The Compilation of the Quran

It has been demonstrated in the opening portion of this Introduction that the text of none of the sacred Scriptures, claimed to have been revealed before the Quran, has been preserved intact. They have all been interfered with to such an extent that an earnest seeker after truth finds it impossible to adopt any of them as a practical guide for right conduct. In contrast with this, the text of the Quran has been preserved intact and every word of it has come down to us as free from interference and interpolation as when it was revealed to the Holy Prophet one thousand three hundred years ago.

The Quran began to be revealed at the outset of the Mission of the Holy Prophet. The first revelation, comprising only a few verses, was received by him in the Hira Cave. Thereafter the revelation continued till his death. Thus the total period during which the entire Quran was revealed extended to twenty-three years. We know, on the basis of the testimony of his contemporaries, that in the beginning revelation came to the Prophet at intervals and in small bits, but as time passed it grew both in volume and in frequency till in the last years of his life it swelled into an almost continuous stream. One reason for this, among others, was that the teachings contained in this revelation were altogether novel and it was not easy for people to grasp their full significance. Therefore the Quran was revealed in small portions in the beginning. But after the basic principles of Islam had been fully grasped and it became comparatively easy for people to understand the teachings and the topics dealt with in the Quran, the revelation began to arrive faster and in larger volume. The object was that all Muslims should be enabled fully to grasp the teachings of the Quran. Another reason was that the number of Muslims was very small in the beginning and, as God intended that the text of the Quran should be scrupulously preserved and that it should not become the subject of any doubt, only small portions were revealed at a time in the beginning and there was always an interval, sometimes extending to several months, between the revelation of one group of verses and the next. In this manner the few Muslims were enabled to commit the whole revelation to memory, so as to place the matter of the preservation of the text beyond doubt. When the number of Muslims began to increase and the safeguarding and preservation of the text of the Quran became easier, the revelation began to arrive faster. Towards the close of the Holy Prophet’s life the number of Muslims exceeded a hundred thousand and the memorizing of the Quran became very easy. At that time the revelation came faster still. By this divine plan the purity of the text of the Quran was placed beyond doubt.

During the Caliphate of ‘Uthman seven copies of the Quran were despatched to different parts of the Muslim world and they in turn became the standard texts from which other copies were made and thereafter in each generation hundreds of thousands of people have been in the habit of committing the entire text of the Quran to memory. Even the bitterest enemies of Islam do not allege that any interference with the text of the Quran has taken place since the time of ‘Uthman. Those who seek to raise doubts regarding the purity of the text of the Quran direct their criticism to the period between the death of the Holy Prophet and the Caliphate of ‘Uthman.

Whenever any portion of the Quran was revealed to the Holy Prophet, he used to commit it to memory and, as he continuously recited the Quran from one end to the other, he always carried the whole of the revealed Quran at all times in his memory. In addition to this the following devices were adopted for safeguarding and preserving intact the text of the Quran:

Devices Adopted To Safeguard the Text of the Quran

1) As soon as a revelation was received by the Holy Prophet it was recorded in writing from his dictation. A number of persons are known to have been employed by the Holy Prophet for this purpose. Of these the names of the following fifteen have been mentioned in the traditions:1

1. Zayd bin Thabit.
2. Ubayy bin Ka‘b.
3. ‘Abdullah bin Sa‘d bin Abi Sarah.
4. Zubayr bin al-‘Awwam.
5. Khalid bin Sa‘id bin al-‘As.
6. Aban bin Sa‘id bin al-‘As.
7. Hanzalah bin ar-Rabi‘ al-Asadi.
8. Mu‘ayqib bin Abi Fatimah.
9. ‘Abdullah bin Arqam az-Zuhri.
10. Shurahbil bin Hasanah.
11. ‘Abdullah bin Rawahah.
12. Abu Bakr.
13. ‘Umar.
14. ‘Uthman.
15. ‘Ali

Whenever the Holy Prophet received a revelation, he would send for one of these persons and dictate to him the text of the revelation he had received.

