| Understanding the Qur'an R McDowell |
| Islamic Review |
 |
| Contents
1. LANGUAGE AND FORM Literary style. 2. CLEAR AND UNCLEAR VERSES General and specific verses "Free" and "bound" verses Verses with "literal" and "understood" meanings 3. CAUSES OF REVELATION 4. THE MECCAN AND MEDINAN VERSES The meccan and Medinan surahs 5. THE ABROGATING VERSES The four classes of abrogation The three kinds of abrogation in the Qur'an Summary 6. THE "SEVEN MODES" 7. THE VARIOUS READINGS NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY Words: 4, 800 |
| 1. LANGUAGE AND FORM.
The language of the Qur'an is Arabic. "We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an, in order that ye may learn wisdom".1 The Qur'an explains that Arabic was chosen for two main reasons. Firstly, the message had to be revealed in the mother tongue of the chosen messenger (Muhammad, an Arab) so that he could understand and pass on to others the communication. "Had We sent this as a Qur'an (in a language) other than Arabic, they would have said: "Why are not its verses explained in detail? What! (a Book) not in Arabic and (a Messenger) an Arab?"".2 Secondly, the Qur'an states that it was sent down to warn "the Mother of Cities" (Mecca) first of all and afterwards "all around her" (the rest of the world). So, the Qur'an was delivered in the language which could be understood by the Meccans. "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".3 The Qur'an does not have the strict rhyme of poetry. However, the passages cannot be described as prose insofar as there is some emphasis on rhythm and rhyme. Rather, the Qur'an is said to have the literary style known as "saj'" (rhymed prose). A. V. Denffer states: "'Saj' is not really as sophisticated as poetry, but has been employed by Arab poets, and is the best known of the pre-Islamic Arab presodies. It is distinct from poetry in its lack of metre, i.e., it has no consistent rhythmic pattern, and it shares with poetry the element of rhyme, though in many cases somewhat irregularly employed".4 Literary style. The following are just a few of the features of the Qur'anic style: 1. Narratives. The various narratives in the Qur'an can be loosely categorized as follows: those which tell the stories of the previous Messengers of God, their followers, their teachings etc. (eg. Surah 28 about Moses, see also surahs 11, 26, 37, 54); those which speak of past peoples or events (eg. Surah 18); and those which record certain events which occurred during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (eg. Surah 3: 121-8 about the battle of Uhad). These narratives explain the general message of the Qur'an. They also provide guidance and a reminder that Muhammad is the last in a long line of prophets. 2. Dramatic scenes. Throughout the Qur'an dramatic scenes are evoked, most notably to describe the Judgment, Heaven and Hell. "For the wrong-doers We have prepared a Fire whose (smoke and flames), like the walls and roof of a tent, will hem them in: if they implore relief they will be granted water like melted brass, that will scald their faces. How dreadful the drink! How uncomfortable a couch to recline on!".5 3. Similes. Similes are used in the Qur'an to illustrate the text. They appear in a variety of contexts to explain a point of the message, sometimes to underline its importance. "What will explain to thee what the (Day) of Noise and Clamour is? (It is) a Day whereon men will be like moths scattered about, and the mountains will be like carded wool".6 4. Metaphors. Metaphors are employed frequently in the Qur'an in a variety of situations. "(The Unbelievers' state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it! For any to whom God giveth not light, there is no light!".7 5. "Say" passages. Scattered throughout the Qur'an are over 200 passages introduced by the word "Say". The word "Say" (Qul) indicates when Muhammad was instructed to address the subsequent revelation to his audience. They occurred in various situations, for instance: in reply to a question raised by one of his followers (e.g. Surah 2: 189), the declaration of a legal ruling (e.g. Surah 5: 4) and so on. 2. CLEAR AND UNCLEAR VERSES. Just as the Qur'an contains verses where the message is easily discernible, it also contains verses which are open to interpretation. "He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: in it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorial. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except God. