HISTORY OF QURAN E PAK
The history of the Qur'an — that is the timeline and origin of the written compilations or manuscripts of the holy book of Islam, based on historical findings — spans several centuries, and forms a major part of the early history of Islam.
According to the Muslim belief and Islamic scholarly accounts, the revelation of the Qur'an began in 610 CE when the angel Gabriel (believed to have been sent by God) appeared to Muhammad in the cave Hira near Mecca, reciting to him the first verses of Surah Al-Alaq. Muslims believe that Muhammad continued to have revelations until he died in 632 CE.[1] According to Islamic tradition, the Qur'an was first compiled into a book format by Zayd ibn Thabit and other scribes under the first caliph — Abu Bakr Siddiq. As the Islamic Empire began to grow, and differing recitations were heard in far-flung areas, the Quran was recompiled for uniformity in recitation (r. 644–656 CE).[2] under the direction of the third caliph — Uthman ibn Affan. For this reason, the Qur'an as it exists today is also known as the Uthmanic codex.[3] According to Professor Francis Edward Peters (1991), what was done to the Quran in the process seems to have been extremely conservative and the content was formed mechanically to avoid redactional bias.[4]
According to traditional Islamic beliefs, the Quran was revealed to Muhammad, a trader in the Western Arabian city of Mecca founded by the prophet Abraham (Ibrahim), which had become a sanctuary for pagan deities and an important trading center. The revelations started one night during the month of Ramadan in 610 CE, when Muhammad, at the age of forty, received the first visit from the angel Gabriel.[5]
The Quran uses the term ummi to describe Muhammad. The majority of Muslim scholars interpret this word as a reference to an illiterate individual, though some modern scholars instead interpret it as a reference to those who belong to a community without a scripture.[6][7]
According to the famous collector of traditions of Muhammad, Muhammad al-Bukhari (who lived about 250 years after Muhammad), Muhammad's wife Khadija bint Khuwaylid described that the first Quranic revelation occurred when the angel Gabriel visited Muhammad and asked him to recite. Muhammad responded ma ana bīqāre'u, which could be translated into several ways: 'I do not read' or 'what am I to read/recite?' or 'I will not read/recite'. Gabriel pressed him "until all the strength went out of me; thereupon he released me and said: 'Read!'" This was repeated three times and upon the third, Gabriel released him and said, "Read in the name of the Sustainer who created humankind from a clot! Read! And your Sustainer is the Most Beautiful."[8]:39–41 After this Muhammad continued to have revelations sporadically over a period of twenty-three years, until shortly before his death in 11/632.[8]:45
Muslims believe that Gabriel brought the word of God to Muhammad verbatim, and the Quran was divinely protected from any alteration or change. The Quran emphasizes that Muhammad was required only to receive the sacred text and that he had no authority to change it.[9] It is also believed that God did not make himself known through the revelations; it was his will that was revealed.
According to tradition, Muhammad described the experience of a revelation:
"Sometimes it is revealed like the ringing of a bell. This form of inspiration is the hardest of them all and then it passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says."[8]:43
At times, it was also reported that the experience was painful for Muhammad. For example, he had been heard saying,
"Never once did I receive a revelation without thinking that my soul had been torn away from me."[8]:43
After Muhammad would receive revelations, he would later recite them to his Companions, who also memorized them or wrote them down. Before the Quran was commonly available in written form, speaking it from memory prevailed as the mode of teaching it to others. The practice of memorizing the whole Quran is still practiced among Muslims. Millions of people have memorized the entire Quran in Arabic. This fact, taken in the context of 7th-century Arabia, was not an extraordinary feat. People of that time had a penchant for recited poetry and had developed their skills in memorization to a remarkable degree. Events and competitions that featured the recitation of elaborate poetry were of great interest.[10]
