INTRODUCTION TO THE QURAN
An Eternal Guide For Mankind
EVEN before the Prophet Muhammad was chosen by God as His messenger, he used to want to be all alone, so that he could think deeply about life. To do this, he used to retreat to the Cave of Hira on Mount An-Nur on the outskirts of Mecca. One night in the year A.D. 610, the Angel Gabriel appeared to him in this cave. He commanded him: “Read, in the name of your Lord!”. Astonished, the Prophet replied: “I do not know how to read”. The angel repeated these words three times, to which the Prophet gave the same reply. Then the angel said:
Read, in the name of your Lord, who created, who created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the most bountiful.
(THE QURAN, 96: 1-3)
So began the revelation of the Holy Quran, in the Prophet’s fortieth year. After memorizing each revelation, he instructed his companions to do likewise. He also called for a scribe (katib al-wahy) to write down every word. There were finally about twenty nine scribes all recording the divine revelations. The entire Quran, which took 23 years to complete, was later memorized by hundreds of the Prophet’s companions during his lifetime.
The Earliest Copies of the Quran
The Caliph Uthman sent copies of the Quran to far-off places such as Damascus, Kufa and Basra, keeping one for himself and returning the original copy to Hafsa. Two of these very early copies, called Mushaf Uthman, still exist today, one in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul and the other in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Until the tenth century, Kufic, with its square-shaped letters, was the only script used to write the Quran. Later, in the eleventh century, the master calligrapher, Ibn al- Bawwab, developed new styles of writing based on the rules laid down by Ibn Muqla. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, Arabic script continued to improve and often the pages would be intricately decorated with gold and silver. The calligraphers were well rewarded for their work and this led to there being different schools of calligraphy in Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Iran. It is the modified Maghribi style of writing, developed in the period of the Ottoman Caliphs, which is now mostly in use.
As early as the tenth century, wooden blocks were used to print the Quran. Moveable type was first used to print the Quran in Arabic in Germany in 1649. This was followed by copies printed during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries by Muslims in Russia, Kazan, Iran and Turkey.
The Early Translation of the Quran
To introduce Islam to neighbouring lands, the Prophet Muhammad sent to their various rulers, letters containing passages from the Quran. The following was included in the letter to the Negus of Abyssinia:
He is God besides whom there is no other deity. He is the sovereign Lord, the Most Pure, the Source of Peace, the Granter of Security, the Protector, the Mighty, the Subduer, the Supreme. Glory be to God, who is far above what they associate with Him.
(THE QURAN, 59: 23)
These letters were translated either by the messengers; that is, the Prophet’s companions, or by the kings’ interpreters. In this way, parts of the Quran began to be translated during the Prophet’s own lifetime. Salman al-Farisi, a companion of the Prophet from Persia, translated the first Surah, al-Fatiha, into Persian. The first complete translations were done in Persian in the tenth century under the rule of the Samanid king. The first translation of the Quran into Latin was done in 1143 for Peter, the Abbot of the Monastery of Cluny, but was not published until 1543 at Basle. Over the centuries, this was followed by translations into German, Italian, Dutch, French and English. The first Muslim to translate the Quran into English was Muhammad Abdul-Hakim Khan of Patiala, India, in 1906. This was followed by a number of translations, the best of these being the translation with commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (Lahore, 1934) and a translation by Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall (Hyderabad, India, 1938).
The Message of the Quran
The Quran, the true word of God, is an eternal guide for the whole of mankind. It answers all such questions as: ’Why has God placed humanity on earth? What is His scheme of things in creating such a vast universe? How should we lead our lives? What will happen to us after death?’ etc. In it, man meets his Lord, beholds His promises and rejoices in His good tidings. It opens with the words: “Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe.” This is a way of saying: “Thank You, God, Maker and Sustainer of all the creatures in the world.” That is, He is One who, truly caring for His subjects, provides for all their needs.
One who discovers the Almighty in all His power and glory, suddenly finds the Lord forever in his heart and thoughts. This leads to a spontaneous outpouring of thanksgiving and adoration: Inspire me, Lord, to render thanks for the favours.
You have bestowed on me and my parents, and to do good works that will please You.
(THE QURAN, 27:19)
The Divine Scheme of Things
The Quran was revealed to give glad tidings to the righteous and a warning to transgressors:
We have revealed to you this Book so that, by their Lord’s will, you may lead men from darkness to the light; to the path of the Mighty, the Glorious One.
(THE QURAN, 14:1)
Indeed, the Quranic mission is to make human beings fully understand God’s plan. Although upright by nature, everyone must still undergo a period of testing during his short time on this earth, so that in the next world he may be justly rewarded or punished for his deeds or misdeeds in this life. For this trial to be valid, everyone has been given the freedom to choose either the right path, as is shown in the divine scriptures, or the wrong path—that of his own desires.
According to the Quran, as a part of the test for man, Satan will spring upon him from the front and from the rear, from the right and from the left. (THE QURAN, 7:17)
But if he reads the Quran with understanding, he will never go astray. Moreover, the Quran shows that the joys of this life should be taken as a foretaste of Paradise, and not as an unconditional blessing. Man’s freedom to savour these joys should never, therefore, be misused.
A Spiritual and Moral Guide
The Quran gives us rules for what is right and wrong in every aspect of daily life. It lays down man’s duties not only to his Creator but also to himself and his fellow men. It defines true piety as belief in God, the Last Day, the angels, the Book and the prophets and urges us to be kind to those in need.
The Quran is an eternal book, warning man of the coming of the Last Day. It is a verbal trumpet, blown before the actual last trumpet announcing the Day of Judgment.
The successful are those awakened by it.
Eternity is Better
Successful is the person who purifies himself, who remembers the name of his Lord, and prays.
Yet you prefer this life, although the life to come is better and more lasting.
All this is written in earlier scriptures; the scriptures of Abraham and Moses. (87: 14-19)
