Foreword

This collection briefly discusses two aspects of the Quran: firstly, its being in itself a proof that it is the Book of God; secondly its complete preservation in its original form, as revealed to the Arab Prophet Muhammad in the seventh century Hijrah.

Many revelations had been made by God and committed to writing by His devotees before the advent of the Quran. Then what particularly distinguishes the sacred Islamic text from its forerunners? It is not just that it is complete and the other revealed books incomplete. To categorize the sacred scriptures in this way would amount to discriminating between the Prophets themselves which is certainly not right.

What then is its great distinguishing feature? There is only one. A simple, but a major one. The text of the Quran has never been tampered with, whereas all the other Books have long ago lost their original form and content, which has meant a serious loss of authenticity. It is this characteristic of the Quran—its perfect state of preservation—which singles it out from its predecessors as a unique vehicle for divine guidance and salvation, one which will retain its validity until Doomsday.

The preservation of the Quran was a laborious task requiring remarkable skill and dedication. As such, it was the most extraordinary undertaking of the age. This feat gains in importance when seen in the context of the loss of authority of previous texts which were not maintained in their pristine state. The Quran alone has survived as the completely preserved utterances of the Almighty.

God has absolute power over all things. If He has given man freedom throughout his lifespan in this world, it is purely in order to test him. So that if man made interpolations in, and even destroyed divine scriptures, it was because he chose to misuse this freedom. Finally, as an exceptional blessing to man, God made arrangements to preserve His guidance for future generations. That is how—by the special succour of God—the Prophet and his companions were victorious in their long tussle with the transgressors, thus ushering in a new era in world history.

They succeeded in replacing the old world with a new world which, with its unassailable fidelity to truth, afforded an eternal guarantee for the preservation of the Quran.

                                                  Wahiduddin Khan