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Ulm-ul-Qur’an An Introduction to the Science of the Qur’an
(How to Study and Understand the Quran) By:
Dr.
Hasanuddin Ahmed, I.A.S.
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CHAPTER – 1 THE QUR`AN – WHAT IT IS?
In
the Qur`an at the outset, the Qur`an is introduced in these words: 'This
is a (divine) Book – let there be no doubt – it is (meant to be) a guidance
for the God conscious.' (Qur’an 2:2). Generally this Ayah is
translated as: This is perhaps not correct. The
words 'la raiba feehi' do not
indicate that there is no doubt in the Book. They ‘only’ indicate that there
is no doubt (in the statement that the Book is guidance for the God
conscious). Abdullah
Yusuf Ali has rendered the ayah as
follows: This
is the Book; The
Qur`an is a collection of messages received by Prophet Muhammad (S) direct
from Allah; which he delivered under divine direction, to those around him
and through them to the entire humanity. The
Book is a guidance from Allah for the mankind. It contains revelations
received by Prophet Muhammad (S) from Allah during a period of about 23 years
(from 610 to 633 A.D.). The
history of Arabic literature begins with the holy Qur`an which is the first
book in the Arabic language. According
to the Qur`an its basic message is the same as the basic message of all
earlier revelations and its 'ayaat'
are similar (mutashabih) to the 'ayaat' of the earlier scriptures. The
Qur`an is the final revelation from Allah to man. In other words it is the
‘Last Testament of Allah’ to mankind. The
word ‘Qur`an’ is derived from the root ‘qara`a’
meaning to call, to proclaim, to recite. The Arabic word `qur`an' means ‘that which is to be
read aloud’ The first Surah
revealed to the Prophet starts with the command ‘recite in the name of your
Lord who created’. The word ‘qara`a’
has various meanings such as to read, to recite etc. The English word ‘cry’
has similar connotational affinity. Qur`an is a proper noun and hence means
the ‘reading’ or ‘recitation’. Very appropriately ‘iqra’ the very first word of the first revelation pertains to the
foremost duty of the prophetic mission: “Iqra
(proclaim) in the name of your Lord who has created‑‑‑created
man from a clot.” (Qur’an 96:1 and 2) ‘Iqra’ is an imperative form of
‘qira’. The meaning of the word ‘iqra’ would be to proclaim (the truth
which is being revealed). To render the word ‘iqra’ as merely ‘read’ even if not wrong – does not fully convey
the meaning. The word ‘read’ does not convey the real meaning of ‘iqra’. For example, if we read a
written text without uttering the words and without moving our lips, in
English we can say that we have read the text: but in Arabic it is not ‘qir'at’. On the other hand if there is
no written text and something is recited by memory, in English it cannot be
termed as reading whereas it is ‘qira't’
in Arabic. It is thus, clear that ‘iqra’
which means uttering and not reading silently, cannot be rendered as 'read'.
