Preservation
of the Qur'an
By Sabeel Ahmed
-------------
Written Qur'an in First Generation
At the battle of Yamama (633 CE), six months after the death
of the Prophet (peace be upon him), a number of Muslims, who
had memorized the Qur'an were killed. Hence it was feared
that unless a written official copy of the Qur'an were prepared,
a large part of revelation might be lost.
Narrated
Zaid bin Thabit al-Ansari (May Allah be pleased with him),
one of the scribes of the Revelation: Abu Bakr (May Allah
be pleased with him) sent for me after the casualties among
the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number
of Qurra (memorizers of the Qur'an, were killed). Umar (May
Allah be pleased with him) was present with Abu Bakr (May
Allah be pleased with him) who said: "Umar has come to
me and said, the people have suffered heavy casualties on
the day of (the battle) of Yamama, and I am afraid that there
will be some casualties among the Qurra at other places, whereby
a large part of the Qur'an may be lost, unless you collect
it (in one manuscript, or book)…so Abu Bakr said to
me (Zaid bin Thabit): You are a wise young man and we do not
suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness) and you
used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah’s Apostle
(peace be upon him). Therefore, look for the Qur’an
and collect it (in one manuscript)’…So I started
locating the Qur'anic material and collecting it from parchments,
scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of
men (who know it by heart)…" (24)
Now,
a committee was formed to under take the task of collecting
the written Qur'anic material in the form of a book. The committee
was headed by Zaid bin Thabit (May Allah be pleased with him),
the original scribe of the Prophet (peace be upon him), who
was also a memorizer of the complete Qur'an. ‘…Zaid
bin Thabit had committed the entire Qur'an to memory…’
(25)
The
compilers in this committee, in examining written material
submitted to them, insisted on very stringent criteria as
a safeguard against any errors.
1. The material must have been originally written down in
the presence of the Prophet (peace be upon him); nothing written
down later on the basis of memory alone was to be accepted.
(26)
2. The material must be confirmed by two witnesses, that is
to say, by two trustworthy persons testifying that they themselves
had heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) recite the passage
in question. (27)
‘The
manuscript on which the Qur’an was collected, remained
with Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) till Allah took
him unto Him, and then with Umar (May Allah be pleased with
him), (the second successor), till Allah took him unto Him,
and finally it remained with Hafsa, ‘Umar’s daughter
(and wife of the Prophet)’. (28)
This
copy of the Qur'an, prepared by the committee of competent
companions of the Prophet (which included Memorizers of the
Qur'an) was unanimous approved by the whole Muslim world.
If the committee would have made a error even of a single
alphabet in transcribing the Qur'an, the Qurra (memorizers
of the Qur'an) which totalled in the tens of hundreds would
have caught it right away and corrected it. This is exactly
where the neat check and balance system of preservation of
the Qur'an comes into play, but which is lacking for any other
scripture besides the Qur'an.
Official
written copy by Uthman RA
The Qur'an was originally revealed in Quraishi dialect of
Arabic. But to facilitate the people who speak other dialects,
in their understanding and comprehension, Allah revealed the
Qur'an finally in seven dialects of Arabic. During the period
of Caliph Uthman (May Allah be pleased with him), (second
successor to the Prophet (peace be upon him) differences in
reading the Qur'an among the various tribes became obvious,
due to the various dialectical recitations. Dispute was arising,
with each tribe calling its recitation as the correct one.
This alarmed Uthman (May Allah be pleased with him), who made
a official copy in the Quraishi dialect, the dialect in which
the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
and was memorized by his companions. Thus this compilation
by Uthman (May Allah be pleased with him)’s Committee
is not a different version of the Qur'an (like the Biblical
versions) but the same original revelation given to the Prophet
(peace be upon him) by One God, Allah. |
THE
SKIN retains body heat in cold weathers: In cold weathers,
the activity of sweat glands slows and the veins narrow. This
decreases the blood circulation under the skin therefore preventing
body heat from escaping. What all of this show is that human
skin is a perfect organ specially designed to facilitate our
lives. Skin protects us, functions as an "air-conditioner",
and facilitates easy locomotion thanks to its flexibility.
Moreover, it is aesthetic.
Instead
of this type of skin, we could well have a thick and coarse
skin. We could have an inflexible skin that would crack and
split in the event we put on even a few kilograms. We could
have skin that would cause us to faint from heat in summer
and freeze in winter. However, Allah, Who created us, has
covered our body in the most comfortable, serviceable and
aesthetic way. For He is "the Creator, the Maker, the
Giver of Form." Surat al-Hashr: 24). |
HUSBAND:
May I hold your hand?
WIFE: No thanks, it isn't heavy.
WIFE: Say you love me! Say you love me!
HUSBAND: You love me...
HUSBAND: I love you and I could die for you!
GIRL: How soon??
Teacher: "What do you call a person who keeps on talking
when people are no longer interested?"
Pupil:"A teacher".
Waiter:"Would you like your coffee black?"
Customer: "What other colours do you have?"
My father is so old that when he was in school, history was
called current affairs.
Teacher: "Sam, you talk a lot!"
Sam: "It's a family tradition".
Teacher: "What do you mean?"
Sam: "Sir, my grandpa was a street hawker, my father
is a teacher".
Teacher: "What about your mother?"
Sam: "She's a woman".
Tom: "How should I convey the news to my father that
I've failed?"
David: "You just send a telegram: Result declared, past
year's performance repeated". |