THE HISTORY AND IMPORTANCE OF QURAN

1. The Revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet between the years 610 and 632:

 With age and growing understanding, the Holy Prophet became more and more
disturbed because of the corrupt society around him during the period of darkness.
 He often thought of the God of his forefathers, especially Hazrat Ibrahim.
 A few years before the conferment of Proohethood, he became more and more fond of
solitude.
 He spent days in the cave of Hira and took supplies of dates and water with him. He
was 40 years old then.
 One such day, towards the end of Ramzan an angel appeared before him and asked
him to read.
 The Prophet replied that he could not read since he had not received any formal
education.
 The angel then hugged him tightly and asked him again to read.
 The Prophet again replied that he could not read.
 The angel again squeezed the Prophet tightly and repeated his demand for the third
time. The Prophet finally asked, what should I read?
 In response, the angel recited the first 4 verses of Surah Alaq:
 Read! in the name of your Lord, who created, 2. Created man out of a clot of
congealed blood: 3. Proclaim! And your Lord is most bountiful, 4. He who taught by the
pen, 5. Taught man what he did not know.
 These were the first five verses of the Holy Quran and they were imprinted on the
Prophet’s mind.
 From this onwards, the Prophet continued to receive revelations throughout the rest of
his life, for a period of about 23 years.
 The Holy Quran was not entirely revealed at once but in steps.
 Because if the revelations had been revealed at once, it would have put a lot of stress
on the Prophet and would have over burdened him.

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 Similarly, different verses were revealed to address different situations and solve
different problems that were under consideration.
 The last revelation received by him was in the Plains of Arafat after he had performed
the Hajj and delivered the sermon: “…this day have I perfected your religion for you,
completed my favor upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion…”
 The revelations revealed were then compiled to form surahs.
 The surahs can be divided into 2 types i.e. Makki and Madni surahs. Makki surahs
were the ones revealed on Makkah and the Madni surahs were revealed after Prophet’s
migration from Makkah to Medina.
 The Makki surahs were generally brief.
 They dealt with belief in Allah and other Articles of faith and contained teachings to
develop ones moral character. '
 The Madni surahs, on the other hand, dealt with the pillars of Islam and social duties
and obligations of Muslims.
 Makki surahs used a stronger vocabulary and language as compared to Madni Surahs.
 Whenever a revelation came to the Prophet, he experienced different sensations.
 He heard ringing sounds, he perspired in the cold; he became so heavy that the animal
he was riding could feel his weight.
 After receiving a revelation he would ask his literate companions to write it down as
he himself was illiterate.
 He would then ask the scribe to read it back to ensure that he had written it correctly.
 This way, the Prophet ensured that the word of Allah was saved in the correct form.
 The revelations were written on pieces of leather, stone tablets, bones of camels and
palm tree leaves.
 Several copies of the Quran existed in this form at that time but it was not complied in
the form of a book.
 The Quranic verses were initially not arranged in any proper order but towards the
end of Prophet’s life, he informed the scribes of the real order of the Quranic verses and
chapters.
 These instructions were given to the Prophet by Allah through angel Gabriel.
 The Quran was not compiled in a book form during the life of the Prophet.

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  But he used to recite the entire Quran once in each Ramzan with angel Gabriel so as
to maintain accuracy; and did so twice in his last Ramzan.

2. Account of the Compilation of the Qur’an under the Rightly Guided Caliphs:

 At the time of the Prophet’s death, there was no official copy of the Quran and no one
possessed a complete written text.
 However, after the death of many of the memorizers of Quran in the battle of
Yamana, Hazrat Umar realized that those who had memorized the Quran would gradually die
and this might challenge the preservation of the word of Allah.
 Therefore, Hazrat Umar suggested to the caliph, Hazrat Abu Bakr that he order a
written copy of the Quran to be made.
 At first Hazrat Abu Bakr hesitated because he did not want to take on a task which the
Prophet himself had left undone.
 However, Hazrat Umar went on insisting him until he finally agreed.
 Hazrat Abu Bakr then directed Zaid Bin Sabit, Prophet’s chief scribe, to undertake
this task.
 Zain Bin Sabit is reported to have said: “had I been asked to carry a mountain on my
head, it would have been a much easy task than to shoulder this responsibility.
 A commission was appointed, headed by Zaid Bin Sabit.
 It traced out and collected the chapters of Quran from every person who had it in their
possession.
 Zaid Bin Sabit even collected verses of the Quran written on stones, bones and palm
leaves.
 Yet, he was not content and verified all what they collected from other memorizers of
the Quran to ensure that the copy they made was flawless and Allah’s word was preserved in
its truest form.
 The copy which this commission prepared was given to the caliph who then gave it to
his predecessor, Hazrat Umar. After Hazrat Umar’s death the copy was given to Hazrat
Hafsa, a widow of the Prophet, and likewise it came to be known as Mushaf-e-Hufsa.
 In the Caliphate of Hazrat Usman, Islam expanded rapidly and many new areas were
gained as territories.

