Preservation of the Glorious Qur’aan & Sunnah!

Testimony of Glorious Qur’aan itself.


In this treatise I will discuss the compilation and/or preservation of Glorious Qur’aan including the issue of preservation of Sunnah by Allaah (SWT). I will inSha Allaah use the testimony of the Glorious Qur’aan itself to prove the preservation of both i.e. Glorious Qur’aan & Sunnah.

Putting into Writing:
The first and the most important point, which assisted in the preservation of the text of Glorious Qur’aan, is that its every verse was put into writing in the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), BEFORE HIS OWN EYES. The Glorious Qur’aan itself furnishes abundant evidence that it existed in a written form. Again and again the Divine Writ calls itself a Kitab (Book), which means a Book or writing, which is complete in itself. The application of the word Book to the Glorious Qur’aan was destined, from the very beginning, to be a complete Book. The Glorious Qur’aan is also designated as "Suhuf."

The Glorious Qur’aan, Surah: 80. 'Abasa Verse: 13

فِي صُحُفٍ مُكَرَّمَةٍ
(It is) in Records held (greatly) in honour (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfûz),

* Also means written pages. There are many other references in the Glorious Qur’aan showing that it will exist in a written form. It is said:

The Glorious Qur’aan, Surah: 52. Tuur Verses: 2-3

وَكِتَابٍ مَسْطُورٍ
And by a Book Inscribed
فِي رَقٍّ مَنْشُورٍ
In parchment unrolled.

* There are also testimonies of the enemies of the Qur’aan that Qur’aan was reduced to writing such as:

The Glorious Qur’aan, Sura: 25. Furqaan Verse: 5

وَقَالُوا أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِينَ اكْتَتَبَهَا فَهِيَ تُمْلَى عَلَيْهِ بُكْرَةً وَأَصِيلًا
And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has written down: and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon."

* There is a lot of historical evidence concerning the documentation of the Glorious Qur’aan. There are numerous anecdotes showing that when the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) received a revelation it was immediately put into writing. The general practice is described by Osmaan (RA), he says: "It was customary with the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) that when any verse of the Glorious Qur’aan was revealed he called one of those persons who used to write Glorious Qur’aan and said, "Write these verses in the chapter where such and such verse occur".' [Abu Dawud 2:123]. Zaid bin Thabit (RA) who was a scribe of the Prophet (SAW) and was especially appointed for writing down the revelation said, 'Whenever a revelation descended the Prophet (SAW) called me and I went to him holding my pen and paper. He dictated to me first and then heard it from me and in case something was left, or some mistake was found, it was set right there and then, and afterwards it was published' {Mujam al-Zawaid}. This shows that the Glorious Qur’aan was presented to the public after it was duly written down.

Glorious Qur’aan Verses 80:13-16

فِي صُحُفٍ مُكَرَّمَةٍ (13) مَرْفُوعَةٍ مُطَهَّرَةٍ (14) بِأَيْدِي سَفَرَةٍ (15) كِرَامٍ بَرَرَةٍ (16)
(It is) in Records held (greatly) in honour (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfûz), Exalted (in dignity), purified, in the hands of scribes. Honourable and obedient.

* (2) Memorizing of the Glorious Qur’aan
The memorizing of the Glorious Qur’aan has also assisted in the preservation of its text. Whenever any portion of the Glorious Qur’aan was revealed to the Prophet (SAW), he committed it to memory and continuously recited it from one end to the other. Thus, he always carried the whole of the revealed Qur’aan in his memory. The Prophet (SAW) used to stress the merit of committing the Glorious Qur’aan to memory so much that he said that if a person committed the Qur’aan to memory he would be saved from the torment of Hell. When he made this announcement, a large number of his Companions began to commit the Glorious Qur’aan to memory. The Prophet (SAW) also took pains to supervise the recitation of the Glorious Qur’aan and was anxious to see that no errors crept into the process.

Since the time of Umar (RA) 2nd Caliph, it has become customary to recite the whole text during "TARAWIH" (late night) Prayer in the month of Ramadaan. Memorizing the Glorious Qur’aan is still considered highly noble, and the memorizing of Surahs and small texts is still the first stage of informal education among Muslim families. No human-written book of this volume can ever be memorized wholly by any human being, not even by its author. It is only the Glorious Qur’aan that, today, stands as the singular Book memorized and recited wholly by millions of men, women, and even children. It is the fulfillment of God's promise that the Glorious Qur’aan is easily memorized.

The Arrangement of Glorious Qur’aan!

