Qur'an

Bismillah

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Qur’an,

“(This is) a Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, so that they may ponder over its verses, and that men of understanding may remember.” Surah Saad: verse 29.

(linguistic explanation of the word yaddabaroo is in the comments)

It is the science of tafseer which is the fruit of ‘pondering over its verses’. Tafseer comes from the root letters fa seen ra, or fassara and means to explain, to discover, elucidate, to disclose (a hidden thing), and to interpret. In Uloom al-Qur’an (the sciences of the Qur’an), tafseer is defined to be, “the science by which the Qur’an is understood, its meanings explained, and its rulings derived.” It is the crux of Uloom al-Qur’an, even though Uloom al-Qur’an comprises many other branches.

Bismillah

Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in Suratul Anbiya:

Translation: If only those who disbelieved knew when they will not be able to ward off the Fire from their faces, nor from their backs; and they will not be helped. [Surah Suratul Anbiya, verse 39]

The word for ward off is “yakuffoona”, “يَكُفُّونَ” and this is from the root word “ka-fa-fa” or “kaff” which means palm/hand. The disbelievers will not be able to put their hands out, avert or prevent themselves from the punishment. Imagine if something is coming towards your face, what is the first thing you would do? Cover and protect your face with your hands, right? The disbelievers will not be able to do this, they will not be able to avert or obstruct the fire from their faces. may Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) protect us from it, ameen. And Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) continues, “nor from their backs” وَلَا عَن ظُهُورِهِمْ Now if something came towards your face and you were not able to cover it your hands, what would you do then? Turn around and protect yourself with your back, right? The disbelievers will not even be able to do this when the fire comes to them, “and they will not be helped”. No one will be there for them. No helper or assistant to come and save them from the punishment.

Victory comes only by the decree and permission of Allah, and this is true whether the victory is a small personal victory (like meeting a personal goal), the victory of a nation (like winning a battle), or the victory of passing the tests of dunya (like overcoming temptation and lowering your gaze). The evidence that supports this rule is ample, and the quality of the evidence—subhaanAllah, the stories are amazing! One such story comes from Suratul-Fil (The Elephant), and even a moment of reflection upon the story resonates with a message about the Supreme Power of Allah.

In Suratul-Furqaan (Surah 25), ayah 63, Allah begins a description of what is translated as “the slaves of Ar-Rahmaan (Allah)…”

In ayah 64, He describes these “slaves” by saying:

This is translated as: those who spend the night before their Lord, prostrating (in sujood) and standing.

Tafsir ibn Kathir explains this ayah, and compares it to ayahs 17-18 from Suratuth-Thaariyaat (Surah 51):

QMajd has alhamdulillah published their second (or third, depending on how you count) newsletter! This one is all about Route 114, the sciences of the Qur’an. Insha’Allah check it out–it covers everything from notes on the Ameer (and how Majd managed to be the largest student body–800+ students) to crosswords to articles from our very own Ilm Fruits! So check it out insha’Allah, there’s lots of ‘ilm to benefit from.

Ibn Mas’ood (رضي الله عنه‏) is one of the most well-known companions of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). (Can someone suggest some good links that detail his biography?) Orientalists–who do not generally fabricate–claim that, prior to the Second Compilation, Ibn Mas’ood’s (رضي الله عنه‏) mushaf had two extra surahs that our mushafs today don’t have. If you investigate this claim, you find that, indeed, it’s authentically report that his mushaf had two extra chapters.

The Qur’an was first compiled during the lifetime of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه‏), the first khalifa, whose rule lasted from the death of the last messenger (صلى الله عليه و سلم) for two years.

Why wasn’t it compiled during the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) himself?

• On-Going Revelation: Revelation was still coming down. If you wrote two verses next to each other, and Allah revealed one in the middle–or an extension to the end of a surah–what then? They didn’t have staplers to staple pages into the middle!
• No Need: The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) was still alive, and so were his companions, and they were all there with him. What need was there to compile it? The knowledge was there in the community.
• Arrangement was not Finalized: New verses would come down and be added to the middle of surahs. If it’s already written in a book, what do you do? How can you fit it in?
• Abrogation: Although abrogated verses are very few, sometimes a verse would be abrogated–so what if it was written down? What do you do with it?

