| 1. THE REVELATION OF THE QUR'AN.
The Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, piece by piece, over a period of approximately 23 years. Part of the Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad in Mecca where he was born (around 570 A.D.) and grew up and part of it was later revealed in Yathrib (now called Medina) where he subsequently moved to (in 622) and eventually died (632). Ibn Abbas narrated1: "Allah's Apostle started receiving the Divine Inspiration at the age of forty. Then he stayed in Mecca for thirteen years, receiving the Divine Revelation. Then he was ordered to migrate and he lived as an Emigrant for ten years and then died at the age of sixty-three (years)". Beginning of the revelation. The revelation of the Qur'an began during the month of Ramadan in the year 610 A.D. On the 27th night of Ramadan, or one of the odd nights after the 21st, the angel Gabriel is reported to have come to Muhammad. According to one account, the beginning of the revelation came about as follows: Aisha (the mother of the faithful believers) narrated: "The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was in the form of good dreams which came true like bright daylight, and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food likewise again till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, "I do not know how to read." The Prophet added, "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, 'I do not know how to read (or what shall I read)?' Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said, 'Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists) has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous""2. Thus, the first revelation of the Qur'an was received by the Prophet: "Proclaim! (or Read!) In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created - created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful"3. The above account continues: "Allah's Apostle returned with the Inspiration and with his heart beating severely. Then he went to Khadija bint Khuwailid and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him till his fear was over and after that he told her everything that had happened and said, "I fear that something may happen to me." Khadija replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones." Khadija then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqa bin Naufal bin Asad bin 'Abdul 'Uzza, who, during the Pre-Islamic Period became a Christian and used to write the writing with Hebrew letters. He would write from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight. Khadija said to Waraqa, "Listen to the story of your nephew, O my cousin!" Waraqa asked, "O my nephew! What have you seen?" Allah's Apostle described whatever he had seen. Waraqa said, "This is the same one who keeps the secrets (angel Gabriel) whom Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live up to the time when your people would turn you out." Allah's Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly." But after a few days Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused for a while". The pause. After the Prophet received his first revelation, a certain period of time passed (called fatra or "the pause") whereby revelation ceased temporarily before resuming again. Jabir bin Abdullah narrated that he heard Allah's Apostle saying: "There was a pause in the revelation of the Divine Inspiration to me. Then while I was walking all of a sudden I heard a voice from the sky, and I raised my sight towards the sky and saw the same angel who had visited me in the cave of Hira', sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth"4. It is not clear for how long this pause in revelation lasted. There are also conflicting reports as to the date of its occurrence. With the exception of Ibn Hisham who maintains that a number of surahs where revealed before the intermission, the general opinion is that the "pause" followed the first revelation. Z. Bashier states: "Concerning the duration of the intermission it may be reasonable to maintain that it was in fact short, lasting only a matter of days or a few months, not exceeding six at the most"5. The second revelation. Jabir bin Abdullah narrated:6 "I heard the Prophet describing the period of pause of the Divine Inspiration. He said in his talk, "While I was walking, I heard voices from the sky. I looked up, and behold! I saw the same Angel who came to me in the cave of Hira' sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I was too much afraid of him (so I returned to my house) and said, 'Fold me up in garments!' They wrapped me up. Then Allah revealed:" "O thou wrapped up (in a mantle)! Arise and deliver thy warning! And thy Lord do thou magnify! And thy garments keep free from stain! And all abomination shun!".7 The second revelation clearly confirmed for Muhammad that he had been chosen by God to deliver His (final) Message to humanity. Other early revelations. Opinion is divided as to which ayat were revealed next. Some say that surah 73 followed, others say the third revelation was surah 1. Other early revelations, according to some reports, include surah 111, surah 81, surah 87 