At best ‘iqra’ can be rendered as reading out
verbally and not just visually. To
render the word ‘iqra’ as proclaim
(and not read) is also justifiable because the very first divine injunction
to the Prophet would appropriately be to recite (the divine message which is
being revealed). The very next revelation (according to chronological order)
was also similar: “Arise and deliver the warning”. (Qur’an
74:2) In another revelation the Prophet is
commanded “Fasda’ Bima Tu’mer” (Qur’an
15:94) meaning ‘declare (with force) whatever is enjoined to you’. Yet
another revelation says “O Prophet transmit to people whatever is revealed to
you from your Rabb. If you do not
do it then you have not transmitted the message (of Allah).” (Qur’an 5:67) The
call for which the Prophet was enjoined was heard by the people. Their
testimony is reported in the Qur`an: “ O our Rabb we have heard a caller (Muhammad) calling towards Iman.” (Qur’an 3:193) Calling
for Iman, warning, transmitting or
reciting to people whatever is revealed from Allah is the basic duty of the
prophetic mission and it was but appropriate to enjoin the Prophet in the
very first revelation to recite in the name of the Rabb (Lord) who created. It
is quite possible that the mention of the word pen in the subsequent ayah
(Qur’an 94:4) lead to render the word ‘iqra’
as ‘read’. In fact, the word ‘pen’ is used to describe the attribute of
Allah. It is said about the Lord that He is most Bountiful who has provided
knowledge through the pen (Qur’an 96:3 and 4) Imparting of knowledge through
the pen is mentioned as attribute of Allah and it has no direct relation to
the injunction ‘proclaim’. It
is also to be noted that at the time of the first revelation there was no
written text to justify the rendering of ‘iqra’
as ‘read’. As used in the Qur`an itself, the word refers to the revelation
from Allah in the broad sense and is not always restricted to the written
form in the shape of a book, as we have it before us today. Thus
the literal meaning of ‘Qur`an’ would be a proclamation, a charter. In this
sense, the Qur`an can be considered a collection of revealed oral messages or
divine addresses. As
a proper noun Qur`an is the collection of Divine messages which were revealed
to Prophet Muhammad (S) through ‘wahiy’. The
definition of the Qur`an is : “That
which was revealed to the Apostle (Rasul)
committed to writing in ‘mushaf’
and transmitted by many with continuity and without any doubt.” What it is not
Qur`an
is not poetry. Accusations were made during the lifetime of the Prophet that
it was poetry. The accusations were based on the usage of a particular style
employed by the Qur`an which is close to saj'
(rhythmic ayah ending). Apart from the fact that saj' is not as sophisticated as
poetry, the accusation was motivated to allege that the messages of the
Qur`an were not of divine origin. The Qur`an refuted the accusation: “This
is verily the (revealed) word of an honoured messenger; it is not the word of
a poet: Little it is you believe?” (Qur’an 69: 40 & 41) Exaggeration
used to be one of the elements of Arabic poetry but the Qur`an disapproves of
what the poets said but did not practice themselves. The Prophet of Islam
always practised what he preached. The poets usually dealt with worldly
matters, false vanity and the arrogance of sheer physical bravery as the
themes of their poetry. They also temporarily incited low and mean passions. The
Qur`an takes the opposite view of life and says: “What is the life of this
world but play and amusement?” (Qur’an 6:32) Arabic
poetry usually dealt with pure fantasy and with matters which had hardly any
basis in wisdom. The Qur`an, on the other hand, is a book of pure wisdom (hikmah). Poetry
usually dealt with ephemeral matters, whereas the Qur`an emphasizes matters
of everlasting values and eternal life. The poet's main purpose was to win
temporary applause which was certainly not the purpose of the Qur`an. Arabic
poetry combined truth and falsehood in such a way that the hearer was unable
to distinguish between the two, whereas the Qur`an is absolute truth. Poetry
was usually an array of words which impressed the listeners with its artistic
beauty. The impact of such poetry, however, was only short lived, Thus the
Qur`an is devoid of exaggeration and ephemeral matters. The
Qur`an has used narratives to convey its message of guidance but it is not a
book of history. Similarly the law of nature is referred to with the main
object of pointing out the grand design of the Creator. Yet the Qur`an is not
a book of science. The Qur`an is not a book of philosophy. “ The method
followed by the Qur`an to bring home its truths is not that of logic