In any case, in Abu Bakr’s time, there was a big battle, where 70 huffadh were martyred. After this one battle, ‘Umar convinced Abu Bakr–who was hesitant at first–to compile the Qur’an into one book. Prior to this, it was written down in scraps and fragments; and some of it was only memorized, not written down. And ‘Umar feared that the unwritten parts would be lost.

Qira’aat. Recitations. Like other parts of Islam, Qira’aat have been codified–it’s a science, just like the science of hadith.

And, just like ahadith, qira’aat have different types. What kind of types? Four types, actually:

1. Saheeh: Authentic qira’aat. To be saheeh, a qira’ah must have an authentic chain of narration back to the Prophet (S), and it must conform with the Uthmanic mushaf. There are ten of these puppies–not seven, as is the common misconception.
2. Shaadh: These qira’aat have an authentic chain of narration back to the Prophet (S), but they don’t fit into the Uthmanic mushaf. By consensus of the ‘ulama, you cannot recite shaadh qira’aat in salaah. Why are they considered so, if they have an authentic chain? Perhaps because of the importance of the second compilation of the Qur’an. The sahaba made ijmaa, and we have to respect it.
3. Da’eef: weak. These qira’aat don’t have an authentic chain of narrators, but a broken chain.
4. Baatil: these are qira’aat that others invented. (Yes, people forge qira’aat, just like they forge ahadith. It’s disgusting, I know.)

Which are these ten qira’aat that are authentic? That’s another topic for another post!

Route 114: Qur’anic Sciences is an AlMaghrib Institute course taught by Yasir Qadhi.

The science of the Qur’an: one of the sciences that reaches out into and forms a foundation for almost every other Islamic science. Topics include: the definition of the Qur’an, the rewards of the Qur’an, the blessings of the Qur’an, the origin of the Qur’an, the recitation of the Qur’an (tajweed); the science of qira’at; ahruf; the science of tafseer; wahiy (revelation); Mecci and Madani verses; the arrangement of surahs and ayahs; abrogation; the miraculous nature of the Qur’an; translation; memorization.

So what exactly is the Qur’an?

Scholars define the Qur’an as this: The Arabic speech of Allah that was revealed to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) both in word and in meaning. It is collected between the two covers of the mushaaf, was narrated in mutawaatir chains, and is a challenge to humankind.

We can learn five important things about the Qur’an from this definition.

1. The Arabic speech of Allah: The Qur’an is the speech of Allah, in Arabic. This means that anything that’s not Arabic isn’t the Qur’an. You can’t pray in English, in French, in Swahili, in Urdu–it has to be in Arabic.
2. Revealed to the Prophet: We know that Allah revealed many revelations–including the Injeel and the Tawrah and the Zabur. Those are also revelation of Allah–but they’re not the Qur’an. Only what Allah revealed to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) is Qur’an.
3. Revealed in Word and Meaning: Not Only is the meaning of the Qur’an the same as what Allah meant; but the words themselves are also from Allah. (Unlike Hadith Qudsi, where the meaning is from Allah, and the words are from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم))
4. Collected between Two Covers: Hadith Qudsi is also the speech of Allah, but it’s not Qur’an. Similarly, there are verses that used to be in the Qur’an, but aren’t anymore–even though they were once! These are the abrogated verses, and they’re not considered Qur’an anymore, even though we still know what some of those revelations were.
5. Mutawaatir: The Qur’an was related in a mutawaatir fashion–so many narrators narrated it, at every single step in the chain of narration, that it’s impossible that they all lied or made a mistake.
6. A Challenge to Humankind: The Qur’an is an ongoing challenge to the human race–create a book, a surah, a verse like it; but nay, we will NEVER be able to. Allah Himself says so.

One other important part of the definition of the Qur’an is that Allah promised that He will protect it, until the end of time–and that promise doesn’t apply to anything else (such as the sunnah, or the Hadith Qudsi).