JUNE 29
A Sunnah
For the Muslims, the tradition laid down by the Prophet is the perfect example to follow, for it covers every aspect of life, be it a trivial, personal matter, or a larger issue, like jihad, which could affect the whole community, whether at that time or a thousand years later.
There are two broad divisions of Sunnah. One of these pertains to the form that a practice should take. For instance, the Prophet said, “Say your prayers in the manner that you see me pray.” (Mishkat Al-Masabih, 1/215) This tradition relates to the form that Salat was to take. The companions observed the Prophet performing Salat and did likewise. Those who saw the companions praying offered their prayers in the same fashion and this example was followed meticulously from generation to generation. The form our prayers take today is identical to that practised by the Prophet.
The same is true of the rites of Hajj. On the occasion of Hajjat al-wida (The Last Pilgrimage), the Prophet mounted his camel and performed the rites of Hajj so that others could observe their correct enactment. He said, “O people, observe my performance of Hajj and perform your rites accordingly.”
Traditions of this nature refer to the form of an act. The creation of this form ensured that an act would be performed exactly in accordance with the example set by the Prophet. These may be called the traditions of form. There is another set of traditions which concern themselves with the spirit of an act. According to this tradition, the outer manifestation is relative, while the spirit is the reality. And in this, it is the spirit which is the more important.
The Quran was revealed to the Prophet over a period of 23 years. As and when a portion of the Quran was revealed, the Prophet would summon a scribe to whom he would dictate the verses. A katib (scribe) was in constant attendance. In all, there were over 40 such persons. The Prophet was so particular about this that even on such a perilous journey as his emigration from Makkah to Madinah, he kept pen and paper with him and had a scribe (Abu Bakr) accompany him.
The entire Quran was written on paper and other materials used for the purpose during the lifetime of the Prophet. Many of the companions, such as Zaid bin Thabit Ansari, committed the whole of the Quran to memory. Towards the end of his life, the Prophet recited the whole of the Quran in its proper sequence in the presence of a large number of the companions. This has been called the Last Recitation in the books of tradition.
At the time of the Prophet’s death, the Quran was safe either in the hearts of the people, or written on separate pages and tablets. However, there was no compilation of all the verses of the Quran in book form.
The Prophet was certainly aware of the fact that doubts would later arise over the compilation of the Book of God. Orientalists have tried to sow the seeds of doubt on this issue, and the Encyclopaedia of Islam compiled by them, have offered different explanations. One theory is that the Prophet of Islam, feeling that the Day of Judgement was near, and that the world would soon come to an end, never entertained the idea of compiling the Quran in book form.
The non-compilation of the Quran by the Prophet was not an act of omission. With the mission of the Prophet being to make the faith complete, there was no question of his leaving a religious task incomplete in any way. This was something which, in spite of the obvious risks, he purposely left undone, because of the inherent religious advantages in so doing.
If the Prophet had had the Quran compiled in book form and copies of it placed in the different mosques, it could easily have become neglected in essence, while Muslims busied themselves with the purely ritual matters pertaining to its physical presence. By leaving the work of compilation to his followers, the Prophet ensured that they gave their full attention to the spirit of the Quran.
The annals of history show that during the rule of Abu Bakr, in 12 Hijra, a battle was fought at Yamamah in Arab, in which 70 Hafiz (Muslims who know the entire Quran by heart) were martyred. This caused great concern to Umar, who thought that if the Hafiz were to be martyred in such great numbers, the content of the Quran would soon be lost to posterity. He expressed his fears to Abu Bakr, who then had the work of compilation carried out.
This was not an easy task. First of all, the Caliph was worried about the propriety of his doing something which the Prophet had never himself undertaken. He agreed only after a great deal of deliberation. This generated unprecedented activity, with Umar and Zaid sitting at the entrance to the mosque and asking everyone who came there to hand over any written portion of the Quran which they had in their possession.
Zaid Bin Thabit Ansari, who was placed in charge of this great operation on account of his talents and general ability, read all of the collected material and cross-checked it with his memory. This was the first time in history that a book had been subjected to such thorough double-checking. This was understandably a very difficult task for Zaid Bin Thabit, who said: “By God, if Abu Bakr had ordered me to move a mountain from its place, that would not have been more difficult than the task he has given me of compiling the Quran.”
The tradition which I call the sunnah of spirit—that of creating better understanding—is one of the traditions of the Prophet. Like the other traditions of the Prophet, its continuance as a permanent feature of the Islamic life is highly desirable. It is a tradition of prime importance because it has an inspiring effect on the followers of Muhammad (may peace be upon him). It is a powerful tool to keep them alive and active. This can be illustrated by another example. The Quran says that God made His revelations therein in order to warn the people (25:1).
As is well known, the Quran was originally written in Arabic, whereas thousands of languages are currently being used. How then is it possible to warn all the different communities through the Arabic of the Quran?
If God had desired all communities to be directly instructed by means of the Quran, He would have revealed it in some international language. But this did not happen. This in itself indicates that God desired the faithful to undertake the work of translation so that other communities would be able to understand the Holy Scriptures.
This is clearly one of the ‘traditions of spirit’ of the Prophet. Now, the need of the hour is to put this tradition into practice. One way of doing this would be to utilize the modern press and other media to disseminate translations of the message of the Quran in simple language. If our leaders had revived this tradition and inspired Muslims to become engaged in translating the Quran into different languages, the entire community could already have been fruitfully occupied in this venture. In this way, Muslims would have rediscovered Islam all over again, albeit in the light of modern circumstances. The Quran would have caused a religious revolution in their lives. On the contrary, however, in the absence of timely leadership, the whole community is floundering on the rock of politics, thus depriving themselves of both religion and the world.