involving complicated argumentation. On the other hand, its appeal is direct
and straight‑forward.”1 The
Qur`an has used almost all the figures of speech which are to be found in any
literature. Yet the Qur`an is not basically a literary composition. The
Qur`an is not authored by any human being. It was presented by Prophet
Muhammad (S) and we received it through him, but he himself declared that he
was not its author and that Allah had bestowed it through revelation (wahiy). Other names of the Qur`an
The
revelation from Allah to the Prophet Muhammad (S) is referred to, in the
Qur`an itself by not less than 55 names. Some names other than Al‑Qur`an
are: al‑furqan Criterion by which right and al‑dhikr Reminder Qur’an 15 :9 al‑tanzil Revelation Qur’an
26:192 al‑majeed Glorious Qur’an
50:1 al‑kareem Honoured Qur’an
80:13 al‑hakeem Full
of Wisdom Qur’an 31:2 al‑kitab The
Book, Scripture Qur’an 2:2,
21:10 al‑kitab mubeen
Clear,
(perspicuous) Book Qur’an
5:15 al‑kitab mubaraka A Book full of blessings Qur’an
6:155 al‑qaul faisal That
which distinguishes Except
Al‑Qur’an all the other names are, actually attributes (or qualities)
and reflect one of the various aspects of the Qur`an. These are common to the
Book of Allah, which He revealed to His Prophets from time to time. At not
less than 140 places the attributes of the Qur`an are mentioned. Wahiy
To
understand the real nature of the Qur`an it is but necessary to know
something about ‘wahiy’. It is not
at all possible for any one to know the actual prophetic experience. Some
limited information however, is available to us: ‘Wahiy’ is derived from the root
‘wahiya’ meaning to indicate or to
give hint. In the Qur`an this word has been used with different shades of
meaning: Natural intuition (as in Qur’an 28:7), natural instinct (as in
Qur’an 16:68), guidance by signs (as in Qur’an 19:11), inspiration from evil
(as in Qur’an 6:112), guidance from Allah (as in Qur’an 8:12). All
the above meanings represent one underlying idea of inspiring, directing or
guiding someone. In
the Qur`anic terminology ‘wahiy’
can be defined as divine message which is revealed to anyone of the
messengers of Allah. In the sense of revelation it is message from Allah for the
guidance of human beings, conveyed through the ‘apostles’ (rusul). Allah out of His Mercy and
Grace bestows Guidance through His apostles, on man. One
form of guidance is that Allah has inculcated in man's conscience itself the
ability to identify the right from the wrong. Moreover, through the laws of
nature which are described in the Qur`an as ayaat (the signs of Allah) guidance is provided. As
against the natural signs i.e., ayaat
in nature which are directly available to every one, verbal signs i.e., ayaat of the Qur`an are communicated
in the form of revelation, only through the messengers. The revelations are
more authentic and reliable source of information and its validity is
unquestionable while other sources are liable to be tested, criticized and
judged on the basis of ‘wahiy’. Revelation
is thus the ultimate truth in the sense that any conclusion based on one or
the other source requires to be filtered through divine revelation before
final expression. In this very sense the Qur`an is called ‘al Furqan’ (that which distinguishes truth from false‑hood). The
apostles received ‘wahiy’ through
one of the three phenomena mentioned in the Qur`an. “It
is not fitting for man that Allah should (directly) speak to him except by ‘wahiy’ or from behind a veil or by
sending of a messenger to reveal with authority from Allah, what Allah wills,
for He is most High, Most Wise.” (Qur’an 42:51) Based
on the above ‘ayah’ the Qur`anic
scholar, Anwar Shah of Kashmir enumerated three kinds of ‘wahiy’: 1. Allah directly
inspired the Prophet without the medium of an angel. The inspiration was
directly on the heart of the Prophet and it was not conveyed through any
voice or through any of his (the Prophet's) senses. The Prophet was, however,
fully aware that the idea was from Allah. This was experienced in full
consciousness, as well as during sleep. 2. Allah conveyed
the message directly to the Prophet. This also was not through any angel. The
Prophet heard the voice which was different from the voice of human beings;
and the process was beyond human conception. 3. Allah conveyed
the message through an angel. At times the angel was not seen; only his voice
was heard. At times the angel was seen in human form. The
process of inspiration is called ‘nuzul’.
The word ‘nuzul’ is derived from
the root ‘nazala’ meaning to
bestow, sent down, or cause to descend, The verbal forms ‘anzala’, ‘nazala’ etc.