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  These areas had different pronunciations and dialects.
 So much so that once, a commander of the Muslim army felt that one of his soldiers
was pronouncing Quran in a different dialect, which may have altered the meaning.
 So he reported this to the caliph, who took serious action.
 He acquired the Mushaf-e-Hufsa and told Zaid Bin Sabit and 3 other men to make a
new copy following the dialect of Quraish, since the Quran was revealed in that dialect.
 The Quran was read out loudly from the beginning to the end in the Prophet’s mosque
from these copies, so that not a shadow of doubt remained in the mind of Muslims regarding
the changes introduced.
 These copies were then dispatched to the capital of each province with instructions
that future copies must be based on them. All other copies were then burnt. For this service,
Hazrat Usman is often referred to as Jami-al-Quran.

1.Use of the Qur’an, Sunnah, Ijma and Qiyas in Legal Thinking:

QURAN:
 Quran is the first source of Islamic law.
 It is a primary source which is independent of all sources.
 Quran in the divine, eternal and complete word of Allah which is a source of guidance
for all Muslims.
 It contains a divine code of conduct for all Muslims which contains teachings for
Muslims on how to lead lives.
 From the Quranic point of view, sovereignty belongs to Allah and therefore, the law
formulated by Him in the form of the Quran is the fundamental law according to which He
wants a Muslim to live both in his private and social life.
 It provides for him the knowledge of right and wrong, of the difference between the
straight path and that which leads him astray.
 The Quranic law deals with beliefs, morality, worship, civil transactions, punishment
for intentional injury to the human body, property and honor etcetera.
 Quoted below, are several injunctions of the Quran which set as guidance for
individuals:

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 “Come not nigh to the orphan’s property except to improve it”. This verse explicitly
speaks on the importance of how to treat an orphan’s property.
 In matters of inheritance, the Quran lays down regulations for a just distribution of
wealth left behind a deceased person.
 Theft is prohibited and punishment is laid down. Drinking wine, games of chance and
charging interest are prohibited without a penalty being fixed.
 There are laws concerning false accusations, blood money and retaliation: “we
ordained therein for them; life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for
tooth and wounds equal foe equal…”
 The Quranic law is perpetual and everlasting.
 It does not change with the passage of time.
 It is complete and final because no aspect of human life has been left without
guidance and nothing more is needed to supplement all that is provided by it.

SUNNAH:
History of the compilation of the Hadith:
 There are three main stages in the compilation of Hadith.
 The first period dates from 571 AD to 661 AD.
 It covers the lifetime of the Holy Prophet’s Companions and the first 4
caliphs.
 Initially, during the lifetime of the Prophet, Hadith were preserved by
mutual discussion and were passed on verbally. '
 But after his death, the need was felt to compile the scattered
traditions. Hazrat Abu Huraira, a distinguished companion of the Prophet,
compiled 5375 traditions in his book called Sahifa-e-Abu Huraira.
 Hazrat Ayesha also compiled 2210 traditions were known as the
musnad of Ayesha. Hazrat Ali made an entire compilation on legal issues.
 Hazrat Abu Bakr also compiled 500 traditions which were passed on to
Hazrat Ayesha
 This period was followed by the second stage of compilation, which is
also known as Taba’een stage.

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  It covers the lifetime of the followers of the companions of the Holy
Prophet. During this time, graeter attention was given to the compilation of
scattered traditions as many companions began to die. The Ummayad Caliph,
Hazrat Umar Bin Abdul Aziz issued the order of compilation.
 In compliance with this order, all the Hadith were gathered into one
compilation.
 As the century progressed, more authentic works started to come into
light. Such as, Imam Abu Hanifa’s Kitab ul Athar and Imam Malik Bin Anas’
Al-Muwatta. Many Maliki and Shafi schools of thought were also formulated
which gave the task of compilation more importance.


 The third stage of compilation is the stage of Taba Taba’een (the age
of the followers of Taba’een).
 This was the time when Hadith literature flourished.
 It is also known as the golden era of Hadith Collection.
 This compilation was done under great critical analysis.
 There were strict rules set for the traditions that were compiled in order
to ensure their authenticity.
 The need for rules regarding Isnad (chain of narrators) and matn (text)
was developed.
 There were six major books written during this period, which are
known as the Sihah-e-Sitta.
Source of Islamic Law:
 Sunnah of the prophet is the 2nd source of Islamic law.
 It comes right next to Quran. Sunnah literally means the sayings,
actions or silent approvals of the Prophet.
 Sunnah of the Prophet is not only an elaboration of the meaning of
Quran, but also addresses issues upon which Quran is silent.
 Therefore, Sunnah describes a verse of the Quran.

