THE STORY OF THE HOLY QURAN
How
was the Holy Quran revealed? How was it preserved since it was revealed
more than 1400 years back? Will it be preserved for all times (till
Judgement Day)? For whom the Holy Quran has been revealed? How can man
always beneficiate the Holy Quran?
What is the Holy Quran?
In
the word “Quran” there are two syllables: “Qur” and “an” (aan) – We
pronounce it “Quran”. The word Quran is derived from the word “Quraa”
which means “read”. So the word “Quran”, as a common noun means
“reading” and “Quran” as a proper noun means the “Words of Allah”, the
One who has created the heavens and the earth and what is in between.
The Revelation of the Holy Quran
With Allah’s permission, Hazrat Jibraïlas descended
from the heaven; he recited the verses of the Holy Quran in Arabic
language to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and Allah
helped His Rasool immediately to learn it by heart. When the Holy Quran
was descending, it came in different types, verses by verses. Sometimes a
verse was revealed, sometimes some verses came down, and sometimes a
whole Surah (Chapter), and sometimes more than one Surah.
A
part of the Holy Quran was revealed in Mecca for thirteen years and the
other part in Medina for ten years. During these twenty three years,
the Holy Quran was not revealed every day, but it came down according to
events and circumstances.
Verses
which were revealed in Mecca generally dealt with the most important
questions for one’s formation – the change of the heart and mind to a
certain degree of ‘faith’ – Imaan. And the verses which were revealed in
Medina generally dealt with the principles and laws for the formation
of an exemplary Islamic society
First Revelation
Some
time before the revelation of the Holy Quran, the Holy Prophet (peace
be upon him) used to spend nights over nights in a cave called Hira
which is found in a mountain called ‘Jabal Noor’, situated about 3 miles
from the north of Mecca. The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) used to
meditate and pray in this lonely cave.
One day, during the month of Ramadhan while the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was meditating in the cave, Hazrat Jibraïlas came down from the heaven and made him to recite the first five verses of the “Surah
Al-Alaq”. At that time the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) was 40
years old. As from these first revelations, Hazrat Muhammad (peace be
upon him) became the “Messenger of Allah” and hence his mission started
at this point.
There are 114 chapters in the Holy Quran. The first one is the Surah Al-Fatiha with seven verses and the last Surah is ‘An-Nas’ with 7 verses. The longest Surah is the Surah Al-Baqara, the second Chapter with 287 verses and the shortest one is Chapter 108 Al-Kawthar with 4 verses. All the Suwar start with “Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim” except at the beginning of Surah Tauba, the 9th Chapter.
These verses and Suwar (plural of Surah)
were not revealed in the order as we find them now in the Holy Quran.
But they were revealed according to events and circumstances. Hazrat
Muhammad (peace be upon him) dealt with the position and places of these
verses. He taught his Sahaba
(companions) where and how to place this and this verse. And then
Hazrat Jibraïl came to help him according to Allah’s instructions.
In
the time of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), the Holy Quran was
written without vowels and dots on the letters, the same happened also
in the time of the 4 Khulafa
(Caliphs). It was after a long time that the Muslims introduced vowels
and dots on the Arabic letters so that to facilitate the non-Arabic
Muslims to read the Holy Quran.
How was the Holy Quran preserved in the time of the Holy prophet
(peace be upon
him)?
When Hazrat Jibraïlas used
to come to Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) to make him recite the
Holy Quran, after his departure, the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)
then recited the verses to his companions who learned them by heart and
some wrote them down.
There are some literate Sahaba who wrote down the verses of the Holy Quran:-
o Ubayy ibn Ka’b
o Mu’az ibn Jabal
o Zaid ibn Thabit
Each
year, during the month of Ramadhan the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)
used to revise the Holy Quran with Hazrat Jibraïl. In the last year of
his lifetime, he recited the Holy Quran twice with the help of Hazrat
Jibraïl in the month of Ramadhan.
Frequently,
the companions also revised the Holy Quran with the Holy Prophet (peace
be upon him). Many of them learned the whole of it by heart well before
the death of our beloved Prophet r, Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him).
So, this is how the Holy Quran was preserved in his time.
o In the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) heart.
o In the heart of the close companions of the Holy prophet (peace be upon him)
o In written form.