are mostly used for the revelation of the Qur`an and of the earlier Books: “Verily this (the Qur`an) is a revelation from the Lord of
all domains of existence. Worthy divine inspiration has alighted with it from
on high upon your heart (O Muhammad) so that you may be among those who
preach in the clear Arabic language.” (Qur’an 26:192 to 195). ‘Nazala’ implies bestowing from
on high step by step. It indicates both gradualness and continuity in the
process of divine revelation. Different derivatives of the root ‘nazala’ are used in the Qur`an mostly
in respect of intangible objects such as messages from Allah, authority, ‘sakinat’ (tranquility, confidence)
from Allah. The
revelation of the Qur`an began in 610 A.D. When the Prophet Muhammad had
passed the fortieth year of his life. The first ‘wahiy’ was the first five ayaat of Surah Al‑Alaq (96). The remaining 14 ‘ayaat’ of the Surah were revealed on some later occasion. After a break of a certain period the revelation was again resumed when the first five ‘ayaat’ of Surah Al‑Muddaththir (74) was revealed. Then Surah Al‑Muzzammil (73) was revealed. The
revelation continued, in gradual succession, till the last days of the life
of the Prophet. The total period of revelation is computed as 22 years, 5
months and 14 days. Division of the Text
The
Qur`an is divided into Surahs and each Surah is divided into ayaat.
These are the authoritative divisions of the Qur`an. The
order of the Surahs in the Qur`an
and of the ayaat within each Surah both were determined by the
Prophet himself under divine guidance. As such these divisions and their
order are termed as ‘tawqifi’. 1. Division into Ayaat
Basically
the Qur’an is divided into ayaat. Ayah literally means a sign, portent,
token or miracle. With reference to the text of the Qur`an it applies to the
smaller portion or division of the Qur`an such as phrase or sentence which
are generally but loosely called verses in English. The rendering as verse is
not quite appropriate since the Qur’an is not poetry. Ayah is the true unit of the
Qur`an. Some ayaat are long and
some are short. The ‘ayaat’ are not
necessarily sentences. The Qur`an is divided into these divisions mostly
according to the rhythmic ayah‑endings. If there is a pause due
to recurrence of co‑sounding endings the division usually terminates.
The sentence may or may not terminate with the ‘ayah ’. Every
portion of Divine revelation is a message or a sign of Allah's wisdom and
benevolence, just as much as Allah's material creation (or even His dealings
in history) are signs for us, if only we understand them. “Although the term
‘ayah ’ is most frequently used in
the Qur`an in the sense of ‘Divine message’, we must remember that,
primarily, it denotes a sign (or token) by which a thing is known (Qamus).
As defined by Imam Raghib, it signifies any perceivable phenomenon
(irrespective of whether it is apparent to the senses or only to the intellect)
connected with a thing that is not by itself, similarly perceivable: in brief
a ‘symbol’. . .”[1] Allah
communicates with men through verbal signs (messages) revelation or ‘wahiy’ which is revealed through his
chosen messengers. He also communicates with men through natural signs which
are spread throughout the universe. Allah continuously reveals His power (qudrat) through natural phenomenon
which are signs (ayaat) of
different aspects of His nature in the physical universe: His power is also
expressed through a different phenomenon such as compassion, justice etc.
Percepts and rules as prescribed by Him are expressed both through physical
law which is prevalent in nature, as well as through social or moral law.
These natural ‘ayaat’ (signs) are
directly available to all men without any intermediary. The verbal signs (messages) are ayaat of the Book of Allah, which are
available to men only through intermediaries i.e., Prophets of Allah. Since
the Qur`an is a Book revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (S) through wahiy, segments of the Qur`an are
called ayaat. There is complete
uniformity between the signs (ayaat)
of Allah spread all over the universe and the signs (ayaat) of Allah in his Book. Miracles
are also termed as ‘ayaat’ in the
Qur`an. Earlier prophets were sent with ‘ayaat’
to enable them to convince their people. The
Qur`an however, denies miracles in connection with the Prophet of Islam, yet
emphasises that the Qur`an is peer‑less and matchless. The Qur`an is
thus, regarded as a miracle (ayah)
of the Prophet of Islam. Every segment of the Qur`an is a miracle or sign (ayah) of Allah. The
spirit of inquiry as suggested by Islam treats the whole universe as the
subject of observation and knowledge. It suggests the method of experiment
through observation for understanding the facts. According to Islamic
prescription, the study of nature is very important for the progress of
mankind. The
latter ayaat are different
phenomena of nature such as: creation of the heaven and the earth, variation
in languages and the differences in colour of human races etc. (Qur’an
30:22). Some
of the latter ayaat (signs) are
still of a different nature, such as the ruins of the past. The
Qur`an claims that it contains the same message which was conveyed to earlier
Prophets. Addressing the Prophet Muhammad (S) the Qur`an says: “Nothing
is said to you which had not been said to other messengers before you ‑‑‑‑‑‑‑‑.”