Non-Muslim people questioned the nature and modes of Muhammad's revelations. The Meccans interpreted the Quranic revelations based on their understanding of 'inspiration'. For them, poetry was closely connected to inspiration from a higher spiritual source. For this reason, when Muhammad began preaching and reciting the Quran, the Meccans accused him of being a poet[11] or a "poet possessed".[12][13]
Because the Quran was revealed in disjointed verses and chapters, a point came when it needed to be gathered into a coherent whole text. There are disagreements among both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars as to when the Quran was first compiled. A hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari states that the caliph Abu Bakr commanded Zayd ibn Thabit to compile the written Quran, relying upon both textual fragments and the memories of those who had memorized it.[14][15] Some Shia Muslims believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib was the first to compile the Quran into one written text, a task completed shortly after the death of Muhammad.[16]
Muhammad
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Further information: Muhammad in Islam and Wahy
In Pre-Islamic Arabia, the society during the time of Muhammad was predominantly oral, and for this reason, he would recite the Quranic verses to his Companions for them to memorize. Therefore, it is unknown whether the Quran was ever written and collected during the time of Muhammad. While writing was not a common skill during Muhammad's time, Mecca, being a commercial center, had several people who could write. Some scholars believe that several scribes including Zayd ibn Thabit and Ubay ibn Ka'b recorded verses of the Quran. This provides an explanation as to how the Quran existed in written form during the life of Muhammad, even if it was not compiled into one text.[8]:83 According to one source, sira (prophetic biography) of Muhammad list the following as scribes of the Quran: Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, ‘Uthmaan ibn ‘Affaan, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwaam, ‘Aamir ibn Fuhayrah, ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas, Ubayy ibn Ka’b, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Arqam, Thaabit ibn Qays ibn Shammaas, Hanzalah ibn al-Rabee’ al-Usaydi, al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Rawaahah, Khaalid ibn al-Waleed, Khaalid ibn Sa’eed ibn al-‘Aas (whom it was said was the first one to write down anything for him), Mu’aawiyah ibn Abi Sufyaan and Zayd ibn Thaabit.[17]
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Further information: Ali in the Quran
Shia scholars are unanimous[citation needed] that Ali ibn Abi Talib possessed a personal apograph of the Quran, which he collected six months after Muhammad's death, and that this was the first compilation of the Quran. The unique aspect about this version is that it was collected in the order it was sent,[24] which mainstream Shi'ites hold is the only difference between the Quran we have today and Ali's.[8]:89–90
A few Shia scholars argue that Ali presented his Quran to the community, but they refused to acknowledge his copy. One report states, "he had brought the complete Book [of God], comprising the interpretation and the revelation, the precise and ambiguous verses, the abrogating and the abrogated verses; nothing was missing from it, [not even] a letter alif, nor lam. But they did not accept it from him"[25] They also believe that Ali's version of the Quran contained verses that are not seen in the Uthmanic codex we have today. They believe changes in the order of verses and suras did take place and that there were variant readings, tabdil, exchange of words such as umma to imma, rearrangement of words, and deletion of words about the right of Ali being the first caliph.[26]
Abu Bakr
According to Sunni scholars, during the life of Muhammad parts of the Quran, though written, were scattered among his companions, much of it as a private possession.[28] The number of scribes was 43 companions.
By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Quran... So I started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms, and from the memories of men. [Bukhari Sahih al-Bukhari, 6:60:201]
The famous ten People who form the chains of narration regarding the Quran are as follows.