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: "We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:" and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding".8 According to 'Aisha, the Prophet recited the above verse and then said: "If you see those who follow thereof that is not entirely clear, then they are those whom Allah has named as having deviation (from the Truth). So beware of them".9 The Qur'an therefore contains both verses "of established meaning" (muhkamat) and others where the meaning is doubtful (mutashabihat). The former are described above as "the foundation of the Book". These are all the clearly decided verses, usually connected with legal matters etc. The doubtful verses include those where the meaning has not been completely agreed upon. A. Yusuf Ali states: "The part (of the Qur'an) which is figurative, metaphorical, or allegorical . . . Refers to such profound spiritual matters that human language is inadequate to it, and though people of wisdom may get some light from it, no one should be dogmatic, as the final meaning is known to God alone".10 Muslim scholars conclude that the unclear or doubtful verses in the Qur'an have been placed there as a test to distinguish between those Muslims who are honest in their faith from those "in whose hearts is perversity". General and specific verses. While some of the Qur'anic verses are general in their application (al-'am), for example: "Every soul shall have a taste of death" (surah 3: 185), others are more specific in their relevance (al-khas): "Prohibited to you (for marriage) are:- your mothers, daughters, sisters ..." (surah 4: 23). Y. Qadhi states: "These two complimentary categories are primarily used together in deducing the laws of the Shari'ah. The Qur'an might give a general ruling in one place, yet another verse or hadith may specify that rule not to apply in certain circumstances".11 "Free" and "bound" verses. The "free" verses (mutlaq) are those not restricted to certain situations. The "bound" verses (muqayyad) are those which refer to specific circumstances. Y. Qadhi states: "the word "house" is mutlaq, but "a two-story house" is muqayyad, since there is a condition attached to the house".12 Verses with "literal" and "understood" meanings. While the meanings of some verses can be deduced from the text itself (mantuq), the meanings of other verses is obtained from what is understood (mafhum) by them. 3. CAUSES OF REVELATION. Although the Qur'an contains guidance for all times, its passages were revealed at particular points in history and in particular circumstances. The Arabic words sabab an-nuzool (plural. Asbab an-nuzool) refers to the knowledge explaining the circumstances surrounding the revelation of a verse or passage from the Qur'an. To qualify as sabab an-nuzool there must have been a definite occurrence which brought about the revelation. This is the reason, or cause of revelation. This knowledge, derived from the hadith reports from the Prophet, or those Companions who were present at the revelation, is essential for a proper understanding and exposition of the Qur'anic text. For example, the Qur'an states: "Say: "Call on those - besides Him - whom ye fancy: they have neither the power to remove your troubles from you nor to change them". Those whom they call upon do desire (for themselves) means of access to their Lord, - even those who are nearest: they hope for His Mercy and fear His Wrath: for the Wrath of thy Lord is something to take heed of".13 Ibn Mas'ood said: "There used to be people from among mankind who used to worship a group of Jinns but the Jinns embraced Islam, however the people kept on worshipping the Jinns and so this verse was revealed . . . ".14 Understanding the causes of a revelation also helps the scholars differentiate between those verses which were meant to be applied to a specific case and the verses which should be applied to other situations. For example: "As to the thief. Male or female, cut off his or her hands: a punishment by way of example, from God, for their crime: and God is Exalted in Power".15 With reference to this verse, A. V. Denffer states: "Although it was revealed concerning a specific person who had stolen a piece of armour and had been punished accordingly, (this verse) is of general application".16 4. THE MECCAN AND MEDINAN VERSES. The Qur'an was revealed over a period of 23 years during which time the Muslims were based first in Mecca for about 13 years, then in Medina for the remaining 10 years. Accordingly, the scholars have categorized the verses of the Qur'an as either Meccan or Medinan using the date of the hijrah (the migration to Medina) as the deciding factor in their judgment. Verses which were revealed before the hijrah are deemed to be Meccan (even if the place of their revelation was Medina, or elsewhere), Similarly, verses revealed later than the