2) As is well-known, the five daily congregational prayers are obligatory upon every Muslim and a portion of the Quran must be recited in each of them so that every Muslim knows some portion of the Quran by heart. If every hundred out of the Prophet’s Companions who numbered more than one hundred thousand had between them learnt the whole of the Quran by heart the entire Quran must have been preserved in the memory of his Companions a thousand times over.

3) The whole of the Law, doctrine, philosophy, moral precepts and other teachings of Islam are contained in the Quran. The building up and the fostering of a nation require the aid of all these. The Holy Prophet used to train Muslims for the discharge of the multifarious duties and functions involved in the building up and direction of a civilised and cultured community. For instance, there were needed judges, jurists, expounders of doctrine and those who explained the legal and moral injunctions of Islam and these people could not adequately discharge their functions unless they had learnt the Quran by heart. All such people, therefore, were under the necessity of committing the entire Quran to memory.

4) The Holy Prophet used always to stress the meritoriousness of committing the Quran to memory, so much so that he is reported as having said that if a person commits the Quran to memory he would be saved from the torment of Hell. God had blessed the Holy Prophet with Companions who were always eager to acquire merit in every way so that when he made this announcement very large numbers from among them began to commit the Quran to memory, including those whose enunciation was not very clear and who were not men of any learning at all. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal has related on the authority of ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar that a man came to the Holy Prophet and said to him: “O Messenger of Allah! I memorize the Quran but my mind does not grasp its full meaning.” This shows that not only men of learning but even the common people were in the habit of committing the Quran to memory. Another tradition, related by Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal on the same authority, states that a man brought his son to the Holy Prophet and said: “O Messenger of Allah! this son of mine goes on reciting the Quran the whole day and spends his night in sleep.” The Holy Prophet observed: “Then where is the occasion for you to worry? Your son spends the day in the remembrance of God and instead of committing any transgression at night spends it in restful sleep.” This shows that even the common people living at a distance from the Holy Prophet had started the practice of committing the Quran to memory.

Instructors of the Quran

5) As the eagerness of the people for memorizing the Quran increased, the Holy Prophet appointed four principal teachers of the Quran who used to memorize it under the supervision of the Holy Prophet and then taught other people to commit it to memory. These four in turn trained a number of other people who became competent to teach the Quran. These four were:

1. ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud.
2. Salim Maula Abi Hudhayfah.
3. Mu‘adh bin Jabal.
4. Ubayy bin Ka‘b.

The first two of these were Meccans who had migrated to Medina and the last two were Ansaris. ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud used to occupy himself as a labourer, Salim was a freed slave, and Mu‘adh and Ubayy were two of the leading men of Medina. Thus the Holy Prophet appointed teachers of the Quran from among different sections so that nobody should have any difficulty in approaching them and learning from them. The Holy Prophet used to say: “Those of you who wish to learn the Quran should learn it from ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud, Salim Maula Abi Hudhayfah, Mu‘adh bin Jabal or Ubayy bin Ka‘b.2 These four had learnt the whole of the Quran under the supervision of the Holy Prophet. But many other Companions of the Holy Prophet had also learnt portions of it directly from him. It is related that on one occasion when ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud was reciting the Quran ‘Umar pointed out that a certain word should be pronounced in a particular way. ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud protested that he had been taught by the Holy Prophet to pronounce it in the manner in which he had pronounced it. ‘Umar took him to the Holy Prophet and complained that he did not recite the Quran correctly. The Holy Prophet asked him to recite the portion concerning which there was a difference of opinion between the two and when he recited it the Prophet said he was quite right. Thereupon ‘Umar submitted that he had been taught by the Prophet to pronounce the word differently. The Prophet then asked him to recite the verse and when he did so, told him that that was also correct.

This shows that in addition to the four Companions whom the Holy Prophet used to teach the whole of the Quran there were others who used to learn portions of it from him.