(Qur’an 41:43) In
other words, the messages (ayaat)
of the Qur`an are similar to the messages of the earlier Divine revelations.
This is further clarified when the Qur`an calls the Qur`anic, ayaat as ‘ayaat mutashabihaat’
(messages which are similar to the earlier messages). (Qur’an 3:7) The
end of the ‘ayah ’ is determined by
the position of a small circle such as O. The early Muslim scholars did not
agree as to the position of these punctuation marks (position of circles) and
therefore, the number of division differs in the following five editions of
the Qur`an: 1. The scholars of
Kufah reckoned 6236 ‘ayaat’. This
reckoning is generally adopted in Indian Sub continent (Pakistan, Bangladesh
and India.) 2. The scholars of
Basra reckoned 6216 'ayaat'. They
followed the order of Asim son of Hajjaj, one of the earliest convert of
Islam. 3. The scholars of
Syria reckoned 6250 'ayaat'. They
followed Abdullah bin Umar, one of the earliest converts. 4. According to
the scholars of Makkah there are 6212 ‘ayaat.’ 5. According to
the scholars of Medina there are 6214 ‘ayaat’.[2] The
variation in the number of ‘ayaat’
is due to several factors. There was no unanimity among the scholars
regarding the placement of the punctuation marks. It is also due to the fact
that some have counted the formula of initiation ‘Bismillah ‑ hir Rahman
nir‑ Rahim’ as part of Surahs
and others have not. Some have counted a portion of the text as one ayah whereas others have counted it as
two ayaat. The diversity of
punctuation doesn’t, however, affect the contents of the Qur`an wherein there
is not the slightest difference. All
the 114 Surahs of the Qur`an and
all the ‘ayaat’ in every Surah were arranged and committed to
writing during the life-time of the Prophet under his personal directions.
Whenever a message was revealed, the Prophet used to point out the ‘Surah’ wherein it was to be placed and
the exact place (before or after a particular ‘ayah’) where it was to be inserted. Thus it can be said that the
order of all the ‘ayaat’ in each Surah is ‘tawqifi’. The arrangement of all the ‘Surahs’ and all the ‘ayaat’
in the Qur`an is not arbitrary as often suggested by some orientalists but it
is based on the specific instructions of the Prophet as per divine
guidance. Close study reveals a
unique and aesthetic sequence. There is complete unanimity among Muslim
scholars regarding the sequence of the text of the Qur`an. There was however,
no unanimity among the earlier scholars as to the position of these
punctuation marks. The placement of the punctuation marks, however, is not ‘tawqifi’. There
is a separate study regarding the enumeration or the numbering of the ayaat. 2. Division into Surahs
The
word ‘Surah’ is derived from the
root ‘sawara’ meaning distinction,
evaluation degree, gradation, or step. Surah
literally means ‘row’, ‘series’ such as a line of bricks arranged in a wall.
