Definition
The sacred scripture of Islam and the true word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him - PBUH.)
Revelation of Holy Quran
The Holy Quran was first set on a preserved tablet, as Allah Almighty says in the Holy Book: "It ?s a Glorious Quran, on a well-preserved tablet" (Quran 85:22).
Then it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by the angel Gabriel (PBUH) part by part through a period of 23 years.
Each revelation of the Holy Quran was written down by the Prophet's scribes under his instruction and supervision.
The current order and organization of the entire revelation of Holy Quran, divided into 114 chapters (surahs), was made by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself.
Besides, the entire Quran was committed to memory by the Prophet and his companions (sahabah).
The practice of memorizing the whole Quran continued throughout centuries till date. Nowadays, there are thousands of Muslims who know the whole Quran by heart. They are called "Huffaz."
The reasons for revealing the Quran piecemeal
-
To stabilize the heart of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
-
To ease the process of the revelation of the Quran to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
-
To graduate the process of legitimising the divine rules.
-
To ease the process of memorising and understanding the Quran.
-
Some parts of the Quran were revealed after some events.
-
To make easy the process of getting rid of past bad habits for those newly converted to Islam.
Number of Quranic Chapters and Verses
Quran Chapters
Holy Quran is divided into thirty equal chapters, which are called (juz') in Arabic. There are 114 Surahs of varying length. The longest Surah is Al-Baqarah consisting of 286 verses and the shortest Surah is Al Kawthar consisting of only three verses. The whole Quran has 6236 verses containing 77,250 words.
The first five verses of Surat Al-Alaq , were the first verses ever revealed in the Quran. It reads: "Iqra bismi rabbikalla dhi khalaq. Khalaqal insana min alaq. Iqra wa rabtukal alrram. Alladhi 'allama bil qalam. 'Allamal insana malam ya?lam " which means, "Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, for your Lord is most Generous, Who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man what he does not know." (96: 1-5)
The last verse revealed was number (281) from Surat Al-Baqara which means " Guard yourselves against a day in which you will be brought back to Allah. Then every soul will be paid in full that which it has earned, and they will not be wronged" (2:281).
Surahs revealed before the migration of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to Madina are called Makkan, whereas those sent down after the migration are called Madinan.
Features of Makkan and Madinan Surahs
Makkan Surahs generally consist of brief sentences which are full of enthusiasm, are poetical, lofty and brilliant. They stress the Unity and Majesty of Allah, the Most Exalted, Most High (SWT), denounce idol worship, promise paradise for the righteous and warn wrongdoers of their punishment in Hellfire, confirm the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH), and remind humanity of past prophets and events of their time.
On the other hand, the Madinan Surahs are lengthy and the verses are more prosaic. They outline ritualistic aspects of Islam such as Zakah, Fasting, and Hajj, lay down moral and ethical codes, criminal laws, social, economic, and state policies, and give guidelines for foreign relations, rules and regulations for battle and the treatment of captives of war. They also contain descriptions of some of the early battles of Islam, condemnation of hypocrites, emphasis on the unified basic message of all the past prophets, and confirmation that the process of prophethood and revelation is complete, so that no prophet will come after Muhammad [PBUH], no new book will be revealed, and Allah's religion is completed through the Quran. So here Allah [SWT] exhorted the followers of truth to make Al-Quran their only guide.
Preservation of the Holy Quran
First, during the Prophet's time, the Quran was preserved by his companions by learning the whole text by heart, and also by having it committed to writing by the special scribes of the revelation.
Then the Quran was preserved after the demise of the Prophet during the period of Caliphs in the following way:
The first Caliph Abu Bakr assembled all the memorisers of the Quran and collected the written records of the Holy Qur'an and with their help had the whole text written in book form. In the time of Caliph 'Uthman, copies of this original version were made and officially dispatched to the Capitals of the Islamic World. Ever since, the Quran has been maintained in the format of Caliph Uthman's copy. |
|
|
|
|