The Qur’an has been translated into all the major languages of the world. But by the word "Qur’an," the term exclusively refers to the Qur’an in Arabic, not to translated works. This is so because, first, the Qur’an was not authored by a human being, and second, translated works cannot equal the original text in delivery and impact. The Qur’an itself says that it should be in Arabic. “It is a Qur’an in Arabic.” (39:28)
How was the Qur’an compiled? The first revelation the Prophet received was the instruction to “read”. Then came other revelations on various matters and on ideas, knowledge, instructions, all forcefully delivered in excellent style.
The Prophet received the revelations for the whole Book over 23 years, beginning in 610 AD. Sometimes the Prophet received a single verse, sometimes a few years together, and sometimes an entire chapter. Allah says:” We have rehearsed the Qur’an to thee (O Muhammad) in slow, well-arranged stages, gradually.” (25:32)
Upon receiving each revelation, although the Divine words would be remembered in his heart as if inscribed in it, the Prophet would initiate the revelations to be recorded by those of his companions who could write and who happened to be near him. After the scribes had written what was dictated (on the writing materials of those days), the Prophet would ask the scribe to read aloud what had been recorded to make sure that the scribe had written as dictated. He would then ask his companions to memorize these messages so they could recite them during prayers.
In this way, the whole of the Qur’an was completed in the lifetime of the Prophet. The various chapters in the Qur’an were arranged by the Prophet himself through divine guidance. The chapters of the Qur’an are not arranged in chronological order but in the order of divine preference at the discretion.
A standard copy of the Qur’an was made within a few years of the death of the Prophet, when most of the immediate companions, who had heard him recite the Qur’an and had committed it to memory, were still living. The Prophet’s successor, Caliph Abu Bakr, requested Zayd bin Tsabit to bring together all the 114 chapters of the Qur’an into one volume. Zayd was chosen because it was he who had taken down most of the Prophet’s dictation. The volume was then scrutinized by the Prophet’s companions and kept with Hafsah, the Prophet’s widow.
It was during the time of Othman, the third Caliph, some 12 years after the Prophet’s death, that a strong committee was formed, with the celebrated Zyad bin tsabit as Chairman, to take on the task of producing the standard volume into several copies to be sent to all the principle cities, like Mecca, Madina, Kufah, Basrah, and Damascus, for other copies to be made from the standard copy sent.
Today’s copy of the Book is the same in content as the first standard copy kept by Hafsah, with not a word altered, not a comma removed. In other words of Allah, the Qur’an is “a Book well-guarded.” (56:79) and that it is “a Book sublime, a falsehood comes not to it from before or from behind” (41:42). In the first place, Allah Himself promised to protect it from corruption:” We have, without doubt, sent down the message and we will assuredly guard it from corruption.” (15:9)
The purity of the Qur’an is thus kept right to this day. As an uncorrupted Book, the Qur’an provides guidance to one and all who seek guidance from it. Allah assures us:” There hath come to you from Allah a new light and a perspicuous Book – wherewith Allah guided all who seek His pleasure to ways of peace and safety. And led them out of darkness by His will, unto the light, and guided them to a straight path.” (5:17-18).” This is the Book; in it is guidance sure,” (2:2) Allah promises.
At this juncture, you might want to know how the Qur’an was revealed. The answer to this is easier to explain today in this electronic age than ever before.
According to Islam, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was inspired by Allah to convey His Message to mankind. This concept can be illustrated as follows: the boss of a large company wants messages delivered to his workers. He can do this in two ways: one, by meeting every worker personally or in an assembly, and two, by putting his messages in a circular and sending it to everyone. The former method, however, is not practical, but the second method is preferred because the circular can be read slowly for full understanding without fear of missing out on facts and also it can be kept for future reference or study. Allah, too, chose the latter method because of the obvious reasons (Allah is not a man) and advantage in it. To inspire every man to be good is to take away choice and reason from him, just like a plant or a fish is inspired by Allah to be good or to rely on instinct only. These non-human animate creations of Allah, just grow, live, and die or be eaten by other animate creations.
(To be continued)
Shaik A. Kadir
