Download 10.34 The Quran- Early Preservation

10.34 The Quran- Early Preservation
Summary of 10.33 "Introduction to The Quran- It's Authenticity &
Science"
First, we tried to explain what is meant by authenticity and basically that even if you say that the
Holy Book is authoritative or based on divine revelation the main question is how do we know
that it has been preserved till now in its purity. How do we know that there has been no change,
addition or modification and mentioned that these questions apply to the Quran as well. In
order to answer these questions we began to examine the internal evidence that is from the
Quran itself and we made references to Surah (15:9) (41:42) which shows clear statements that
the Quran would be preserved and would not be mixed with people’s writings or peoples
interpretations which would be kept separate. In addition to that we find that the Quran made
some references that it would be preserved through references memorization and among the
most important verses sited there were (21:14) and (75:16-18) which were corroborated by the
saying of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Additional corroborating evidence were also presented
which indicated that there were larger number of people who memorized either parts or the
whole of the Quran, there were many who memorized the entire Quran. We also discussed
some of the circumstances or factors which were helpful in making the memorization of the
Quran easy and widespread. Towards the end of the program there was a short segment that
we played of the recitation of the Quran by a Vitamins child who was around 9-10 years of age
who’s mother tongue is not Arabic who recites very nicely and had memorized most if not all of
the Quran.
10:34 Early Preservation
Host: Is there allot of emphasis on memorizing the Quran?
Jamal Badawi:
This is true, this tradition goes back to the days of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). There are lots
of references authoritative of Hadith like Bukhari and Muslim. For example in Bukhari we find
chapters under the titles like Committing Quran to Memory and Keeping the Quran so that it is
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not forgotten. In Muslim in chapters titled Virtues of the Quran in which the that the best of you
are those who learn Quran and teach it. Even writing was known memorization was the most
important instrument that people use to memorize the Quran through. In the Islamic Community
is highly honored and he was requested to lead prayers. Even a child who memorizes Quran is
sometimes the one to lead the prayers since as you know in Islam there is no concept of Islam
Church or Clergy. Anyone can compete with this virtue of the memorization of the Quran. These traditions continued century after century, generation after generation. I heard of some
people in Saoudi Arabia who depended generation after generation just on memorization of the
Quran and there are people who traced it back to days of the Prophet (PBUH). If we listen to
their recitation it is identical to the written form of the Quran.
Personally, I know many people in Muslims who have memorized the Quran and they are not
students of Islamic Studies but people of different fields. It is amazing to find this wide spread
attention which is given to the Quran. The emphasis on this tradition of memorizing the Quran
from the time of the Prophet till today doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t exert effort to understand
and apply the Quran. Memorizing the Quran is not just about repetition but also about
understanding and application.
Host: Was preservation of the Quran in writing know to the Arabs in the time of the
Prophet?
Jamal Badawi:
It was known but maybe not that common. We find some documentary evidence that the Arabs
before the revelation of the Quran before Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were all keen about
poetry and they used to really pride themselves by showing their abilities. Historians of
pre-Islamic period spoke of the Seven Suspended Ones and what they were referring to in fact
that the best of poetry used to be written on parchment and hung around the Kaaba as a way of
to show off their poetic skills which shows that the written word was known.
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Host: Is there internal evidence in the Quran that the Quran was preserved in writing?
Jamal Badawi:
Several passages in the Quran, especially the first one given to the Prophet given in (96) where
it says “Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created-Created the
human, out of a (mere) clot of something that clings. Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most
Bountiful,-He Who taught (the use of) the pen,-Taught human that which he knew not.” The
mention of the pen is there which is reference that the preservation of the Quran would also be
with the pen as the Prophet was told the Quran and then he dictated it to others who wrote it. The Prophet himself was very cautious and interested to make sure that every portion of the
Quran that was revealed was committed to writing. Other evidences that we find are in (2:2)
where it refers to the Quran “This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who
fear Allah.” Elsewhere in the Quran it refers to itself as leaves or pages as is found in (98:2-3)
where it describes the Prophet and says “An apostle from Allah, rehearsing scriptures kept pure
and holy: Wherein are laws (or decrees) right and straight.” This seems to speak of pages
unless we are talking about something that has been committed to writing. In fact there is an
interesting Ayah in the Quran that not only shows that the Quran was available in written form
which mentions the pious companions of the Prophet who devoted themselves to committing
the Quran to writing in addition to memory which appears in (80:13-16). It says in the
translation of meaning that “(It is) in Books held (greatly) in honor, Exalted (in dignity), kept pure
and holy, (Written) by the hands of scribes- Honorable and Pious and Just.” It not only
describes the pages of the Quran but also describes those in charge of committing the Quran to
writing as honorable and pious. Linguistically speaking the word suhoof which appears in both
of these last verses definitely refers to the written word and it is no wonder that we find that the
first collection of the Quran known as the Sahifat Zaid which was collected by Zaid and sahifa
comes from the same derivative as pages.
