Recap in the task sheet What have you

Recap in the task sheet What have you learnt about hadith?

Whiteboard What do you know about the Qur’an?

The Qur’an Purpose of lesson What is the status, purpose and message of the Qur’an as revealed word of Allah?

Task 1. Skim pages 1 -6 in the textbook, Islam, V W Watton 2. Complete the task sheet in pairs; (a). Researcher (dictator) (b). The Recorder • THE QUR’AN - The Origins of the Qur’an - The Compilation of the Qur’an - The Authority of the Qur’an - Muslim Attitudes to the Qur’an -Why do Muslims Believe the Qur’an is the Word of God? - Contents of the Qur’an

The Qur’an • The Qur’an is a direct revelation of (Allah) God • The most important thing in Islam, contains everything that Muslims need to know about Allah, religion and to live in their lives “The Quran is the complete book of guidance for mankind. It is the sacred book of the Muslims and the main source of law in Islam. The whole of the Qur’an is from Allah. Each word of it is a revealed word. ” (Islam Beliefs and Teachings, Ghulam Sarwar) What is your understanding of this quote?

Phases of Revelation- Origin ARSH MUALLA [The Exalted Throne] LOOH-E-MAHFOOZ (The Secured Tablet) SEVENTH HEAVEN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM Phase 1: Night of Power – 610 C. E Phase 2: • Bit by bit, • Ayah by Ayah, • Surah by surah • 23 years • 1 st Wahi: 610, 1 st 5 -Verses of S 96 Cave of Hira

What is the Qur’an? • Word or speech of Allah • Preserved till eternity • Protection is guaranteed by Allah • Original Qur'an is in Looh-e-Mahfooz (The secured Tablet) (85: 21 -22) • We have a duplication of the Qur’an

The Origin of the Qur’an Allah created the Universe. Adam was the first prophet to look after the world the way Allah wanted. Adam needed instructions to do this. The subsequent generations distorted the God given instructions. Allah sent other messengers who carried the message again, the same message completed in the Qur’an. Do you remember the names of the Holy Books and Prophets? God revealed His final message; the Qur’an to • Tawrat (Torah)-Musa Muhammad. The word of Allah got dictated to • Zabur (Psalms)- Dawud Muhammad which He memorised, could not • Injil (Bible)- Isa be distorted.

The Origins of the Qur’an…. • No preaching or miracles were performed. In first revelation God said, [“Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created. Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, - He Who taught (the use of) the pen, - Taught man that which he knew not. ”] • How the revelations of the Qur’an came: 1. Heard ringing a bell and the His brow was covered with sweat as God communicated with Him. 2. Heard voice from behind the veil / wall 3. Angel Jibrail brought the revelation So origin of the Quran was as the final word of God to people via Muhammad, merely recited what God told.

Think – Pair – Share • What does the quote mean? ‘We have been commanded to believe in previously revealed Books only in the sense of admitting that, before the Qur’an, God had also sent down books through His Prophets, that they were all from the same God, the God who sent the Qur’an, and the sending of the Qur’an… confirms, restates and completes those divine instructions. ’ (Abul Ala Mawdudi)

What do you remember about the Origin of the Qur’an. • Where is the original copy of the Qur’an? Whiteboard • What is the phase one of the revelation? • What is the phase 2 of revelation like? • Describe the 3 ways of revelation of the Qur’an to Muhammad. • Who is the very beginning point of the message of the Qur’an? • Did every prophet receive different message?

The Compilation of the Qur’an How the Qur’an got compiled in an official book form

Collection and Compilation - 1 • Lifetime of Prophet Muhammad (S) – 570 - 632 Hifz – Scribes – Katib-e-wahi Not in book form, memorization (Learners at Suffa) Bones, Clay/pottery, bits of leather Papyrus 631 CE Prophet, sorted into Surahs but couldn’t complete in His life. Ibn 'Abbas says the Prophet said, "Gabriel taught me to read the Qur'an in one dialect, and when I recited it he taught me to recite it in another dialect, and so on until the number of dialects increased to seven. " (Hadith)

Collection and Compilation - 2 • Life time of rightly Guided Caliphs First Book form, within 2 yrs 1. Abu Bakr Battle of Yumamah, Death of Huffaz 2. Umar Tradition to recite Quran in night prayers in the month of Ramadhan 3. Usman Agreed upon script Vocalization per Quraish tribe • Copy in Hafsa’s chest, Zayd ibn Thabit The chief secretary of Prophet made an official version, safekeeping of Hafsa.

Compilation …. • 114 suras, every sura begins with Bismillah except sura 9, (In the name of Allah The Merciful The Compassionate). This indicates that whole of the Qur’an comes from God. • The Suras of the Qur’an got revealed in Makkah, called Makki and The suras got revealed after Hijra called Madni. • Revealed over the period of about 23 years.