How was the Holy Quran preserved after the death of the Prophet (peace be upon him)?
In the time of the Khilafat of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra),
during the battle of Yamama in the year 11 after Hijra, about 70
companions who had learnt the Holy Quran by heart (the Hufaaz of the
Holy Quran) lost their lives – Umar Ibn Al Khattab advised the Khalifa
Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) to compile all the scripts of the Holy Quran. So, Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) asked Zaid Ibn Thabit:
“Surely,
you are young and intelligent, we do not have any doubt about you and
you were writing down the revelations for the Messenger of Allah, so go
and search the Holy Quran, i.e., with the other companions and gather
them in writing in the correct order.” Zayd ibn Thabit did not delay with the orders he received from Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra).
He contacted all the companions who knew the whole of the Holy Quran by
heart or part of it and also those who had verses of the Holy Quran
written in the presence of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him).
In the time of Hazrat Umar (ra)
Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra) died 2 years after the death of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in the year 13 after Hijra. Hazrat Umar (ra) became
the second Khalifa (successor) of the Islamic dispensation. He helped a
lot in the compilation of the scripts of the Holy Quran and he kept all
in his custody.
In the time of Hazrat Uthman (ra)
Hazrat Umar died 10 years 6 months after the death of Hazrat Abu Bakr (ra)
in the year 23 A.H. After his death, Hazrat Hafsah, the wife of the
Prophet (peace be upon him) took possession of the scripts of the Holy
Quran which her father had kept so preciously. When Hazrat Uthman took
hold the rein of Islam, he asked Hazrat Hafsah (ra) to handle him the scripts and he ordained four companions to write down many copies of the scripts. These 4 Sahaba were:-
o Zayd ibn Thabit
o Abdullah ibn Az Zubey
o Said ibn Al’ Aas
o Abdur Rahman ibn Al Harith.
After this hard work, Hazrat Uthman returned back the original scripts to Hazrat Hafsah (ra). The four Sahaba
copied the Holy Quran 7 times. Hazrat Uthman kept one copy with him in
Medina and sent the other copies to other parts of Arabia: Mecca, Syria,
Yemen, Bahrain, Basra and Kufa.
Today,
in many Muslim countries, people know the whole of the Quran by heart
and others know a part of it. We have special schools nowadays to
prepare our children to become Hufaaz. So, till now, Allah is preserving
the Holy Quran:
o In the heart of thousands of Muslims and
o In written volumes in millions copies.
The
Holy Quran will never be eradicated from the surface of the earth.
Allah made us aware, in the Holy Quran Chapter 15, Verse 10 that He will
always be the Guardian of the Holy Quran.
There
is no other reading book which possesses so much reward as that of the
Holy Quran. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught us that
we will be highly rewarded for the reading of each word of the Holy
Quran. The reward of a single word is equal to the reward of ten good
actions.
So,
we must not grieve when we have to put our precious time in the reading
of the Holy Quran early in the morning, after the mid prayer or at
night. But when we read the Holy Quran we must not be in a hurry. The
Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade the reading of the whole of the
Holy Quran in less than 3 days (Tirmidhi). We must never disrupt
someone who is reading the Holy Quran (we must also not raise the volume
of our recording of the Holy Quran as this can disturb the reader of
the Holy Quran).
We must read the Holy Quran in a beautiful tone. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:-
“The one who does not read the Holy Quran in a beautiful tone is not among us.” (Bukhari)
Abu Musa (ra) was a companion of the Holy prophet
(peace be upon him). He had a very beautiful voice. When he used to
read the Holy Quran, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
appreciated his recitation very much. Once Hazrat Muhammad (peace be
upon him) asked him:
“O Abu Musa, you have really acquired one of the instruments of the family of David (Dawud)” (Bukhari).
Before
starting the reading and studying of the Holy Quran, one should be
clean: his heart, his mind and his body must be kept clean. His body
should be kept clean by taking a good bath. Allah makes us aware that
Satan is our bitterest enemy. So we always need Allah’s protection
against Satan; Allah ordains us in Chapter 16 Verse 99 of the Holy Quran
to seek His protection against Satan when we read the Holy Quran.
