*Question :
‘’Al Quran, meaning ,revelation and features of Al Quran ,Makki and Madani
surah ‘’
Answer: *The third article of faith which
Muhammad (sm) has commanded us to believe is faith in the Books of Allah, Which
he has send down to mankind through his prophets and Messengers ,either they
are known to us or unknown and either they are small in size or big .The holy
Quran is the last and final message of almighty Allah. Now I’m going to write
down the answer according to the question :--
$$ Meaning of Al Quran:--
## Literal meaning:--
Al Quran is an Arabic word .There are three opinions about the meaning
of this word. The first opinion is that it is derived from the verb Qara’a(
)which means to read or to recite etc .And this is the strongest opinion about
the meaning of the Quran as it is the most read Book of the world .The second
opinion is that the word Quran is derived from the verb Qarana ( ),which means
Joined together in the form of ‘surah’(chapter) and ‘juz’(part) and the third
opinion is that the word Quran is a proper noun ,it does not hold any specific
meaning like Zabur and Injeel .(1)
The word Quran ( ) appears about
70 times in the Quran itself , assuming various meanings .It is a verbal noun (
) of the Arabic verb Qara’a( ) meaning ‘he read ‘or he ‘recited ‘ .While some western scholars consider the word
to be derived from the Syria ,the majority of Muslim authorities hold the
origin of the word is Qara’a itself .
Regardless , it had become an
Arabic from by Muhammad’s life time .
An Important meaning of the word is the “act of reciting ” as reflected in an early
Quranic passage : It is for us to collect it and to recite it .”
There are
same other words used to refer Al Quran such as : Kitab (book),
Ayah (sign), Dhikir ( remembrance ) used to refer to the
Quran in the sense of a reminder and
warning ,and Hikmah ( wisdom ) .The Quran describes itself as” the discernment
or the criterion between truth and falsehood “ Al Furqan , Huda ,the Guide
,Tanzil –The revelation ,something sent down, signifying the descent of an
object from a higher place (2)
$$Terminological Meaning :-
The
Terminological Meaning of the Holy Quran is :-
“The Quran is the Arabic speech of Allah which He revealed
to Muhammad (sm) in wording and meaning and which has been performed Ibadah by
reciting it and which has been reserved in the Mushof and has reached us by Mutawatir transmission( several
chains of narrations) without any kind of doubt (is a challenge to mankind to
produce something similar to it )’’
“ In short , the Quran is the word of Allah revealed to Muhammad through
the Holy sprit Gibraiel during his prophetic life (23 years) ,and it is beyond
human imagination to produce anything like it.”
$$ Revelation of Al Quran :-
Muslims believe that the Quran was verbally revealed from Allah to
Muhammad (sm) through the angel Gibraiel gradually over a period of
approximately 23 years , beginning on 22 December 609 A.D, When Muhammad (sm)
was 40 years old , and concluding in 632 C.E, the year of his death .Shortly
after his death ,the Quran was collected by his companions using written
Quranic materials and everything that had been memorized of the Quran .
Islamic tradition relates that Hazrat Muhammad (sm) received his first
revelation in the cave of Hera during one of his isolated retreats to the
mountains. Thereafter , he received revocations over a period of 23 years.
According to hadith and Muslim history ,
after Muhammad (sm) emigrated to Madina and formed an independent Muslim community , he ordered
many of his companions to recite the Quran and to learn and teach the laws,
which were revealed daily .
Sahih al Bukhari narrates Muhammad (sm) describing the revelations as “
something it is revealed like the ringing of a bell and Aisha(R) reported “ I
know the prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the
sweat dropping from his forehead ;
$$ Means of revelation are :--
* Inspirations, e.g in a dream , such
as Ibrahim receives guidance in a vision while asleep ,to scarifies his son .
* Speech
hidden away such as Allah spoke to Musa from the fire .
* Words (speech) sent through a special
messenger from Almighty Allah ,such as Allah sent the Angel Gabriel as the
messenger to Muhammad (sm) to reveal his message .
According to suyuti(r) on the basis
of three reports from ‘Abdullah Ibn Abbas’ in Hakim , Baihaqi and Nasai the
Quran descended in two stages :-
-From the lawh al- Mahfuz , the
well preserved tablet to the lowest of the heavens ( bait al- izza or bait al-mamoor
) of the world , all together ,in the lailat-al-Qadr .
-From the heavens to earth in
stages throughout the twenty three years of Muhammad’s prophet hood and first
in the lailat-al-Qadr of Ramadan through the Angel Gabriel .It is referred to
in sura Al-Isra (17) and sura Al-Furqan (25).
* Some features of the Holy Quran :-
# Practicability : one of the major
features of the Quranic wisdom is Is practicability .It does not indulge in
wishful thinking .Nor do its teachings demand the impossible .The Quran accept
man for what he is and exhorts him to become what he can be .It does not brand
man as a helpless or hopeless creature , condemned from birth to death and
drown in sin from womb to tomb ,but it portrays him as a noble honorable and
dignified being .
The practicability of the Quranic
teachings is established by the examples of Muhammad (sm) and Muslims
throughout the ages . The instructions of the Quran are aimed at the general
welfare of men and are based on the possibilities within his reach .
The Quran
states :
“Allah
burdens not a person beyond his scope”
** Dynamism:
-
Another significant
feature of the Quranic wisdom is that it is not the static or dry type. It is a
kind of dynamic wisdom that provokes the mind and quickens the heart .About
this wisdom there are numerous examples to show that the most dynamic
personalities and the most concluse --- arguments could not reach the territory
of the dynamic wisdom of the Quran .
The Quran
states: ----
Here ,Allah
speaks of the Quran as a Rooh or spirit and life and as a light where with the
servants of Allah are guided to the straight path .
**
Moderation :-
Another
characteristics of the holy Quran is moderation or harmony between the Divine
and the human ,the spiritual and the
material ,the individual and the collective and so on .
The Quran pays due attention to all
facts of life and all needs of mankind and deals with them in such a way as to
help man to realize the noble objectives of his being .For this approach of
moderation ,the Quran calls the Muslims a Middle Nation and with this middle
ness ,they are called the beast people
ever evolved for mankind ,as they enjoin
the right ,combat the wrong and believe in Allah .
** Makki and
Madani surah :-
Surahs and ayat are called Makki or Madani according to the period of
revelation .
The surahs and ayat revealed
before hijrah are called Makki surah .
And the
surahs revealed after the hijrah are called Madina .
There is a
marked difference between the Makki and Madani .surahs, for example :-
(1)
The Makki
surahs , mostly describe the matters of basic faith ,refutation of
paganistic beliefs , evidence of the
oneness of Allah .His Attributes proofs of the resurrection on the Day of
Judgment , prophet hood of the holy prophet and of previous prophets , removal
of the rust of evil from the heart of people etc .
On the other
hand ,Madani surahs deal, mostly with the code of life, rules of shariyah like
prayers , fast, zakat, jihad ,hazz , social behavior etc .
(2)
Makki surahs
and ayat are mostly short, Madani ayat and surahs are mostly long. In Makki
surahs whenever the audience has been addressed mostly the words ‘O people ‘ or
‘O children of Adam ‘ have been used , where as in Madani Surahs mostly ,the words
‘O you who believe’ have been used .
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source :=
The
fundamental Belief of a pure Muslim-Page no-87
Dr. Fahd bin
Abdur Rahman Al-Rumi, Dirasat fi Ulumul Quran-Page no-20
Wikipedia.com
Islamist.faithweb.com
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks A Lot For Visit my Islamic Blog .