Host: Your answer indicates that the whole of the Quran was written in the time of the
Prophet (PBUH) but some Orientalists doubt this. What are the basis for this and how
do we respond to this?
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Jamal Badawi:
A famous Orientalist who wrote about the Quran, Arthur Geoffrey, in his book about Kutaab
Almasahif claims that there are some traditions which indicate that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
died at the time when nothing of the Quran was “collected.” He uses this tradition to say that
this common claim made by Muslims that the Quran was written to be contradictory with this
tradition. We already indicated in the answer to the previous Question how the Quran itself
indicates that it was put into written form. How could this overwhelming evidence from the
within the Quran itself simply be negated by one tradition or two that make this kind of
statement. It appears as Dr. Zarzour indicates in his book that this seemed to have mixed
between two things: writing the Quran and putting the pages together. The original word used
in this tradition is lam ujama’ from the Quran which in Arabic could refer to writing or compiling. The first meaning would refer to the preservation of the Quran in writing during the time of the
Prophet (PBUH) which we have overwhelming evidence that shows that this is not what is
meant. This tradition is referring to the absence of compiling the Quran before the Prophet
died. Even though the Quran was committed to writing and was memorized it was not all
brought together under one roof or one volume. There is a big difference between saying it was
written and it was compiled. We can have something complete even though it may not be
compiled in the same place. This kind of mix up by Geoffrey shows that the extent of his
understanding of the Arabic language which is natural as it is not his mother tongue. A result of
this mistake gives misleading impression that this tradition proves that the Quran was not put in
written form. There are many other Orientalists who do not uphold his view and they find the
evidence more than enough to show that the Quran was fully written down in the life of the
Prophet.
Host: How was the Quran written during the life of the Prophet and on what material
was it written?
Jamal Badawi:
According to the most important authority on the sayings of the Prophet (PBUH), Bukhari, when
referring to Zaid (a companion of the Prophet) he says that during the time of the Prophet we
used to write the Quran on parchment. According to Abu Dawood, another collection of
Prophetic sayings, he refers to Uthman Ibn Afan the third Caliph after the Prophet (PBUH) and
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was among the very early people who embraced Islam. Uthman says that it was customary
with the messenger of Allah that when portions of different Surahs of the Quran were revealed
to the Prophet and when any Ayah was revealed to the Prophet that he would call one of the
scribes of revelation and would ask them to write down the new verse in the Surah where it
says such and such which gives the exact location in the Surah where that revelation was
supposed to be placed. In addition we find that the reference to the writing of the Quran in the
lifetime of the Prophet (PBUH) is quite evident and clear and not what was stated that
corroborating evidence seems to be consistent with this notion.
Host: Can you give us examples of the evidence?
Jamal Badawi:
First of all, to show how consistent the issue of writing the Quran was from the very beginning of
Islam we refer to the foremost authority in Islamic history particularly the life time of the Prophet
Ibn Hisham. He is well known and widely accepted by Muslim and non-Muslims authors alike. This is one of the earliest documents available on this topic. Ibn Hisham describes how Omar,
the second Caliph after the Prophet became Muslim. It is a classic story. Even though Omar
later became a very good Muslim he was a disbeliever and at one time thought that he could
get rid of this new faith and the Prophet and took his sword and was on his way to kill Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH). On his way he met a friend who asked him where he was going and he
told him he was going to kill Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). His friend told him that before he
looks after Prophet Muhammad he should look after his own sister and told him that his sister
and brother in law had already secretly embraced Islam and were following Prophet
Muhammad. This made Omar very angry and he went towards the house of his sister. Since
he was very tough they heard his voice as he was approaching and they were reciting the
Quran and so they hid the parchment on which the Quran was written so that it would not fall in
his hand. But it was too late because he had already heard them recite the Quran before he
entered the house. He started assaulting his brother in law so his sister started to defend him,
she got injured in the struggle and when he saw the blood on his sister he was touched and
became merciful and then he demanded that she show him what the Quran that they were
following and she gave it to him.