The Holy Quran, the greatest and sharpest weapon against Satan
Our
bitterest enemy is Satan. Allah has bestowed us with the sharpest
weapon to fight with Satan. It’s the Holy Quran. So, we have to use our
Holy Quran to fight against Satan, our greatest enemy who always seek to
make us become astray, to stay far from the right path. We must read
the Holy Quran very frequently: at home, in the Mosque, in our office or
at work, in our car or in any vehicle, even while walking to some
places... We must inculcate this good habit of reading the Holy Quran in
ourselves, so as to obtain (our Creator) Allah’s protection.
Read the Ayat-ul-Qursi (The Verse of the Throne) which is found in Chapter 2 of the Surah
Al-Baqara Verse 256 before going to bed: this is a very good protection
against Satan for the whole night, till early morning, as it is said by
our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him). (Bukhari)
Moreover, read the Surah Al-Baqara, the second chapter of the Holy Quran in the house. Satan can never stay in such house. (Muslim)
Whenever Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) went to sleep, he used to read the three last chapters of the Holy Quran.
o Surah Al- Ikhlaas
o Surah Al- Falaq
o Surah An-Naas.
Then he blew in the palms of his hands, and then he rubbed his hands over his body from head to toe. (Bukhari)
When we read Chapter 41 Verse 45 of the Holy Quran, Allah teaches us that the Holy Quran is a remedy for the soul, the heart and the body.
For
a troubled mind with all sorts of problems, an affected heart with all
kinds of idols and a polluted body with all types of diseases, the Quran
becomes a remedy for these types of people.
Once, a companion of Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) read the Surah
Al-Fatiha several times for someone who suffered from an insect’s bite.
He then blew over him. By the grace of the Almighty, that man
completely recovered from that insect’s sting. (Bukhari)
The respect due to the reading of the Holy Quran
When
someone is reading the Holy Quran, we must neither speak, nor laugh,
nor make any noise – all these show disrespect to the reading of the
Holy Quran.
So,
when we hear someone reading the Holy Quran, we should immediately stop
talking, laughing, giggling or making disgustful noise. We all have to
sit wisely near that person and listen attentively to these holy verses.
Allah ordains us to do this good action:
“And when the Quran is recited give ear to it and keep silence, that you may be shown mercy.” (Chapter 7 Al-Arraf Verse 205)
There
is great reward in the listening of the Holy Quran. Hazrat Muhammad
(peace be upon him) was very happy when someone read the Holy Quran
(Bukhari). One can extract many advantages in the listening of the Holy
Quran, for example:-
One can receive “Hidayat”
(salvation) that is, he starts understanding the commandments of Allah.
There are people whose faith increases only when they listen to the
reading of the Holy Quran and their life is changed positively; obeying
to these commandments of Allah. We must invest in recordings of the Holy
Quran so as to enable those who do not know how to read the Holy Quran
to become closer and closer to Allah.
There
are 15 places in the Holy Quran where we need to prostrate, do “Sijda”
(to show our submission to Allah). These prostrations must be done
whenever these verses are read or heard (when someone is reading them),
be it in Salaat or off-Salaat:-
· Surah 7 Verse 207
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لاَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَيُسَبِّحُونَهُ وَلَهُ يَسْجُدُونَ ۩ ﴿207﴾
· Surah 13 Verse 16
وَلِلّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ طَوْعًا وَكَرْهًا وَظِلالُهُم بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالآصَالِ ۩ ﴿16﴾
· Surah 16 Verse 50-51
وَلِلّهِ يَسْجُدُ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ مِن دَآبَّةٍ وَالْمَلآئِكَةُ وَهُمْ لاَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ﴿50﴾ يَخَافُونَ رَبَّهُم مِّن فَوْقِهِمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ ۩ ﴿51﴾
· Surah 17 Verse 108-110
قُلْ آمِنُواْ
بِهِ أَوْ لاَ تُؤْمِنُواْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ مِن
قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ يَخِرُّونَ لِلأَذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا ﴿108﴾ وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولًا ﴿109﴾ وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا ۩ ﴿110﴾
· Surah 19 Verse 59
أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ
اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ مِن ذُرِّيَّةِ آدَمَ وَمِمَّنْ
حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْرَائِيلَ
وَمِمَّنْ هَدَيْنَا وَاجْتَبَيْنَا إِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُ
الرَّحْمَن خَرُّوا سُجَّدًا وَبُكِيًّا ۩ ﴿59﴾
· Surah 22 Verse 19
أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ
يَسْجُدُ لَهُ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْضِ وَالشَّمْسُ
وَالْقَمَرُ وَالنُّجُومُ وَالْجِبَالُ وَالشَّجَرُ وَالدَّوَابُّ
وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنَ النَّاسِ وَكَثِيرٌ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِ الْعَذَابُ وَمَن
يُهِنِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِن مُّكْرِمٍ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا
يَشَاءُ ۩ ﴿19﴾
· Surah 22 Verse 78
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ارْكَعُوا وَاسْجُدُوا وَاعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمْ وَافْعَلُوا الْخَيْرَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ۩ ﴿78﴾
· Surah 25 Verse 61
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اسْجُدُوا لِلرَّحْمَنِ قَالُوا وَمَا الرَّحْمَنُ أَنَسْجُدُ لِمَا تَأْمُرُنَا وَزَادَهُمْ نُفُورًا ۩ ﴿61﴾
· Surah 27 Verse 26-27
أَلَّا يَسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ الَّذِي يُخْرِجُ الْخَبْءَ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تُخْفُونَ وَمَا تُعْلِنُونَ ﴿26﴾ اللَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ ۩ ﴿27﴾
· Surah 32 Verse 16
إِنَّمَا يُؤْمِنُ بِآيَاتِنَا الَّذِينَ
إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا بِهَا خَرُّوا سُجَّدًا وَسَبَّحُوا بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ
وَهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ۩ ﴿16﴾
· Surah 38 Verse 25
قَالَ لَقَدْ ظَلَمَكَ بِسُؤَالِ
نَعْجَتِكَ إِلَى نِعَاجِهِ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنْ الْخُلَطَاء لَيَبْغِي
بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا
الصَّالِحَاتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَّا هُمْ وَظَنَّ دَاوُودُ أَنَّمَا فَتَنَّاهُ
فَاسْتَغْفَرَ رَبَّهُ وَخَرَّ رَاكِعًا وَأَنَابَ ۩ ﴿25﴾
· Surah 41 Verse 38-39
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ اللَّيْلُ وَالنَّهَارُ
وَالشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ لَا تَسْجُدُوا لِلشَّمْسِ وَلَا لِلْقَمَرِ
وَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ الَّذِي خَلَقَهُنَّ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ
﴿38﴾ فَإِنِ اسْتَكْبَرُوا فَالَّذِينَ عِندَ رَبِّكَ يُسَبِّحُونَ لَهُ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَهُمْ لَا يَسْأَمُونَ ۩ ﴿39﴾
· Surah 53 Verse 63
فَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ وَاعْبُدُوا ۩ ﴿63﴾
· Surah 84 Verse 22
وَإِذَا قُرِئَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقُرْآنُ لَا يَسْجُدُونَ ۩ ﴿22﴾
· Surah 96 Verse 20
كَلَّا لَا تُطِعْهُ وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِبْ ۩ ﴿20﴾
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What do we notice in these verses? There is the word “Sajada” which means “prostrate”. Exception in Chapter 38 Verse 25, where there is another word but the meaning is the same.
We have to inculcate at least a part of the Holy Quran in our heart and try to preserve it.
A
Muslim, be he great or little, man or woman, rich or poor he should
make great effort to learn as many Chapters of the Holy Quran as
possible by heart. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said
that the one who knows the Holy Quran by heart is highly honoured by
Allah. (Bukhari)
He also said that certainly, the one who is void of the Holy Quran, resembles a fallen house. (Tirmidhi)
So, a true Muslim should know at least a part of the Holy Quran by heart so that we can recite these Suwar
(Chapters) while we are on our way to work, in our vehicle, while
walking to some places during the day and at night we can recite them
before going to bed. In other words, the Holy Quran is read anytime and
anywhere except in toilets or bathrooms. But the best time is in our
five daily prayers.
To preserve the Holy Quran in our heart, we must always make a complete revision, we listen to the records of these known Suwar,
then we can recite them after a good listening, so that we can correct
ourselves whenever we happen to commit a mistake. But the best way to
recite the Holy Quran and to preserve it in our heart is in our Salaat (daily prayers – our deep connection with Allah).
Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him) had always advised us to revise frequently our Suwar; otherwise we will forget them very easily. (Bukhari)
Beware! There are people who will enter Hell when reading the Holy Quran!
We
must always devote ourselves completely in our prayers and good deeds
because of Allah, just to please Allah the Almighty with the great hope
to be rewarded by Him only. Such is also for the reading of the Holy
Quran which is made only to win honour and “value” from Allah not from
man.
Hazrat
Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that: “If someone reads the Holy
Quran in order to please man for honour and “value”, Allah will throw
him in the deep fire of Hell dragging him by the face! (Muslim)
Why was the Holy Quran revealed?
Allah
knows that if man was not given a code of life, it would have been
impossible for him to live in peace and tranquillity in this earth.
Every now and then there would be great fight, disorder and corruption
which would lead to fierce wars. So Allah is full of pity. He loves His
creatures especially man who has been endowed with special intelligence.
Allah knows very well that if this intelligence is badly used without a
good perfect law, it would be dreadful and man would behave lower than
animals. So Allah sent His holy commandments to guide people on the
right track as He is the only one who knows His creatures really well.
He did not set any burden on man’s shoulders. Instead He facilitated
everything by sending His Messenger (peace be upon him) to explain how
to use the Guide. This Guide is not only for the Arabs but for all
people from all countries of the world, whatever their religions, e.g.
Mauritians, Indians, Chinese, Africans, Europeans, and French and so on,
without exception.
The
Holy Quran has been sent down for all people in a simple-clear language
as Allah is the Creator – He knows all His creatures. In the time of
the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him), not only the Arabs accepted the
Holy Quran but the Africans, Romans and other people from distant
countries because this Quran comes from Allah, our Creator.
Before
the coming of the Holy Quran, Allah did send various guides in
different languages to different people of the world, for e.g., the
Evangels, the Torah, the Psalm of David, the Vedas and so on. These
guides were accompanied with Allah’s Messengers or prophets just like
the Holy Quran was descended through the Holy Prophet (peace be upon
him).
Allah
never sent a guide without His lecturer – the same happens in any
Ministry, for e.g. the Ministry of Education. Every year new guides and
strategies are prepared for the welfare of students to promote the best
instructions and education; the teachers are provided with these guides
but very often they have to be gathered together around a lecturer of
this Ministry of how to use and apply the “guide”.
So
Allah sent the Holy Quran the final code of life in Arabic through His
beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and instructed him how to
use and apply it in our daily life. Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him)
is known as the last law-giving prophet. No prophet will come after him
with another God-gifted Guide (Book of laws). He is the seal of all
prophets as he is the only prophet who has come for the whole universe,
for all nations and religions. The Holy Quran enrols all the laws of all
previous guides since the creation of this world in itself. So it is
unnecessary now to have another sacred book.
The Holy Quran – A Complete Guide
The
Holy Quran contains all types of solutions for all types of problems
which a normal man can face throughout his whole life. It teaches man
how lo lead life in the best and joyful manner. Man needs peace and love
in this world as well as in the next life. The Holy Quran deals with:-
1. Our duty and obligation towards the One who has created us.
2. Our duty and obligation towards man.
Our duty and Obligation towards the Creator
Man
needs to worship only the Creator – Allah – the God of all true
prophets who came to deliver the message of one God. No prophet came
since the creation of man, to teach man to worship man, or nature, or
animals or any other types of God.
Hence,
the whole world should believe that only Allah should be worshipped. He
is the Unique One, He does not resemble to His creatures. No one knows
His shape and colour. Man should believe that He is the Only One who
possesses attributes as mention in the Holy Quran. Here are some of His
attributes:-
Ar-Rabb: The Lord; Nourisher (for all His creatures)
Al-Khaliq: The Creator
Al Muhyi: The Giver of life
Al-Mumeet: The Giver of death
As-Sami: The All-Hearing
Al-Basir: The All-Seeing
Al-Azim: The Immense
Al-Baith: The Resurrector of the dead
Man should rely only on Allah. He should obey only Allah’s commandments.
Duty and obligation towards man
Man
should have great respect to elders especially to parents. He has to
live with them in honour, dignity, honesty, and show complete obedience.