hijrah are said to be Medinan (even if the actual place of their revelation was Mecca, or elsewhere). The deciding factor is not in fact the place of the origin but whether the revelation of the verse preceded or succeeded the date of the hijrah. By and large the Meccan revelations reflect Muhammad's primary task at that time, namely, to call people to Islam, while the Medinan revelations tend to focus on guiding the converts as they proceeded to establish their community. Y. Qadhi states: "The Qur'an catered to the specific needs of the Muslims in Medina in a different way than it had done in Mecca. There is a marked difference in the verse content, style and syntax of these two periods, reflecting the different circumstances that the Muslims were in".17 Knowledge about when and where the verses were revealed is considered to be crucial for the following reasons: 1. It helps the scholars in their understanding and interpretation of the verse/passage by revealing the reason behind the revelation behind the revelation. For example: "Verily, He Who ordained the Qur'an for thee (Muhammad), will bring thee back to the Place of Return (i.e., Mecca)".18 A. Yusuf Ali states: "It is said that this verse was revealed at Juhfa, on the road from Mecca to Medina, a short distance from Mecca, on the hijrah journey. The Prophet was sad at heart, and this was given as consolation to him".19 2. It is vital when confronted with two verses which deal with the same subject but give different rulings. In this case the scholars aim to discover which verse has been abrogated or overruled by the other and this is achieved by uncovering which of the two verses was revealed first, the latter of the two is always taken as the abrogating verse. 3. It provides a better understanding of the biography of the Prophet and his followers. 4. It shows how much effort and care went into the preservation of the Qur'an. Y. Qadhi states: "A person cannot help but marvel at the miracle of the preservation of each and every intricate detail of the Qur'an".20 Although the Prophet did not announce whether a verse was Meccan or Medinan, his Companions, recognizing the importance of such knowledge, preserved the verse origin with each revelation for future generations to analyze. Evidence which supports this is provided by the following hadith in which Ibn Mas'ood said: "By Allah other than Whom none has the right to be worshipped! There is no Surah revealed in Allah's Book but I know at what place it was revealed; and there is no Verse revealed in Allah's Book but I know about whom it was revealed. And if I know that there is somebody who knows Allah's Book better than I, and he is at a place that camels can reach, I would go to him"..21 Although there exists some difference of opinion as to which period some of the verses belong to, for the majority of cases their categorization as either Meccan or Medinan has been firmly established. The Meccan and Medinan surahs. Because the verses in the Qur'an are not arranged in chronological order, many surahs contain passages revealed in both Mecca and Medina. Nevertheless, the surahs have also been categorized as either Meccan or Medinan. A. V. Denffer states: "A surah is said to be of Meccan origin, when its beginning was revealed in the Meccan phase, even if it contains verses from Medina. A surah is said to be of Medinan origin, when its beginning was revealed in the Medinan phase, even if it has verses from the Meccan period in its text".22 5. THE ABROGATING VERSES. There is a small number of verses in the Qur'an, specifically the legal revelations, which have been superseded by others. These are known as the abrogated and abrogating verses (an-nasikh wa al-mansukh). The Arabic word nasikh means "to remove" or "to abolish" and refers to the verses which abrogate others. The word mansukh also carries such meanings as "to replace" or "to supersede" but refers to the verses which are abrogated by the above nasikh verses. The Qur'an states: "When We substitute one revelation for another, - and God knows best what He reveals (in stages) - they say, "Thou art but a forger": but most of them understand not".23 Y. Qadhi states: "In order for naskh to occur, there must have previously existed an Islamic ruling on exactly the same subject which was then abrogated by a later ruling".24 Abrogation should not be confused with takhsees ("specification") which involves a narrowing down of a general ruling in another verse. When naskh occurs, a ruling is completely overturned by a decree revealed after it. Abrogation is also different from cases of badaa'ah ("initiation") which involves the annulment of a pre-Islamic practice by a Qur'anic