Summary • At the end of Muhammad’s life it was scattered on “pieces of papyrus, flat stones, palm-leaves, shoulder-blades and ribs of animals, pieces of leather and wooden boards, as well as [in] the hearts of men” • Abu Bakr had a compilation made because many Qur’an reciters had died in battle; eventually passed into the hands of Hafsa, a widow of Muhammad and daughter of Umar. • Official version compiled under Uthman, taking into account Hafsa’s, because variations had arise in different places. • Copies were made and sent to the main centres, such as Kufa, Basra, Damascus. • Eventually seven variations (“readings”) came to be accepted though only one is now widely used.

How the Bible and the Qur’an is different? The Qur’an • Revealed to one person • Revealed over a period of 23 years • No differences between the texts The Bible • Revealed to many people • Over a period of 1500 years • Didn’t achieve its final written form until 300 years after the final revelation • Many differences between texts

Some old manuscripts Most recent

How Western scholars challenge? How might Muslims respond to that? Discuss on your desk. ‘The result of traditional Muslim research are not satisfying and one must accept the fact that definitive decisions regarding exact date or, even exact chronological order, are simply no longer possible’. ‘Kufic Arabic script, in which early Qur’ans were written, had no vowels were put in, there was possibility of mistakes as one different vowel could give a word a totally different meaning. ’(Helmut Gajte) The Qur’an as the unalterable word of God developed during the first 200 years of Islam as a result of a conflict between Caliphs and theologians over who should determine the Shari’a. The Caliphs claimed their traditional right, but theologians claimed only God could, and indeed had through the Qur’an. (Andrew Rippin)

Compilation Recap…. On the whiteboard 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. How did Prophet Muhammad compiled the Qur’an? With what places Suras are known? How many Suras in the Qur’an? Who was the chief secretary (scribe)? Where was the Qur’an in safekeeping? Why Abu Bakr got concerned about the collection of the Qur’an? 7. What are 2 differences between the ways, the Bible and the Qur’an got compiled? 8. Name the Rightly guided Caliph who compiled the final version with seven dialects. 9. What is the title of a person who memorises the Qur’an? 1. Memorised- Hifz 2. Makkah, Madina 3. 114 4. Zayd ibn Thabit 5. Hafsa, Prophet’s wife 6. Many Huffaz got killed 7. Revealed on one person, 23 years Many people, 1500 years 8. Uthman 9. Hafiz

On whiteboard Why the holy book should have authority over a believer?

Part 2 The Authority of the Qur’an How the Qur’an has authority over Muslim life?

Authority Discuss the quotes 1. Revelation from God , people need to know: “This is the Book, in it is guidance sure without doubt to those who fear God” (s 2 v 2) 2. Can never be distorted, “Allah did confer a great favour on the believers when He sent among them an apostle from among themselves, rehearsing unto them the Signs of Allah, sanctifying them, and instructing them in Scripture and Wisdom, while, before that, they had been in manifest error. ” (s 3 v 164) 3. Absolute authority, a good Muslim must do what Quran says. ‘Believe in the Qur’an should be of the nature that it is purely and absolutely God’s own words, that it is perfectly true that every word of it is preserved, that everything mentioned therein is right…. . ’ (Abul Ala Mawdudi)

Why do Muslims treat the Qur’an in such a special way? • The most Holy Book • Highly respected • Ritual washing (wudu) before touching it • Words and meaning both important, • Only Arabic version is the Qur’an, Translation is not classed as the Qur’an

Why Muslims Believe the Qur’an is the Word of God? 1. The greatest miracle from Allah because Prophet Muhammad didn’t know how to read & write so He could not have written the Qur’an himself. 2. The most beautiful Arabic, ‘And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there any) besides Allah, if your (doubts) are true. ’ (s 2 v 23). Labid ibn Rabia pinned his poem on the wall of Ka’aba, when someone pinned a verse from the Qur’an he tore his poem and became Muslim. 3. No difference between the different copies of the Qur’an, it must be the word of God. 4. Hadith, kept separate from the Qur’an to distinguish between the Qur’an and Hadith 5. The beautiful language the very sound of it can covert people.

On the whiteboard Explain the following quote. ‘The sacred quality of the psalmody of the Qur’an cause spiritual rapture even in a person who knows no Arabic. In a mysterious way, this sacred quality is transmitted across the barriers of human language and is felt by those hundreds of millions of non-Arab Muslim, whether they be Persian, Turkish, African, Indian or Malay, whose hearts palpitate in the love of God and whose eyes are moistened by tears of joy upon simply hearing the Qur’an chanted. ’ (SH Nasr)

The Contents of the Qur’an • The Qur’an is a book about what Muslims should believe and how they should behave, much of which originally appeared in prophetic way. • Commands and prohibitions • Warnings about a future judgment and indications of when judgement will be • The Book of guidance: What to believe and what to do. “An apostle from Allah, rehearsing scriptures kept pure and holy: Wherein are laws (or decrees) right and straight. ” (s 98 v 2 -3)

In pairs • Workout the subheading of the quote in the Qur’an on sheet. • The Contents of the Qur’an

The Authority of the Qur’an How the Qur’an has authority over Muslim life?

Exam questions ……. . Plan in groups 1. Explore the significance of the Qur’an in Muslims’ lives today. 2. Assess the claim that the Qur’an is an undistorted Book of God. 3. ‘The Qur’an is the complete code of life for Muslims’. Evaluate