Preservation of the Glorious Qur’aan & Sunnah!
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Testimony of Glorious Qur’aan itself.
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The compilation and/or preservation of Glorious Qur’aan including the issue of preservation of Sunnah by Allaah (SWT).
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The testimony of the Glorious Qur’aan itself to prove the preservation of both i.e. Glorious Qur’aan & Sunnah.
Putting into Writing:
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The first and the most important point, which assisted in the preservationof the text of Glorious Qur’aan, is that its every verse was put into
writing in the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, 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: 52. Tuur
Verses: 2And by a Book Inscribed
-3 In parchment unrolled.
There are also testimonies of the enemies of the Qur’aan that Qur’aan was reduced to writing such as:
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The Glorious Qur’aan, Sura: 25. Furqaan Verse: 5
And they say: "Tales of the ancients, which he has written down: and they are dictated to him morning and afternoon."
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 3409 Narrated byUbaydah ibn as-Samit
I taught some persons of the people of Suffah writing and the Qur'an. A man of them presented to me a bow. I said: It cannot be reckoned property; may
I shoot with it in Allah's path? I must come to the Apostle of of Allah (peace be upon him) and ask him (about it). So I came to him and said :
Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him), one of those whom I have been teaching writing and the Qur'an has presented me a bow, and as it cannot be reckoned
property, may I shoot with it in Allah's path? He said: If you want to have a necklace of fire on you, accept it.(when something is taught for free then
later on any gifts on behalf of that knowledge cannot be taken).
Glorious Qur’aan Verses
80:13 (It is) in Books held (greatly) in honor.
14 Exalted (in dignity) kept pure and holy
15 (Written) by the hands of scribes
16 Honorable and Pious and Just.
(It is) in Records held (greatly) in honour (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfûz), Exalted (in dignity), purified, in the hands of scribes. Honourable and obedient.
Memorizing of the Glorious Qur’aan
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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 (peace be upon him) 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 (peace be upon him) also used supervise the recitation of the Glorious
Qur’aan and was anxious to see that no errors crept into the process.
54:17 And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?
54:22 But We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?
54: 32 And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?
54:40 And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember: then is there any that will receive admonition?
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!
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75:16 Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur'an) to make haste therewith.
17 It is for Us to collect it and to promulgate it:
18 But when We have promulgated it follow thou its recital (as promulgated):
19 Nay more it is for Us to explain it (and make it clear):
75:Ayah 17 Yusuf Ali It is for Us to collect it and to promulgate it:
Pickthall Lo! upon Us (resteth) the putting together thereof and the reading thereof.
Transliteration In na alaina_ jamahu_ wa qura_nah
The word "jamahu" 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 (peace be upon him) 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 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].
It is for Us to collect it and to give you (O Muhammad SAW) the ability torecite 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 (peace be upon him) and we know that many Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) committed the Glorious Qur’aan to memory and could recite it in the recognized orders as followed by the Prophet (peace be upon him). 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.
The present arrangement of the Glorious Qur’aan does not differ from that followed by the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him). There are several
sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) from which this can be inferred. The Prophet of Allaah (peace be upon him) said,
Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 2145 Narrated byAn-Nu'man ibn Bashir
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "Two thousand years before creating the heavens and the Earth, Allah inscribed a book of which He sent
down two verses with which He concluded surat al-Baqarah. The Devil will not come near a house in which they are recited three nights."
Tirmidhi and Darimi transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a gharib(strange) tradition.The book is ummul ul kitaab (mother of the book)
13:39 Allah doth blot out or confirm what He pleaseth: with Him is the Mother of the Book.
This shows that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) 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 (peace be upon him) he told his Companions to recite the verses of the chapter entitled *AL-KAHF*
at a particular occasion.
Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 2146 Narrated byAbudDarda'
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said, "He who recites three verses at the beginning of al-Kahf will be protected from the trial of the Dajjal."
Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih tradition.
Had there been no sequence of verses, 'the first 3 ' 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.
Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 1113 Narrated byAbdullah ibn Umar
I observed the Prophet (peace be upon him) for a month reciting chapters 109 and 112 in the two rak'ahs before the dawn Prayer.
Transmitted by Tirmidhi.
later on
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Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 4.709 Narrated byAnas
Uthman called Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah bin Az-Zubair, Said bin Al-'As and 'AbdurRahman bin Al-Harith bin Hisham, and then they wrote the manuscripts
of the Holy Qur'an in the form of book in several copies. 'Uthman said to the three Quraishi persons: " If you differ with Zaid bin Thabit on any
point of the Qur'an, then write it in the language of Quraish, as the Qur'an was revealed in their language." So they acted accordingly. (Said bin Thabit
was an Ansari and not from Quraish ).