ruling. So, abrogation occurs in the Qur'an when two irreconcilable rulings completely contradict one another. For example, the Qur'an states: "O Apostle! Rouse the Believers to the fight. If there are twenty amongst you, they will vanquish two hundred".25 The above verse prohibited the Muslim soldiers from retreating in battle even when they were outnumbered by a ratio of 10: 1. A later verse cancelled this command and reduced the ratio to 2: 1. "For the present, God hath lightened your (task), for He knoweth that there is a weak spot in you: But (even so), if there are a hundred of you, patient and persevering, they will vanquish two hundred".26 Abrogation in the Qur'an may be categorized as follows: i) the four classes of abrogation; and ii) the three kinds of abrogation in the Qur'an. The four classes of abrogation. 1. The Qur'an abrogates the Qur'an. The Qur'an abrogating the Qur'an is permitted by all those scholars who recognize the validity of naskh. 2. The Qur'an abrogates the Sunnah. The majority of the scholars are agreed that the Qur'an may abrogate a ruling originating from the Sunnah. For example, Y. Qadhi states: "The Muslims used to pray towards Jerusalem by the command of the Prophet (i.e., the Sunnah), but eventually the Qur'an revealed that the direction of the qiblah was to be Mecca".27 "We see the turning of thy face (for guidance) to the heavens: now shall We turn thee to a Qibla that shall please thee. Turn then thy face in the direction of the sacred Mosque: wherever ye are, turn your faces in that direction".28 3. The Sunnah abrogates the Qur'an. Iman Malik and Abu Hanafi in particular permitted the abrogation of the Qur'an by the Sunnah. For example, the Qur'an states: "It is prescribed, when death approaches any one of you, if he leave any goods, that he make a bequest to parents and next of kin, according to reasonable usage; this is due from the God-fearing".29 There followed after the revelation of this verse a hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah in which the Prophet said: "Allah has appointed for everyone who has a right what is due to him, and no bequest must be made to an heir".30 4. The Sunnah abrogates the Sunnah. The scholars who reasoned that the Qur'an could abrogate itself also permitted the Sunnah to abrogate itself. An example of this type occurred when, narrated Buraydah ibn al-Hasib, the Prophet said: "I forbade you to visit graves, but you may now visit them; I forbade you to eat the flesh of sacrificial animals after three days, but you may now keep it as along as you feel inclined; and I forbade you nabidh except in a water-skin, you may drink it from all kinds of water-skins, but you must not drink anything intoxicating".31 The three kinds of abrogation in the Qur'an. 1. The abrogation of the recited verse and the legal ruling. When this occurred, the verse was removed from the Qur'an along with its ruling. For example, 'A'isha said: "It had been revealed in the Qur'an that ten clear sucklings make the marriage unlawful, then it was abrogated (and substituted) by five sucklings and Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) died and it was before that time (found) in the Qur'an (and recited by the Muslims)".32 2. The abrogation of the legal ruling without the verse. In this case, the ruling of a particular verse was cancelled although the verse itself is still recited and included in the Qur'an. For example, the Qur'an states: "If any of your women are guilty of lewdness, take the evidence of four (reliable) witnesses from amongst you against them; and if they testify, confine them to houses until death do claim them, or God ordain for them some (other way)".33 A. Yusuf Ali, in his commentary to this verse, states: "Most commentators understand this to refer to adultery or fornication; in that case they consider that the punishment was altered to 100 stripes by the later verse, 24: 2":34 "The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, - flog each of them with a hundred stripes". 