Tag: divine scripture

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New Muslims Qur'an & Sunnah

Qur’an: Matchless Perfection

 

Copy of the Qur'an

Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the word of Allah.

 

The authenticity of any scripture is considered from two significant aspects; the first is its authenticity with regard to its divine origin, and the other is its preservation in its original form.

Muslims believe that the Qur’an is the word of Almighty Allah revealed to His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and that it has retained its purity throughout history. Therefore, today, after centuries of turmoil, it remains the only divine book that has been protected from any form of corruption.

What is Meant by the “Qur’an“?

First, it should be emphasized that, by the Qur’an, we do not mean its translation into any other language, but we mean the original Arabic scripture. This is, for instance, in contrast with the Christian point of view considering any translation of the Bible as the Word of God.

Most Christians are not concerned about the original language of the scriptures of the Bible as long as they have a translation in their own language. Muslims, on the other hand, would never call a translation of the Qur’an “The Qur’an.” To them the Qur’an is that in the original Arabic which was revealed fourteen centuries ago to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

It was, beyond any doubt, revealed to him in Arabic and it is still read in the same way as the Prophet recited it to his Companions. Almighty Allah says,

Thus we have revealed it as an Arabic Qur’an, and have displayed therein certain threats, that peradventure they may keep from evil or that it may cause them to take heed. (Ta-Ha 20: 113)

The Qur’an and its Translation

It is known that a translator chooses words and phrases from the vocabulary of the target language to express what he understands of the original text. He may not fully succeed in expressing what he wants to convey, nor can he rule out the possibility of a different choice and order of words and phrases by another translator.

In the course of translation, the first casualty is always the typical idiom of the source language. Even in the best translation, much of the power and appeal of the original text is, somehow, lost.
This leads us to the fact that the Qur’an, as the Word of Allah, maintains perfect harmony between its content and language. One may understand the meaning of the Qur’anic text from a translation, preferably with sufficient explanation. However, the beauty, appeal and influence of its language, could hardly be convoyed to non-Arabic speaking people.

The foregoing is meant only to point out the limitations of translation. This is not meant to decry the use of translation in general, as it is essential for non-Arabs.
It is noteworthy that the Qur’an came to Arabia at a time when Arabic poetry had reached its peak; but the master-poets of that day could not equal the Qur’anic richness in diction, style or beauty.

Moreover, the Qur’an challenged the Arabs – the commanders of language, eloquence and fluency – to invent ten surahs or even one surah like the Qur’an but they could not. Almighty Allah says,

Say: “If the whole of mankind and Jinns were to gather together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up each other with help and support. (Al-Israa’ 17: 88)

He, the Almighty, also says,

Or they say: He has invented it. Say: Then bring ten surahs, the like thereof, invented, and call on everyone you can beside Allah, if ye are truthful! (Hud 11: 13)

The Qur’an’s Effects on Language and Society

The Qur’an was able to hold the Arabic language in thrall from the moment it was revealed. Indeed, its haunting rhythms rocked the whole of Arabia from Sudan to Syria and from Morocco to Oman.
While the languages of most of the other scriptures had become dead, the Qur’an continues to occupy the top position as an abiding model for literary Arabic. In fact, Arabic has defied the usual norms of the evolution of languages throughout history.

The French scholar, Ernest Renan (1823-1894), who carried out extensive research on Semitic languages, said about Arabic:

“The Arabic language is the most astonishing event of human history. Unknown during the classical period, it suddenly emerged as a complete language. After this, it did not undergo any noticeable changes, so one cannot define for it an early or a late stage. It is just the same today as it was when it first appeared.”

In acknowledging this “astonishing event of human history” the French Orientalist, was in fact, acknowledging the miraculous nature of the Qur’an. It was the Qur’an’s phenomenal literary style which preserved the Arabic language from alteration that other languages have undergone.

There is no other book in human history that has molded, and continues to mold, the lives of generations of people as the Qur’an. It has reformed and refined all the aspects of the lives of Muslims.

