Quran
Compilation, Transmission & Preservation
Dr. Sabeel Ahmed
What Is the Qur’an?
Primary source of guidance for Muslims
Revealed to prophet Muhammad through angel Gabriel
The Last Revelation of Allah (The God) to Humanity
Preserved in original language (Arabic) and dialect (Qureshi)
Facts About Qur’an
Total chapters: 114.
Total verses: 6600+.
Total words: 86,430.
Total letters: 323,760.
First revelation: 610 C.E.
Last revelation:632 C.E.
Arabia in 610 C.E.
'In the ancient times,
when writing was
scarcely used, memory
and oral transmission
was exercised and
strengthened to a
degree now almost
unknown'
Michael Zwettler. (Oral tradition of
Classical Arabic Poetry, p.14. Ohio
State Press: 1978
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh*)
The First Memorizer of the complete Quran
'Gabriel used to repeat the
recitation of the Qur'an with
Prophet Muhammad (peace be
[O prophet!] Do not move upon him) once a year, but he
your tongue swiftly to acquire repeated it twice with him in
this [Qur’an]. Verily, upon us the year he (Prophet) died'
is its collection and recital. So
when we have recited it,
follow this recital [of ours].
Then upon us is to explain it
[wherever need be]. (Qur’an,
75:16-19) Abu Hurayrah, collected in
Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6.520
First Generation of Memorizers
Companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
'Some of the companions 'Allah Messenger
who memorized the Quran (Muhammed) said to me
were: 'Abu Bakr, Umar, (Abdullah bin Mas'ud):
Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Abu "Recite (of the Quran) to me".
Huraira, Abdullah bin Abbas, I said: "Shall I recite it to you
Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As, although it had been
Aisha, Hafsa, and Umm revealed to you?!" He Said: "I
Salama'. Jalal al-Din Suyuti, like to hear (the Quran) from
'Al-Itqan fi-ulum al-Quran, others". Sahih Al-Bukhari,
Vol. I, p. 124 6.106
Second Generation Memorizers
"…Quranic schools were set up
everywhere. In the second
Muslim generation, Ibn 'Amir,
was the judge of Damascus
under the caliph Umar Ibn 'Abd
al-Aziz. It is reported that in his
school for teaching the Qur'an
there were 400 disciples to
teach in his absence".
[Ibn al Jazari, Kitab al-Nash fi al-Qir'at al-Ashr,
Cairo, al-Halabi, n.d._ vol. 2, p. 254
Memorizers in Subsequent Generations
The number of Katatib and similar
schools in Cairo (Egypt) alone at
one time exceeded two thousand.
Labib as-Said, The Recited Koran,
1975, pg. 59.
Quran Memorization Schools:
Chicago, USA - example
Muslim Community Center, Chicago
IIF at Elgin
Islamic Center, Chicago
Jame’ Masjid, Chicago
Northside Mosque, Chicago
Masjid Hameedia, Chicago
Masjid e Rahmat, Chicago
Masjid e Noor, Chicago 100s of Quranic Memorization
Masjid Al-Taqwa, Chicago schools exist in USA, a non-Muslim
country. 1000s of these schools
Masjid e Kausar, Chicago exist in Muslim countries.
Conclusion
Qur’an Memorization
"The method of transmitting the The fact of hifz (Quranic
Quran from one generation to the Memorization) has made the
next by having he young Qur'an a present possession
memorize the oral recitation of through all the lapse of Muslim
their elders had mitigated time and given it a human currency
somewhat from the beginning the in every generation never allowing
worst perils of relying solely on its relegation to a bare authority for
written records…" reference alone".
John Burton, An Introduction to Kenneth Cragg, The Mind of the
the Hadith, Edinburgh Qur'an, George Allan & Unwin:
University Press: 1994, p. 27. 1973, p.26.
Conclusion - Memorization
1. Prophet Muhammad (s) was the first
memorizer of the entire Quran
2. 100s of his companions memorized the whole
Quran
3. Some of his wives memorized the whole Quran
4. 1000s in each generation memorized it
without any gap
5. 10 million Muslims are currently alive who
memorized the whole Quran
6. Thus Quran is perfectly preserved through
memorization
Written Qur’an
During the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh)
Prophet
Muhammad
(pbuh)
commanded his
companions: ‘do
not write anything
from me except
the Qur’an.’
Compiled by Muslim
Prophet Muhammad (s) did not knew
how to read and write, thus he used to
call his scribes to write down the Quran
for him whenever he received a new
revelation from Allah (The God)
Written Qur’an
During the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad
Narrated Yazid bin Al
Narrated by al-Bara': There Ubaid”
was revealed 'Not equal are ’I used to accompany
those believers…’ (4:95). Salama bin Al-Akwa' and he
The Prophet said: 'Call Zaid used to pray behind the
pillar which was near the
for me and let him bring the
place where the Qur'ans
board, the ink pot and
were kept. I said, "O Abu
scapula bone.' Then he Muslim! I see you always
(Prophet) said: 'Write: Not seeking to pray behind this
equal are those pillar." He replied, "I saw
believers…‘Bukhari, 6.512 Allah's Apostle always
seeking to pray near that
pillar.“Bukhari 1.481
Above is an example of Prophet The above narration confirms the fact
Muhammad (s) calling one of his that the written copy of the Quran was
scribes when he received a present in a book form during the
revelation lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (s)
So, What is the significance of
having the whole written
Quran during the lifetime of
Prophet Muhammed (s)?
Prophet Muhammed (s) authenticated this written copy.
Any mistake in writing the original can be checked and
corrected by Prophet Muhammad (s)
Copies were made from this original by people who were
memorizers, thus preserving its purity.
