman. It was a Quran that had so many mistakes.
1841 Musta Flouigel printed a Quran that was used for many years.
Answer: Ibn Zaid could not find the last two parts of the Quran. He found only one copy
and it belonged to a guy that the Prophet said his testimony counts as two. For the abu
Bakr book.
Question: Is Tajweed fardh?
Answer : to a certain level yes. Not to the level of ijaza but we need to know some.
Question: Did the general population did not agree with the Quran confiscations?
Answer: the people agreed with it. There was no rebellion to it.
Question: What was the point of copying the abu bakr compellation.
Answer : To standardize the spelling and style. Abu bakrs version had a mixture of style
and spelling.
The medina Quran had an international set of scholars to determine sajdah points,
Every book has a secret and the Quran has a secret and these letters are its secret.
Allah has sent a revelation and it make no sense why Allah would reveal something that
does not make sense.
Another opinion these letters represent the names of Allah. Sufis say that these letters
represent the names of the Prophet.
ALLAH SWORN BY THESE LETTERS
Allah sworn by these letters but none of the Arabs swore by the letters. Allah uses the
language of the people. This is a weak opinion.
THESE LETTERS REPRESENT NUMERICAL VALUES
Sufi interpretation. Letters represent numbers. The prophet and the Sahaba did not look
into letters as numbers. Our religion does not have anything to do with Numerology. This
is a pagan custom.
THEY STAND FOR SPECIFIC MEANINGS
A l m Allah Alim That Allah knows all. But there is no evidence for this. To make
phrases out of these letters.
ESOTERIC INTRPRETATIONS
Some say the letters are pictorial for example alif is a man standing in prayer.
THEY ARE FROM THE NAMES OF THE QURAN
Saying that these letters represent names of the sura. However not all the suras begin with
these letters. Nobody refers to the suras by these letters.
THEY ARE MEANT TO BAFFLE THE DISBELEIVERS
To confuse them with phrases. To show how little we know of anything. We do not know
what is the meaning.
THEY ARE REFERENCES TO THE OTHER HALF OF THE ALPHABET
Showing us that the Quran is made by Allah, that cannot be copied by anyone. Hinting at
the impossibility of it.
THEY ARE USED TO ATTRACT ATTENTION
The reality is we cannot be 100% sure what these letters mean. Allahu Alim. This is the
safest opinion.
One thing we know that after these letters the next phrase is about the Quran itself.
There are some exceptions but later the sura one finds the Quran is referenced.
These letters are there to show us how little we know.
CHAPTER 10
THE AHRUF OF THE QURAN
Most controversial of the ulum al quran. This was postponed so our minds have to be
fresh. This is the one topic to confuse the most, Muslims and non-Muslim.
Qirat are living traditions. These differences where did they come from?
Ahruf and qirat are different but they are related. To further compound the problem.
Scholars tried to differentiate what is Ahruf.
MEANING OF THE WORD AHRUF
Plural of harf
1. A letter or word
2. The border the edge of something the brink
It is a certain methodology of reciting the Quran. We have over 20 hadith that Quran
was revealed in 7 modes of recitation. This is found in Bukhari. This was well known to
the Sahaba.
The scholars agree that it was revealed in 7 but what are they?
There was a hadith that Jibril told the prophet(pbuh) to recite in one harf but the prophet
said that his people could not do this. Then Jibril upped the number up to seven.
MODES OF RECITATION CLASH
Another hadith
Umar bin katab bukhar muslim. I was once sitting in the masjid when isham ibn hakim
began reciting sura furqan. But when he began reciting he was reciting in a different way
that the prophet taught me. I was about to strangle him in the prayer but I kept my anger
until he finished. When he said salaam I took him by the collar. I asked him who taught
you this he responded that the prophet taught him. Then Umar said you have lied the
prophet taught me in a different manner. And they both went to the prophet. Then the
prophet have said both were correct. Then the prophet said that Allah has revealed the
quran in 7 ahruf so recite what is easier for you.
Ubay Ibn kaab. He went to the prophet telling him that he heard a person reciting Quran
in a different way. The Prophet told him that it was the way it was revealed. Ubay Ibn
kaab said that a type of doubt entered into his heart that never existed since he became
Muslim. When the prophet patted him gently in the chest and then made dua and ibn kaab
felt sweaty as if Allah was looking at him them the doubts have left.