The Qur’an has been miraculous to all human beings. It is the book that:

  • Reformed and refined the lives of thousands of Bedouins who had not thought of anything beyond the confines of their clans,
  • Transformed the shepherds of Arabia into Caliphs and judges “Qadis“,
  • Brought into being the renowned universities and centers of learning that awakened a new enlightenment in the world that no other civilization of the world could match.

This was indeed a brilliant and lasting miracle of Almighty Allah reflected through the Qur’an, because Prophet Muhammad’s only source of inspiration for the revolution he brought about was the Qur’an. With Allah’s Book in hand, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) formed a model of the nucleus of a universal society in Arabia.

This society was formed out of those scattered and cantankerous desert tribes who had very little scientific knowledge or material resources. Their initiation into a stable Islamic cultural order was effected independent of all the socio-political systems or powers existing in the world at that time.

The Qur’an was the backbone of this unique spiritual revolution which has shone throughout history. The verses of the Qur’an were revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) over 23 years of his life. As soon as the Prophet received these verses, he dictated them to his Companions who not only wrote them down, but also learned them by heart.

There were so many people who had memorized the Qur’an, that from the first day of its revelation, the Qur’an was in the hands and hearts of the people. You cannot say this about the Bible or about any other scripture.

Before the death of the Prophet, the entire Qur’an had been written down, examined and verified by the Prophet himself. From that time onwards, it has remained intact; safe from any corruption as several of its copies were in the possession of Muslims.

So, it was impracticable, even impossible, to make any changes to its verses even if someone had strongly intended to do so. Moreover, distorting the Qur’an was impossible as Allah Almighty has promised to protect it, He says,

Surely We have revealed the Reminder (Qur’an) and We will assuredly guard it “from corruption” (Al-Hijr 15: 9)

At the time of the Prophet’s death, a number of his Companions had already compiled the portions of the Qur’an into one volume. During the reign of the first Caliph, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), a leading scholar and scribe of the Prophet, Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), was appointed to compile an official version. After meticulous work, he prepared the official collection (mushaf ).

An Everlasting Miracle

One of the foremost reasons for the Qur’an’s continuing incorruptibility is that it has been preserved in Arabic, its original language, unlike the Bible. Thus, we can see that the Qur’an we have today is the same Qur’an that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) received from Almighty Allah. Its authenticity and genuineness therefore, is unimpeachable. Almighty Allah says,

And say: The truth has come and the falsehood has vanished; surely falsehood is a vanishing “thing”. (Al-Israa’ 17: 81)

He, the Almighty also says,

If there were a Qur’an with which mountains were moved, or the earth was cloven asunder, or the dead were made to speak, “it would be this one!” (Ar-Ra`d 13: 31)

One of the miracles of the Qur’an, which was revealed 14 centuries ago, is that it can be read and understood by the Arabic-speakers living today. Every language undergoes changes as time passes, and a period of one or two hundred years is long enough for a language to undergo substantial changes.

Thus, anyone who knows the rudiments of the history of languages knows that logically, it would be impossible for Arabic-speakers of today to read and understand a book that is fourteen centuries old.

Yet, every day, every hour, every minute, in fact every second of the 24 hours of the 365 days in every year of the past centuries have been alive with reading and studying the Qur’anic verses. That, certainly, will go on forever.

The volume and scope of the Qur’an increase in every imaginable way with the coming of multimedia. This had started at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and it has continued unceasingly till the present day, making this the ever-present miracle of Prophet Muhammad, rivaling all other miracles so far.

Even the invaders who ravaged the Islamic lands and triumphed over the Muslims, owing to their military superiority, lost their dominance in the end when they were confronted with the spiritual power of Islam, and eventually, most of them adopted the religion of the people they had conquered.

Almighty Allah says:

This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah. (Al-Baqarah2: 2)

The foregoing inevitably leads us to the conclusion that the Qur’an is undoubtedly the word of Allah the Almighty.

