309- Preservation of the Holy Qur’an by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him (Series: Inviting Reflections)

The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, carries the unique honor amongst rest of the prophets of Allah who strived and successfully preserved the?Wa?y/Revelation: The Holy Qur’an, using both methods of scribing and memorization. The Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, had received revelations for about 23 years viz. 13 years in Makkah and 10 years in Madina. The verses or surahs revealed before Hijrah (flight to Madina) are called Makki verses or surahs; and, revealed after the Hijrah are called Madani verses or surahs.

Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the only one among all prophets who took special measures to preserve and safeguard the?Wa?y?revealed unto him. Certainly, it was ordained by Allah and His divine will that among 315 revealed Holy Books and Scriptures (Ahmad bin Humbal, Musnad, Hadith # 22288),?Al-Qur’an al-Karim--the Last Message, alone is unadulterated and saved from tiniest traces of adulteration or interpolation, despite hazards of history, and, it will remain unadulterated till?Qiyāmah (the Day of Judgement).

This gigantic task of preservation of revelation was systematically performed. It is reported that at different occasions He, peace be upon him, appointed at least sixty-five Scribes of Wa?y: Kutaab al Wa?y used in Urdu (Katibeen e Wa?y). (Please See: Al-A’zami M. Mustafa Dr: A History of the Qur’anic Text from Revelation to Compilation, Malaysia 2011, p. 68). After receiving a revelation, Muhammad, peace be upon him, not only ensured its scribing but also ensured that the verse is read in his presence. The People of Bench (Ashaab al Suffah), who were the permanent residents of the Mosque of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and other Companions R.A. inscribed and memorized the revealed verses. It is reported in all collections of hadith that the People of Bench were ever anticipant for the new revelations; and on its reception, they promptly recorded and memorized the new revelation. It is further reported that Abdullah b. Mas'ud R.A. said that in case of a lengthy revelation, Muhammad, peace be upon him, shared with them only ten verses at a time for easy retention. (Please See: Al-Bayhaqi, Al-Jami’ li-Su’ub al-Iman, Al-Riyad 2003, p.345). This was a unique technique adopted by Muhammad, peace be upon him, to preserve the Holy Qur'an through scribal effort and ensuring memorization and retention by the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him. Such arrangements were nonexistent in any other prophetic historicity in early or late antiquity. It will not be out of place to mention that the Holy Qur’an is the only revealed scripture which can be conveniently memorized and retained in the memory in all age groups. No hafiz (memorizer) of any other revealed book is found on the earth whereas innumerable and countless huffaz (memorizers) of the Qur’an testify the claim of ‘Allama Qurtubi: ????????????????????????????????????????????

?"????????? ?????? ??????? ???????? ? ?? ????? ???? ????????? ?? ???????????? ??????????? ???? ???????"(The Ummah (of Muhammad, peace be upon him) has been given the faculty of memorizing [the holy scripture]. However, the people before Ummah of Muhammad, peace be upon him, could read their Holy Scriptures only by seeing it). (Al-Qurtubi, Al-Jami‘ li-Ahkam al-Qur’an, vol. 13, p. 354).

The most celebrated scholar of hadith ‘Allama Al-Tabarani reported an eye-catching hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him. While describing many traits and characteristics of his Ummah, Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

"?????????????? ??? ???????????? ? ??????????? ??????????? ????? ??????????? ???????????" The people of my Ummah will be having their sacred scriptures in their breasts; and they will be lining up for their prayers as they line up in the war, [they line up for a war against Satan]. Please See: ?Al-Tabarani: Al-Mu‘jam al-Kabir, vol. 10, p. 90).

Worthy to mention is the fact that in early revelations, Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him, tried to memorize the revealed verses to ward off the chance of forgetting some of the revealed contents. The tedious and arduous work taken by Muhammad, peace be upon him, in order to preserve the Qur’an, was conveyed a satisfying revelation. Consoling him, Allah addressed Muhammad, peace be upon him:

?"??? ????????? ???? ????????? ?????????? ????"?(Do not wag your tongue with it, to hurry on with it). Surah Al-Qiyamah, Verse: 16

?Allah further proclaimed: It was His (Allah’s) duty to preserve the Qur’an:

?"????? ????????? ???????? ???????????" (It is for Us (Allah) to collect it and to promulgate it). Ibid, Verse: 17

It is further assured by Allah:?

??"????? ????? ????????? ?????????" (Then upon Us (rests) the explanation (illustrative demonstration) of it). Ibid, Verse: 19

?To further add to the fact that after receiving every revelation, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, instructed the scribes to put in the revealed verses, at a particular place, in a particular Surah, before and after, such and such verses. The present arrangement of surahs and verses is specified by the Prophet, peace be upon him. (Please See: Al- A’zami M. Mustafa Dr: A History of the Qur’anic Text from Revelation to Compilation, p. 70). Since the year 2nd?A.H., when fasting of Ramadan had been declared mandatory, it is reported that Muhammad, peace be upon him, used to get up at night and recite the Qur'an, in Ramadan, reciting all that was revealed until that time. (Sahih al-Bukhari, vol. 4, pp. 1911-12; Ahmad bin Humbal, Musnad, vol. 1, p. 598).