Asked permission from Allah for different ahruf.
1. 7 dialects of the Arabs prevalent at the time of the prophet. Dialects of different
tribes. In ancient Arabic the differences on dialects were more pronounced.
Majority of opinion.
2. 7 ways of recitation such that words are replaced by synonyms. Not bases on
dialects but words. This one may be stronger than 1. Because Umar and that other
fella were from the same tribe.
3. 7 different ways that the verse can be changed. Only because the famous ibn a
jazaree. Singular vs plural, masculine vs feminine. We do not consider this to be
very strong is because it is different in substantive issues. Might categorize how
they differ but not what they are.
HARF DIFFERENCES
One harf does not have extra words the pronunciation can be different and words,
spelling. But never did one sentence have something that another verse had.
AHRUF EXISTING TODAY
Are the Ahruf still in existence today?
If you define position 3 then there are still here today
But if 1 and 2 then there is only one in existence today
1. only one harf exists today
2. all of the ahruf are in existence today
3. portion of the 7 ahruf are preserved.
On what basis did Uthmaan radiyallahu anhu decided which portions of the ahruf to
preserve?
AHRUF CONFLICT
Ahruf started conflict between the ignorant Muslims. One group said that their recitation
was better than another. They did not know the purpose of the ahruf. But so many people
were becoming Muslim that they were learning Quran in different ahruf. The Sahaba
then decided that the purpose of the ahruf was obsolete.
Orientalists say that the prophet did not memorize the Quran and attributed the
differences to the Prophet. What do we expect from them.
A qabari some scolars say that uthmn got rid of all of the ahruf. This is a good position.
Second group position 3.
Third group have ibn kathir, ibn taymiah Position 3. How did they decide which one to
preserve more than one ahruf. They wrote the Quran in a script that could preserve as
many ahruf as possible. As much as he could with one standardized text. But if there
were synonyms of a word he would only write one word.
This is manifested in the qirat of the Quran.
7 ahruf was revealed eventually Muslims of different areas began to meet and interact.
They were going to fight. The Sahaba decided to standardize Quran. So if whatever
ahruf remains it is permissible but there are no more synonyms words from different ahrf
used anymore.
The Sahaba got rid of all of the ahruf and have only one scripts. There are only minute
differences in qirat and it is permissible.
Uthman knowingly left some ahruf(word synonyms) out to make unity in the ummah.
He preserved as much as he could in one script.
Knowledge of the ahuf was lost with the Sahaba. The scholars do not know what they
are. The qurat was made by a person and then it was named after them but they did not
know what the ahruf was.
AHRUF A MIRACLE
Quran ahruf to show the miraculous nature of the quran.
Also shows the truthful of the prophet. He spoke in different dialects How could he know
the dialects of all these areas. This is an honor to the ummah this is the only book that
was revealed in different ahruf. Other books were revealed in one ahruf.
Again the differences in qirat are so trivial we do not find an entire word change.
QUESTION ANSWER
Question: Where ahruf was revealed at the same time?
Answer: Not every single verse was different ahruf.
Question: Did the Sahaba ask about the letters?
Answer: The Sahaba did not ask what the meanings of the letters were.
Question: --Answer: Some qirat have minor changes in letters but no differences in words.
Question: -Answer: The ahruf had complementing meaning. The words were different but the
meanings were exactly the same. Some words have difference connotation.
memorized in elite institutions. These are memorized for the sake of knowing.
This is the most specialized knowledge in Islam.
3. Daeef these qira att conform with the Arabic grammar and are allowed by the
mus haf of uthmal but do not have authentic chains of narration back to the
prophet
4. Baatil these qira aat do not meet any of the three criterion mentioned above and
are rejected completely. Evil people tried to make changes in this. Even as tafseer.
Now there is no difference of opinion of qiraaat. This was an issue back them
THE AUTHENTIC QIRAAAT AND THEIR QARI
The 10 authentic qiraaat. These people are not the inventors of recitation. Two students
preserved the qiraaat of these teachers. The scholars chose the two best of all his
students.
90% ummah recites one qiraaat
1. Naafi Medina died 168H died over 100 years old learned Quran from 70
tabiyoon who were students of Hurarah or ibn Kaab. Malik ibn Anas was a
famous student of his.
a. Qaloon Warsh qaloon Libya
b. Warsh nasfi morocco and Algeria, Tunisia,
2. ibn Katheer (Died 120 H )al makee, imam ashafi had two students al buzi,
qumbul. The qiraaat are only studied in institutions but not recited in any
country.