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Source: Taken with slight modifications from onislam.net.

 

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New Muslims Qur'an & Sunnah

The Qur’an: To Start from the Beginning

By Haya Muhammad Eid

Al-fatihah

Short and concise as it is, Al-Fatihah adroitly contains the totality of the Islamic creed

Reading the Qur’an gives the feeling that the speaker is all around, seeing and hearing everything; all-knowing of us – every feeling, every thought, every memory, every good or evil tendency; all-knowing of the heavens and earth – every atom, every breath of air, every grain of sand, every fruit on every tree; and all-knowing of the past, present, and future – every moment, every event, every detail:

He knows what enters into the earth and what comes forth from it, what descends from the sky and what ascends to it. He is with you wherever you may be. And Allah  is the All-Seer of what you do. (Al-Hadid 57:4-6)

The tone is that of supreme authority, full lordship, and absolute sufficiency:

Allah, there is no god except Him, the Ever Living, the Self-Sufficient Master Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber nor sleep overtake Him. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. (Al-Baqarah 2:255)

Despite its grandeur and majesty, the Qur’an does not evoke a sense of distance or strangeness, but rather affinity with the divine words because of their familiarity with human nature, its needs, its fears, its pains, and its desires:

Indeed, We (Allah) have created the human, and We know what his own self whispers to him. And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein. (Qaf 50:16)

Reading and rereading it, each time with more purpose and focus, eventually forms a rope safely tying us to our Creator, as depicted by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

“Truly, this Qur’an is a rope; one end of it is in Allah’s Hand and the other end is in yours. Hold fast to it. Indeed, you will never go astray or be ruined after it (after holding on to it).”  (Ibn Hibban)

Al-Fatihah

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of existence, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful, the Owner (Master) of the Day of Judgment. It is You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help. Guide us to the Straight Path, the Path of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not the path of those who have incurred Your Anger, nor of those who have gone astray. (Al-Fatihah 1:1-7)

Al-Fatihah (the Opening) is so named because it is the chapter with which the Qur’an begins. It is also named Umm Al-Qur’an (the Mother of the Qur’an) and As-Sab`-ul-Mathani (Seven Oft-recited Verses).

Short and concise as it is, this Qur’anic chapter adroitly contains the totality of the Islamic creed, which reveals the wisdom behind the divine ruling that Al-Fatihah be recited in every unit of salah (prayer) and the invalidity of salah without it.

“In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.”

The start of anything, as Allah guides, should be in His name; everything in this universe is in His name and happens by His will and permission. Starting any action with Allah’s Name means taking Him as one’s helper and supporter in that action.

The mention of Allah’s name is accompanied by His two sublime Attributes, the All-Merciful and the Ever-Merciful, as a constant reminder of the open doors of His mercy; thus, no one should feel unwelcome.

“Praise be to Allah, the Lord of existence.”

Coming into existence out of nothing is a bounty from the Lord of existence, Who gives to all, and takes nothing for Himself. With every breath, His endless and continuous blessings flow by day and night, which can render the tongue speechless, at a loss for the right words. But Allah teaches that thanking Him is done with only two words, “Alhamdu lillah” (Praise be to Allah). This is a favor in itself.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) expressed the human inability to fully thank our Creator, when he said: “I cannot praise You enough. You are as You have praised Yourself.” (Muslim)

“The Owner (Master) of the Day of Judgment.”

This is what gives balance to the whole world. Without it, the world would be a jungle. Without it, human life could not be elevated. Only through belief in the Day of Judgment can hearts find rest; what humans receive in this world is not their final portion. There is a world to come that is worth striving for, unrestricted by the limits of a lifetime or the scope of this earth.