The enemies of Islaam, especially Christian Missionaries, have spread a lot of lies and false stories about the Glorious Qur’aan. Following are the UNDENIABLE facts from the Glorious Qur’aan itself refuting the lies.

إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا جَمْعَهُ وَقُرْآنَهُ

It is for Us to collect it and to give you (O Muhammad SAW) the ability to recite it (the Qur'an), [Glorious Qur’aan 75:17]

The word جَمْعَهُ in the above verse implies both collection and arrangement, which is a process quite different from the revelation. It is not true that the verses and chapters of Glorious Qur’aan were arranged after the death of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by someone else, or that they were arranged in the order of their lengths; the longest coming first and shortest last. It is also wrong to say that within the chapters the passages are joined together without any regard to either chronology of revelation or similarity of subject, and that most heterogeneous materials are put together without any regard to logical sequence.

The whole Glorious Qur’aan, complete in every aspect, was available in the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) [Katani 2:384]. The Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) say, ‘We used to write down the Glorious Qur’aan in the time of the Rasool Allaah (SAW)' [Hakim: Al-Mustarded, 2:611]. The arrangement of chapters and verses in the copies of the Glorious Qur’aan at present in our hands does not follow the chronological order of revelation and their arrangement is TAUQIF i.e. affected by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) under the GUIDANCE of Divine revelation (Qur’aan 75:17-18].

إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا جَمْعَهُ وَقُرْآنَهُ (17) فَإِذَا قَرَأْنَاهُ فَاتَّبِعْ قُرْآنَهُ (18)
It is for Us to collect it and to give you (O Muhammad SAW) the ability to recite it (the Qur'an)...And when We have recited it to you [O Muhammad SAW through Jibrael (Gabriel)], then follow you its (the Qur'an's) recital. [Glorious Quraan 75:17-18]

There was an arrangement followed by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and we know that many Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) committed the Glorious Qur’aan to memory and could recite it in the recognized orders as followed by the Prophet (SAW). This shows that there was a connection of its verses and chapters, and there was a recognized division of the Book and a fixed form and sequence. The chapters were distinctly marked out and their number was determined. Without a known order and sequence of verses, the Glorious Qur’aan could not have been committed to the memory.

The present arrangement of the Glorious Qur’aan does not differ from that followed by the Prophet Muhammed (SAW). There are several sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) from which this can be inferred. The Prophet of Allaah (SAW) said,

"Whoever reads the last verses of the chapters entitles BAQARAAH on any night, they are sufficient for him" [Bukhari 64:12].

This shows that the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) followed an arrangement, which he made known to his Companions. If such had not been the case he could not have referred to two verses as the "last" two verses of a certain chapter.

According to another saying of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) he told his Companions to recite the first ten and last ten verses of the chapter entitled *AL-KAHF* at a particular occasion. Had there been no sequence of verses, 'the first ten and last ten verses' would have been a meaningless phrase. Not only the verses of Glorious Qur’aan but even its chapters were arranged by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself under Divine Guidance. This is afforded by the following saying of Anas (RA): 'At the time when Banu Thaqif accepted Islaam I was in that delegation. The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said to us, "When you people came to meet me, I was reciting my portion of the Glorious Qur’aan which I used to recite daily, so I decided not to go out until I had finished it." Thereupon we questioned the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as to how they divided the Glorious Qur’aan into portions for reading. They said, "We observe the following, 3 chapters, 5 chapters, 7 chapters, 9 chapters, 11 chapters and 13 chapters, and all the remaining chapters beginning with chapter entitled "QAF"' [Fath Al-Bari 9:39]. This form of reading divided the Glorious Qur’aan into seven portions or Ahzab, each portion to be recited in one day and, thus, the recital of the whole Glorious Qur’aan (114 chapters) was finished in seven days. This report of Anas (RA) shows an arrangement of chapters, which is observed to this day by the whole Muslim Ummah. This and many other reports by the Companions of the Prophet (SAW) give conclusive testimony to the fact that the form and arrangement of the chapters of the Glorious Qur’aan was brought about by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW himself, and that the present arrangement does not differ in the least from the original of the time of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Allaah’s Preservation of the Sunnah!

