METHODOLOGY FOR STUDY OF THE QUR'AN
by Sheikh Imran Nazar Hosein
Undiminished literary attraction of the Qur’ān
But what is also miraculous is that millions of mankind living in the modern age have a passionate interest in studying and understanding as ancient a book as the Qur’ān. Indeed, as the count-down to the end of history accelerates, interest in the study of the Qur’ān is constantly increasing – hence the importance of books like this which teach methodology for study of the Qur’ān.
The challenge to those who doubt the status of the Qur’ān as the Word of the One God which was revealed to an Arab who could neither read nor write. The Qur’ān has challenged those who doubt its divinely revealed status, to produce anything (even as small a literary composition that is just three sentences in length) comparable to it. That challenge remains unanswered to this day:
“And if you doubt (the claim of divine origin) of any part of (this book) which We have revealed from on high to Our servant [Muhammad (s)], then produce a Sūrah (i.e., a chapter) of similar merit, and call upon whoever you wish other than Allah to (assist you and) to bear witness for you – if there be any substance in your doubts! And if you cannot do it, and (be warned that) most certainly you cannot do it, then fear the fire which awaits all those who (persist in) rejecting (the status of this Qur’ān as the Word of the One True God). The fuel of that fire consists of men and stones.”
(Qur’ān, al-Baqarah, 2:23-24)
The historical record is clear that the Qur’ān was dictated to scribes who recorded the dictations. The dictations came miraculously from the lips of an Arab who lived all his life in Arabia, and who could neither read nor write. Nabī Muhammad (s) never went to school, and could not recognize even his own name if it was shown to him in writing. That is most certainly another miracle!
When the Qur’ān declared of the Prophet (s) that he could neither read nor write, a golden opportunity was presented for someone to come forward with evidence that (the Prophet) had once read or written even a single word, and that would have been enough to destroy the claim of the Qur’ān that it was the infallible Word of the One True God. In the fourteen hundred years that have passed since the Qur’ān was revealed, no such evidence has ever been presented.
He dictated the Qur’ān over a period of twenty-three tumultuous years during which he had to migrate from his home-town to another city hundreds of miles away. He also had to lead his people in several wars in order to defend his small community from those who were obsessed with destroying it. He had to eventually function as a Head of State, etc. Yet there is no evidence that he ever had to edit or revise any passage or sentence or even word that was ever dictated to the scribes during those twenty-three years. No human author can produce a book in such a way, in bits and pieces dictated over such a long period of time – with no editing – and yet with no discrepancies and no contradictions in the text. But this unedited Qur’ān compiled from dictations delivered in bits and pieces over twenty-three tumultuous years, is free from contradictions – internal or external. That is yet another miracle!
Not only is the Qur’ān free from contradictions, but it boldly proclaims that had it come from any source other than Allah, it would have been filled with contradictions:
“Will they not, then, ponder and reflect over this Qur’ān (while seeking to understand whether it has indeed come from the One God)? Had it come from any but Allah, they would surely have found in it many an inner contradiction!”
(Qur’ān, al-Nisā, 4:82)
Perhaps most amazing of all is the fact that the dictations which were made over a period of twenty-three years, and were recorded by scribes as they were dictated, are not located in the text in the chronological order or sequence in which they were dictated. Rather, the scribes were instructed to insert the written record of each dictation, upon the completion of the dictation, in different places in the text. For example, it is universally recognized that the first verses of the Qur’ān dictated to the scribes were the first five verses of Sūrah al-’Alaq (or the chapter of the ‘Clot of Blood’). This passage is not located at the beginning of the Qur’ān, but is rather to be found in a Sūrah which is located close to the end of the Qur’ān. Similarly it universally recognized that the last verses of the Qur’ān dictated to the scribes were verses which dealt with the subject of Ribā (or usury). Yet these verses are not to be found at the end of the Qur’ān, or even close to the end. Rather they are located in Sūrah al Baqarah which is the second Sūrah in the Qur’ān. All of the Qur’ān is like that! The text, as presently arranged, differs from the text as chronologically revealed to Nabī Muhammad (s) and subsequently dictated to the scribes who recorded them.
Nabī Muhammad (s) did not have any written text before him which he could examine in order to determine where the text of a new dictation should be placed; and even if he had such a text before him, he could not read it since he was unlettered (i.e., he could neither read nor write). Such a rearranged compilation of a text, as long and diverse as that of the Qur’ān, in an order or sequence other than that in which it was dictated, should have resulted in some mistakes, inconsistencies, or contradictions. But the Qur’ān is free of even a single mistake, inconsistency or contradiction. This is yet another miracle!
The rivals of Truth have tried for more than fourteen hundred years to corrupt the text of the Qur’ān, but they have failed miserably and embarrassingly in that effort. They can continue with their evil effort for as long as they wish, but they will never succeed, because the ‘One True God’ is protecting this Book. The uncorrupted text of the Qur’ān remains in the world as irrefutable proof that it is the absolutely authentic word of the ‘One True God’.
The Christian and Jewish reader, who believes in the God of Nabī Ibrāhīm (Abraham (a)) would be astonished to learn of some of the extraordinary things He has spoken about the status of the Qur’ān. He has said, for example, that if this Qur’ān had been sent down on a mountain, rather than on the heart of the blessed Prophet (s), the mountain would have shaken and shivered in humility and out of fear of Allah:
“Had We sent down this Qur’ān from on high upon a mountain, you would indeed have seen it humbling itself, breaking asunder for awe of Allah. And [all] such parables We propound unto men, so that they might [learn to] think.”
(Qur’ān, al-Hashr, 59:21)
Finally the unique status of the Qur’ān is such that when it is recited by a believer, Allah Most High places a barrier which separates such a believer from those who reject belief in a life here-after:
“But [thus it is:] whenever you recite the Qur’ān, We place an invisible barrier between you and those who will not believe in the life to come.”
(Qur’ān, al-Isrā, 17:45)
Those who accept the Qur’ān as the revealed Word of the One True God have no obligation whatsoever to convince anyone that it is Divine revelation. Rather they have a duty to wage such a struggle with the Qur’ān as would convincingly demonstrate that it is Truth; and that is the purpose of this book. The Qur’ān has commanded those who believe in it as the Word of the One God, to wage a mighty struggle with it against all those who reject it:
“Hence do not defer to (the likes and dislikes of) those who reject (this book as truth), but rather wage a mighty struggle against them, by means of this (book).”
(Qur’ān, al-Furqān, 25:52)
There is no other subject which can compare with the subject of Dajjāl the false Messiah, which is the subject of another of my books, in its capacity to offer convincing evidence of Truth in the Qur’ān. There are only two ways those readers can respond to the claim of this Qur’ān that it is the Word of the ‘One True God’. They can either accept it, or reject it. They cannot remain forever in a state of suspended judgment.
to be continued .....
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