Allah Ta’ala sent many prophets and messengers to guide people to the right path and to prevent them from following the path of Satan. Verily, Allah Ta’ala sent down many divine books on the Messengers to distinguish between truth and falsehood, to confirm the words of the Messengers, and to establish evidence against the people on the Day of Resurrection. After a certain time, He sent the last prophet and messenger to the world and revealed to him the Quran Majeed which is the last and greatest divine book Al-Quran. After the Quran Majeed, until the Day of Resurrection, Allah Ta’ala will not send down any other divine book. And He will definitely protect the Qur’an from being changed and distorted.
So I will present to you some information about the Quran that will help you to know a lot. And at the same time, I will try to present reliable evidence for each subject, Insha Allah. So let’s first know what Quran Majeed is.
What is Quran Majeed?
Quran is the name of the last divine book. And Majeed is an Arabic word. It means Dignified. As this, the literal meaning of the Quran Majeed is the Dignified Quran. It has many synonyms. Such as the Book of Allah, Quranul Karim, Al Furqan, Al Mushaf, Az Zikr, etc.
The definition of the Qur’an Majeed is The miraculous words of Allah that have been revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him), have been narrated successively, and the Recitation of which is considered as worship. [Kitab Al-Manar Fi Uloom Al-Quran, page 14]
However, the clearest and most accurate definition of the Quran Majeed is “The words of Allah which have been revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him) in Arabic, the recitation of which is regarded as an act of worship, which have been narrated successively without any doubt, which is recorded in the Mushaf.”
And the Mushaf is a book in which the written pages of the Qur’an have been gathered. [Lisan Al-Arab, volume 9, page: 186]
Imam Qazi Ayaz Malki (Rh) said about the Qur’an,
“And you should know that whoever contempts the Qur’an or the Mushaf or any of it, Or if someone insults the Qur’an, Or if someone refuses the Qur’an or any letter or verse of the Qur’an, Or if someone denies the Quran Majeed or any of it, Or if anyone denies any rulings or news which is clearly stated in the Qur’an, Or if someone knowingly makes Negative what the Qur’an has made Positive or If someone knowingly makes Positive what the Quran Majeed has made Negative, Or if anyone doubts anything in the Qur’an, he will be a disbeliever according to the consensus of all the wise.” [Kitab Al Shifa of Imam Qazi Ayaz Malki, volume 2, page: 304]
What are the dignity and virtues of Quran Majeed?
Allah Ta’ala improves some nations through the Qur’an. He degrades other nations again by it. Those who have the Qur’an in their hearts and act according to it, the fire of Hell will not touch them. The Qur’an is the best of all the books in the world. Because it is the book of Allah, the Creator. And the other books are the books of creation.
And Allah Ta’ala said about the dignity of the Quran: “Indeed, those who disbelieve in Az-Zirk (i.e., the Qur’an) after it has come to them, (They will not succeed in the Hereafter) And indeed, it is a mighty Book. Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; (it is) a revelation from a (Lord who is) Wise and Praiseworthy.” [Surah Fussilat, verses 41 – 42]
And Two people are the best in the world and hereafter. One; the person to whom Allah Ta’ala has given the knowledge of the Quran, and he stands by it day and night (i.e., who recites the Quran while standing in Salah or is engaged in his preaching or teaching). Two; the person to whom Allah Ta’ala has given wealth, and he spends it day and night in the way of Allah.
Narrated Uthman bin Affan (RA): The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Quran and teach it.” [Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 5027]
Narrated Muhammad bin Ka’b Al-Qurazi: I heard Abdullah bin Mas’ud (RA) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Whoever recites a letter from Allah’s Book, then this will be a reward for him. And A reward will be tenfold. I do not say that Alif Lam Mim is a letter, but Alif is a letter, Lam is a letter and Mim is a letter.” [Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 2910]
Why is Quran Majeed so important?
The Quran is the right guide for those who fear Allah. It contains descriptions of what is welfare for human beings in this world and in the Hereafter. Verily, Allah Ta’ala also has mentioned in the Quran what sin is and what causes to go to Hell. He has sent down the Quran Majeed so that people can do good deeds according to it and follow the direction of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him), and so that they may attain success in this world and in the Hereafter. Also, every Muslim can easily rescue themselves from Hell by the Qur’an and save themselves from Allah’s punishment through it.
Allah Ta’ala also sent the last Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) as a teacher to teach people how to act according to the Qur’an. Certainly, Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) has obeyed every ruling of Allah throughout his life according to the Qur’an. He has always followed the Quran in such a way that the Qur’an is regarded as his character.
In this regard, Narrated Sa’d bin Hisham bin Amir (Rh), he asked Aisha (RA), and said to her: O Mother of the Faithful, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). She (RA) said: Don’t you read the Qur’an? I said: Yes. Upon this, she (RA) said: The character of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was the Qur’an. [Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 746]
Allah’s words about the Quran Majeed
This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who fear Allah. [Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 2]
The month of Ramadan (is that) in which was revealed the Quran, (It is) a guide for the people, and clear proofs of the guidance, and the differentiator between truth and falsehood. [Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 185]
It is certainly I Who have revealed the Reminder (i.e., Al-Quran), and it is certainly I Who will preserve it. [Surah Al-Hijr, verse 9]
Say, If mankind and the jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other assistants. [Surah Al-Isra, verse 88]
(This is) a blessed Book which I have revealed to you, (O Muḥammad), that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded. [Surah Sad, verse 29]
Indeed, it is a noble Quran. In a Register well-protected; None touch it except the purified (i.n., the angels). (It is) a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. [Surah Al-Waqiah, verses 77 – 80]
There are also many more verses on the matter. I have mentioned a few verses for shorting the article.