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  \Whereas, in the second position, if there is no mention of the
commandments in Quran, Sunnah will stand on its own force as the sole basis
for law.
 As the Muslim community grew, need was felt to supplement the
Quran with Sunnah.
 Public law, criminal law, property and family law all were elaborated
with the help of Sunnah.
 The Quran itself mentions the need to resort to Sunnah in particular
methods by saying: “we have sent the admonition to you (O Muhammad), so
that you should make plain and explain to the people the teachings of the
book which has been sent for them”.
 Mentioned below are a few examples to explain how the Sunnah is
used as a source of Islamic law.
 The Quran says: “establish regular prayer”.
 However, it does not mention the exact method of praying. This void
was filled by the Prophet who taught his companions how to pray and even
said “pray as you see me praying”.
 Zakat has been made compulsory in the Quran by saying: “be steadfast
in prayers and give charity”. However, it is Sunnah which defines the exact
limits of zakat. “no charity tax is due on property mounting to less than 5
uqiya, and no charity tax is due on fewer than 5 camels and no charity tax is
due on less than 5 wasq.
IJMA
Ijma is the third and secondary source of Islamic law. Its literal meaning is unanimous
agreement. Ijma, is basically a consensus of legal experts over a question regarding Islamic
law on which the Quran and Sunnah are silent

However, it must be noted that to perform Ijma, the legal experts must have complete knowledge
of Quran and Sunnah because Ijma of modern experts cannot go against the teachings of
Quran and Sunnah. The scholars should also have in depth knowledge of the previously
performed Ijmas and also of the new problem under consideration.

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Now, I can understand that some of you must be wondering that since the primary sources of
Islamic law are perfect, why need of Ijma. In this regard it is important to understand that
though the Quran and Sunnah are undoubtedly flawless, however there is no harm at all in
extending those very teachings to apply them to problems which the Muslim Ummah faces
today. And this, by no means implies defying or contradicting Quran and Sunnah.

In fact the Quran itself approve of the Ijma at several instances. It says: “O you who believe,
obey Allah, and Obey His messenger and those charged with duty amongst you”
Here those charged with duty refers to Islamic scholars, thus proving that their consensus is a
valuable source of Islamic law.

To further clear your understanding, let me quote some examples of previously performed Ijmas:

● During Hazrat Umar’s Caliphate, it was felt that the Muslims had difficulty gathering for
the Friday prayer on just one azaan and so it was decided by the experts to have 2 calls for
prayer on Fridays.
● The Tarawwih prayer is prayed throughout Ramadan after Isha in which the whole Quran is
recited. This was the Ijma of the companions of the Prophet during the time of Hazrat Umar’s
Caliphate, to perform 20 rakats of this prayer and this is practiced even today.

QIYAS:
Qiyas is the 4th source of Islamic law and like Ijma; it too is a secondary source. Qiyas is actually
a legal method of deducing one principle from another by comparing them together.
However, please bear in mind that Qiyas can only be performed of both the Quran and
Sunnah are silent on a particular issue and even no Ijma has been performed. Therefore, the
purpose of Qiyas is primarily to facilitate Muslims to fashion their lives according to Islam in
the modern world. Like Ijma, Qiyas too, finds its approval in the primary sources of Islamic
law.
The Quran says: “marry women of your choice, two or three of four; but if you fear you shall not
be able to do justice then only one”
Here the second clause (but if you fear…) allows for humans to apply their own reasoning and
chose for what suits them best, but within the limits defined by Quran. In fact, this is in
essence, the true meaning of Qiyas.
Similarly, the Sunnah also approves of the Qiyas in the following incident:

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When the Holy Prophet sent Muadh Ibn Jabal as governor of Yemen, he asked him: “How will
you reach a judgment when a question arises?” Muadh replied: “according to the word of
Allah.” “And if you find nothing therein?” He then replied: “Then according to Sunnah of the
messenger of Allah.” The Prophet again questioned: “And if you find nothing therein?” On
this, Muadh said: “Then I shall take the decision according to my opinion” The Prophet was
extremely pleased at his response and remarked: “Praise be to Allah who has led his
messenger to a solution that pleases him”
This anecdote illustrates that the Prophet appreciated the use of one’s analogical deduction –
Qiyas – to deliberate on issues not explained in the Primary sources of Islamic Law.
Qiyas can be divided into 4 portions:
● Asl: the actual injunction in Quran or Sunnah
● Illa: reasoning behind the injunction
● Hukm: the new deduction made
● Far: the link between the injunction and deduction
Mentioned below is an example of Qiyas to clear your understanding.
● The Quran forbids sales transactions after the call of prayer on Friday (asl). By analogy, all
kinds of transactions (far) have been forbidden (hukm), because like sales they also distract
Muslims from the Friday Prayers (Illa).
● The Holy Quran forbids the use of Khamr, an alcohol of grapes (asl). By analogy, heroin
and other intoxicants (far) are also banned (hukm) because like Khamr they also cause
intoxication (illa).
FOR FURTHER READING:
Islamiat by Farkhanda Noor Muhammad (pages 23-39 and 163-177)
QUESTIONS:
Q) Why did the Caliphs think it was important to make a compilation of the Quran? /4
A) After the death of many of the memorizers of Quran in the battle of Yamana, Hazrat Umar
realized that those who had memorized the Quran would gradually die and this might
challenge the preservation of the word of Allah. Therefore, Hazrat Umar suggested to the
caliph, Hazrat Abu Bakr that he order a written copy of the Quran to be made so as to
preserve the word of Allah in its truest form so that future generations could benefit from it.

When Hazrat Usman was told that Quran was being recited in different dialects by different
Muslims, he realized that this could result in the loss of original meaning of the Quran and
this could also cause disunity amongst Muslims.