3. abu amr al basree 154 AH umar ibn khatab his traced back, students are adoori
asoosi. Until very recently sudan used to recite adoori. Hafs became prevalent in
that area due to print and television
4. ibn amir ash shaamee (Damascus) 118 H studied Quran under abu Darda
a. students isham and ibn thaqwan.
5. asim al koofee (Kufa) 127H capital of the ummah. Intellectual capital in kufaa.
Every era had a capital of intellectual centers. More that one qari was chosen in
that area. Taught to Quran to abu Hanifah . Shurbah Hafs. Hafs became the most
famous one. Hafs from Asim. Zaid ibn Thabid is traced back to him.
6. Hanzah al koofee ibn masud was his teacher. Two students akhalaf, khalad
7. Al Kisaaee on of the founders of Arabic grammar died 189H. Alayf and adoori
8. 130 H
9. 205 H
10. 227 H
These qiraaat are memorized but not recited.
1.
2.
3.
4.
110
123
202
388H
Example
2:259 this verse tell us the story of the man that passed by a deserted town and wondered
how it could be brought back to life. Allah cause him to sleep for 100 years. Then he told
him to wake up and then he saw what was around him. Then the donkey was left as
bones. Allah resurrected the donkey in his eyes. There are two different wordings we use.
Nashaza - cause to rise bones come together and flesh
Shirooha to resurrect in this verse look how we resurrected and come to life
Maidah verse 6 even fiq can be taken from. Cornerstone of how we do wudhu. Oh you
who believe when you stand up to pray wash your faces and hands to the elbow and whip
your heads. Julakum julikum wash feet or wipe feet. There is a concession for the feet.
Both of these are valid and found in hadith. You can wipe your feet.
Not qiraaat is not above another they are equal.
The main benefit is that you love Quran even more. Proof that this Quran comes from
Allah. No one cannot come with a book with different qiraaat that complement. It
boggles the mind. This speech is from Allah.
www.quran.com
RECITERS
Many of the popular qaris are not trained in Tajweed or qirat.
Iman of medina. Shiekh Huthafi
Mishari afasy is ok in Tajweed.
Chapter 12
6 different topics those topics covered in uloom al quran and usool fiq (code of scholars)
Uloom al quran overlaps with other fields.
Usool fiq is the tools to derive fiq. Not fiq but how to derive rulings, methodology.
Different categories each stand on their own they do not intersect.
DEFINITION OF MUHKAM AND MUTASHAABIH
Linguistically
The word muhkan comes from h-k-m which has the following meaning
1. to judge or pass a verdict
2. to prevent to obstruct
The word Mutashaabih comes from sh-b-h which has the following meanings
1. Resembling
2. Unclear
Allah says that all of the ayat Muhkam, Hood 11/1.
In another verse Allah say the whole Quran is Mutashaabih Zumar 39/23. In this
meaning Allah is saying resembling. Meaning its parts resemble each other and that
which is recited often.
No book comes close to this. All over the world this book is recited
3:7
The Quran as Mukham and Mutashaabih. It is He who has sent down to you the book in
it are verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the book.
The Mukham is mostly the book.
Mutashaabih verse has more than one meaning. A wide range of meanings
The mutashaabih verses are understood in the light of the Muhkam verses
Of the mutashaabih verses is that Allah describes Himself as plural. But this also means
as royal we. Christians say that this means Allah is trinity.
MUTAWAFIKA TAKEN AS DYING
Mutawafika. I will cause you to die. Which is one of the meanings of Mutawafika. But
we know that Jesus did not die. So we go back to the Mukam verses. So another meaning
of the word Mutawafika bring to me. Allah also says that Jesus did not die nor was
crucified.
One of the biggest dangers of interpreting the quran to take one verse and forgetting the
rest of the verses.
Most of the deviant groups that have left orthodox Islam they take the mutashaabih verses
and forget the Muhkam.
ARE THE ATTRIBUTES OF ALLAH MUTASHAABIH?
The attributes are muhkam meaning they are understood in the sense that the linguistic
meaning and connotation of these attributes are known and the attributes that are
Mutashaabih.