Preservation of the Qur’an during the time of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him)
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has made the initial arrangements for the preservation of the Qur’an by memorizing the Qur’an himself and by encouraging his Companions (RA) to memorize it and urging them. He then entrusted the task of writing down Al-Quran to various Companions. So they had taken direction from Him (peace be upon him) about which Surah would be where and which verse would be where and then they wrote the Qur’an according to His direction. [Kitab Al-Manar of Muhammad Ali Al Hasan, page: 152]
Paper was scarce in Arabia at that time. So they used to write the verses of the Al-Quran on stone tablets, leather, palm branches and leaves, bamboo pieces, animal bones, etcetera. However, during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the complete Qur’an was not recorded together in the form of a book. Because there was a great possibility of Quran revelation as long as the Prophet (peace be upon him) was alive. Then no one knew where the new revealed verse or surah would be placed. So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to say his companions (RA) to replace the new Surah or verse in there, where Allah had ordered him (peace be upon him) to replace it.
Preservation of the Qur’an during the time of Abu Bakr (RA.)
Abu Bakr (RA) said: Umar (RA) came to me and said, Among the martyrs of the battle of Yamama was a large number of Hafiz Quran reciters. I fear that if the Hafiz Quran reciters become martyrs in this way, many parts of the Qur’an will be lost. Therefore I suggest, you order that the Qur’an be collected.” I (Abu Bakr) said to Umar (RA), “How can you do something which Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) did not do?” Umar (RA) said, “By Allah, that is a good project.” Umar (RA) kept on urging me to accept his proposal till Allah opened my chest for it and I began to realize the good in the idea that Umar (RA) had realized. [Sahih Bukhari, Hadith No. 4986]
Zayd (RA) said: Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) said to me, ‘You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicion about you, and you used to write the revelation for Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). So you should search for (the fragmentary scripts of) the Qur’an and collect it in one book.’
Zayd (RA.) said:
I said: “How will you do something which was not done by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)?” Abu Bakr (RA) said: “By Allah! It is something good.” Abu Bakr (RA) and Umar (RA) continued trying to convince me, until Allah opened up my chest for that, just as He (Allah) had opened their chests, the chest of Abu Bakr (RA) and the chest of Umar (RA). So I began searching for Qur’anic material from the parchments, the palms stalks, the thin stones, and the chests of men. [Jami At-Tirmidhi, Hadith No. 3103]
Then Abu Bakr (RA) kept the manuscripts of the Qur’an to himself till his death. After his death, Umar (RA) preserved it for as long as he was alive. After Umar’s (RA) death, Hafsah (RA), the daughter of Umar (RA) reserved it again.
Preservation of the Qur’an during the time of Uthman Bin Affan (RA.)
Narrated Anas bin Malik (RA): Hudhaifa bin Al-Yaman (RA) came to Uthman (RA) at the time when the people of Sham (Greater Syria) and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Armenia and Adharbijan. Hudhaifa (RA) was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur’an, so he said to Uthman (RA), “O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Qur’an) as Jews and the Christians did before.”
So Uthman (RA) sent a message to Hafsa (RA) saying, “Send us the manuscripts of the Qur’an so that we may compile the Quranic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you.” Hafsa (RA) sent it to Uthman (RA). Uthman (RA) then ordered Zaid bin Thabit (RA), Abdullah bin Az-Zubair Al-Quraishi (RA), Sa’id bin Al-As Al-Quraishi (RA), and Abdur Rahman bin Harith bin Hisham Al-Quraishi (RA) to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies.
Then Uthman (RA) said to the three Quraishi men, “In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit (RA) on any point in the Qur’an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur’an was revealed in their tongue.” They did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthman (RA) returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa (RA). Uthman (RA) sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied and ordered that all the other Qur’anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt. [Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 4987]
Burning the Qur’an
The Prophet (peace be upon him) had made arrangements to record every verse of the Qur’an while he was alive. Besides, many of the Companions (RA) used to record the verses of the Qur’an for personal study. But these copies were not complete. Moreover, in order to facilitate the understanding of the words of the Qur’an, some companions (RA) used to write down the explanations of some verses with the verses of the Quran in their personal copies.
As a result, there was an opportunity to spread confusion. Because then one group will think itself right and the other will feel misguided. So Uthman (RA) decided to write the Qur’an on one Qiraʼat of the seven Qiraʼat. After compiling the Qur’an on one Qiraʼat, He instructed burning other copies of the Qur’an except for the Mushaf of Uthman.
In this regard, Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (Rh) said:
Uthman (RA) united the people on one Qiraʼat of the seven Qiraʼats; the recitation of the seven Qiraʼats which the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) left unconditional for them when it was beneficial. Then the Companions of Allah’s Messenger (RA) feared that the ummah might disagree on the Qur’an, and when they thought that to unite them on one Qiraʼat would be safer and a way to stay far away from the disagreement, they did so. And they prevented people from reciting the Qur’an by other Qira’at without that Qira’at. [At-Turuq Al-Hukmiyah of Ibn Al-qayyim, page 19]
Allah Ta’ala gives us the correct understanding of the Qur’an and gives us the Tawfiq to seek the help of wise scholars to solve any problem related to the Qur’an and Hadith. Ameen.
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