Man is gifted with brothers and sisters also, neighbours even if they
are of different communities and religions. Commerce should be practised
in complete honesty, with the correct measure. He should help others in
doing good actions, facilitate life for them, and help the needy, the
poor and the less fortunate. Who will be the one to beneficiate the
Holy Quran?
Anybody
who has the full certainty that Allah does exist, he believes in only
one God and the Holy Quran is the Final Code of life coming from Allah
alone through His beloved prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), this
individual will extract the maximum benefits from the Holy Quran. Hence,
a Chinese, an Indian, a Christian or anybody of any origin can benefit
the Holy Quran, the words of Allah.
On
the contrary, if someone with a Muslim name, but does not accept all
that is in the Holy Quran, so he will never beneficiate it.
Someone who needs to be guided in the right path has to:
· Read
the Holy Quran. If he does not know how to read it, at least he listens
attentively to someone who is reciting it. He should never utter, “I
don’t have any time to read or listen to the Holy Quran.”
· Make
great effort to understand the verses of the Holy Quran. If he does not
understand, he has to go forward to somebody who has full knowledge of
it. He should not feel shy or ashamed - no age limit for learning and
studying.
· Ponder
and realise to accept the truth which Allah has revealed in the Holy
Quran. He practices what Allah has ordained to do, and abstains himself
from what is forbidden by Allah. He should never take into consideration
a part of the Holy Quran which suits him and then rejects another part.
The
most difficult for a true believer of Allah and the Holy Quran is the
acceptance of the decree of Allah, that is, to bear all the trials and
difficulties without turning his back to the words of Allah.
The Explanation of the Holy Quran
Hazrat Muhammad was the only person who understood the Holy Quran perfectly well. Then the sincere Sahaba
came around the prophet (peace be upon him), because they have gone
deeply through its study with Hazrat Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Afterwards, the Sahaba
transmitted the knowledge of these messages of Allah, that is, the
verses of the sacred Quran to other Muslims. Since, very long, the wise
Muslims explained the verses of the Holy Quran through Tafsir (commentaries of the Holy Quran), in Arabic. Some are:
o Tabari (died in 310 A.H)
o Qurtubi (died in 617 A.H)
o Ibn Kathir (died in 774 A.H)
Meanings of the Holy Quran in different languages
In
the Holy Quran, there are mainly Arabic words whose meanings are deeper
than when translated in different other languages. One will never see
the real beauty of the Holy Quran when translated to other maternal
language of their countries. The Arabic text is original - Arabic words
have various meanings, if one does not know the real exact meaning of
one word or even one letter, the meaning of the whole verse would be
distorted. One can only appreciate the Holy Quran through the Arabic
text only. But as we are not born Arabs, to have an appropriate idea
about the Holy Quran, therefore, we have to translate it in our mother
tongue to facilitate understanding. All communities are trying their
level best to translate it in various languages. By the grace of the
Almighty, we can say that we are maximizing knowledge from the Holy
Quran. The first translation was done in Persian language in the year
956, Christian era. A Latin language was done in the year 1143.
Nowadays, in the 21st
Century, by the grace of Allah, the Holy Quran has been translated in
German, English, French, Chinese, Spanish, Greek, Hindi, Dutch, Italian,
Turkish, Urdu and many other languages. But make sure that these
translations are done by true believers, not Kaafireen
(infidels) or by somebody who does not know the exact meaning of the
Arabic words of the Holy Quran. There are Holy Quran prepared and
translated by Kaafireen
as they have got glorious idea of how to deviate the sincere and true
believers in the Muhammadan dispensation and their generations. They
distorted the meanings of their word, thus, creating disgust in the
words of Allah. So, people would then divert from the right path and
would go back to their ancient religions – i.e., worshipping idols and
nature.
For example, from a French translation of the Holy Quran the translator wrote:-
“Lorsque Nous ordonnâmes aux anges d’adorer Adam, ils adorèrent excepté Ibliss...” (2:35)
(When We ordained to the angels to worship Adam, they worshipped save Ibliss…)
The exact meaning of this verse should be:-
“Et lorsque Nous Dîmes aux anges: ‘Prosternes-vous devant Adam!’ Ils se prosternèrent excepté Ibliss…”
(And when We said to the angels: (Prostrate) Make obeisance to Adam they did obeisance, but Iblis (did it not)).
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