HAQEEQEE AND THE MAJAAZEE
This differentiation did not occur in the Quran or sunna. Who said so? Later scholars of
Islam. We do not find this in the sunnah. What is the definition? Haqeeqee is the first
meaning you get example the word lion you think of the animal.
Majaazee is what you get from the context he was a lion on the battlefield so you
understood that he fought courageous in the battle field, not that he was an actual lion on
the battlefield.
Another example is that children should And lower onto them wings of mercy to their
parents. So do we have to put on fake wings? No we show them mercy in a nice way.
The controversy is that groups have used this to find meaning in the Quran majaasee
THE AAM AND THE KHASS
Aam is a word that applies to all the members of a specific set, no matter how small or
large.
Example, all souls will taste death. It applies to all souls no exception. Unless we find a
khaas verse.
Khaas is a word that is used to denote a limited number of things including everything to
which it can be applied.
MUTLAQ AND MUQAYYAD
For us it is the same but one difference like the aam applies to a set but it applies to one
member of the set. Allah says you should free a slave but only one but anyone of them.
Muqayyad occurs when Mutlaq is specified by an adjective. A condition. For example
free a slave but a believing slave. As a penalty for saying something vulgar to your wife
who you do not want to be intimate with You are a whore. Jahiliah Arabs did this.
There are many examples of Allah revealing verse but the ruling still applied when it
comes to aqeedah.
There was an entire passage of the Quran where Muslims were massacred when some of
the mushrikoon pretended to be Muslims. The plot was that they pretended they were
Muslims and asked for teachers and then they were killed them all. Only one person
survived. When this occurred pages and pages were revealed concerning this incident.
These verses were even recited in the prayer.
Who will tell them we are alive and well with our lord this is the shaheed speaking.
All of them are abrogated. These verses the rulings still apply but the verse has been
lifted up.
Only fiq cases we know of that were
Stoning
Sucking
BENEFITS OF KNOWING NASKH AND MANSOOKH
- You need to know it to understand and apply the Quran properly. Until you know
these you cannot give opinion on Quran
- To know the gradual revelation of shariah
- Defence of the Quran and sunnah. Mainstream academics consider uthmanic copy is
the source but how authentic is in question (this is what the Orientalists say we should
defend against this).
NUMBER OF NASKH AND MANSOOKH IN THE QURAN
How many examples of Naskh and mansookh in the Quran?
Some ulima have said 300 verses are abrogated in the Quran. This is the highest level
Others have said 5 this is the lowest level of the spectrum.
VERSE OF THE SWORD
Why the difference? It is due to one concept. The concept called the verse of the sword.
Sura Tawba verse 5. This verse causes a lot of controversy in our time.
What does this verse say, When these sacred months finish take the mushrikeen kill
them What is the concept of abrogation and this verse related.
In the Meccan stage Allah told them to meet their evil with good. Later on Allah
legislated jihad. Later jihad verse was more apparent. Surat tawbah came down near the
end of the life of the prophet. This verse says that all non muslims should be expelled
from Arabia. Some ulima make this area smaller or larger. No mushrik has a right to live
in this area. Some ulima say that this verse abrogates all verses before this about treating
non muslims. All of the scholars that have more than 100 verses abrogated it is because
this verse. That is why there is such a large spectrum. There is no middle ground.
What are the implications of this? Those who emphasize military jihad say that this verse
abrogates this. Scholars who had the same idea were not military type. The verse of the
sword does not abrogate anything. So when the ummah is at a type of strength you can
apply the verse of the sword. But in a state of weakness this verse does not apply.
OUR SITUATION TODAY IN THE WEST
Our situation is similar to the people living in Abyssinia. They did not cause controversy,
did not want to install an Islamic state. They were guests of the states. We are living as a
minority in a non-Muslim land.
The Sahaba in the Meccan stage they could have caused so much damage. The meccans
did not have bodyguards but they were patient. We could learn lessons from this stage.
Abrogation is not a common phenomena in the Quran. There are very few 7-8 meaning
ruling is abrogated but we still recite them.
that Allah has to respond to a dua after you finish reciting Quran. Another weak hadith is
that when you are done Quran start it again.
Question: Islam web . net has all the qiraaat.
Question: What is your opinion are some qaris?