3. The abrogation of the recited verse without its legal ruling. In this case, the verse has been removed from the Qur'anic text but its ruling is still legally binding. For example, as he was giving a sermon in the Prophet's mosque, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said: "Allah sent Muhammad with the Truth and revealed the Holy Book to him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the Rajam (the stoning of married person (male & female) who commits illegal sexual intercourse, and we did recite this Verse and understood and memorized it. Allah's Apostle did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did we after him. I am afraid that after a long time has passed, somebody will say, 'By Allah, we do not find the Verse of the Rajam in Allah's Book,' and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation which Allah has revealed. And the punishment of the Rajam is to be inflicted to any married person (male & female), who commits illegal sexual intercourse, if the required evidence is available or there is conception or confession."35 'Umar ibn al-Khattab also narrated: 'I once came to the Prophet , and the verse pertaining to stoning was mentioned. I asked the Prophet, "O Messenger of Allah! Dictate to me the verse, so that I may recite it!" The Prophet responded, "No, I cannot do this anymore"'.36 So, the verse of stoning was a part of the Qur'an but was later removed although its ruling still applies as a punishment for adulterers. M. S. El-Awa states: "The punishment for an adulteress was imprisonment in her family's house until she died or until another piece of legislation came into force. For a man who committed the same crime, a bodily punishment was ordered. But soon afterwards another piece of legislation was revealed in the previously-cited verses of surah 24 (see above) which prescribed one hundred lashes for the unmarried male and female who commit fornication, together with the punishment prescribed by the Sunnah for the married male or female, i.e., stoning to death. According to the view of the majority, the punishment prescribed in 4: 15-16 was abrogated after the new legislation".37 Summary. Abrogation occurred in the Qur'an when one of its legal rulings was either replaced with another, or abolished in toto. In some cases the abrogating ruling would provide a more stringent command, in some cases an equivalent command was revealed, and in others, the new ruling was more lenient than the one it replaced. The abrogating verse could also quash a previously revealed command altogether. The Qur'an states, however, that as with all cases of abrogation, "something better, or similar" was introduced: "None of Our revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: knowest thou not that God hath power over all things?".38 The rules which were abolished or replaced by less harsh ones are considered as indications of God's mercy in that they lesson the difficulty of their accomplishment: "God hath lightened your (task), for He knoweth that there is a weak spot in you".39 Rules which were replaced by more or as stringent ones are believed to be a way of testing the Muslims, instilled for their betterment and for the improvement of society in general. Finally, it is not clear as to how often abrogation actually occurred in the Qur'an. In fact, the scholars differ greatly as to the number of cases they quote as examples. For instance, Abu Bakr ibn al-'Arabee gives 105 cases in point while Mustafa Zayd cites only 6 examples.40 Y. Qadhi states: "It seems, that the number of naasikh/mansookh verse in the Qur'an does not exceed a dozen, and Allah knows best".41 6. THE "SEVEN MODES". According to a number of hadith reports, the Qur'an was revealed in seven "modes", or "dialects" (ahruf). One such hadith, narrated by 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas, states: "Allah's Apostle said, "Gabriel recited the Qur'an to me in one way. Then I requested him (to read it in another way), and continued asking him to recite it in other ways, and he recited it in several ways till he ultimately recited it in seven different ways"".42 There is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars as to what the seven modes represent. On the one hand there are those who hold that they correspond to the seven prevailing Arab dialects of the time, while another view explains the ahruf as: "seven different ways of recitation (lahajaat) such that words are replaced by their synonyms. In other words, the seven ahruf have the exact same meaning but different wordings".43 Opinion is also divided as to whether or not the seven ahruf are still in existence. Some scholars maintain that the Qur'an today contains only one of the seven, while others are of the opinion that all (some say a portion) of them have been preserved in the text. Y. Qadhi states: "Ibn al-Jazaree (d. 832 A. H.) Writes,44 "The majority of the scholars of the salaf and the later generations are of the opinion that the 'Uthmaanic mus-hafs contains of the seven ahruf only that which its script allows. (What is preserved) are the recitations that the Prophet recited to Jibreel (during the last year of his life). The present mus-haf contains all this reading, and not a single letter from it is missing".45 One of the major benefits the seven ahruf brought to the Muslim community is considered to be the fact that they offered the Muslims, many of whom could neither read nor write, easier memorization, pronunciation and reading. 