and so on. The revelation of the Qur'an in stages. The Qur'an is dissimilar to other scriptures in that it was revealed to Muhammad gradually, stage by stage, whereas the previous revelations of God were delivered all at once to the earlier prophets. The Qur'an states: "Those who reject Faith say: "Why is not the Qur'an revealed to him all at once?" Thus (is it revealed), that We may strengthen thy heart thereby, and We have rehearsed it to thee in slow, well-arranged stages, gradually".8 This continuous delivery of the revelations is considered to have had a number of benefits for Muhammad and his followers: 1. To strengthen the heart of the Prophet. See surah 25: 32 above. The step by step process of inspiration is believed to have helped strengthen the tenacity of the Prophet and his Companions especially while they were based in Mecca and persecuted by the idolaters there. 2. To ease memorization and understanding for the Companions. The revelation of the Qur'an in stages helped the Companions as they set about to memorize it, understand its message, and implement its teachings. Ibn 'Umar said: "They (the Companions) learnt the Qur'an five verses at a time, then the next five verses, for indeed Gabriel used to come with the Qur'an to the Messenger with five verses and then five more verses".9 3. As a challenge to the Unbelievers. J. Zeeno states:"God challenged them (the Unbelievers) to come bring forth a chapter like it and they were unable to do so. Challenging them to bring a chapter like it, after it had been revealed in stages had a stronger impact in showing their incapability and thus was stronger proof than just revealing it all in one go. For one who is unable to bring one chapter the like of it, when it has been revealed in parts will be more than incapable of bringing the like of it when it has been revealed in one go".10 4. Dealing with events as they occurred. Gradual revelation also had the benefit of resolving any difficulties that the Believers had to face as they arose as well as responding to any criticisms raised during its revelation by the Unbelievers. 5. To establish the Shari'ah laws progressively. That the laws of Islam were introduced progressively and not all at once is understood to be a blessing bestowed by God upon Believers in that they would find them easier to obey. How revelation came. Sometimes complete surahs were revealed at a time and sometimes portions of surahs were revealed. Although there is a difference of opinion as to the exact chronological order of the first Qur'anic revelations, what is clear is that the revelation came "strongly and regularly"11 after the intermission and continued throughout Muhammad's lifetime (for a period of approximately 23 years) until just before his death in the year 632 A.D. Y. Qadhi states: "Towards the end of the Prophet's life, the revelation increased greatly, so much so that the last years of the prophet hood were the years in which most of the revelation occurred".12 Anas bin Malik narrated: "Allah sent down His Divine Inspiration to His Apostle continuously and abundantly during the period preceding his death till He took him unto Him. That was the period of the greatest part of revelation; and Allah's Apostle died after that".13 Aisha (the mother of the faithful believers) narrated: "Al-Harith bin Hisham asked Allah's Apostle "O Allah's Apostle! How is the Divine Inspiration revealed to you?" Allah's Apostle replied, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form of Inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says." 'Aisha added: Verily I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)".14 The Qur'an states: "Verily this (the Qur'an) is a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds: with it came down the Spirit of Faith and Truth (Gabriel) - to thy heart and mind (O Muhammad), that thou mayest admonish in the perspicuous Arabic Tongue".15 Because Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver His final Message of Guidance to mankind, it was only natural that the revelation of the Qur'an be brought to him in his mother tongue. Although the Book is addressed to all peoples of the whole world (surah 81: 27), the language of the Qur'an, chosen by God, was Arabic: "Thus have We sent by inspiration to thee an Arabic Qur'an: that thou mayest warn the Mother of Cities and all around her - and warn (them) of the Day of Assembly, of which there is no doubt: (when) some will be in the Garden, and some in the Blazing Fire".16 The above verse explains that the Qur'an was sent initially to warn the "Mother of Cities" (i.e., Mecca), and then afterwards "all around her" (the rest of the world). It was, therefore, brought to the people of Mecca in Arabic so that they might understand and learn from its Message: "We have made it a Qur'an in Arabic, that ye may be able to understand (and learn wisdom)".17 The last revelation. Many scholars are of the opinion that surah 2: 281 was the last verse to be revealed: "And fear the Day when ye shall be brought back to God. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned, and none shall be dealt with unjustly".18 However, others say that it was either surah 2: 282 or 2: 278 and yet others say that all three ayat were revealed at the same time. Finally, many Muslims believe that the last revelation was surah 5: 3: "This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed my favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your Religion". Y. Qadhi states: "This verse (5: 3) was revealed on the Day of 'Arafah, at the Farewell Pilgrimage, a number of months before the Prophet's death. Since it refers to the completion of Islam, many Muslims have thought that this signified the end of the revelation. What is actually meant by this verse , however, is that all the verses dealing with the rulings of Islam (halal and haram) have been revealed".19 Muhammad died nine nights after the last revelation. 2. TRANSMISSION OF THE QUR'ANIC REVELATION. So, Muhammad had been chosen by God to receive His Message brought to him by the angel Gabriel and he had been instructed to deliver this Message to mankind. He, therefore, had to find a way of bringing these revelations to the people and, as the revelations were addressed to future generations as well, he had to ensure that the Message was preserved. The transmission of the Qur'anic revelation was achieved in two ways: Firstly, the revelations were memorized and transmitted orally and, secondly, they were written down and passed on in that way. I. Memorization and oral transmission of the text. A. V. Denffer states: "Memorization of the Qur'an was the earliest form of transmission of the text".20 The Prophet himself was the first to memorize the revelations and after he received a revelation he would declare it and encourage his Companions to memorize it also. Some of his Companions had even managed to memorize the Qur'an in its entirety and had verified this with the Prophet before he died.21 This tradition continued and is still practices by many Muslims today. Muhammad also encouraged Muslims in general to memorize and learn the Qur'an. This was important in that it helped to spread the Message of the Qur'an to more and more people. Uthman bin Affan narrated: "The Prophet said, "The most superior among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it"".22 II. Transmission of the written text. Muhammad did not write down the Qur'anic revelations as he received them. In fact, it is not clear whether or not he ever knew how to write (the Qur'an describes him as "the unlettered Prophet".23 Initially, the revelations of the Qur'an were written down by his Companions on a variety of materials such as animal skin, scraps of leather or bone etc. and, later, they were recorded by various scribes. One such scribe, Zaid bin Thabit, is credited in the following hadith24 narrated by al-Bara': "There was revealed: "Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) and those who strive and fight in the Cause of Allah." (4.95) The Prophet said, "Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the ink pot and the scapula bone (or the scapula bone and the ink pot)." Then he said, "Write: 'Not equal are those Believers who sit...", and at that time 'Amr bin Um Maktum, the blind man was sitting behind the Prophet . He said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is your order for me (as regards the above Verse) as I am a blind man?" So, instead of the above Verse, the following Verse was revealed: "Not equal are those believers who sit (at home) except those who are disabled (by injury or are blind or lame etc.) and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah" (4.95)". 3. COLLECTION OF THE QUR'AN. Divisions of the text. Ayah and surah. Ayah (pl. Ayat) is the shortest division of the text. The Qur'an contains 6, 616 ayat. Loosely translated the word could be taken to mean "verse". However, this is not strictly correct since the Qur'an is not poetry. Ayah actually means "sign", or "guiding sign" (from God to mankind). Surah (pl. Suwar) means "portion" or "chapter". The Qur'an contains 114 suwar of varying lengths, the shortest containing just 4 ayat and the longest consisting of 286 ayat. With the exception of surah 9 each of the 114 suwar begins with its name (e.g., ta-ha (20), al-baqara (2)) and the words bismillahir rahmanir rahim, 'In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate'. Surah 9 opens simply with its name. Juz' and manzil. Juz' (pl. Ajza') also means "part", or "portion". The Qur'an contains 30 ajza' of roughly equal length for those who wish to recite the entire text within the thirty days of a month, commonly practiced during Ramadan. Similarly, the Qur'an is divided into 7 sections, known as manzil, for its recitation over seven days. Arrangement of the ayat and surahs. The Qur'an was transmitted orally by those who had either learned it entirely or a part thereof and it was also transmitted in the written form on a variety of writing materials. According to three ahadith in Sahih Bukhari,25 both the order of the ayat and the arrangement of the surahs were fixed by the Prophet under the instruction of Gabriel. The three ahadith affirm that Gabriel had recited the Qur'an with the Prophet once a year, and twice in the year that he died. Aisha (Mother of the Believers) narrated: "We, the wives of the Prophet were all sitting with the Prophet and none of us had left when Fatima came walking, and by Allah, her gait was very similar to that of Allah's Apostle. When he saw her, he welcomed her, saying, "Welcome, O my daughter!" Then he made her sit on his right or his left, confided something to her, whereupon she wept bitterly. When he noticed her sorrow, he confided something else to her for the second time, and she started laughing. Only I from among the Prophet's wives said to her, "(O Fatima), Allah's Apostle selected you from among us for the secret talk and still you weep?" When Allah's Apostle got up (and went away), I asked her, "What did he confide to you?" She said, "I wouldn't disclose the secrets of Allah's Apostle." But when he died I asked her, "I beseech you earnestly by what right I have on you, to tell me (that secret talk which the Prophet had with you)." She said, "As you ask me now, yes, (I will tell you)." She informed me, saying, "When he talked to me secretly the first time, he said that Gabriel used to review the Qur'an with him once every year. He added, 'But this year he reviewed it with me twice, and therefore I think that my time of death has approached. So, be afraid of Allah, and be patient, for I am the best predecessor for you (in the Hereafter).' " Fatima added, "So I wept as you ('Aisha) witnessed. And when the Prophet saw me in this sorrowful state, he confided the second secret to me saying, 'O Fatima! Will you not be pleased that you will be chief of all the believing women (or chief of the women of this nation i.e. my followers?)' "".26 Furthermore, that the Companions understood the order of the ayat within each surah and the surahs with respect to each other and that they were opposed to interfering with this arrangement is backed up by the following hadith narrated by Ibn Az-Zubair: "I said to 'Uthman bin 'Affan (while he was collecting the Qur'an) regarding the Verse: "Those of you who die and leave wives..." (2.240) "This Verse was abrogated by an other Verse. So why should you write it? (Or leave it in the Qur'an)?" 'Uthman said. "O son of my brother! I will not shift anything of it from its place"".27 So, by the time the Prophet had died, all parts of the revelation had been preserved both in the memories of his Companions and also in the written form. According to A. V. Denffer28 the order of the ayat within the surahs was fixed both in the written form and in the memories of the Companions but the order of the surahs was fixed only in the memories of the Companions (not in the written form). Collection of Revelation at the time of the Prophet. There are a number of reports in the hadith literature which indicate that some of the Prophet's Companions had gathered their own collections of Qur'anic revelation. For Example: Qatada narrated: "Anas said, "The Qur'an was collected in the lifetime of the Prophet by four (men), all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubai, Muadh bin Jabal, Abu Zaid and Zaid bin Thabit." I asked Anas, "Who is Abu Zaid?" He said, "One of my uncles"".29 However, these collections were incomplete and not identical to each other with respect to the arrangement of the surahs and there also existed some variations in the spelling and wording of the text. A. V. Denffer explains that these collections were for personal use only and when 'Uthman's collection later became the standard version, the Companions adopted this in preference to their own version.30 According to M Ansari31 there were at least fifteen collections of Revelation in existence at the time of the Prophet. The most well-known among these includes the collections by Ibn Mas'ud, Ubay bin Ka'b and Zaid bin Thabit. Y. Qadhi states: "When the Prophet passed away, the entire Qur'an had been memorized by many of the Companions, and existed in written form, but it had not been compiled between two covers. Rather, it was scattered in loose fragments that were owned by different people. Some Companions also had substantial (yet incomplete) copies of the Qur'an".32 Abu Bakr's collection. According to an account in the Sahih Bukhari, in the year after the Prophet's death, a number of Muslims who had memorized the Qur'an were killed in the Battle of Yamama (633 A. D.). Fearing that, if he did not arrange for a written copy of the Qur'an to be made, a part of it might be lost, Abu Bakr, who was then leader of the Muslims, instructed Zaid (one of the Prophet's scribes) to search for all the written and oral transmissions of the revelations and compile them together in the form of manuscripts: Zaid bin Thabit narrated: "Abu Bakr sent for me owing to the large number of casualties in the battle of Al-Yamama, while 'Umar was sitting with him. Abu Bakr said (to me), (Umar has come to me and said, 'A great number of Qaris of the Holy Qur'an were killed on the day of the battle of Al-Yamama, and I am afraid that the casualties among the Qaris of the Quran may increase on other battlefields whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost. Therefore I consider it advisable that you (Abu Bakr) should have the Qur'an collected.' I said, 'How dare I do something which Allah's Apostle did not do?' 