A Study of Islam- Part Three
The Quran: The Muslim Holy Book
Yusaf Ali’s English translation of the Quran runs to 597 pages in one paperback edition. That is one indication of the space taken up by the Quran’s 6,616 verses and 77,934 words. By comparison, the Protestant Christian Bible has 1189 chapters and 31,173 verses. There is nothing amazing about the size of the Quran. What is amazing is that many Muslims, including young boys and girls, have memorized the entire Quran, cover to cover, in Arabic. This remarkable feat is an indication of the incredible stature of the Quran within the Muslim world.
As we know by now, the Quran is believed by Muslims to have been revealed to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel ‘piecemeal’ as occasion required during the last twenty-three years of his life. Muslims take a very fundamentalist attitude to God’s word, and the Quran holds a place of exalted reverence in their hearts. As an example, it is a sin for a Muslim to place any book or object on top of the Quran. To imply that Muslims revere the Quran may not be a strong enough statement.
The Quran is said to have existed eternally in heaven engraved on a stone tablet. The language is Arabic and, even today, it is believed that Arabic is of a stature unattainable by any other language. It is inherently perfect. Speakers of Arabic have a special prestige in the eyes of the Muslim world.
The revelations were passed on orally by Muhammad to his companions, some of whom wrote them down while others memorized them. Muslim orthodoxy holds that the angel Gabriel helped Muhammad to collate the revelations periodically so that at his death there was an exact transcript of what was written on the heavenly tablet.
Orthodox Islam generally affirms the uncreated Quran. Allah was and is preexistent to everything known and unknown. His Word is an integral part of His being. It could no more be created than Allah himself could be created.
Yet this affirmation presents an
empirical problem. At a precise point in time and space the Quran was revealed,
recited, recorded, and spread to multitudes. Prior to 610 AD, not one word of
the Quran was known to mankind and, according to Muslim belief, not one syllable
of Allah’s revelation was uttered following the death of Muhammad in 632 AD.
Muslims respond that the twenty-two years was simply a telling forth of that
which always was.
Modern scholars have shown that
there was no complete set of collated and arranged revelations at Muhammad’s
death and, in fact, it was some twenty-two years after his death the revelations
were assembled by Muslim leaders from records written on leaves, stones,
camel’s shoulder-blades, etc. and from the memories of those who had stored
the revelations in their minds. The resulting collections of revelations made in
different places varied from each other.
Caliph Uthman decided to bring
order to the situation and had scholars create and official standard text
between 650 and 656 AD, which he circulated widely while ordering all other
versions destroyed.
A significant issue here is that
of disciples going beyond their teacher. If Allah had not instructed Muhammad to
compile the revelation in one set of scrolls, then how could Muhammad’s
followers be sure they should undertake such a task?
Most Muslims absolutely reject
theories about its alleged human origins. Islam states quite plainly that the
Quran has one author: Allah. It is not Muhammad’s book. It is not, they say, a
human book. It is divine. To question the Quran is to risk eternal punishment.
To obey it is to gain eternal life.
The oldest surviving fragments
of Quranic manuscripts date from no earlier than the eighth century AD. They are
written in Kufic script showing nothing but consonants only. The result is as
ambiguous and open to interpretation as if all the vowels and punctuation marks
were to be removed from the English text. Vowel points and other helpful marks
were added later. Various forms of the Quran continued to exist until at least
the tenth century AD when some Islamic scholars were imprisoned for refusing to
abandon their preferred versions. Even in the mid-twentieth century two versions
were still in use, a fact that would be disbelieved by most Muslims. While the
majority of the Muslim world had one version, an alternative was still in use in
North Africa, though rapidly being ousted by the main version. The Muslim
argument that Christians have changed their Scripture while Muslims have not is
therefore clearly inaccurate according to their own evidence.
Many scholars believe that the
Quran lacks historical reliability since it cannot be traced back to Muhammad.
Muslims believe that the Quran is perfect and contains no errors. What Allah
revealed to Muhammad was passed on faithfully by the prophet, according to
Muslim tradition, with one famous and startling exception. Early in his work as
a prophet, Satan fooled Muhammad into thinking that true followers of Allah
could worship three Arab deities. For a brief period one of the chapters of the
Quran contained approval of such pagan worship.
As soon as Allah told Muhammad
of the deception by Satan, the prophet moved quickly to remove the offending
passage. Ever since, these verses have been called “the Satanic verses.”
This episode in the life of the prophet is mentioned in the Quran and in
countless other sources.