Muhammad, peace be upon him, always showed special respect to the scholars and Huffaz (memorizers) of the Qur'an; for example, from among the martyrs of U?ud, may it look trivial, but a distinguished honor was bestowed to those martyrs, during their funeral and burial, who knew more Qur'an. Muhammad, peace be upon him, asked the companions:?

?"??????? ?????? ??????????"?(Who among them (martyrs) knew more Qur'an?) (‘Ala ud Din al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal, Beirut 1998, vol. 1, p. 124).

Resultantly the martyred companions R.A. who knew more Qur’an, were buried before others as a mark of respect to the scholars of the Qur’an.

As reported in a very often quoted hadith, the fourth Caliph ‘Ali bin Abi Talib R.A., in recognition of his scholarship and knowledge of the Qur’an, was named by the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, as ???? ????? ????? ?(The Gateway of the City of Knowledge) (Please See: Al-Sayyuti, Al-Jami’ al-Saghir, Hadith # 2690); and, ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas R.A. a great scholar of the Qur'an, in recognition of his knowledge, was named as Hibr al-Ummah: ?????? ?????? ?(The Ink of the Ummah). (Al-‘Asqalani ibn Hajar, Al-Isabah, vol: 2, p. 333).

While taking care of the arrangements for preservation of the Holy Qur’an, Muhammad, peace be upon him, instructed his companions not to take any written sheets or papers to the enemy’s land lest they may snatch it or they are destroyed in any armed scuffle. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Jihad, vol. 1, pp. 419-420). Certainly, this was an order for that time in view of the circumstances Muslims were confronting. Moreover, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, told the companions R.A. that those who recite the written verses of the Qur’an will be recompensed 2000 times, in the hereafter, more than those who recite the Qur’an by heart after memorizing it. (Please see for details: Al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, Beirut N.D. vol. 7, p.165). Certainly, this was yet another expedient measure to safeguard the text of the Qur’an, by asking the believers to see the text and recite, correcting the orthographic mistakes, if there were any.

In Islamic history, many days are named as: ????? ?????????? (The Days of Presentation) (Al- A’zami M. Mustafa Dr: A History of the Qur’anic Text from Revelation to Compilation, pp. 81-82; Muhammad Hamidullah Dr, Khutubat e Bahawalpur, pp. 13-14).?The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to announce that on such and such day he, peace be upon him will visit such and such tribe or area.?People used to gather on the given place with their written materials of the Qur’an to read them before the Prophet, peace be upon him, and to get a “certificate” that their written materials have been approved by the Prophet, peace be upon him. The details in this regard can be seen in Fat? al-Bārī fī Shar? ?a?ī? al-Bukhārī by Ibn ?ajar al-?Asqalānī and in Al-Itqān fi ‘Ulum Al-Qur’an by ‘Allama al-Suyū?ī. It is also reported that the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, every year, in the month of Ramadan, in day times, used to recite the revealed Qur’an, in a loud voice, thus permitting the companions R.A. to collate their written materials with His recitation. (M. Hamidullah Dr: Khutubat e Bahawalpur, pp. 12-14).

As reported in Jami‘ al-Bukhari and other collections of hadith that before the departure of the Prophet, peace be upon him, to heavenly abode, he informed ‘Aeysha R.A. that he has been ordained to recite the Qur’an twice in turns with Jabra’il. (Al-Kurdi Muhammad Tahir bin ‘Abd al-Qadir, Tarikh al-Qur’an, Egypt 1953, pp. 69-70). Before his passing to the eternal abode, the Prophet, peace be upon him, recited the whole Qur’an in his mosque twice in front of his companions. (Al- A’zami , p. 52). During the lifetime of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, at least twenty-five Companions, including one woman: Umm e Waraqah R.A., are reported to have memorized the complete Qur'an in its present arrangement of verses and surahs, (Al-Hindi ‘Ala al-Din ‘Ali al-Muttaqi, Kunz al-‘Ummal, Beruit 1998, vol. 7, pp. 239-240);?and, most of the Companions R.A. had memorized major portions of the Qur’an. Though Muhammad, peace be upon him, in his lifetime, did not compile the Qur'an in one volume; however, it was available with the companions in written form on different sheets. It was known that some companions like Abdullah b. Mas'ud R.A., Abdullah b. Abbas R.A., Ali b. Abi Talib R.A. ‘Aeysha R.A. and some others had their personal copies of the complete Qur'an before the issuance of Canon/Official Version by Abu Bakr R.A. soon after the demise of the Prophet, peace be upon him, on the bases of ‘Urdaat: ?????????? and pieces of evidence in accordance with the Islamic Law of Evidence.

At different occasions, both in Makkah and Madinah, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, himself appointed more than 65 Scribes of Wa?y: ?????? ???. Whenever Muhammad, peace be upon him, received a revelation, he directed the scribes about its specific placing in a particular Surah. He, peace be upon him, also directed the scribes to write the newly received verses before and after such and such verses. The arrangement of the 114 surahs of the Qur’an has also been given by himself. (Al- A’zami, pp. 70-71). Most of the Companions R.A. used to wait for the new revelations and try to learn the revealed verses by heart. This is how the two-fold arrangement (writing and memorizing) was made by the Prophet, peace be upon him, to preserve the Book from any adulteration and change. (Ibid, 72-76).