Believers and disbelievers in this Day are not the same in their emotions, thoughts, behavior, or actions. Their attitude towards it splits them into two totally different types of people. Believers rarely lose sight of their inevitable meeting with Allah and retain Him in their thoughts and actions, for they know they will be judged. Disbelievers do not have Allah in any of their thoughts or actions. About them, Allah says:

As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are like a mirage in a desert which a thirsty one thinks is water until, when he comes to it, he finds it to be nothing. Instead he finds Allah before him, Who will pay him in full his due. And Allah is swift in account. (An-Nur 24:39)

“It is You we worship, and You we ask for help.”

As long as people worship only their Creator and seek only His Help, they are free and immune to subjugation by regimes, circumstances, or other humans. They will not fall prey to superstitions, myths, or fancies. Filled with feelings of submission to and reliance on Allah alone, Muslims live in this world free, with no fear of – or for – anything. They bow to Allah (Exalted be He) with humility and stand with their heads raised before everything else.

“Guide us to the Straight Path.”

This is the first and most important supplication a believer can pray for to continue to adhere to and practice Allah’s true religion, Islam, to attain happiness in this life and the next.

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The article is excerpted from the Book “A Brief Tour through the Qur’an” by Haya Muhammad Eid, edited by Emily Richardson. To read or download the book click here.

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New Muslims Qur'an & Sunnah

Tilawah of the Qur’an: Meaning and Blessings

reading Qur'an

As the tongue recites and words flow from the lips, the mind ponders, the heart reflects, the soul absorbs, tears well up in the eyes, the heart quakes and trembles.

Tilawah is the word that the Qur’an uses to describe the act of its reading. No single word in English can convey its full meaning. ‘To follow’ is closest to its primary meaning. To read is only secondary, for in reading too, words follow each other, one closely behind the other, in an orderly and meaningful sequence. If one word does not follow the other, or if the sequence and order is not observed, the meaning is destroyed.

So, primarily, tilawah means, move closely behind, to go forward, to flow in a sequence, let go in pursuit, to take as a guide, leader, master, a model, to accept the authority, to espouse the cause, to act upon, walk after, practice a way of life, to understand, to follow the train of thought – or to follow.

Hence, reading the Qur’an, understanding the Qur’an, following the Qur’an – that is how those who have any right to claim faith in it relate themselves to it.

All-Inclusive Act

Tilawah or recitation is an act in which your whole person, soul, heart, mind, tongue and body, participates. In short your whole existence becomes involved.

In reading the Qur’an, mind and body, reason and feeling lose their distinction; they become fused. As the tongue recites and words flow from the lips, the mind ponders, the heart reflects, the soul absorbs, tears well up in the eyes, the heart quakes and trembles, the skin shivers and softens just as the heart does, there no longer remains any duality between the two, even your hair may stand on end.

And ”so he walks in a light from his Lord”  (Az-Zumar 39:22) “that is God’s guidance, whereby He guides whomsoever He will.” (Az-Zumar 39:23)

To read the Qur’an thus, as it deserves to be read, is not a light task; but nor is it too difficult or impossible.

Otherwise the Qur’an could not have been meant for laymen like us, nor could it be the mercy and the guidance that it surely is. But obviously it does entail much travail of heart and mind, soul and intellect, spirit and body, and requires that certain conditions be observed and obligations be fulfilled – some inwardly, some outwardly. You should know them all, now, and endeavour to observe them before you enter the glorious world of the Qur’an.

Matchless Blessing

Only then will you reap the full harvest of blessings that await you in the Qur’an. Only then will the Qur’an open its doors to you. Only then will it let you dwell inside it and dwell inside you. Nine months spent in the womb of your mother have transformed a drop of water into ‘you’ – hearing, seeing and thinking.

Can you imagine what a lifetime spent with the Qur’an – seeking, hearing, seeing, thinking, striving – can do for you?

It can make you into an entirely new ‘being’ – before whom even angels will feel proud to kneel. Ascending at every step taken within the Qur’an and every moment spent therein, you will reach towering heights. You will be gripped by the power and beauty that breathe and move within the Qur’an.

