Introduction to Sources of Islam &

Basic Concepts of Al Quran

Presented by:
Dr. Abdul Qadir
Sources of Islam
 Quran

 Hadith

 Ijma

 Qiyas
What is Wahy (Revelation)?
 To send some thing by Allah on the heart of the Prophet or to
send some signs towards Prophet, some time very fast, some time
very slow. General human cannot understand the actual reality of
Wahy and also it is not possible for them to understand the Wahy.
Revelation Shapes of Wahy:
During the sleeping position some order given to the
Prophet in the shape of dream as Hazrat Ibrahim (A.S) was
given.
Direct on the heart without sleeping position as for Holy
Prophet (S.A.W).
 Hazrat Jibraeel (A.S) in the shape of human being.
 Hazrat Jibraeel (A.S) in his own shape.
 Behind the curtain as for Hazrat Moosa (A.S).
Without curtain as for Holy Prophet (S.A.W) during
Mairaj.
The voice of a ringing bell.
Situation and influence of wahy:
During very cold weather the signs of sweat were present
on the forehead of Holy Prophet(SAW)
During very hot weather the condition of
Prophet(SAW) was shivering.
 Need of Wahy:
 To understand the personality of AlmightyAllah.
 To remind the humanity about their promise done by their souls
with Allah.
 To explain the divine book, wahy is necessary.
 To illuminate the inner wisdom and light of humanity wahy is
compulsory.
To save the humanity from the philosophers, materialist and
naturalist theories, arguments and ideas, wahy is required.
Prophets are the first practical followers of wahy.
 Everyone cannot bear the burden of wahy so for guidance wahy
is compulsory through Prophet’s.
Types of Wahy
Wahy matlu: It means that the words and sentences from Allah
almighty are revealed to the Prophet (S.A.W) and can be recited
during the prayer. It is essential that such revealed words should
be recited in the same accent , diction and pronunciation .
Wahy ghair matlu: It means that the words and sentences are
from the side of Holy Prophet(SAW) and cannot be recited during
the prayer. The words of such revelation are not the words of the
Almighty but Holy Prophet (S.A.W) explained this Wahy with his
own words .
Kitabat-e-wahy:
All the verses and surahs of Holy Quran were revealed one after the
other during the life time of Holy Prophet(SAW).Hazrat
Muhammad(SAW) appointed a group of writers for the kitabat-e-wahy.
They were writing Holy Quran on palm trees, leather, bones, stones and
even on papers with the order of Holy prophet(SAW).
The Famous writers(kateb-e-wahy) during the period of Holy Prophet
were i.e Hazrat Abu Bakr, Zaid bin Sabit,Usman,Ali,Zubair,Ibn Masood
and Hazrat Khadija ,were appointed for this purpose. The sequence and
formation of ayat ,verses and surahs was completed by the order of Holy
Prophet(SAW) .
However, Quran was not compiled in a shape of a single book during
the period of Holy Prophet(SAW).
Compilation of Holy Quran
 After the death of Holy prophet (SAW) the first khalifah, Hazrat
Abu Bakar (R.A) sent an expedition against of a false prophet
Musailima.
 In the battle of yamama , 70 memorizer of Holy Quran
martyred.
 Hazrat Umer (R.A) advised Hazrat Abu Bakar for the compilation
of Holy Quran.
 A meeting was called by Hazrat Abu Bakar for the consultation.
It was decided mutually by all Sahaba-Ikram that the compilation
of Holy Quran in the shape of a book is necessary.
Compilation of Holy Quran
 Hazrat Zaid bin Sabit was appointed as the leader of a committee for
the compilation of HolyQuran.
 Holy Quran was compiled first time in the shape of a book during the
period of Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddique(R.A).
 Again a dispute arose during the period of Hazrat Usman when the
non-arabs were reciting Holy Quran with the wrong pronounciation.
Therefore, during the period of Hazrat Usman (R.A) ,Quran was
again compiled on one qirat of quraish for the recitation of every
Muslim.
Surah’s of The Holy Quran

There are 114 Surah’s in Holy Quran.Some Surah’s of Holy Quran are
Makki and some areMadni.
Different opinions about the number of Makkan and Madni Surahs
 87 Makkan and 27 Madni.