The Quran is about the same
length as the New Testament, and is divided into 114 surahs (chapters). The
surahs are not arranged in chronological order but roughly in order of length or
size, with the later chapters being the shortest. It is generally believed that
the later chapters were written first and belong to the period when the prophet
was in Medina. The longer chapters were written and were revealed after the
prophet conquered Mecca. With the exception of surah 1, which is a prayer
addressed to Allah, it is Allah himself and not the prophet who is the speaker.
The word Quran is derived from
the Arabic word qara meaning ‘to read’ or ‘to recite’. The titles of the
various chapters are based on some word or idea that appears in the chapter,
though the titles do not usually suggest the main theme of the chapter, if there
is one. Some Muslim scholars teach that there are hidden scientific truths and
hidden mathematical wonders in the Quran. For example, one writer argues that
the divine inspiration of the Quran is proven by the fact that the Arabic word
for “Most Merciful” is used 114 times, which matches exactly the number of
surahs of the Quran.
For the Muslim, the Quran is the
word of Allah in the most literal sense. Muhammad was merely the recipient of
that word who then passed it on. It bears no imprint of the prophet’s
character at all, and Muslims consider it blasphemous to attribute the Quran
even in a secondary sense to Muhammad, as, for example, the writings of the
Bible are attributed to their human authors.
Although it does not deal with
all aspects of life for which Islam legislates, in those areas in which the
Quran speaks it does so with absolute divine authority, being the primary source
of authority for Muslims. Where there is a contradiction between different parts
of the Quran a simple rule is applied to determine which text to obey: the later
verse annuls the earlier one. The term ‘abrogation’ is generally used for
this annulment. The rationale is that the earlier verse was appropriate to the
early stages of Muhammad’s mission, but later different conditions
necessitated a modification. One of the difficulties, of course, lies in
determining which was in fact the earlier verse.
The Eight Major Themes of the Quran
Many first time readers of the
Quran find it confusing. It does not seem orderly, as most Muslims will
acknowledge. The text does not follow a narrative, and it is not written in a
systematic fashion. The surahs are not arranged by content, and there is no
single theme in most chapters. The best way to understand the Quran is to first
grasp the major themes that it addresses on its pages.
Allah. The Quran
is absolutely dominated by references to God. Verse after verse, page after
page, beginning to end, Allah is everywhere in the Quran. The word Allah appears
over 2,500 times. The Quran states this about Allah:
He is the
Creator. Surah 6:101-102 states: “He created all things, and He hath
full knowledge of all things. This is God, your Lord! There is no god but he,
the Creator of all things.” Another passage says it this way. “He is God,
the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms (or Colors). To Him belong the
Most Beautiful Names: whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare His
Praises and Glory: and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” (59:24)
He is
Eternal. “God! There is no god but He, the Living, the
Self-subsisting. Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep.” (2:225)
He is the
Guardian. IN Surah 89:14, near the end of the Quran, we read: “For thy
Lord is (as a Guardian) on a watch-tower.”
He is
Holy. “Whatever is in the heavens and on earth, doth declare the
Praises and Glory of God – the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Exalted in Might,
the Wise.” (62:1) “God loves those who do good.” (3:134)
He is
all-Knowing. Surah 35:38 speaks of the scope of God’s knowledge.
“Verily God knows (all) the hidden things of the heavens and the earth: verily
He has full knowledge of all that is in (men’s) hearts.”
He is the
Lord of All. “And do ye join equals with Him? He is the Lord of (all)
the Worlds.” (41:9)
He is
Merciful. “He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy!” (12:64)
The phrase “oft-forgiving, Most Merciful” is used over and over in the
Quran.
He is the
Revealer. The Quran longs for people to trust in God’s revelation and
expresses astonishment that humans ignore what Allah has shown them. “If only
they had stood fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that was sent
to them from their Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from every side.”
(5:56)
He is the
Sustainer. One of the more popular verses in the Quran is found in Surah
7:54, which reads: “Your Guardian-Lord is God, Who created the heavens and the
earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority): He
draweth the night as a veil o’er the day, each seeking the other in rapid
succession: He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, (all) governed by laws
under His command. Is it not His to create and to govern? Blessed be God, the
Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds!”
He is
worthy of worship. This is expressed by stating repeatedly that God is
worthy of praise. God Himself command worship, as in 20:14: “Verily, I am God:
there is no god but I: So serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for
celebrating My praise.”
Muhammad. The
prophet himself is at the center of the Quran, though often as a figure behind
every chapter. His name is mentioned only four times, but he is the subject of
many passages. Muslims do not believe that Muhammad is writing about himself,
however. Islam teaches that Gabriel dictated to Muhammad material that was to be
put in the Quran about Muhammad! Further, when the Quran quotes words from
Muhammad, Muslims believe that these are words that Allah tells Muhammad to say.