Umar ibn al Khattab[38]
Uthman bin Affan[39]
Ali ibn Abi Talib[40]
Abu Musa al Ash'ari[41]
Further information: Early Quranic manuscripts
After Uthman had the other codices destroyed there were still variations in the reading and the text of this Quran. However, scholars deny the possibility of great changes of the text arguing that addition, suppression, or alteration would have led to controversy 'of which there is little trace'. They further state that even though Uthman became unpopular among Muslims, he was not charged with alteration or mutilation of the Quran in general.[109]
Completeness
Islamic sources
According to Islamic sources before Caliph Uthman's standardization, after which variants were burned, the Quran may have contained either 116 chapters (Ubayy Ibn Ka'ab's codex) or 111 chapters (Ibn Masud's codex).[134]
Islamic view: Sunni and Shia
Most Muslims believe that Quran, as it is presented today, is complete and untouched, supported by their faith in Quranic verses such as
"We [Allah] have, without doubt, sent down the Reminder [the Quran]; and We will assuredly guard it [from corruption]".[135
Due to the varying accounts and hadiths on the collection and canonization of the Quran, some scholars debate whether the Uthmanic text contains the entire body of material that was revealed to Muhammad, or if there is material missing from the text. For example, some Sunni literature contains reports that suggest that some of the revelations had already been lost before the collection of the Quran initiated by Abu Bakr.[citation needed] In one report, 'Umar was once looking for the text of a specific verse of the Quran on stoning as a punishment for adultery, which he remembered. Later, he discovered that the only person who had any record of that verse had been killed in the battle of Yamama and as a result, the verse was lost. Some of the Companions recalled that same verse, one person being 'A'isha, Muhammad's youngest wife. She is believed to have said that a sheet on which two verses, including the one on stoning, were under her bedding and that after Muhammad died, a domestic animal got into the room and ate the sheet.[136] Experts on hadith literature have rejected this hadith, as all routes of transmission either contain narrators charged with dishonesty in disclosing sources or simply conflict with the majority version of the report, which all have authentic routes of transmission but omit the part about the piece of paper being eaten.[137][138]
Certain Shia scholars state that Ali's predecessors wilfully excluded all references to the right of Ali to be the caliph after Muhammad died. Some Shias questioned the integrity of the Uthmanic codex, stating that two surahs, "al-Nurayn" (The Two Lights) and "al-Walayah" (the Guardianship), which dealt with the virtues of Muhammad's family, were removed.[8]:89–90
Al-Khoei addresses this issue and argues for the authenticity and completeness of the Quran on the basis that it was compiled during the lifetime of Muhammad. His argument is based on hadiths and on critically analyzing the situation during and after the life of Muhammad. He states that the collection of the Quran by Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman occurred significantly after the caliphate was decided, and so if Ali's rule had been mentioned, there would have been no need for the Muslims to gather to appoint someone. The fact that none of the Companions mentioned this supposed alteration, either at the beginning of the caliphate or after Ali became caliph, is regarded as proof that this alteration did not occur.[139]
Al-Khoei also argues that by the time 'Uthman became caliph, Islam had spread to such an extent that no one could remove anything from the Quran. Uthman could have altered the text but he would have been unable to convince all those who had memorized the Quran to go along with his alterations.[140] Any such alteration also would have been mentioned by Uthman's political opponents and assassins yet none accused him of this. Finally, he argues that if Uthman had altered the Quran, Ali would have restored it to its original state upon the death of Uthman, especially if verses of his rule had been removed. Instead, Ali is seen promoting the Quran during his reign, which is evidence that there was no alteration.[139]Manuscripts
In the 20th century, the Sanaa manuscript was discovered. It has been radiocarbon dated to the range 578-669 CE with 95% confidence. The manuscript is a palimpsest with Quranic verses in both upper and lower texts. The upper text has exactly the same verses and the same order of suras and verses as the standard Quran.[141] The order of the suras in the lower text of the Sana'a codex is different from the order in the standard Quran.[142] In addition, the lower text exhibits extensive variations from the counterpart text in the standard Quran; such that the lower text represents the only surviving early quranic manuscript that does not conform to the 'Uthmanic tradition. The majority of these variations add words and phrases, to emphasize or clarify the standard quranic reading. Some scholars have proposed parallels for these variations in reports of variants in 'companion codices' that were kept by individual companions to the Prophet outside of the mainstream tradition of 'Uthman, but these correspondences are much the minority. François Déroche proposes, on palaeographic grounds, a date for the lower text in the second half of the first century AH (hence 672 - 722 CE) and summarises the character of the Sana'a Palimpsest, "The scriptio inferior of the Codex Ṣanʿāʾ I has been transcribed in a milieu which adhered to a text of the Qurʾan different from the ʿUthmanic tradition as well as from the Qurʾanic codices of Ibn Masʿūd and Ubayy".
Ubay Ibn Ka'b[42]
Abdullah ibn Masood[43]
Zayd Ibn Thabit[44]
Abu Hurairah[45]
Abdullah Ibn Abbas[46]
Abu al-Darda[47]
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