Answer: If you are listening to get baraka(blessings). Then listen to one who moves you.
If you hear one with nasal voice it is wrong. If a nasal voice makes you cry then listen to
him but do not learn Tajweed from them.
Abdul Kanakaree very smooth voice.
Basraee also good.
There is a video on youtube why are they crying? it was shown in class
Question: Tarootee one of the masters of Qiraaat. Check them on youtube.
Question: I still dont understand the wisdom of the abrogated verses.
Answer: We do not know but Allah says he will bring something better we put our trust
in Allah. This is one of the main issues non Muslims attack us with.
Question: I want to study the quraaat what should I do.
Answer: Memorize the Quran, you have to perfect the Tajweed. You need to find a
sheikh.
Question: Is there any instance of any verse being forgotten where the people did not
know it being abrogated.
Answer: No, An incident where Ayisha wanted to find a verse she wrote it and the
parchment and lost it because a goat ate it. The isnad is not strong. It is very strange how
non Muslims find these obscure works. They ignore authentic reports and report these
strange things. So if they come with this take it with a grain of salt. Non-muslims do not
believe in isnad they consider it all the same.
Chapter 14.
This is one of the most interesting chapter. Ijaaz al quran. It deals with the miraculous
nature of the Quran.
CONDITIONS FOR AN ACT TO BE CONSIDERED MU JAIZAH
To differentiate it. There are 3 things that are strange
1. Mujizah miracle
2. Karama is something miraculous to a pious person not a prophet
3. Black magic
These break the law of nature as we perceive them. These are extraordinary. These we
cannot quantify or study.
Categories 1,2 is from allah category 3 is from shaytan
HOW CAN WE TELL THE DIFFERENE BETWEEN THEM.
It is a miracle that cannot be duplicated.
- splitting the red sea
- staff into a snake
- occur in the hands of prophet
- does not happen in the hands of people
- they are unique and happen to that person
- proves the prophet of his authenticity
- murjizah occurs when the prophet will predict it or happens when he wants it.
All prophets got Mujizah. The bigger the prophet the more dramatic the miracle.
KRAMA HAPPENS TO THE PIOUS SERVENTS OF ALLAH.
An example to two Sahaba were traveling at night and it was dark. A light came to guide
them and when the two had to split up the light split. They were guided to their homes.
Then they told the prophet and he said that it was a gift from Allah.
Krama is not asked for. It is a gift from Allah. Unlike a Mu jizah it is asked for from the
prophets.
BLACK MAGIC HAPPENS WITH THE WORST OF PEOPLE
One magician can fly and another one can do the same. Does not involve anything
supernatural everything that the jinn can do. It looks miraculous because it is not
common to our sense of reality.
The Quran cannot be imitated by men. This is the miracle of the prophet(pbuh). How do
we know it is a miracle? All prophets got miracles.
The prophet said. There is no prophet that Allah has sent except that he given miracles
due to which people believed in him. And the miracle that I have been given is the
Quran or is the wahy. That is my miracle the Quran. Then I hope therefore to have the
largest number of followers on the day of judgment.
Because of this miracle of the Quran that it is the most powerful miracle that he has the
largest ummah on the day of judgment.
5 verses in the Quran challenge mankind to produce something similar to the Quran.
Get the references in your notes. Allah asks for people to produce Quran similar in
various sizes and the challenge was lowered because they could not do it.
The Quran is miraculous in many ways. Dicuss ten of them, Ijaz.
1. the eloquence
The Quran is a book that cannot be imitated by men. This is the miracle of the
Prophet(pbuh). How do we know it is a miracle?
The Prophet(pbuh) said. There is no Prophet that Allah has sent except that he given
miracles due to which people believed in him. And the miracle that I have been given is
the Quran(or is the wahy). That is my miracle the Quran. Then I hope therefore to have
the largest number of followers on the Day of Judgment.
Because of this miracle of the Quran that it is the most powerful miracle that he has the
largest ummah on the Day of Judgment.
5 verses in the Quran challenge mankind to produce something similar to the Quran.
Get the references in your notes. Allah asks for people to produce Quran similar in
various sizes and the challenge was lowered because they could not do it.
MIRACULOUS NATURE OF QURAN
The Quran is miraculous in many ways. Discuss ten of them, Ijaz.
