Transcript Slide 1

Contents of the Lesson
Definitions and Characteristics
Revelation
Revelation-Graduality
Revelation-Content-Graduality
Revelation-Maccan and Madinan
Revelation-Legal Verses
Definitions and Characteristics
The verbal noun of the root word:
qara’a means to read
Quran literally
‘recitation’.
means ‘reading’
or
More closely, Quran is defined as ‘the
book containing the speech of God
revealed to the Prophet Muhammad
in Arabic and transmitted to us by
continuous testimony or tawatur’.
The most prominent attributes of the
Quran are five:
1.it was revealed exclusively to
the Prophet Mohammed;
2.it was put into writing;
3.it is all mutawatir;
4.it is the inimitable speech of
God;
5.and it is recited in salah.
Revelation
The revelation of the Quran began with sura
al-Alaq and ended with the ayah in surah Albaqarah 281
And be afraid of the Day when you shall be
brought back to Allāh. Then every person
shall be paid what he earned, and they shall
not be dealt with unjustly.
The Quran itself indicated that it was sent
down and revealed in three successive
stages. The first descent was to Lawh alMahfuz (the ‘guarded tablet’) in a manner
and times that is not known: ‘Nay, it is a glorious
Quran in a guarded tablet’ (al-Buruj, 85: 21-22).
The second descent was to the lowest
heaven, described as bayt al-izzah (the
abode of honour) and this occurred in the
night of Laylatul Qadr :
“ Truly We have revealed it on the Night of
Majesty ”
(al-Qadr, 97:1)
In al-Dukhan, 44:3, it is revealed that ‘truly
We revealed it on a blessed night’. The
previous two passages suggest that the
second stage of the revelation occurred in a
single night, which is further specified as
one of the last ten nights in the month of
Ramadan.
In al-Dukhan, 44:3, it is revealed that
‘truly We revealed it on a blessed
night’. The previous two passages
suggest that the second stage of the
revelation occurred in a single night,
which is further specified as one of
the last ten nights in the month of
Ramadan.
Thus, it was only the last of the three
stages that the Quran was revealed to
mankind gradually, in about twentythree years, the mediation of the
archangel Gabriel.
Revelation
There are 114 suras and 6,235 ayat of
unequal length in the Quran.
Both the order of the ayat within each sura,
and the sequence were re-arranged and
finally determined by the Prophet in the year
of his demise.
The Quran consists of manifest revelation
(wahy
zahir),
which
is
defined
as
communication from God to the Prophet
Muhammad, conveyed by the angel Gabriel, in
the very word of God
The prophet received the revelation in
a state of wakefulness, and thus no
part of the Quran originated in internal
inspiration or dreams.
Manifest
revelation
differs
from
internal revelation (wahy batin) in that
the latter consists of the inspiration
(ilham) of concepts only: God inspired
the Prophet and the latter conveyed
the concepts in his own words; hadith
of the Prophet fall into this category of
internal revelation.
Hadith Qudsi differs from the other
varieties of hadith in form only;
the Prophet narrates a concept
directly from God which may consist
of either wahy zahir or wahy batin
Revelation
Gradualism
 Graduality in the revelation of the
Quran afforded the believers an
opportunity to reflect on it and to
retain it in their memories.
 Revelation over a period of time also
facilitated
continuous
contact
between the belivers and renewal of
spiritual strength, so that the hostility
of the unbelievers toward the new
faith did not weaken the hearts of the
Muslims.
Revelation-Content-Graduality
Attention was initially focused on the rejection of
false beliefs and superstitions.
This was a
preparatory stage for the next phase of teaching
concerned with the basic dogma and value structure
of Islam.
This stage was followed by the rules of ibadat leading
in turn to a fuller exposition of the rules of
mu’amalat.
A considerable portion of the Quran was revealed in
response to questions that the Prophet was being
asked from time to time, and also event that were
experienced throughout the years of revelation.
Graduality provided the opportunity to rectify any
errors that the Muslims, or even the Prophet himself,
might have committed and lessons that could be
learned from them.