 90 Makkan and 24 Madni

 Madni Surah’s are longer Surah’s and Makki Surah’s are short
Surah’s.
 Makki Surah’s are regarding iman and faith and Madni Surah’s are
regarding rules andregulation.
Basic Concepts of Quran
 The Quran is the Muslim scripture, that is to say the scripture of the
followers of Islam.
 Islam is the religion established among the Arabs - a people until
then largely confined to the Arabian Peninsula - by the Prophet
Muhammad in the early seventh century.
 The Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad by God through
the agency of the angel Gabriel; this took place partly in Mecca,
his hometown, and partly in Medina, where he succeeded in
creating a state in an otherwise stateless tribal society.
 The message was revealed in Arabic, the language of the people it
was initially addressed to, even though the message was ultimately
for the whole of humanity.
Basic Concepts of Quran
 The Quran specifically mentions that Muhammad was the
messenger to the whole of mankind, and that he is the last
messenger to be sent. Thus, the Quran is the final message that
supersedes and reiterates the basic religion God ordained for the
Jews and the Christians, as well as the Muslims.
 Today, the total number of Muslims in the world is over a billion,
making up almost a fifth of the world’s population.
 For all Muslim communities, whatever their language and
wherever they live, the Quran is their scripture.
The Basics
• The first thing to understand about the Quran is its form. The
Arabic word, ‘Quran,’ literally means both ‘recitation’ and
‘reading’. Similarly, the Quran was both recited orally and
written down in book form.
• The true power of the Quran remains in the oral recitation, as
it is meant to be read aloud and melodiously, but still the
verses were written down on available materials as an aid to
memorizing and guarding it, and these were collected and
ordered in book form both privately and, at a later stage,
institutionally.
• The Quran was not meant to tell a chronological story, and
thus, the Quran should not be viewed as a sequential
narrative like the book of Genesis.
The Basics
• The Arabic book that goes by the name Quran is about as
long as the New Testament. In most editions it is about
600 pages in length.
• In contrast to the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament,
the Quran was issued from the mouth of a single person,
who recited what he heard from the angel Gabriel.
• On the other hand, both the Jewish and the Christian
scriptures are collections of many books that were written
down by a large number of human beings, and opinions
differ as to their status as revelation.
The Method of Tafseer(Quran Interpretation)
 The sahaabah (companions) were taught to seek their
understanding of the Quran first from the Quran itself, then
from the explanations and applications of the Prophet
(SAWW) and from their own intimate understanding of the
language of the Quran.
 After the Prophet’s death, those who entered Islam as new
converts depended first upon the Quran to explain itself, then
they depended on the sahaabah to explain the Quran to them.
 The sahaabah would inform their students among the
taabi‘oon of the circumstances in which the verses were
revealed, the interpretation given by the Prophet’s statements
and his actions, and finally they would explain the meanings of
some words which may not have been familiar or which may
have had a different meaning to Arabs outside of the Arabian
Peninsula.
The Method of Tafseer(Quran Interpretation)
 With the passing of the era of the sahaabah, the scholars
among the taabi‘oon shouldered the grave responsibility of
conveying the original meanings of the Quran to the next
generation of Muslims exactly as they had received them.
 It was the third generation after the Prophet (SAWW)
which began the process of gathering and recording the
various narrations of tafseer from the taabi‘oon.
 From the above-mentioned methodology of the Prophet
(SAWW) and his companions and that of the early
generations of Muslim scholars which followed them, the
following steps have been deduced by orthodox scholars
as being the necessary conditions for making correct
tafseer of the Quran:
Tafseer of Quran byQuran
This refers to the Quranic verses providing an additional