'Umar said, By Allah, it is something beneficial.' 'Umar kept on pressing me for that till Allah opened my chest for that for which He had opened the chest of 'Umar and I had in that matter, the same opinion as 'Umar had." Abu Bakr then said to me (Zaid), "You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicion about you, and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. So you should search for the fragmentary scripts of the Quran and collect it (in one Book)." Zaid further said: By Allah, if Abu Bakr had ordered me to shift a mountain among the mountains from one place to another it would not have been heavier for me than this ordering me to collect the Qur'an. Then I said (to 'Umar and Abu Bakr), "How can you do something which Allah's Apostle did not do?" Abu Bakr said, "By Allah, it is something beneficial." Zaid added: So he (Abu Bakr) kept on pressing me for that until Allah opened my chest for that for which He had opened the chests of Abu Bakr and 'Umar, and I had in that matter, the same opinion as theirs. So I started compiling the Qur'an by collecting it from the leafless stalks of the date-palm tree and from the pieces of leather and hides and from the stones, and from the chests of men (who had memorized the Quran). I found the last verses of Sirat-at-Tauba: "Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves..." (9.128-129) ) from Khuzaima or Abi Khuzaima and I added to it the rest of the Sura. The manuscripts of the Qur'an remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him. Then it remained with 'Umar till Allah took him unto Him, and then with Hafsa bint 'Umar".33 Y. Qadhi states: "The strict criteria employed by Zaid ensured the authenticity of the compilation. Even though Zaid had memorized the entire Qur'an, and could have written it from his own memory, he still made sure that there were at least two other memorisers of the verse, and a written copy of the verse, written under the direct supervision of the Prophet".34 The collection remained with Abu Bakr until he died in 634, then with 'Umar until his death in 644 and finally with 'Umar's daughter Hafsa, a widow of the Prophet. 'Uthman's collection. During the reign of 'Uthman (644-656 A. D.), differences in the recitation of the Qur'an began to arise. 'Uthman sent a message to Hafsa asking her to send him Abu Bakr's manuscripts so that he could arrange for a standard copy of the Qur'an to be written. Anas bin Malik narrated: "Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman came to Uthman at the time when the people of Sham and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Arminya and Adharbijan. Hudhaifa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur'an, so he said to 'Uthman, "O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Qur'an) as the Jews and the Christians did before." So 'Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, "Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you." Hafsa sent it to 'Uthman. 'Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin AzZubair, Said bin Al-As and 'Abdur-Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. 'Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, "In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Qur'an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur'an was revealed in their tongue." They did so, and when they had written many copies, 'Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. 'Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt. Said bin Thabit added, "A Verse from Surat Ahzab was missed by me when we copied the Qur'an and I used to hear Allah's Apostle reciting it. So we searched for it and found it with Khuzaima bin Thabit Al-Ansari. (That Verse was): 'Among the Believers are men who have been true in their covenant with Allah' " (33.23)".35 So, Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Sa'id bin Al-As and 'Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham were thus given the task of rewriting the manuscripts and after a number of copies had been written, Abu Bakr's manuscripts were returned to Hafsa. 'Uthman ordered for these copies to be sent to the main Muslim centers with the order that all other Qur'anic materials be destroyed. It is not clear how many copies 'Uthman had ordered to be written. The best known ones, according to Suyuti36 are five. W. M. Watt states: "Probably one copy was retained in Medina, and one was sent to each of the towns, Kufa, Basra, and Damascus, and possibly also to Mecca".37 A. V. Denffer states: "This version of the text, also known as 'Mushaf 'Uthmani' in fact constitutes the ijma (consensus) of the sahaba, all of whom are agreed that it contained what Muhammad had brought as revelation from God".38 The Qur'an, as it is today, is essentially the 'Uthmanic Qur'an. The Qur'an in print. There was a very basic system of writing in use at the time of the Prophet. Over the centuries various types of script emerged including Kufi, Maghridi and Naskh etc. W. M. Watt states: "The process of improving the script was completed towards the end of the ninth century. It now became possible to enforce