From `Abdullah ibn `Amr ibn Al-`Aas: The Prophet (Allah’s blessings and peace be on him) said: “The companion of the Qur’an will be told: recite and ascend, ascend with facility as you used to recite with facility in the world. Your final abode is the height you reach at the last verse you recite”. (Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, Ahmad, and An-Nasa’i).

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The article is excerpted from the author’s book “Way to the Qur’an”.

 

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New Muslims Qur'an & Sunnah

The Qur’an: A Message for All & for Each One in Particular

quran

The Qur’an makes known, reveals and guides: it is a light that responds to the quest for meaning.

For Muslims the Qur’an stands as the text of reference, the source and the essence of the message transmitted to humanity by the Creator. It is the last of a lengthy series of revelations addressed to humans down through history. It is the Word of God – but it is not God.

The Qur’an makes known, reveals and guides: it is a light that responds to the quest for meaning.

Reminder for All

The Qur’an is remembrance of all previous messages, those of Noah and Abraham, of Moses and Jesus. Like them, it reminds and instructs our consciousness: life has meaning, facts are signs.

It is the Book of all Muslims the world over. But paradoxically, it is not the first book someone seeking to know Islam should read. (A life of the Prophet or any book presenting Islam would be a better introduction.) For it is both extremely simple and deeply complex. The nature of the spiritual, human, historical and social teachings to be drawn from it can be understood at different levels. The text is one, but its readings are multiple.

For the woman or the man whose heart has made the message of Islam its own, the Qur’an speaks in a singular way. It is both the voice and the path. God speaks to one’s innermost being, to his consciousness, to his heart, and guides him onto the path that leads to knowledge of him, to the meeting with him:

This is the Book, about it there can be no doubt; it is a Path for those who are aware of God. (Al-Baqarah 2:2)

Not Just a Text

More than a mere text, it is a traveling companion to be chanted, to be sung or to be heard.

Throughout the Muslim world, in mosques, in homes and in the streets, one can hear magnificent voices reciting the divine Words. Here, there can be no distinction between religious scholars (`ulmaa’) and laymen. The Qur’an speaks to each in his language, accessibly, as if to match his intelligence, his heart, his questions, his joy as well as his pain. This is what the scholars have termed reading or listening as adoration.

As Muslims read or hear the text, they strive to suffuse themselves with the spiritual dimension of its message: beyond time, beyond history and the millions of beings who populate the earth, God is speaking to each of them, calling and reminding each of them, inviting, guiding, counseling and commanding. God responds, to her, to him, to the heart of each: with no intermediary, in the deepest intimacy.

For Every One

No need for studies and diplomas, for masters and guides. Here, as we take our first steps, God beckons us with the simplicity of his closeness. The Qur’an belongs to everyone, free of distinction and of hierarchy. God responds to whoever comes to his Word.

It is not rare to observe women and men, poor and rich, educated and illiterate, Eastern and Western, falling silent, staring into the distance, lost in thought, stepping back, weeping. The search for meaning has encountered the sacred, God is near:

Indeed, I am close at hand. I answer the call of him who calls me when s/he calls. (Al-Baqarah 2:186)

A dialogue has begun. An intense, permanent, constantly renewed dialogue between a Book that speaks the infinite simplicity of the adoration of the One, and the heart that makes the intense effort necessary to liberate itself, to meet him. At the heart of every heart’s striving lies the Qur’an. It holds out peace and initiates into liberty.

Indeed, the Qur’an may be read at several levels, in quite distinct fields. But first, the reader must be aware of how the text has been constructed. The Qur’an was revealed in sequences of varying length, sometimes as entire chapters (surahs), over a span of 23 years.

qur'an

At the heart of every heart’s striving lies the Qur’an.

In its final form, the text follows neither a chronological nor strictly thematic order. Two things initially strike the reader: the repetition of prophetic stories, and the formulas and information that refer to specific historical situations that the Qur’an does not elucidate.