Revelation
The
phenomenon
of
naskh
(abrogation) of an earlier ruling at a
later stage owing to change of
circumstance is also connected with
the gradual unfolding of the Quran.
Quranic
legislation
concerning
matters which touched the lives of the
people was therefore not imposed all
at once. It was revealed piecemeal so
as to avoid hardship to the believers;
for
example,
the
ban
on
the
consumption of alcohol.
Revelation-Maccan and Madinan
The larger part of the Quran, that is
nineteen out of the total of thirty
parts, was received during the first
twelve and half years of the Prophet’s
residence in Mecca.
The remainder of the Quran was
received after the Prophet’s migration
to Medina over a period of just nine
and half years.
Revelation-Maccan and Madinan
The Meccan part of the Quran laid down the
basic principles of law and religion that
were elaborated in Medina.
With reference to the five essential values
of Islam, that is, ‫الدين والنفس والمال والعقل‬
‫ والنسل‬religion, life, intellect, family and
property, al- Shatibi wrote in his book,
al-Muwafaqat, that all these were in
principle articulated in the Meccan portions
of the Quran.
In addition to the essentials of belief and
monotheism, matter of worship, and
disputation with the unbelievers etc., the
Meccan Quran also contained legal rulings
on the permitted and forbidden varieties of
food, the prohibition of murder and
infanticide, safeguarding the property of
orphans, the prevention of injustice, giving
due measurement and weight in commercial
transactions and a variety of other rulings.
Since the Medinan period signified the
formation of the ummah and the growing
Islamic state, the Quranic emphasis shifted
to principles regulating the political, legal,
social, and economic life of the new
community.
With regard to distinguishing the
Meccan from the Medinan portions of
the Quran, the ulama, have applied
three different criteria:
time of revelations, i.e. before or
after the migration to Medina, for
instance; the place of revelation, in
Mecca or Medina;
the nature of the subject-matter and
audience, which means that all the
parts of the Quran that are addressed
to the people of Mecca are classified
as Meccan those which are addressed
to the people of Medina are classified
as Medinan.
Meccan
ayat
are
recognized
by
the
occurrence therein of the phrase, ya bani
Adam (O Children of Adam), narratives and
information about previous prophets, and the
occurrence of the word, kalla, (not at all,
certainly not) indicating argumentation with
disbelievers on matters of belief in God, the
prophethood of Muhammad, belief in the
Hereafter, moral teachings, denunciation of
acts of oppression and injustice, and the
occurrence
of
the
text
of
oath-like
expressions (aqsam).
Medinan passages are distinguished by
references to the people of scripture,
permission for jihad, references to the
muhajirun and the ansar (Emigrants and
Helpers) and legislation on a variety of
themes.
Revelation-Legal Verses
 The legal or practical contents of the Quran
(al-ahkam al-amaliyyah) constitute the basis
of what is known as fiqh al-Quran.
 There are two types of practical rules in the
Quran those pertaining to ibadat and those
pertaining to mu’amalat.
 An ayah is classified as one of the ayat alahkam (legal verses) if it contains a ruling or
hukm, even if this occurs in non-legal
context, according to such as the Maliki jurist
Ibn al-Arabi.
 Those who classified a legal ayah only
when it occurred in a legal context
have identified a smaller number of
ayat as falling into the legal category;
among such scholars are three wellknown :
 Ahmed ibn Ali al Razi al-Jassas (d.
370 AH), Ahkam al-Quran,
 Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Arabi (d.
543AH), Ahkam al-Quran,
 and Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn
Ahmad
al-Qurtubi (d. 671) AH), al-Jami liAyat al-Ahkam.
 The ayat al-ahlkam are three types:
 those which relate to belief known as
ahkam i’tiqadiyyah,
 those which relate to morality, known
as ahkam khulqiyyah,
 and the practical legal rules, known as
ahkam amaliyayah. This last is then
sub-divided
into
the
two
main
categories of ibadat and mu’amalat.