The Proof that Allaah (SWT) preserved the Sunnah are both i.e. textual and logical. The textual argument is based on the Ayah:
Surah Al-Hijr 9
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ
Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’ân) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption) {1} .
{1} (V.15: 9) This Verse is a challenge to mankind and everyone is obliged to believe in the miracles of this Qur’ân. It is a clear fact that more than 1400 years have elapsed and not a single word of this Qur’ân has been changed, although the disbelievers tried their utmost to change it in every way, but they failed miserably in their efforts. As it is mentioned in this holy Verse: "We will guard it." By Allâh! He has guarded it. On the contrary, all the other holy Books (the Taurât (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel).) have been corrupted in the form of additions or subtractions or alterations in the original text.
The word al-dhikr الذِّكْر and it derivatives have numerous meanings in the Glorious Qur’aan. It is sometimes used for Qur’aan, as in,
Surah Al-Anbiyaa 50
وَهَذَا ذِكْرٌ مُبَارَكٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ أَفَأَنْتُمْ لَهُ مُنْكِرُونَ
And this is a blessed Reminder (the Qur’ân), which We have sent down: will you then (dare to) deny it? {1}
{1} (V.21: 50). a) See (V.10: 37). b) See (V.3: 85).
And sometimes it is used for Sunnah, as in,
Surah An-Nahl 44
بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالزُّبُرِ وَأَنْزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
With clear signs and Books (We sent the Messengers). And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم) the Dhikr (reminder and the advice (i.e. the Qur’ân)), that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought.
Readers must know that in addition, the word “Dhikr” may be used to be in reference to Allaah’s Deen and law as a whole. This is its purport in the Ayah (verse),
Surah An-Nahl 43
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِمْ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
And We sent not (as Our Messengers) before you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم) any but men, whom We sent revelation, (to preach and invite mankind to believe in the Oneness of Allâh). So ask (you, O pagans of Makkah) of those who know the Scripture (learned men of the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)), if you know not.
The word “Dhikr” in the above Ayah (verse) means Allaah’s religion, or everything that Allaah has revealed as the guidance of mankind. Therefore, a priori, it cannot be stated that that al-dhikr الذِّكْر in,
Surah Al-Hijr 9
إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ
Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’ân) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption) {1} .
is referring only to Glorious Qur’aan. It is rather referring to Glorious Qur’aan and Sunnah both. On this point ibn Hazm noted,
“There is no difference of opinion from anyone among the specialists in language or of the Shariah that all of what Allaah has revealed is [referred to as] the sent down al-dhikr الذِّكْر. And all of the inspiration is preserved with certainty by its preservation by Allaah. Anything that Allaah preserves with His preservation will not have anything lost from it. Nor will anything ever by distorted of it except that there would appear clear proof showing the falsehood [of that distortion]” {Ali ibn Hazm, Al-Ihkaam fi Usool al-Ihkaam vol. 1, p. 109.}
Allaah (SWT) through humans used many means by which He preserved the Sunnah. Some of these aspects are unique to Muslim Ummaah. This is a great blessing and bounty from Allaah (SWT) for which every Muslim should be sincerely grateful to Allaah (SWT) and grateful to those individuals who sacrificed their time, wealth in order to preserve the teachings of the best of the creations and last and final Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Obviously, the means of preservation had to be followed from the earliest times in order to truly preserve the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW), few are briefly mentioned here.
□ First, there was the understanding of the Companions about their responsibility for conveying the hadith of Prophet Muhammad (SAW); they must have understood that they must convey the words of the Prophet (SAW) with the utmost accuracy.
□ In the early years, there began the work of Hadith criticism and criticism of the narrators. This developed into a science known as al-jarh wa al-tadeel.
□ There was also the recording or writing down of the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW). Obviously, in general, one of the ways of preserving something is to record it. There have been many claim and misconceptions surrounding the recording of Hadith. But the proof has been cited above that shows that the misconceptions are not true.
□ A very important and unique aspect that worked to preserve the Sunnah was of the use of Isnaad or chain of narrators, tracing one’s source all the way back to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW).
□ Another unique phenomena that appeared and assisted in preservation of Sunnah was the traveling in search of Hadith, in order to check the sources and gather more Hadith together.
Update on 11-17-03!
Surah An-Nisaa 113
وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكَ وَرَحْمَتُهُ لَهَمَّتْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ أَنْ يُضِلُّوكَ وَمَا يُضِلُّونَ إِلَّا أَنْفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَضُرُّونَكَ مِنْ شَيْءٍ وَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَعَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُ وَكَانَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكَ عَظِيمًا
Had not the Grace of Allâh and His Mercy been upon you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم), a party of them would certainly have made a decision to mislead you, but (in fact) they mislead none except their own selves, and no harm can they do to you in the least. Allâh has sent down to you the Book (The Qur’ân), and Al-Hikmah (Islâmic laws, knowledge of legal and illegal things i.e. the Prophet’s Sunnah - legal ways), and taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allâh unto you (O Muhammad وسلم .صلى الله عليه)