‘Umar’s submission that he had been taught to pronounce a certain word in a particular way shows that he, too, used to learn portions of the Quran from the Holy Prophet himself.

The difference that arose between ‘Umar and ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud had no reference to any variation in the text of the Quran. It related only to a vowel point. Vowel points are a peculiarity of the Arabic language and in the case of certain verbs a variation in respect of vowel points is permissible and does not affect the meaning. For instance, in some cases a reading both with an 'a' and with an 'i' is permissible either as a general alternative reading or as a tribal or family practice. But the meaning in each case is the same. The Holy Prophet, recognizing such practices, gave permission under divine dispensation for the adoption of alternative enunciations, as this had not the effect of altering the meaning or sense of the words. As non-Arabic-speaking peoples are not familiar with this peculiarity of the Arabic language, they are apt to fall into the misconception that such alternative enunciations amounted to variations in the text and that the Holy Prophet was in the habit of teaching certain verses of the Quran in one way to one person and in a different way to another. In fact nothing of the kind ever took place. The variations which have become the subject-matter of discussion were not variations either of the text of a verse or even variations of a word. They were all cases of enunciation of vowel points which did not in any way alter the meaning or significance of a word. The only difference was that some tribes or families, being accustomed to pronounce certain verbs in particular declensions in a certain manner, were permitted to do so.

Reciters of the Quran

In addition to the four principal teachers of the Quran who had been trained by the Holy Prophet himself there were certain other well-known reciters who had committed the whole of the Quran to memory. Among these were:

1) Zayd bin Thabit, who was also one of the recorders of the revelation.

2) Abu Zayd Qays bin As-Sakan, an Ansari, who belonged to the Banu Najjar, which was the tribe of the Prophet’s mother.3

3) Abu Darda’ Ansari.4

4) Abu Bakr, concerning whom also it is related that from the very beginning he was in the habit of committing the Quran to memory.

5) ‘Ali not only knew the Quran by heart but shortly after the Holy Prophet’s death undertook to arrange the Quran in the order in which it had been revealed.

6) Nasa’i relates that ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar also knew the Quran by heart and used to recite the whole of it in the course of one night. When the Holy Prophet got to know of this he told him to complete the recitation in the course of a month and not to attempt to recite the whole of the Quran in one night as this might prove burdensome for him.

7) Abu ‘Ubayd relates that out of the Muhajirin the following had committed the Quran to memory:

Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, ‘Uthman, ‘Ali, Talhah, Sa‘d bin Mas‘ud, Hudhayfah, Salim, Abu Hurayrah, ‘Abdullah bin Sa’ib, ‘Abdullah bin Umar and ‘Abdullah bin ‘Abbas. And out of the women:

Ayesha, Hafsah and Ummi Salamah.

Most of these had committed the Quran to memory during the Prophet’s lifetime and some of them after his death. Ibn Abi Dawud relates in his book, the Ash-Shariah, that Tamim bin Aws ad-Dari and ‘Uqbah bin ‘Amir from among the Muhajirin had also committed the Quran to memory. Other historians include in this list ‘Amr bin al-‘As and Abu Musa Ash‘ari.

From among the Ansar those who were well-known to have committed the Quran to memory were:

‘Ubadah bin Samit, Mu‘adh, Majma‘ bin Harithah, Fudalah bin ‘Ubayd, Maslamah bin Mukhallad, Abu Darda’, Abu Zayd, Zayd bin Thabit, Ubayy bin Ka‘b, Sa‘d bin ‘Ubadah, and Ummi Waraqah.

The Quran Committed to Memory

In actual fact it is well-known that a very large number of the Companions of the Holy Prophet had committed the Quran to memory. As has been related in the biographical portion with reference to the incident of Bi’r Ma‘unah, the Holy Prophet in the fourth year of the Hijrah despatched seventy of his Companions as instructors for certain tribes and every one of them knew the Quran by heart.