1. The eloquence of the Quran is high above that of any human speech.
a. Allah always sent miracles that were relevant to that people. In Moses
time black magic was at its height in Egypt. When Moses staff turned into
a large snake the magicians knew that this was not black magic.
b. At the times of the Romans they excelled in medicine so Allah gave Jesus
the power of healing.
c. Fast forward to the time of the Arabs they were highly developed in
language. Allah then revealed a Quran, which is a linguistic miracle.
i. The problem with teaching the miracle of language to someone
who does not understand Arabic it does not make sense to them.
ii. The philosophers who read the Quran in English they give it
negative reviews. The irony is that the enemies of the
Prophet(pbuh) had nothing but praise for the
iii. Quran. Arabic and English are not even in the same category. The
eloquence of the Quran can be relayed by stories of that time.
1. Master poet of the time. Uthba ibn rabee, who heard the
Quran once and accepted Islam
2. jubay ibn m--- , Was a prisoner of war of the Muslims said,
The first time Islam entered my heart was when I heard
surat al Tur. This pagan who was a prisoner of war and
brought into the masjid not knowing what will happen to
him. He said it was as if His heart was about to split up and
jump into the air.
2. The unique arrangement and organization of the surahs and verses. Why
particular words are chosen and not other.
3. The incapability to produce anything similar to it.
4. The predictions of the Quran.
a. For many years the Romans were battling the Persians and it looked like
the Romans were going to lose. It happens that the Romans lost. The
Muslims felt sad. Then Allah sent sura Rum. Allah says that after this
defeat they will be the victors. And on that day the Muslims will be
rejoicing at the Mercy of Allah. The Romans winning seemed impossible
they were losing power. However the Persians were fighting, internal
politics. A battalion from the Persians did not want to fight. Because of
this Heraculus had a resounding victory. Also on that day of victory it was
Ramadan and the Muslims were rejoicing the victory of the battle of Badr
and had no Idea the Romans won that day. Two predictions of the Quran
were fulfilled.
5. Stories of the people of old.
a. Allah says sura imran 44. This is the knowledge of the unseen. You were
not there when they were arguing who would take care of Mary.
b. Yusuf verse 3 this is the story that you did not know before.
c. Most of the stories were revealed in Mecca. These were stories that the
Arab people did not know. There were no books available to them. This
knowledge was with the Jews but they did not teach it to the people.
6. Aqeeda and sharia of the Quran. The message of the Quran the content of it. If
you compare it with any other book. The Quran is simple and understandable.
Message of the Quran is perfect. In the Bible crimes are ascribed to Prophets.
New testament has no sharia, what did Jesus say? I have not come to change the
law of Moses. Paul came and said that there is no laws to follow.
7. above
8. Quran is preserved. No other culture or civilization has this. Allah promised to
protect it.
9. The effect Quran has on the listeners. We were emotionally charged when we
heard the Quran. That people cry like babies when they hear the words of Allah.
Even Non Arabs cry when they hear the Quran.
10. Ease by which it is memorized. What other book can be memorized at the age of
6. People from one land to another who recite Quran it would be exactly the
same. This is a living miracle. Allah says, The Quran is inside the chest of people
of knowledge.
11. The effect the Quran has in curing the sick and combating black magic. Allah
says that the Quran is a cure. Effect the Quran has on the possessed. An article
muslimmatters.org there is an example of exorcism. There are also physical cures
against all types of diseases. Unfortunately these days we do not turn to the
Quran for our physical sicknesses.
12. Of the miracles of the Quran, the scientific miracles of the Quran. However the
level we have taken this aspect in the west is ridiculous.
a. Descriptions of embryology are found in the Quran 1400 before man has
discovered it.
b. Some say that there are 100s types of these verses like space flight this is
silly
c. Also there was a person who got to the actual number of light speed. But
who knows how he did this.
d. What is miraculous is that the Quran describes the natural world
accurately without contradicting science. Any person that wrote a book at
7th century describing the natural we would have found so many
contradictions with todays science
Chapter 14
DEFINITION OF TAFSEER AND TAWEEL
Linguistically the word tafseer comes from fsr which means to explain expound to
elucidate to interpret.
A scholar said,
The example who tries to read the Quran without Tafsir is like a person reading
a letter from the king but does not have a candle.
Without the knowledge of Tafsir we can easily misunderstand the Quran. Such as one
group says that there is a hidden meaning in the Quran (Sufis).