a greater measure of uniformity than was conceivable with the original script".39 Vowelling points (tashkil) were introduced to help with the correct pronunciation of the words and diacritical marks (i'jam) were used to help distinguish the various letters. W. M. Watt states: "One of the more probable traditional accounts ascribes the introduction of diacritical marks and vowel points to the initiative of al-Hajjaj, probably during his governor ship of Iraq (694-714 A. D.)".40 Advancements in printing technology around the sixteenth century further standardized the printing of the Qur'an. An edition was subsequently printed in Germany in 1694 followed by the so-called "Mulay edition"41 published in St. Petersburg (Russia) in 1787, and other editions printed in Kazan (1828), Persia (1833) and Istanbul (1877). The printed Qur'an now widely used by Muslims around the world originates from the so-called 'Egyptian edition' also known as the "King Fu'ad edition" printed in Cairo in 1925 of which many later copies have been based. 4. TRANSLATION OF THE QUR'AN. Since the Qur'an is the revealed Word of God and because it was revealed in the Arabic tongue, Muslim scholars maintain that any translation of the text into another language is not the Word of God. It is for this reason that they aim to read the Qur'an in its original Arabic form. They furthermore regard any attempts to translate the Qur'an word for word as inadequate because of the fact that words in different languages have different meanings. A word for word translation would not be accurate enough and would fail to explain precisely the meanings of the original Arabic text. Existing translations which are regarded as adequately conveying the Message of the Qur'an are those which express the meanings of the Qur'an. The translator would first read the passage in Arabic, understand the meaning of the passage and then translate that meaning into another language. The need for translations of the Qur'anic text arose inevitably after the Message of Islam was taken to foreign and non-Arabic speaking lands. Such translations (of the meanings of the Qur'an) played a crucial role in the spread of Islam to non-Muslim peoples. Indeed the meanings of the Qur'an were translated as early as the time of the Prophet. According to a report by Abu Sufyan,42 translators were called for a conversion which took place between Muhammad and the Emperor in which surah 3: 64 was translated. Chronology of the translated text. The following interpretations of the Qur'an were translated into European languages from the 12th century onwards and includes A. Yusuf Ali's version as well as M. Pickthall's version both of which, published in the 1930's, remain highly recommended within Muslim scholarly circles: 1143: The Qur'an translated into Latin (around 1143) by Robertus Retenesis and Hermannus Dalmata under instruction from the Abbot of Cluny and given to the Monastery of Cluny. Y. Qadhi states: "The Abbot's motive for such an undertaking was to try to defame Islam, as during this time the Crusades were being fought".43 This version was later translated into Italian, German and Dutch (the Latin version was published in 1543). 1616: German translation by Solomon Schweiggar published at Nurenburg (Baveria). Based on an earlier Italian translation by Andrea Arrivabene published in 1547, this first German translation in turn formed the basis of the first Dutch translation printed in 1641. 1647: French translation by Du Ryer published at Paris. Based on Du Ryer's version, the first translation into English, by Alexander Ross, was published in 1649. Y. Qadhi states: "The first complete English translation was actually a translation from the French, and as such was highly inaccurate".44 1698: Latin translation by Maracci, "with Arabic text and quotations from various Arabic Commentaries, carefully selected and garbled, so as to give the worst possible impression of Islam to Europe".45 1734: English translation by George Sale based largely on the Latin translation by Maracci. This version was later translated into Dutch (1742), German (1764), French (1750), Russian (1792), Swedish (1814), Bulgarian (1902). 1773: German translation by Boysen. 1776: Russian translation published at St. Petersburg. 1783: French translation by Savary. 1828: German translation by Wahl. 1840: German translation by Ullman. French translation by Kasimirski. 1861: English translation by Rev. J. M. Rodwell. Y. Ali states: "Though he tries to render the idiom fairly, his notes show the mind of a Christian clergyman, who was more concerned to "show up" the Book than to appreciate or expound its beauties".46 1905: First English translation by a Muslim (Dr. Muhammad 'Abdul Hakim Khan). 1930: English translation by the English Muslim Mr. Marmaduke Pickthall. 1938: English translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. 