True Understanding

Understanding, at this first level, calls for a twofold effort on the part of the reader: though repetition is, in a spiritual sense, a reminder and a revivification, in an intellectual sense it leads us to attempt to reconstruct. The stories of Eve and Adam, or of Moses, are repeated several times over with differing though noncontradictory elements: the task of human intelligence is to recompose the narrative structure, to bring together all the elements, allowing us to grasp the facts.

But we must also take into account the context to which these facts refer: all commentators, without distinction as to school of jurisprudence, agree that certain verses of the revealed text (in particular, but not only, those that refer to war) speak of specific situations that had arisen at the moment of their revelation. Without taking historical contingency into account, it is impossible to obtain general information on this or that aspect of Islam.

In such cases, our intelligence is invited to observe the facts, to study them in reference to a specific environment and to derive principles from them. It is a demanding task, which requires study, specialization and extreme caution- or, to put it differently, extreme intellectual modesty.

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Source: nytimes.com

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Al-Fatihah and the Six Principals of Guidance

In the opening Chapter of the Qur’an, Al-Fatihah God says:

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of existence, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful, the Owner (Master) of the Day of Judgment. It is You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help. Guide us to the Straight Path, the Path of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not the path of those who have incurred Your Anger, nor of those who have gone astray. (Al-Fatihah 1:1-7)

Al-Fatihah

Surat Al-Fatihah

Al-Fatihah, is an introduction to the Qur’an itself. Often times introductions contain summaries of the contents that will come after them so it is not surprising that Al-Fatihah summarizes some main principles for guidance in life.

Maintain Objectivity

We read in Al-Fatihah:

“It is You alone we worship.”

From the repetition of this verse throughout each day of our lives we are re-calibrated to focus on God in all of our affairs. It is only through this submission that we can gain objectivity. If it’s about ourselves, it’s not about God. If it’s about power, or wealth, or recognition, or self-healing, it’s not about God. Only in submission can objectivity, or at least as close as possible to it, be sought.

Stay Humble in the Journey

“It is You alone we rely upon.”

To do this is to live a life of humility. The one who only relies upon God knows the true source of their accomplishments and understands their limitations. Their reliance is not focused on themselves and their skills or talents, but on the source of all good, God Himself.

Do What Needs to Get Done to Succeed

“Guide us to the straight path.”

When we want to succeed in life there are always things that need to get done. This part of the Chapter teaches us to seek those means to take the path.

Seek Practical Guidance and Mentorship from Others

“The path of those upon whom You have bestowed Your grace.”

From this part we learn that in the journey of life we need examples we can learn from. Apprenticeship was the traditional model of learning in many societies around the world and is necessary up to today in many fields. Good mentors are priceless on the journey towards any goal.

Avoid Major Obstacles that Stop the Journey

“Not the way of those who have received Your anger.”

In any journey there are obstacles that can completely inhibit one from reaching their goal. They are betrayals of the path. One cannot be a therapist or counselor if they abuse their power and act unethically. One cannot be a teacher if they are sloppy in their academic integrity. One cannot be a leader if they are irresponsible and untrustworthy. All of these mishaps are obstacles that completely block one from their goal. They must be avoided at all costs.

Al-Fatihah: Avoid Misguidance

“Nor those who have gone astray.”

Misguidance is a reality in the sea of information. Some people, the good mentors and advisors, will lead you on the  path and facilitate the journey. Others, the sources of misguidance, will give advice and share information that is inaccurate and therefore negatively affect the journey. These too can become major obstacles and must also be avoided.

These six simple principles derived from Al-Fatihah serve as signposts for every believer in their journeys throughout life. Mentors and advice will always vary. Sometimes we will have access to good teachers and sometimes we will not.

Regardless of the circumstances we can always hold these principles in front of us so that we can be guided through the divine guidance of the Most High. They should be brought to mind when we read Al-Fatihah in our daily prayers and throughout our lives.

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Source: safacenter.org

*These principles were abstracted from the Tafsir of Ibn ‘Ashur.

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