We also say there is secret meanings. How is our statement different from theirs? The
hidden meanings are unlocked by academics study and scholarship.
All of the inner meanings in the Quran have to be related to the apparent meaning of the
passage.
HISTORY OF TAFSEER
When did it start? It started with the Prophet(pbuh) Allah says that he gave the
Prophet(pbuh) the Quran to explain it to mankind. Surah Nahl 16/44
And we have also sent down unto you the reminder and the advice(the Quran) that you
may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought.
Sahaba would ask the Prophet(pbuh) on several issues. Prophet would give Tafsir.
The Sahaba had a question about the word zulm in a particular verse. They thought that
zulm in this passage meant all types of zulm. This worried them so they asked the
Prophet(pbuh) and he clarified the issue that zulm meant shirk.
WHO AN SUPERCEED THE PROPHETS INTREPRETATION
The Prophets interpretation cannot be superceded. The Sahaba could not supercede it.
The Sahaba interpreted
Sahaba began to interpret the Quran based upon the Quran itself
then the hadith,
then the Arabic language.
THE GREATEST SCHOLAR OF TAFSIR
No Tafsir from the Sahaba was written down. Some Sahaba excelled in Tafsir. The
greatest scholar Tafsir cousin of Prophet Ibn Abbas who the prophet(pbuh) made dua for
oh Allah teach him Tafsir. He was 13 years old when this dua was made.
He was a companion of Umar because of Ibn abbas knowledge. The other senior Sahaba
had children older than Abbas so they did not like this.
TYPES OF TAFSIR
What are the books written on Tafsir. From the time of 150H up to our times. We will
mention categories and types.
1. Tafsir by narrations of Sahaba means after every verse they narrate what the
Sahaba and Tabiyoon said. There is no I think or opinions. This is the most
academic and authentic for students of knowledge. For the layman is not good.
Tafsir aqabari and adoor an marfoo???
2. Tafsir of fiq. They concentrated on the fiq. Each madhab made Tafsir of Quran
according to their fiq. Sometimes only the verses of fiq are discussed. Tafir of
Aqurtabee. He did a fiq one and then later a general one. Hanafee Tafsir
aljawswas.
3. Tafsir or scientific rationality Arazee was a big Tafsir. Tried to read into the
technology of their time. In his Tafsir there are a lot of tangents you see that he
tries to incorporate everything he knew of science of his time. He thought that
these his concepts were modern.
4. Tafsir based upon hidden meanings. This tafseer is popular with Sufis. They
interpret it symbolically. Example is Talout and his army. In this story the thirsty
army was tested with the river and those who drink from it was not part of the
army that was going to fight Goliath. Symbolically the river is life and you only
need to take a sip not drink too much of it. If you let your mind wander you can
make up anything.
5. Tafseer for the modern masses. For the first time that the modern masses goes
beyond all these categories. Now more people are becoming educated and can
read now they have access to these sources but they are not trained to learn from
these sources. Tafsir in a way we understand and relate to. Once upon of time
Bukhari was only for students of knowledge. It has a style that was acceptable to
them. But today the masses need a Tafsir they can relate too.
Advice: Ibn kathir is good for English speakers but you still need some training for it, it is
a bit a higher level. You should read the Tafsirs on the suras that you are praying. It is
obligatory to understand what you are saying.
Chapter 16
TARJA OF THE QURAN
TRANSLATION
Of the miracles of Allah he has given mankind different languages. It is said in the books
of history Allah caused mankind to split up after the collapse of Babylon. Once upon a
time we all spoke one language.
What do those who do not speak Arabic do? They should learn Arabic. One upon a time
the Muslim ummah had to learn Arabic. Even on the basic level all children had to learn
Arabic. The education of the ummah was to learn Arabic. Only recently in the last 100
years Arabic was eroded and eliminated.
Like in turkey once you could write in Arabic but now they write in English letters. Atal
turk destroyed it. It was standard to teach Arabic. With colonialism this was obliterated.
We have become a nation to recite a language without knowing how to read it. No
civilization teaches a language without understanding the language.
So we have to resort to translations. We have a verbatim translations and a translation by
meaning.
When you translate verbatim you lose the syntax and or grammar. Verbatim word for
word translations are good to teach Arabic.