Sahih Muslim HadithHadith 1789 Narrated byUbayy ibn Ka'b
The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) was near the cistern of Banu Ghifar when Gabriel came to him and said: Allah has commanded you to recite the
Qur'an in one dialect to your people. Upon this he said: I ask from Allah pardon and forgiveness. My people are not capable of doing it. He then came
for the second time and said: Allah has commanded you that you should recite the Qur'an to your people in two dialects. Upon this he (the Holy Prophet)
again said: I seek pardon and forgiveness from Allah, my people would not be able to do so. He (Gabriel) came for the third time and said: Allah this
He said: I ask pardon and forgiveness from Allah. My people would not be able to do it. He then came to him for the fourth time and said: Allah has
commanded you to recite the Qur'an to your people in seven dialects, and in whichever dialect they recite, they will be right.
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 9.381 Narrated byHudhaifa
Allah's Apostle said to us, "Honesty descended from the Heavens and settled in the roots of the hearts of men (faithful believers), and then the Qur'an
was revealed and the people read the Qur'an, (and learnt it from it) and also learnt it from the Sunna." Both Qur'an and Sunna strengthened their
(the faithful believers)' honesty." (See Hadith No. 208)
Allah’s Preservation of the Sunnah!
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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 15:9
Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’ân) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)
5:15 O People of the Book! there hath come to you Our Apostle revealing to you much that ye used to hide in the Book and passing over much (that is now
unnecessary): There hath come to you from Allah a (new) Light and a perspicuous Book.
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 and it derivatives have numerous meanings in the Glorious Qur’aan. It is sometimes used for Qur’aan, as in,
Surah Al-Anbiyaa
21:50 And this is a blessed Reminder (the Qur’ân), which We have sent down: will you then (dare to) deny it?
10:37 This Qur'an is not such as can be produced by other than Allah; on the contrary it is a confirmation of (revelations) that went before it and a
fuller explanation of the Book wherein there is no doubt from the Lord of the Worlds.
3:85 If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah) never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the
ranks of those who have lost (all spiritual good).
And sometimes it is used for Sunnah, as in,
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Surah An-Nahl 44
With clear signs and Books (We sent the Messengers). And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad salle ala hu alai hi wa sallim) 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 43:16 And before thee also the apostles We sent were but men to whom We granted inspiration: if ye realize this not ask of those who
possess the Message.
(And We sent not (as Our Messengers) before you (O Muhammad pbuh) 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.
Surah Al-Hijr 15:9
Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’ân) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption)
this 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 . 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 (pbuh). 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 (salle ala hu
alai hi wa sallim); 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 (salle ala hu alai hi wa sallim). 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 (salle ala hu alai hi wa sallim).
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.
Surah An-Nisaa 4:113 But for the Grace of Allah to thee and His Mercy a party of them would certainly have plotted to lead thee astray. But (in
fact) they will only lead their own souls astray and to thee they can do no harm in the least. For Allah hath sent down to thee the Book and wisdom and
taught thee what thou knewest not (before); and great is the grace of Allah unto thee.
Had not the Grace of Allâh and His Mercy been upon you (O Muhammad ), 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 (Quranic laws, knowledge of legal and illegal things i.e. the Prophet’s Sunnah - legal ways in detail), and taught you that which you knew
not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allâh unto you (O Muhammad salle ala hu alai hi wa sallim)
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 salle ala hu alai hi wa sallim 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: and taught you that which you knew not.) pointing to the fact that Prophet Muhammad
(salle ala hu alai hi wa sallim)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 (salle ala hu alai hi wa sallim) 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). only cited here one Ayaah i.e. 2:143 as proof (Also see 66:3 beside many others).
2:143 Thus have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced that ye might be witnesses over the nations and the Apostle a witness over yourselves; and We
appointed the Qiblah to which thou wast used only to test those who followed the Apostle from those who would turn on their heels (from the faith).
Indeed it was (a change) momentous except to those guided by Allah. And never would Allah make your faith of no effect. For Allah is to all people
most surely full of kindness Most Merciful.
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. At this point we must point out that people of the Book were foretold about the new Qibla i.e. Ka’bah and its
superiority over Jerusalem in their Scripture.
most points were taken from www.islam-is-the-only-solution.com
Allah knows best.
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