It also means fence or protecting wall. The city wall is accordingly called ‘sawara’ in Arabic. According to some
the literal meaning of ‘Surah’ is
rank of soldiers in an army. With reference to the text of the Qur`an ‘Surah’ means a particular portion of
the Qur`an comprising of a fixed number of ayaat covering one subject matter. As a term, therefore, 'Surah' is exclusively used for chapter
or part of the Qur`an. According to the subject matter the Qur`an is divided into
114 Surahs which can be termed as
chapters. The Surahs are of un‑equal
length, the shortest consists of only three short 'ayaat' (Surah Al‑asr, `103, Surah Al‑kauthar,
108 and Surah Al‑nasr, 110) and the longest of 286 long 'ayaat' (Surah Al‑baqara,
2). A logical thread however, runs through all the Surahs of the Qur`an. Every ‘Surah’
has a name by which it is identified and which serves as the title of the ‘Surah’. The name is assigned from a distinguishing word which can be
regarded as the representative word of the
‘Surah’, or it is derived
from the first few words with which the ‘Surah’
begins. Twenty nine Surahs start
with 'muqatta't out of which four
are named after the letters e.g. Surah Taha (20), Surah yasin
(36) Surah sad (38) and Surah
qaf (50) etc. The names of the ‘Surahs’
and the order of ‘Surahs’ in the Qur`an are considered
as ‘tawqifi’ i.e. as determined by
the Prophet under divine guidance. Sometimes
a whole ‘Surah’ was revealed at a
time and sometimes, portion of the ‘Surah’.
Those portions were arranged together according to subject matter under the
directions of the Prophet.[3] 3. One meaningful grouping
The Prophet is reported to have divided the text of the
Qur`an into four parts of unequal lengths: Group 1. From Surah Al-Baqara (2) Al-tiwal (seven long to Surah Al-anfal (8) Surahs) (tiwal is from Group 2. From Surah
Al-Barat (9) Al‑Ma'in
(35 Surahs with Ayaat each, Ma'in means ‘of 100’) Group 3. From Surah
Al-Dukhan (44) Mathani (6 Surahs with to
Surah Al-Hujurat (49) Less than 100
ayaat each) (The contents of these Surahs are mostly
repetition of earlier Surahs hence called mathani meaning repeated) Group 4. From Surah Qaf (50) Mufassil
(65 Surahs) to Surah Al-Nas (114) In this group the number of Fawasil
is more. (Surah Al-fatiha is also included in this group) The above four parts are not of equal
length. The other divisions of the text were made for the sake of
convenience and for practical purposes. Care was however, taken not to
disturb the order of the Surahs and
of the ayaat. 4. Division into Ahzab
or Manazil
It
was the practice of many companions of the Prophet and the ‘tabi'een’ to complete the reading (tilawat) or recitation of the entire
Qur`an in a week. For the convenience of such persons the text of the Qur`an
was divided into 7 portions of almost equal length. Each portion is termed as
‘hizb’ (portion) or ‘manzil’. (halt) This was non‑tawqifi
division. The
Qur’anic scholar Hamza Zayyat (d. 156/773 ) has furnished the details of this
division: First Hizb : 3 Surahs, Surah Al-Baqara(2) to Surah
Al Nisa (4) [including Surah Al-Fatiha, 4 Surahs,] Second Hizb : 5 Surahs, Surah Al‑Ma'ida (5) to Surah Al‑Tawbah
(9) Third Hizb : 7 Surahs, Surah Yunus (10) to Surah Al‑Nahl (16) Fourth Hizb:
9 Surahs, Surah Bani Isra'il (17) to Surah
Al‑Furqan (25) Fifth Hizb : 11 Surahs, Surah Ash‑Shura (26) to Surah
Yasin (36) Sixth Hizb : 13 Surahs, Surah Al‑Saaffaat (37) to Surah
Al‑Hujurat (49) Seventh Hizb
: 65 Surahs, Surah Qaf (150)
to Surah Al‑Nas
(114) In
this division 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, and 65 Surahs
are grouped together respectively. It is interesting to note
that by joining the first letters of the starting ‘Surah’ of
each ‘hizb’ phrase,
” فمئ بشوق ‘’ famibishawq’ is formed which
facilitates to remember this division. 5. Division into ‘juz’ or ‘para’
The
Qur`anic text is also divided into ‘ajza’.
‘juz’ (plural ‘ajza’) literally means portion. In this division one portion is
also called ‘para’, which is a
Persian word for 'portion'. Some Muslims prefer to read a fixed portion of
the Qur`an daily and to complete it in one month. To facilitate such persons
the Qur`an is divided into 30 portions of almost equal length. Each portion
is termed as ‘juz’. This division
is arbitrary and exclusively for the convenience of completing the reading of
the Qur`an in 30 days; especially during the month of Ramadhan. This
division is ‘non‑tawqifi’ and it is not based on any justifiable
reason. It is therefore, found that some of the ‘ajza’ end abruptly while a subject is not yet complete. This
division is popular in the Indian sub-continent. ‘Juz’ or ‘para’ is further divided into 4 parts of almost equal lengths.