No previous religious personality can verify the holy
scripture written about him (example Prophet Jesus was not
around when the first Gospel was written down. Prophet
Moses was not around when the Torah (first 5 books of the
Bible were written, obituary of Moses is present in Duet. 34,
Moses cannot have writen his own obituary!)
So, What is the significance of having
the whole written Quran during the
lifetime of Prophet Muhammed (s)?
The above is unlike the New-Testament, Old Testament,
Hindu scriptures, Buddhist scriptures, all were written down
AFTER their main person (founder) left the world, thus the
later writers can interpolate and edit the original sayings.
Since no other book was memorized and written down as
the Quran, then the check and balance system of correcting
the copying errors is lacking in other scriptures (except the
Quran) and resulted in their defective transmission.
An altered, defective, less then 100% authentic scripture,
cannot be trusted for our salvation.
Thus, we can safely set aside all other books for our
salvation except the Quran.
Written Qur’an Ibn Mas'ud, Ubay bin
Private copies of Companions of the
Ka'b, Ali,Prophet
Ibn Abbas,
Muhammed Abu Musa, Hafsa, Anas
bin Malik, Umar, Zaid
bin Thabit, Ibn Al-
Zubair, Abdullah ibn
Amr, Aisha, Salim,
Umm Salama, Ubaid
bin Umar'. Ibn Abi
Dawud, Masahif, p. 14.
'A list of companions
possessing their own written
copies of the Qur’an included
the following:
Qur’an Manuscript
From 1st Century of Islam (7th
Century)
Script : Kufi Masq
Dimension : 16 x 33 cm
Copying date : 1st/2nd
centuries
Surah (Chapter) name : Surat
al-Isra
Verses number : from 20 to 22
and part of 23
Comparing the ancient manuscripts of the Quran with our current
copies
No Change in number of chapters, verses or words!
Qur’an Manuscripts
Script : Italic Kufi
Dimension : 50 x 36 cm
Copying date : 1st / 2nd
centuries
Surah name : Surat al Kahf
Verses number : Part of 17 to
27 and part of 28
Comparing the ancient manuscripts of the Quran with our current
copies
Qur’an Manuscripts
Script : Kufi Masahif
Dimension : 32 x 24 cm
Copying date : 2nd / 3rd
centuries
Surah name : Surat al-Nas
Verses number : part of 3 to
the end of the surah
Qur’an Manuscripts
Script : Kufi Masahif
Dimension : 16 x 36 cm
Copying date : 1st / 2nd
century
Surah name : Surat al-
Mumtahina
Verses number : Part of 4 to 8
and part of 9
Comparing the ancient manuscripts of the Quran with our current
copies
No Change in number of chapters, verses or words!
Qur’an Manuscripts
Script : Kufi Masahif
Dimension : 39 x 36 CM
Copying date : 2nd Century
Surah name : Surat al Tawba,
surat Yunus
Verses number : part of 129 from surat al
Tawba to 3 and part of 4 from surat Yunus
Comparing the ancient manuscripts of the Quran with our current
copies
No Change in number of chapters, verses or words!
The Versailles Treaty [WW I]
Section II, Article 246 [June 28, 1919]
Within six months from the
coming into force of the
present treaty, Germany will
restore to his majesty the king
of the Hedjaz the original Koran
of the caliph Othman, which
was removed from medina by
the Turkish authorities and is
stated to have been presented
to the ex-emperor William II.
http://history.acusd.edu/ In 1919, the Big 4 met in Paris to
gen/text/versaillestreaty/ negotiate the Treaty Lloyd George of
vercontents.htm[University of Britain, Orlando of Italy,
San Diego] Clemenceau of France, and Woodrow
Wilson of the U.S.
Even non-Muslim nations acknowledge that Muslims possess the
Original Quran written down in the time of the companions of
Prophet Muhammad (s).
Preservation of the Qur'an
"There is probably no other
book in the world which has
remained twelve centuries
(now fourteen) with so pure a
text".
• ______________
Sir William Muir, Life of
Mohamet, vol.1, Introduction.
(1861 CE)
Quran: Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Preservation of the Quran
‘What we have today
in our hands is the
Mushaf (is like the
original manuscript)
of Muhammad.’
John Burton, The Collection Of The
Qur'ân, 1977, Cambridge University
Press, pp. 239-240.
Allah (swt) Is Quran’s Protector
'We* (Allah) have, without
doubt, send down the
Message; and We will
assuredly Guard it (from
corruption)'
Quran 15:9
‘We’ is the plural of authority and respect and not the plural of
‘trinity’ or more than one.
Conclusion
1. Entire Quran is Preserved through memory in each
generation from Muhammad’s (s) to ours.
2. Written copies copied from the original Quran of Muhammad
(s) still exist for verification and authentication
3. Any copying errors by the copyist is caught and corrected by
the memorizers of the Quran
4. Any mistake in recitation by a memorizer is corrected by
fellow memorizer & by written copies of the Quran
5. Multi-layered system of check and balance to protect Quran
from getting corrupted (this check and balance system is
lacking for any other book, religious or secular!)
6. Quran is recited from memory by Muslims in the daily
prayers.
7. Entire Quran is recited and listened to by Muslims once each
year during the month of Ramadan (Fasting)
Contact Info. for Islam
Dr. Sabeel Ahmed
[email protected]
http://www.slideshare.net/sabeel
http://www.iol.ie/~afifi/BICNews/
Sabeel/sabeel3.htm
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Thank you!
May Allah (God) Provide us
Guidance, Peace and Salvation…
Aameen
