Al-Huda Foundation, USA
al-ISLAM (A Monotheistic Faith)
al
QUR'AN
al Qur'an is the Last Testament of God, Allah(swt). It is the Word of Allah(swt) revealed to Man through The Last
Prophet, the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed(sawa).
Qur'an is the Holy Book of Islam, revered with full enthusiasm by all
sects of the Faith, in all lands, throughout time, and with no reduction in its
status from revelation to modem times. Muslims
have derived inspiration from it, quoted from it to strengthen their statements,
enhance their language of presentation, governed their spiritual and material
lives, and explained the physical and metaphysical aspects of Life through it.
The language of the Qur'an is Classical Arabic, which is simple,
eloquent, concise, precise and all encompassing.
It was collected by the faithful right from the start and was written
down on materials available to them at that time.
Its compilation occurred during the life of the Prophet himself, since he
was the one receiving the wahyee and the only one who knew which portion of the
revelation belonged to which chapter. It
is popularly known that the Qur'an we know today was compiled by Uthman(ra).
The reality is that the only version presented to the Ummah and published
in this form was adopted during his caliphate.
There are no editions, revisions or other versions of it.
Its translations, interpretations and commentaries are available in
almost all languages and found in the homes of over one billion faithful
throughout the world. Right from
the beginning, it is preserved and presented in its entirety, in its intact
form, unaltered in any way, and with promise by Allah(swt) to protect its
contents from Man's hands till the end of Time.
The Qur'an is not a narrative story book, yet it has
stories illustrating the conducts of bygone people and deriving lessons for
mankind for current times and for the future.
It is not a book of history, yet there are accounts of the times from
Adam(as) to Mohammed(sawa) comparing and contrasting the development of human
intelligence for guidance for nations present and future.
It is not a book of poetry, yet the language has a poetical rhyme and
balance in it, making it a musical treatise.
It is not an encyclopedia, yet it claims to contain all that relates to
"wet and dry" in the universe. The
compact content of each verse can be expanded to volumes of interpretation, an
exercise undertaken by scholars of Islam, and the non-muslim throughout history.
The Book has been studied intensely in an attempt to
obtain its maximum value by the muslim scholars, and scrutinised intensely by
the non-muslim scholars to find fault in its references or contents or-flow. As the scholars delved deeper into its contents, their bias
evaporated. The muslim scholars
rose to new heights of wisdom, and some nonmuslims became enlightened to
embrace the true religion, Islam, the religion favored by Allah(swt).
The language of Qur'an is Arabic, yet it is so simple
and sweet that even the children of non-arabic origin learn to read it quickly
and even memorise its entire contents at tender ages.
A small verse may convey a random meaning in its superficial context, yet
it may allude to volumes of inspiration by those with wisdom who could ponder
over its depths. In fact the Qur'an
repeatedly encourages the reader to ponder, and explore the deeper depths of its
meanings.
Although the Qur'anic themes are generally derived from
Middle Eastern history, especially that connected with the progeny of Ibrahim(as)
and the Jewish people, their application is universal.
It is claimed by Allah(swt) in the Qur'an that there are no people in the
universe that have not received His Message through specially appointed
messengers throughout Time.
The revelation of the Qur'an to Mohammed(sawa) is a
miracle of Allah(swt). The wisdom
of the Word is so stupendous that it cannot be created by any human
intelligence, and least of all, its revelation to Mohammed(sawa) who attended no
worldly university or school of his time. The
Prophet of Islam established his trustworthiness amongst a brutal society by his
personality and conduct. The Word
was revealed through the mediating Archangel Jibrael in the form of Wahyee.
The sayings of Mohammed(sawa) are not part of the Qur'an.
His sayings are called Traditions or Ahadith.
In fact the Qur'an claims that the Prophet of Islam does not say any
thing or do any act that is in contradiction to the Word of Allah(swt).
The Qua'an is not a collection of lectures or sermons,
but its style is authoritative, unwavering, firm and stem.
There are indications for forgiveness to those who admit fault and are
prepared to amend their ways, and painful punishment to those who deny or defy
the Divine Orders. The Divine
Orders are the Laws of Allah(swt) for the muslim community, however the Qur'an
is not a book of religious jurisprudence. Certain
items are not self explanatory and require careful interpretation.
This was done by the Prophet himslf during his life, and before his
departure from this world, he told his Ummah that if he were considered to be
the City of Knowledge, then Ali(as) could be considered as the gateway to it.
And at another occasion he said that he was leaving two things for his Ummah for
guidance, one was the Qur'an and the other his Ahle Bayat(as), "follow them
and you will not go wrong". Thus
the explanation to some of the orders are obtained from the lives and conduct of
the Imams, and in the absence of the Twelvth Imam (al Mahdi), his represetative
(the Maija'e Taqleed).
As the Qur'an is the Word of the Creator Himself, we
are instructed to handle it with respect, and be clean.
As we are also instructed to read it at all times to obtain guidance and
instructions for piety, it implies that the faithful shall remain clean at all
times.
Cleanliness makes one aware of ones responsibility to
oneself, and to those with whom one interacts at all times.
Purity of conduct for personal and societal benefit in this life, and
purity of the soul for the eternal life are the goals of these instructions.
We are also instructed on how to read it.
Extreme care must be taken in phonetics, pronunciation, delivery of the
words, and appropriate areas for pauses and stops. The word Qur'an does not mean The Book, rather the particular
way for the recitation of the Word. There
are several ways the Word is referred to by the Author Himself, and the word
Qur'an is only one of these names.
Other contents of the Qur'an are educational and informational in nature. Investigators have devised methodology to approach this Book. Voluminous literature is available on how to approach the Word of Allah(swt). In fact the volumes on methodology and interpretations far exceeds the actual text of the Qur'an. Similarly, there are books written on the scientific discourses in the Book. The devotee has an ocean of wisdom to draw from, and why not, for it comes from the One who knows all and is the Creator of it all, and the Author of it all. To develop a passion for it and to dissolve in it is only to emerge as a soul satisfied with the glimpses of Divinity.