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When was The Qur'an Compiled?
QUR'AN
When
was it compiled?
by
Imam
Muhammad Shirazi
In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent The Merciful.
All Praise is to Him, Lord of the Worlds.
Let Allah's Blessings be upon Muhammad
and upon his righteous and pure family.
Table of Contents
Foreword
{Verily
this Qur'an guides to that which is most upright.}name="_ftnref3" title=">[3]
One of the most important reasons for the preservation
of the Qur'an in addition to it being the will of Allah is the fact
that the Messenger of Allah concerned himself with collating the Qur'an
during his life and insisted upon it. Hence, from then until now,
the Qur'an has remained the same without any change.
This book, When was the
Qur'an Compiled' by the esteemed writer and source of religious
knowledge Imam Muhammad Shirazi, deals with the subject of the collation
of the Qur'an. It provides firm evidence that the Holy Qur'an was
compiled at the time of and at the command of the Prophet in the form
in which it exists today dispelling the view of those who imagine
that the Qur'an was compiled after the time of the Messenger of Allah.
The writer also tackles the question of the non-corruption
of the Qur'an which Shi'a scholars have stated throughout history
refuting the notion that there has been any addition to or subtraction
from the verses of the Qur'an. Imam al-Shirazi then touches upon the
inauthenticity of the different readings' except that which is present
in the holy text itself.
Finally he presents a number
of traditions regarding many aspects of the Holy Qur'an.
This is seen as further evidence that the Holy Qur'an was compiled
in the form we have it today, and in use' by the Muslims during the
lifetime of the holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad peace be upon him
and his infallible descendants.
Author's Introduction
Here are a number of traditions to be found in the Shi'a Guide to the Shari'a' and other
books regarding the importance of the Qur'an and its etiquettes which
we have mentioned hoping to bring benefit to many. We have preceded
this with information about the collation of the Qur'an and its textual
non-corruption and that not one word or letter has been added nor
subtracted. It is the same Qur'an today that was sent down to the
Messenger of Allah and was compiled by him in the same structure of
verses and chapters at the command of Allah during his life.
Part One
On the Compilation of the Holy Qur'an
The Hadith of Ibn Abbas
In al-Manaqib'
it is related that Ibn Abbas said: When
Allah's words: {You are
mortal and they are mortals.} name="_ftnref4" title=">[4] were revealed, the Messenger of Allah said:
If only I knew when this (my death) would be.' This, when the Prophet knew the unseen' with the permission and inspiration
of Allah. Then the 110th
chapter of the Qur'an named al-Nasr (Succour) was revealed, after
which the Prophet remained silent between the takbir'
and the reading' then he used to say: Praise be to Allah, I seek
the forgiveness of Allah and turn towards Him in repentance.' He was
asked about this and said: It is that my soul has foretold me of my impending death.' Then he began to weep intensely. He was then
asked: Oh Messenger of Allah, do you weep over death when Allah has
forgiven all your sins both past and future?' The Prophet said: But
what of the terror of the questioning and what of the confines of
the grave and the darkness of the tomb, and the resurrection and the
other fearsome things?' (Here the Prophet means to draw attention to
these fearsome things rather than say that he will be tried by them
as is clear.) Then Ibn
Abbas said: The Prophet lived for a further year after the revelation
of this chapter.'
Who Compiled the Qur'an?
In the previous hadith,
what draws our attention are the words of the Archangel Gabriel to
the Prophet at the time of the revelation of the final Qur'anic verse:
Place them at the head of the 280th
verse of the second chapter.'
It is then clear that Allah (through the Angel Gabriel)
commanded the Prophet to compile the Qur'an and to organise its structure
in a precise manner even as far as the numbering of the verses. This
the Prophet indeed did during his life as Allah had ordered and it
was not for the Prophet to leave the Qur'an disparate so that someone
after him should compile it.
It is not possible that the Prophet with his great concern
and endeavour in preserving the Qur'an should neglect the task of
compiling and structuring it and leave the Qur'an scattered amongst
the Muslims and delegate the task of compiling it to them. This especially
so after revelation had informed him: {You
are mortal and they are mortals.}name="_ftnref10" title=">[10]
It is not possible that the Prophet could be deeply concerned
with the Qur'an on the one hand so that he would order that it should
be memorised and paid attention to, and encourage its recital and
the practice of its tenets particularly in his final days. He would
say repeatedly: I leave behind me two momentous things - the
book of Allah and my kin, the people of my household. As long as you
adhere to them both you will never go astray after me ever.'title=">[12]
Allah also says: {We have sent down the Reminder and We shall be its protectors.}
The Prophet Compiled the Qur'an
Therefore, the Qur'an that we have possession of today
with all its structure and compilation, the numbering of its verses,
and the structure of its chapters and sections is the very same Qur'an
that the Prophet Muhammad gathered, collated, compiled and structured
for Muslims during his life at the instigation of Allah. It has not
been subject to any change or corruption, substitution or modification,
addition or subtraction.
Support for this comes from a report in the exegesis
of Ali Ibn Ibrahimname="_ftnref14" title=">[14]
from Imam al-Sadiq that the Messenger of Allah ordered Ali ibn Abi
Talib to collect the Qur'an saying: Oh
Ali. The Qur'an is behind my bed, in scrolls, silk and papers. Take
it and collate it and do not lose it as the Jews have lost the Torah.'
Thereupon Ali took it and gathered it in a yellow garment and sealed
it up.name="_ftn5" title=">[5] The takbir or takbir al-ihram
(sanctification) consists of the words Allahu Akbar', (God is Great)
which are said at the beginning of every one of the daily canonical
prayers and other supererogatory prayers denoting the beginning
of the prayer and the fact that the person praying has entered the
sanctity of prayer. The reading mentioned here is the reading of
the opening chapter of the Qur'an which forms the basis of prayers
in Islam.
name="_ftn12" title=">[12] The Qur'an: The Resurrection (75): 17.
name="_ftn13" title=">[13] The Qur'an: The Rocky Tract (15): 9.
name="_ftn14" title=">[14] Tafsir al-Qumi: vol.2, p.451, The People (114).
name="_ftn15" title=">[15] Seas of Lights: vol.89, p.48, Beirut edition.