In Egypt a ‘juz’ is divided into
two equal parts (hizb) and then
every part is further divided into four parts. The
treatise, 'Ajza al‑Qur`an' by Abu Bakr Ayyash (lived in 127/745)
deals with this division of the Qur`an. It shows in detail where each ‘juz’ begins and where it ends.
Similarly the starting and closing of each sub‑division is also
indicated therein. 6. Ruku’
Another
division of the Qur`anic text into paragraphs is called ‘ruku’. Each ‘ruku’ comprises
such number of ‘ayaat’, which can
be conveniently recited in ‘salat’.
In fact it is termed ‘ruku’ because
after its recitation in the ‘salat’
one goes into ‘ruku’. There
is no unanimity in the division of the text of the Qur`an into ‘ruku’. Some scholars have divided the
text into 540 ‘ruku’. This division
was made to facilitate the recitation of the Qur`an during the ‘Tarawih’ in the month of Ramadhan.
Daily 20 ‘ruku’ are recited in the ‘Tarawih’. Thus the entire Qur`an is
covered in 27 days. (27 X 20=540) In
this mechanical division into 540 parts it was found that each ‘ruku’ was ending while the subject
matter was not yet completed. Later, therefore, the text of the Qur`an was
divided into 558 ‘ruku’ to make
each ‘ruku’ into a self contained
unit or a complete paragraph. This
division of the Qur`an with 558 ‘ruku’ is
in vogue in the Indian Sub-continent. To
identify the ‘ruku’ the Arabic
letter ‘a'yn’ is used as a symbol
and it is marked parallel to the ending of the ‘ruku’ in the margin. This method was first suggested towards the
end of 6th / 12th century by Imam Abu Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Taifur al‑Sajjawandi.
Later three numerals were added one at the top, one in the middle and one at
the bottom of the letter ‘a'yn’.
The top numeral indicates the serial number of the ' ruku' in the ‘Surah’.
The middle one indicates the number of ‘ayaat’
in the ‘ruku’ and the bottom
numeral indicates the serial number of the ‘ruku’ in the ‘juz’ or
the ‘para’. ‘Ruku’ is co-terminus with the ‘Surah’. It is not necessarily
co-terminus with ‘juz’. In each ‘Surah’, as well as ‘juz’ the serial number of ‘ruku’ starts a fresh with serial
number one. Is the Qur`an 'eternal' or
'created'?
During
the reign of Khalifah, Mamun (198/813 ‑ 218/833) when books from
various languages were translated into Arabic, there was confluence of Arabic
and ajami (non-Arabic) doctrines.
The Arabs who enjoyed eminence in political and cultural fields and were
chief spokesmen of Islamic theology faced many divers problems. In ancient
Greek philosophy ‘Logos’ (word) was considered as the governing principle in
the universe. In the Gospel of John, the nature of Jesus Christ was described
as the incarnation of ‘the word’. In the Indian mythology the voice of ‘gods’
was OM which was considered as word-less and sound-less. In the wake of the influx of all such ideologies and beliefs,
the question arose whether the Qur`an was ‘eternal’ or ‘created’. If it was
‘created’ then necessarily it would have to be accepted as not being
co-existent with the Almighty. The Arabs wondered, how the Arabic Qur`an can
be lesser than the non-Arabic scriptures which claim divinity ? Muslim
scholars have inferred from the characters of the Qur`an its `Uncreatedness'.