In the Above Ayaah by pairing al-Kitaab (the Book) and al-Hikmah (the Wisdom) it has been pointed out that Hikmah which is the name of Sunnah and/or teachings of Prophet Muhammad وسلم صلى الله علي was also sent down by none but Allaah (SWT). The difference is that its words are not from Allaah and that is why they are not part of Glorious Qur’aan. But, its meanings and that of the Qur’aan are certainly from Allaah, therefore, it is obligatory to act in accordance with both.

This again, explains about the Wahy being of two kinds: Matluww- That, which is recited, and Ghayr-Matluww- that which is not recited. Wahy Matluww or the revelation that is recited is the name of the Glorious Qur’aan and/or is the Glorious Qur’aan. Its words and meanings are both from Allaah. And Wahy Ghayr-Matluww or that is not recited is the name of Hadeeth of the Rasul Allaah (the word of which are from Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the meanings of which is from Allaah.

Another point that we see gets resolved is found in the words: وَعَلَّمَكَ مَا لَمْ تَكُنْ تَعْلَمُ (and taught you that which you knew not.) pointing to the fact that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) did not have all the comprehending knowledge of the entire universe equal to Allaah, as some ignorant people do insist. The truth is that the measure of his knowledge was corresponding to what Allaah bestowed upon him. However, there is no doubt that the knowledge bestowed upon Prophet Muhammad (SAW) exceeds the combined knowledge of all created beings.

Evidence of this {Wahy Ghayr Matluww} is found at many places in Glorious Qur’aan, that there were many other things that were taught to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) by Allaah (SWT) through Wahy (Ghayr Matluww). I will only cite here one Ayaah i.e. 2:143 as proof (Also see 66:3 beside many others).
Surah Al-Baqarah 143
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنْتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّنْ يَنْقَلِبُ عَلَى عَقِبَيْهِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ
Thus We have made you (true Muslims - real believers of Islâmic Monotheism, true followers of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and his Sunnah (legal ways)), a just (and the best) nation, that you be witnesses over mankind {1} and the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) be a witness over you. And We made the Qiblah (prayer direction towards Jerusalem), which you used to face, only to test those who followed the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) from those who would turn on their heels (i.e. disobey the Messenger). Indeed it was great (heavy) except for those whom Allâh guided. And Allâh would never make your faith (prayers) to be lost (i.e. your prayers offered towards Jerusalem). Truly, Allâh is full of Kindness, the Most Merciful towards mankind.
{1} (V.2: 143) Narrated Abu Sa‘îd Al-Khudrî رضي الله عنه: Allâh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said "Nûh will be called on the Day of Resurrection and he will say, ‘ Labbaik and Sa’daik, (I respond to Your Call and I am obedient to Your Orders) O my Lord! Allâh will say, ‘Did you convey Our Message of Islâmic Monotheism?’ Nûh will say, ‘Yes’. His nation will then be asked, ‘Did he convey Our Message of Islâmic Monotheism to you?’ They will say, ‘No warner came to us.’ Then Allâh will say (to Nûh), ‘Who will bear witness in your favor?’ He will say, ‘Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and his followers.’ So they (i.e., Muslims) will testify that he conveyed the Message - and the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) will be a witness over you, and that is what is meant by the Statement of Allâh عز وجل: We made you (true Muslims - real believers of Islâmic Monotheism, true followers of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and his Sunnah (legal ways)) a just (and the best) nation that you be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) will be a witness over you." (Sahih Al-Bukhâri, Vol.6, Hadîth No.14).

Muslims were facing the Baytal-Maqqadis (Jerusalem) while performing Salaat in the early day of Islaam. The above Ayaah was revealed when it was ordained to face Ka’abah again. This Ayaah states that previous order of Allaah to face “Baytal-Maqqadis” was test to know who obey the order and who reject it. Readers must note that the order to face Baytal-Maqqadis during worship has been attributed by Allaah to Himself. That means that He was the One Who had commanded His Messenger Muhammad (SAW) to the direction of Baytal-Maqqadis. But the command itself is not found anywhere in the Glorious Qur’aan. It is obviously clear that this order was given by Allaah through a Wahy (Ghayr Matluww){revelation beside Glorious Qur’aan}, which is not a part of the Glorious Qur’aan.

written by : By: Shahid Bin Waheed