1980: English translation by Muhammad Asad. SUMMARY. The Qur'an was, therefore, revealed to the Prophet, piece by piece, over a period of twenty tree years beginning in his fortieth year (610) and continuing until just before his death in 632. As each revelation was received by the Prophet, the ayat were learnt by heart or written down on a variety of materials. In 633, Abu Bakr instructed Zaid bin Thabit to collect all the revelations together and to make one written version of the complete revelation. The collection of revelations remained with Abu Bakr until his death in 634, then with Umar until his death in 644 and then with Hafsa (Umar's daughter). During 'Uthman's caliphate different recitations of the Qur'an became apparent so he instructed Zaid and three others to prepare standard copies from Abu Bakr's collection. These copies were sent to all the main Muslim centers and any other Qur'anic materials were destroyed. All copies of the Qur'an have been identical since that time. Muslims maintain that the Qur'an, as it is today in the Arabic form, is the Word of God exactly as the Prophet received it from the Divine Messenger Gabriel and that it contains not a word created by the Prophet himself. Of itself, the Qur'an states that it is a Book preserved, protected from corruption: "This is a Glorious Qur'an, (inscribed) in a Tablet Preserved".47 NOTES: 1. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 5: 242. 2. Ibid 1: 3. 3. THE QUR'AN 96: 1-3. According to some, the first revelation also included ayat (verses) 4 and 5 of the same surah (chapter). The remaining ayat of surah 96, which contains 19 ayat, were revealed at a later date (note: the arrangement of the surahs is not in chronological order). 4. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 8: 233 5. THE MAKKAN CRUCIBLE p. 101. 6. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 6: 447. 7. THE QUR'AN 74: 1-5. In the same manner as the first revelation to be revealed, the remaining ayat of surah 74, which contains 56 ayat in total, were revealed at a later date. 8. THE QUR'AN 25: 32. 9. Related by Bayhaqee in Shu'bul-Eemaan and its chain of narration is Saheeh. HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE QUR'AN p. 68. 10. Ibid p. 67. 11. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 6: 478. 12. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 81. 13. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 6: 505. 14. Ibid 1: 2. 15. THE QUR'AN 26: 192-195. 16. THE QUR'AN 42: 7. 17. THE QUR'AN 43: 3. 18. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 91. 19. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 94. 20. 'ULUM AL-QUR'AN p. 174. 21. Ibid p. 34. 22. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 6: 546. 23. THE QUR'AN 7: 158. 24. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 6: 512. 25. 'ULUM AL-QUR'AN p. 41. 26. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 8: 301. 27. Ibid 6: 53. 28. 'ULUM AL-QUR'AN p. 43. 29. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 5: 155. 30. 'ULUM AL-QUR'AN p. 52. 31. Ibid p. 46. THE QUR'ANIC FOUNDATIONS AND STRUCTURE OF MUSLIM SOCIETY. The World Federation of Islamic Missions, Karachi, 1973 (volume 1, p. 76, note 2). 32. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 131. 33. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 9: 301. 34. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN P. 134. 35. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 6: 510. 36. MAKHDUM, I.: TARIKH AL-MUSHAF AL-'UTHMANI FI TASHQAND, Tashkent, 1971, p. 17. For further details see 'ULUM AL- QUR'AN pp. 61-64. 37. INTRODUCTION TO THE QUR'AN p. 42. 38. 'ULUM AL-QUR'AN p. 56. 39. INTRODUCTION TO THE QUR'AN p. 48. 40. Ibid. 41. Probably the first Qur'an to be printed by Muslims. 42. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 6: 75. 43. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 356. 44. Ibid p. 357. 45. THE QUR'AN p. Xii. 46. Ibid p. Xiii. 47. THE QUR'AN 85: 21-22. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ali, Abdullah Yusuf, THE HOLY QUR'AN (translation and commentary). The Holy Koran Publishing House, 1934. Bashier, Zakaria, THE MAKKAN CRUCIBLE. The Islamic Foundation, 1978. Denffer, Ahmad Von, 'ULUM AL-QUR'AN. The Islamic Foundation, 1983. Watt, William Montgomery, INTRODUCTION TO THE QUR'AN. Edinburgh University Press, 1970. Zeeno, Shaykh Muhammad Jameel, HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE QUR'AN. Call to Islam Da'wah Centre, 1998. Qadhi, Abu Ammaar Yasir, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN. Al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution, 1999. Bukhari, SAHIH AL-BUKHARI. Maktaba Dar-us-Salam Publishers & Distributers, 1994. |
| History of the text of the Qur'an R McDowell |
| Islamic Review |
 |
| Contents
1. THE REVELATION OF THE QUR'AN Beginning of the revelation The pause The second revelation Other early revelations The revelation of the Qur'an in stages How revelation came The last revelation 2. TRANSMISSION OF THE QUR'ANIC REVELATION I. Memorisation and oral transmission of the text II. Transmission of the written text 3. COLLECTION OF THE QUR'AN Divisions of the text Arrangement of the ayat and surahs Collection of revelation at the time of the Prophet Abu Bakr's collection 'Uthman's collection The Qur'an in print 4. TRANSLATION OF THE QUR'AN Chronology of the translated text SUMMARY NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY Words: 6, 400 |