explanation of what is already mentioned in the Quran. The
Quran, therefore, provides an additional explanation of its own
verses.
For example, if we were to ask the question whether Allah can
be seen or not, the following Quranic verse provides the answer:
“No vision can grasp Him, but His Grasp is over all vision.”
(Quran, Surah Al-Anaam:103)
Tafseer of Quran byQuran
However, Allah provides a further explanation of this in two
other verses, where He tells us that during the Day of Judgment,
people on the straight path will be able to see Allah while the
others won’t be able to. Here are those Quranic verses:
“Looking at their Lord (Allah)” (Quran, Surah Al-
Qiyamah:23)
“Nay! Surely, they (evil-doers) will be veiled from seeing their
Lord that Day. (Quran, Surah Al-Al-Mutaffifin:23)”
Therefore, before seeking an explanation or interpretation
elsewhere, the Quran must be relied upon to explain itself, for
Allaah knows best what He intended.
Tafseer of Quran by theSunnah
In some cases, the interpretation of the Quranic verse was
provided by the prophet (s). For example, for the following
verse, the prophet (s) provided the explanation:
“Verily, We have granted you (O Muhammad (Peace be
upon him)) Al-Kauthar” (Quran, Surah Al- Kawthar:1)”
In a hadith by the prophet (s), he referred to Kawthar as a
river in Paradise. [Reported by Anas and collected by
Muslim (Sahih Muslim, vol. 1, p. 220, no. 790) and Ahmad.]
Tafseer of Quran byAathaar
o Whenever the sahaabah could not find the tafseer of a
passage in the Quran itself or in the Sunnah, they would use
their own reasoning based on their knowledge of the contexts
of the verses and the complexities of the Arabic language in
which the Quran was revealed.
o Consequently, one of the greatest commentators of the
Quran, Ibn Katheer, wrote in the preface of his tafseer, “If we
are unable to find a suitable tafseer in the Quran or in the
Sunnah, we go to the opinions of the sahaabah. For verily,
they knew the Quran better than anyone else due to their
knowledge of the circumstances of its revelation, their
complete and accurate understanding of it, and their righteous
deeds.”
o These explanations of the sahaabah are known as tafseer by
aathaar (the sayings of the sahaabah).
Tafseer of Quran by Language
o As time passed after the death of the prophet (SAWW) and
after the era of sahaba and tabieen, the Arabic language
started to get diluted with foreign words and a lot of
vocabulary started to loose its meaning.
o This necessitated compilation of dictionaries to explain the
literal and grammatical meanings of Quran.
o This natural change in language also created some difference
of opinions. We see on such example in the following verse:
o “…or you have been in contact with women and you find
no water, perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub
therewith your faces and hands (Tayammum). Truly, Allah
is Ever Oft Pardoning, Oft Forgiving. (Quran, Surah An-
Nisa:43”
Tafseer of Quran byLanguage
o The word “lams” literally means to “touch”.
o Imaam ash-Shaafi‘ee and Maalik held that it meant the
touch of the hand, though each imaam added certain
stipulations to it.
o On the other hand, Imaam Abu Haneefah ruled that it
referred to sexual relations.
o However, the Prophet’s wives reported that he at times
kissed them before performing salaah, which indicated
that touching was not intended by this verse.
Tafseer of Quran byOpinion
o Opinions based on a careful study of the first four steps
can be considered valid as long as they do not contradict
any of those steps.
o Likewise, the application of obvious meanings of the
Quran to existing situations and the formation of
conclusions based on their similarities are also allowed, as
long as such interpretations do not clash with authentic
classical explanations.
o But, free interpretation based on philosophical, scientific,
or sectarian ideas is totally forbidden.
Tafseer of Quran byOpinion
The Prophet (S.A.W) was reported to have said,
“Opinion-based argument about the Quran is kufr.” He
repeated it three times, then said, “What you know of it, act
upon; and what you are ignorant of, refer it to one who
knows.” (Reported by Aboo Hurayrah and collected by
Ahmad, Ibn Jareer in his Tafseer and Aboo Ya‘laa.
Authenticated by al-Albaanee in Silsilah al Ahaadeeth as-
Saheehah, vol. 4. pp. 26-8.)