7. THE VARIOUS READINGS. After the death of the Prophet, the Qur'an continued to be recited orally among the Companions, some of whom became famous as "readers" (e.g., 'Ubay bin Ka'b, 'Ali, Zaid bin Thabit, Ibn Mas'ud). Each of these readers had memorized at least one of the seven modes (ahruf) of recitation and later, when they had dispersed throughout the Muslim lands, they set about to teach these variations to their followers (the Successors and other Companions). Meanwhile, disputes began to arise over the proper recitation of the Qur'an, so the Caliph 'Uthman had a standardized copy, his official mus-haf, drawn up (by Zaid bin Thabit among others). The 'Uthmanic text was circulated to the various Muslim centers and all variations were from that point abandoned. However, later on, the different regions started to fashion its own particular method of recitation according to the most renowned reader (Qaaree) of the area. These different readings, known as qira'aat, were standardized in the second century A. H. Y. Qadhi states: "They (the qira'aat) represent the various ways that the Companions learnt the Qur'an from the Prophet. They differ from each other in various words, pronunciations, and rules of recitation (tajweed)".46 Of the many books written on the subject, "The Seven Readings" by Ibn Mujahid (d. 324 A. H.) is the most famous. He was the first to restrict the number of authentic readings to seven. However, a further three readings were later added to the seven and these 10 were thereafter known as the Saheeh (authentic) Qira'aat (a reading was considered to be sound if it conformed to the 'Uthmanic text as well as possessing an authentic chain of narrators back to the Prophet). The authentic readings are as follows: Reader/Place 1. Nafi (d. 169 A. H.)/Medina 2. Ibn Kathir (d. 120)/Mecca 3. Ibn 'Amir (d. 118)/Damascus 4. Abu 'Amr (d. 154)/Basra 5. 'Asim (d. 127)/Kufa* 6. Hamza (d. 156)/Kufa 7. Al-Kisa'i (d. 189)/Kufa 8. Abu Ja'far (d. 130)/Medina 9. Ya'qub (d. 205)/Basra 10. Khalaf (d. 229)/Kufa * The great majority of Muslims (95% according to Y. Qadhi) recite the Qira'aat of 'Asim transmitted by Hafs (d. 180). NOTES. 1. THE QUR'AN 12: 2. 2. THE QUR'AN 41: 44. 3. THE QUR'AN 42: 7. 4. 'ULUM AL-QUR'AN p. 74. 5. THE QUR'AN 18: 29. 6. THE QUR'AN 101: 3-5. 7. THE QUR'AN 24: 40. 8. THE QUR'AN 3: 7. 9. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 6: 70. 10. THE QUR'AN n. 347, p. 123. 11. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 229. 12. Ibid. 13. THE QUR'AN 17: 56, 57. 14. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 6: 239. 15. THE QUR'AN 5: 38. 16. 'ULUM AL-QUR'AN p. 100. 17. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 97. 18. THE QUR'AN 28: 85. 19. THE QUR'AN n. 3416, p. 1026. 20. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 106. 21. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 6: 524. 22. 'ULUM AL-QUR'AN p. 86. 23. THE QUR'AN 16: 101. 24. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 233. 25. THE QUR'AN 8: 65. 26. THE QUR'AN 8: 66. 27. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 238. 28. THE QUR'AN 2: 144. 29. THE QUR'AN 2: 180. 30. SUNAN ABU-DAWOOD 2864. 31. SAHIH MUSLIM 2131. 32. SAHIH MUSLIM 3421. 33. THE QUR'AN 4: 15. 34. THE QUR'AN n. 533, p. 183. 35. SAHIH AL-BUKHARI 8: 817. 36. Reported by al-Bayhaqee and others (AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 242). 37. PUNISHMENT IN ISLAMIC LAW pp. 15, 16. 38. THE QUR'AN 2: 106. 39. THE QUR'AN 8: 66. 40. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 251. 41. Ibid p. 256. 42. SAHIH AL BUKHARI 6: 513. 43. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 177. 44. Ibn al-Jazaree, an-Nashr, v. 1, p. 31, with changes. 45. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN p. 180. 46. Ibid p. 186. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ali, Abdullah Yusuf, THE HOLY QUR'AN (translation and commentary). The Holy Koran Publishing House, 1934. Bukhari, SAHIH AL-BUKHARI. Maktaba Dar-us-Salam Publishers & Distributers, 1994. Denffer, Ahmad Von, 'ULUM AL-QUR'AN. The Islamic Foundation, 1983. El-Awa, Mohamed S, PUNISHMENT IN ISLAMIC LAW. American Trust Publications,1993. Muslim, SAHIH MUSLIM. SH. Muhammad Ashraf Publishers & Booksellers, 1980. Qadhi, Abu Ammaar Yasir, AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCES OF THE QUR'AN. Al-Hidaayah Publishing and Distribution, 1999. Zeeno, Shaykh Muhammad Jameel, HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE QUR'AN. Call to Islam Da'wah Centre, 1998. |