Quran. The Quran
also takes up itself as a subject. Satan, we are told, is not the author.
Muhammad could not be the author either, since, the Quran argues, he was
completely illiterate. Only Allah could have produced such a book. The Quran
says of itself that it is clear, understandable, written in pure Arabic, free
from error, and that it contains a universal message, one that will guide its
hearers into health and into eternal salvation.
Biblical Material.
The Quran gives considerable attention to various Old and New Testament figures.
There are over 120 references in the Quran to the Scriptures of the Jews and
Christians, testifying to being genuine revelations from Allah. The Jews and
Christians were generally known as “the people of the Book”.
It is important that Christians
relating to Muslims should know that Muhammad did not claim to bring a
completely new revelation, or to establish a new religion. His concern was to
bring his people back to the original religion professed from the very beginning
of time as Islam. Muslims claim that Islam started with creation and that Allah
revealed himself to Jews and Christians, though both groups altered their
Scriptures. Muslims use this to explain why Old and New Testament accounts of
people and events often differ radically from how they are reported in the
Quran.
Of Biblical figures, Moses gets the most mention, with over 500 verses or almost ten percent of the text dealing with him. The Quran also gives information about Noah, Abraham, Joshua, David, Jesus, Mary and others. Muslims find it easy to draw comparisons between Muhammad and Moses the lawgiver, and also with King David, the warrior for God. Islam gives high titles to five Christian prophets:
Adam is the Chosen of God
Noah is the Preacher of God
Abraham is the Friend of God
Moses is the Speaker of God
Jesus is the Word of God
Jesus. The Quran
treats Jesus with great respect, as a prophet, teacher, and as a Sign from God.
It also states that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, performed miracles, and
that His followers were called Muslims. He is mentioned ninety-seven times in
the Quran. He is referred to as messiah, word of God, spirit of God, and speech
of truth. The Quran also states that it is a serious error to think that Jesus
is the Son of God or that God is a trinity of three persons, as in Christian
tradition. For the Quran, Jesus is a prophet, but no more than that.
As said earlier, Muslims do not
believe that Jesus died on the cross. In Surah 4:157, one of the famous verses
of the Quran, it speaks about enemies of Allah who insulted the Virgin Mary and
who brag: “We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Apostle of God.” The
text then reads: “they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made
to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no
(certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed
him not.”
True Believers.
Hundreds of verses in the Quran are devoted to a portrait of the true believer.
The vast majority of passages deal with behavior, both with the path that is
right, and the path that is wrong. This is in keeping with the common assertion
that Islam is a religion about the right path, much more than it is a religion
about right ideas.
Even though Islam is a religion
of law, the Quran is focused more on the larger principles behind the law. These
have to do, first of all, with positive things that are expected of all Muslims.
The Muslim is a follower of Allah and fears him, and has turned from all false
gods. The believer patterns his life after the model of the prophet Muhammad.
Unbelievers. The
whole human setting of the Quran involves the storm created by Muhammad’s
prophetic call to decision. His message creates but two options: belief or
unbelief. There is considerable discussion of those that the Quran calls
hypocrites and unbelievers.
Those who reject Allah’s message are deaf, blind, and
full of disease. They are arrogant, foolish, hate the truth, live in delusion,
and their prayers are in vain. The unbeliever is a liar, coward, vain, and a
deceiver. With the exception of attempting conversion, Muslims should avoid
unbelievers, given their perversity. They will be sent into the depths of hell
unless they repent. It is the duty of each Muslim to convert the unbelievers to
Islam, even to the point of jihad (a holy war).
Heaven, Hell, and Judgment
Day. The Quran gives
enormous weight to life after death. There are hundreds of verses about
paradise, the pains of hell, and the reality of a Final Judgment by God. Though
Muslim scholars debate to what extent certain verses about heaven and hell are
to be taken literally, the overall message is clear. Heaven is pictured as a
garden paradise, with mansions, fountains, food and drink, unlimited sexual
pleasure, where believers are full of happiness, peace, and joy in the presence
of God.
The Quran draws hell as a place of blazing, eternal fire. The unbelievers will taste the boiling fluids of hell, with their faces covered in flame. They will wear garments of fire, and live in eternal regret at the folly of their rebellion against Allah, and will beg for destruction. The Day of Judgment is an absolute certainty, according to the Quran, though the righteous have no reason to fear. Justice will be done and human deeds will be weighed in the balance, when the Last Trumpet sounds.
Copyright
© 2002, Scott Ptak. All Rights Reserved.