The Qur`an was declared the `Uncreated word of Allah'. The
Muslim scholars when faced with false anti‑Islamic doctrines, instead
of negating them in the light of al‑Furqan
tried to formulate imaginative beliefs through the false doctrines. The question whether the Qur`an was 'eternal' or 'created'
was quite unnecessary and un‑worthy of discussion. Mamun al‑Rasheed
strongly supported the mu'tazalites' who considered the Qur`an as
‘created'. He declared the belief as 'official' and punished those who did
not subscribe to this view. Even after Mamun al‑Rasheed the orthodox
scholars had to suffer severe punishments, including physical torture. Imam
Ahmed bin Hanbal (164/780 to 241/855) strongly opposed the 'mutazalite'
view and declared that the words of the Qur`an were also from Allah and
therefore, 'eternal'. He however, conceded that in case of 'hadees qudsi'
the content is divine and the words are subscribed by the Prophet. Imam
Bukhari adopted a via media that the words of the Qur`an are created while
the content is 'eternal'. Even this stand was not acceptable to the orthodox
scholars and Ali bin Madayini, a disciple of Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal strongly
opposed his own disciple Imam Bukhari on that account. Khalifah Mutawakkil
(232/847 ‑ 246/861) restored orthodoxy and declared that the Qur`an was
uncreated. Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal was set free. Shah
Waliullah of Delhi (d. 1176/1763) in his 'al-Tafhimat' declared that
the words of the Qur`an are of Arabic diction which the Prophet knew and he
thought in that language. The content (of the Qur`an) was revealed to him, so
that he may guide the humanity. Thus the divine content and the words
together formed into the Qur`an. The Prophet was full of concern for the
welfare of human beings. With this keen desire he formed the words strictly
as per the divine will and thus the Qur`an was termed as word of Allah. Interesting knowledge about
the Qur`an
1. The longest Surah of the Qur`an is Surah Al-Baqara (2) consisting of 286 longer ayaat.
2. The shortest Surahs are Surah Al-Asr (103), Surah Al-Kauthar (108) Surah Al-Nasr (110) consisting of three short
ayaat each. Surah Al-Kauthar consits of only 37 letters. 3. The longest ayah of the Qur’an is ayah 'mada'ena' (Qur’an 2:282), It
consists of more than 31 phrases. 4. The shortest ayah is Ha-mim (ﻢﺣ) (Qur’an 41:19) It consists of only two 'muqatt'at'. The other shortest ayaat are mudhammatan (نﺎﺘﻣ
ﺎﻫﺪﻣ) (Qur’an 55:64) and summa
nazara (ﺮﻈﻧﻢﺛ) (Qur’an 74:21). 5. Ayah 21 of Surah al Muddaththir
(74) consists of two words whereas ayah
31 of the same Surah consists
of more than 45 words. 6. The longest
message (wahiy) which was revealed
as one revelation is Surah al‑An'am. (There is however,
difference of opinion in this regard) The shortest revelation was 'Ghair ulil dharar' (Qur’an 4:94) which is a part of one long ayah. It was received as one message. 7. Two phrases of the Qur`an ie., 'Kullin fi falakin' (Qur’an 21:31) and 'rabbika fa kabbir' (Qur’an 74:3) are such that the Arabic
letters remain the same in reverse ayah also. The former phrase is used in
the context of describing day and night and the revolution of the sun and
moon. Similarly latter phrase is used in the context wherein it is enjoined
that a man should not accept another one as superior and should spend day and
night in the praise of Allah. 8. The ayah in which the largest number of
the attributes of Allah are used is (Qur’an 29:23). 9. Out of 114 Surahs of the Qur`an except Surah Tawbah (9) all start with the ayah of initiation i.e., ‘Bismillah-hir Rahman nir Rahim’. In
the text of Surah Al-Naml (27)
‘Bismillahir Rahman nir Rahim’ is
used (Qur’an 27:30). Thus the total number of ‘Bismillah-hir Rahman nir Rahim’ in the Qur’an remain 114. 10.
In ayah (Qur’an 28:7)
two injunctions, two prohibitions and two (glad) tidings have been combined. 11. There are two ayaat in the Qur`an i.e., ayah Qutb (Qur’an 3:154) and ayah (Qur’an 48:29) each of which contain all the (28) letters of
the Arabic script. 12. For the convenience of reference names have been assigned to
certain ayaat: 1. Qur’an 2:255 |