Institute Al Islam - What is the Quran?

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Who is Allah? What is the Holy Quran? Last and Final Revelation of God? What is a Surah? Surah IndexI0
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What is the Holy Quran?
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The Holy Quran is the Last and Final Word of Allah Almighty to all of mankind. The Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad through revelation and by inspiration over a period of 23 years.

Holy Quran; Surah 04; Verse 163: We have sent thee inspiration as We sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him; We sent inspiration to Abraham Ismail Isaac Jacob and the Tribes to Jesus Job Jonah Aaron and Solomon and to David We gave the Psalms.

Holy Quran; Surah 42; Verses:

51: It is not fitting for a man that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration of from behind a veil or by the sending of a Messenger to reveal with Allah's permission what Allah wills: for He is Most High Most Wise.

52: And thus have We by Our command sent inspiration to thee: thou knowest not (before) what was Revelation and what was Faith; but We have made the (Quran) a Light wherewith We guide such of Our servants as We will; and verily thou dost guide (men) to the Straight Way.

The Holy Quran further reveals:

Holy Quran; Surah 56; Verses:

77: That this is indeed a Quran most honorable,
78: In a Book well-guarded,
79: Which none shall touch but those who are clean:
80: A Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.

The following description is found at The Encarta^Ž Online Deluxe (www.encarta.com):

Koran, sacred scripture of Islam ... used for the book containing the divine revelations given to Muhammad. Recorded by secretaries and memorized by his followers, the collection was compiled shortly after Muhammad's death in 632. Arabic scholars produced an authorized version in the early 650s. The earliest known work in Arabic prose, the Koran consists of 114 Surahs (chapters) and contains the Islamic religious, social, civil, commercial, military, and legal codes. The chief doctrines in the Koran are that only one God and one true religion exist; all will undergo final judgment; and when humankind turned from truth, God sent prophets to lead the way back. Accepted by Muslims as the utterance of the Almighty, the Koran is held to be above criticism. Copies of the book are treated with great reverence.

The above text presumes that an authorized text was compiled by Arabic scholars. This statement is not true since the Quran was only compiled in the form of a Book and not by any Arabic scholar! This is further clarified in the following Hadith (Sahih Al-Bukhari: 6.509) related by Zaid bin Thabit:

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq sent for me when the people of Yamama had been killed (i.e., a number of the Prophet's Companions who fought against Musailama). (I went to him) and found 'Umar bin Al-Khattab sitting with him. Abu Bakr then said (to me), "Umar has come to me and said: 'Casualties were heavy among the Qurra' of the Quran (i.e. those who knew the Quran by heart) on the day of the Battle of Yalmama, and I am afraid that more heavy casualties may take place among the Qurra' on other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost. Therefore I suggest, you (Abu Bakr) order that the Quran be collected." I said to 'Umar, "How can you do something which Allah's Apostle did not do?" 'Umar said, "By Allah, that is a good project." 'Umar kept on urging me to accept his proposal till Allah opened my chest for it and I began to realize the good in the idea which 'Umar had realized." Then Abu Bakr said (to me). 'You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicion about you, and you used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle. So you should search for (the fragmentary scripts of) the Quran and collect it in one book)." By Allah If they had ordered me to shift one of the mountains, it would not have been heavier for me than this ordering me to collect the Quran. Then I said to Abu Bakr, "How will you do something which Allah's Apostle did not do?" Abu Bakr replied, "By Allah, it is a good project." Abu Bakr kept on urging me to accept his idea until Allah opened my chest for what He had opened the chests of Abu Bakr and 'Umar. So I started looking for the Quran and collecting it from (what was written on) palmed stalks, thin white stones and also from the men who knew it by heart, till I found the last Verse of Surat At-Tauba (Repentance) with Abi Khuzaima Al-Ansari, and I did not find it with anybody other than him. The Verse is:

"Verily there has come unto you an Apostle (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty...(till the end of Surat-Baraa' (At-Tauba). (9.128-129) Then the complete manuscripts (copy) of the Quran remained with Abu Bakr till he died, then with 'Umar till the end of his life, and then with Hafsa, the daughter of 'Umar.