Common translation is by meaning. You get the intent by meaning. This is the translation
we are talking about.
Translations cannot be used in prayer. Do not base Tafsir on English translation. We
cannot derive rulings from a translation. Modernists use this.
You cannot translate the Quran without the other sciences. You cannot read into the
verses. Translation cannot take the place of the Quran
FIRST TIME TRANSLATED
As far as we know translation occurred in Abyssinia the Sahaba did not object to the
translation. This was when the Sahaba recited Sura Maryam for the Negus of Abyssinia
which brought them to tears.
Even the letter to Caesar Heraculus had Arabic in it and he knew that it would be
translated. These translations were oral. So there was no objection to translation.
When was the first translation written?
1. Was done in Syria
2. Official translation into Persian Government ordered a translation in Persian.
3. Other translations Turkish. Turkish tranalation 5H.
2.
good translation to learn Arabic by. A word for word translation of the meaning
of the Quran Murhad Ali. He is a great alim one of the few people who understood
Islamic science along with the Orientalists accusations.
3.
M S Abdul Hamin his English was accurate and good.
END OF SLIDES
YASIR QADHIS CLOSING WORDS
We have traveled far and wide with the Quran. The signs of the Day of Judgment is that
the Quran will be lifted from the earth. The Prophet said. before the day of judgment
there will be a time where ignorance will be sent down and knowledge will be raised up.
Ibn Majid said, Islam will fade away like the bright colors on a garment that you are
wearing. Until people will not know what fasting, zakat or hajj are. The book of Allah
will be lifted up in one night not even one verse will remain.
This will happen towards the very end of time after the Dajjal, Jesus and after the victory
of the Muslims. Allah will send a wind from Yemen where only believers will be taken.
When that happens all knowledge will be lifted. What will remain are the most evil vile
of humanity. It will be them that hear the blowing of the trumpet.
Abdullah Ibn Amr said the day of judgment will not begin until the Quran goes back to
its Lord . It will be raised sounding like a bee. The Quran will say, from you I came and
to you I return. I am recited but not acted upon.
In sura Furqaan the Prophet(pbuh) says, Oh my lord my own people took this Quran as
something to be abandoned. The primary meaning was that the Quraish did not take the
Quran as guidance. The scholars also said that this could also mean that the Prophet
might complain about his own ummah abandoning the Quran.
Ibn aqayam said There are various ways to abandon Quran. When we stop listening,
practicing by it, judging by it, thinking about it and ignoring the Quran as a cure for your
diseases.
By the Quran Allah will raise people and there will be those who it will denigrate. Which
group do you want to belong too? The purpose of this knowledge is to love the Quran,
recite it and ponder it. It is a source of blessings. It is a source of blessings if we act on it.
The first matter. Make sure that your intension is for Allah. Clean heart. You want
to come closer to Allah. If the niah(intension) is good then it will be easy.
Increase worship leave the sins.
Choose a good sheikh who has perfect Tajweed or ijasah. So you can learn from
him.
Make it a regular habit to memorize the Quran. Every single hafz can say this.
Memorizing is like working out the more you do the better you become. One person
in the class memorized 1 juz in one day near his completion of memorizing.
You need to be memorizing regularly.
Be consistent in a minimum quantity. Consistent then stick to it. Do not memorize
less.
Memorize at the early stage of the day. Your mind is fresh in the morning do not
memorize after you come from work. Eventually you will become addicted.
Make sure that you are reciting to somebody consistently. You might misread a
word and memorized it wrong. So someone will hear it so you make sure you are
pronouncing it correctly
Divide your relation with the Quran in 3 things.
a.
New memorizations after fajr, do this consistently. No matter how tired
you are.
b.
Linking last 7 days memorization right after doing the first memorization.
This will do two things
i.
You will memorize the links between your daily memorizations.
ii.
This solidifies your memory of the previous 7 days
c.
Go over the old stuff. juz juz or 1 juz. Old stuff from one month ago.
This should be solid. This is how to solidify your previously memorized stuff.
One more point, make it your habit to listen to Quran all the time. Forget Islamic
lectures. Listen to Quran all the time on your ipod put something that you have
memorized. It will form in your mind and help you out.
There is not secret to memorizing you have to repeat and repeat over and over again.
You need to have to take the time.
Also make dua get inspiration from other people. Or a companion you can compete
with in good.