Historians even indicate which Surah they were reading. Then when he read it he ended up
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embracing Islam. This shows us that the Quran was written from the early days, as Omar
became Muslim in the early period before the announcement to the public of this new faith that
God had sent to the Prophet. It also indicates, as this is talking about a specific Surah in the
Quran that was in writing which was revealed at that time and in Mecca. We should notice that
when Ibn Hisham and other historians tell this story, not because they are trying to give undue
importance to that particular Surah or that incident it does’t even deal with the preservation of
the Quran but comes casually as a unique case and shows that the Quran was available in
writing.
In addition, to this we find other corroborating evidence for example in Bukhari that has been
narrated that when one verse in the Quran in (4:95) the Prophet said bring Zaid, one of the
scribes of revelation, with his writing material and then when he came the Prophet dictated this
revelation to him. When Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) migrated from Mecca to Medina they
were planning to assassinate him, during this dangerous trip, he and Abu Bakr had to take the
most essential things for the trip: food, water and a pen, ink stand and writing materials. This
means that he was very careful in the case that revelations were revealed on the trip and they
did not want to totally depend on memory and that way he would get Abu Bakr to commit it to
writing. Other evidence that we find stated in Fath Al Bari which is a sort of commentary and
explanation of Bukhari in which the Prophet was quoted as saying “Don’t write anything from me
except the Quran.” Many interpret this to mean that the Prophet forbade people from writing
any other thing that he said except the Quran. Others interpret it to mean that they were not
allowed to write anything on the same pages that the Quran was written. The idea here is to
make clear distinction between the world of God dictated verbatim to the Prophet through Angel
Gabriel, on one hand, and the Hadith, the sayings of the Prophet, which were different and not
the word of God as it was communicated to him. The meaning shows that a great deal of care
and attention was taken to make absolutely sure that the Quran would not be mixed even with
the words of the Prophet even when he was not receiving the Quran by way of revelation. All of
these show that the Quran was written during the time of the Prophet. There is additional
evidence that Prophet Muhammad was reported as saying to his companions “Don’t travel to
the lands of the unbelievers and cary the Quran with you.” This again was during the early
days. What he meant was that when they took the Quran it might be subjected to disrespectful
treatment by some of the unbelievers, especially those who are very hostile to Islam. This
means not only that the Quran was committed to writing but that it was common- as he was
addressing the public not to take copies of the Quran with them when they traveled to
dangerous places. All of these leave no doubt about the Question of writing.
Host: Were there other official scribes in addition to Zaid?
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Jamal Badawi:
Zaid was not the only scribe to whom the Prophet dictated the revelation but perhaps he was
the most important one, maybe because of his exceptional competence in writing as well as his
integrity. There are however many other companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who were
also among the scribes of revelation. These include the first four rightly guided Caliphs: Abu
Bakr, Omar, Uthman and Ali. In addition there were other famouse companions to the Prophet
like Azubair, Ubi Ibn Ka’b, Hanthala, Abdu Allah ibn Ruaha and Abu Allah ibn Sa’d who are only
among many who were scribes of revelation. Some historians give as many as 42 names of
actual people whom we can trace in history, we know their biography, where they lived, families
and clan. The official scribes of revelation were not the only ones who actually committed the
Quran to writing. History tells us that there are other people who knew reading and writing
including Aisha the daughter of Abu Bakr and Hafsa the daughter of Omar. The example that
was given before about not traveling with a copy of the Quran shows that not only the official
scribes wrote the Quran down. The message was for the public who had part or the full Quran
in written form.
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