Those who had committed the Quran to memory spent the greater part of their time in reciting it to others at all hours of the day and night. Hafiz Abu Ya’la relates that the Holy Prophet was informed on one occasion that Abu Musa was instructing the people in the recitation of the Quran in his house. The Prophet asked to be led to some part of the house where he could listen to Abu Musa without his presence becoming known to the assembled company. He was led to such a place and having heard Abu Musa recite the Quran he approved of his recitation and was much pleased with it and observed: “He recites the Quran in the beautiful manner of the Prophet David.”5 This shows that the Holy Prophet took pains to supervise the recitation of the Quran by people other than the four whom he had appointed as the principal teachers of the Quran and was anxious to see that no error should creep into their recitation.

Imam Ahmad Hanbal relates on the authority of Jabir bin ‘Abdullah that on one occasion when the Holy Prophet came to the mosque he found people reciting the Quran and he said: “Recite the Quran and recite it well and strive to win the pleasure of God through it, before the time comes when people will recite the Quran correctly but with the object of making it a means of earning their livelihood rather than a means of the purification of their hearts.6 Jabir bin ‘Abdullah relates that the company that was engaged in the recitation of the Quran on this occasion comprised not only the Muhajirin and the Ansar but also desert-dwellers and non-Arabs.

Those who had become competent to recite the Quran during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet could be numbered in thousands. Immediately after the death of the Holy Prophet, when Musaylimah declared war and marched against Medina at the head of a hundred thousand warriors, Abu Bakr sent Khalid bin Walid in command of thirteen thousand soldiers to oppose him. As this number included many who had only recently accepted Islam and had not yet become imbued with its spirit or traditions, the Muslim forces were pressed back at several points. At this juncture some of the Companions of the Holy Prophet who knew the Quran by heart put forward the suggestion that all those in the army who had the Quran by heart should be formed into a separate force and should be sent forward to oppose Musaylimah’s men. It was thought that as these people appreciated the true value of Islam and the need of safeguarding it with their lives, their zeal and devotion would prevail against the much larger numbers of the enemy. Khalid bin Walid accepted this suggestion and formed a special force of those who knew the Quran by heart. These numbered three thousand. This force attacked Musaylimah’s army with such vehemence that it was forced to retreat and was eventually beleaguered and destroyed. On that occasion these three thousand chose as their motto: “O ye that know the Surah al-Baqarah by heart” (Surah al-Baqarah was mentioned as it is the longest Chapter of the Quran). Five hundred of this special force of three thousand were killed in this battle. Says Sir William Muir: “The carnage amongst the 'Readers' (those who had the Koran by heart) was so great as to give ‘Umar the first idea of collecting the Sacred Text lest any part of it should be lost.”7

Thus we find that in the time of the Holy Prophet himself the Quran used to be recorded in writing, was committed to memory and was constantly recited and thousands of people knew the whole of it by heart, though it had not yet been collected in one volume.

The Quran Collected in One Volume

When it was found that five hundred of the reciters of the Quran had been killed in the battle with Musaylimah’s army, ‘Umar suggested to Abu Bakr (who was then the Khalifah) that if those who had the Quran by heart began to be lost in battles in such large numbers, the safeguarding of the purity of its text would become difficult and that the time had therefore arrived when the whole of the Quran should be collected in one volume. Abu Bakr at first demurred but eventually accepted the suggestion and appointed Zayd bin Thabit, being one of those who used to record the Quran at the dictation of the Holy Prophet, to collect the text of the Quran in one volume and appointed prominent Companions of the Holy Prophet to assist him in the task. Abu Bakr directed that the text of the Quran should be collected from its recorded fragments and that the accuracy of the text should be certified by two persons who knew the whole of the Quran by heart. This task was soon accomplished and a written text of the whole of the Quran was got together in one volume, which was certified as accurate by those who knew it by heart. On the basis of these facts can there be the slightest ground for suggesting that variations in the text of the Quran had crept in between the death of the Holy Prophet and the compilation of the Quran into one volume under the directions of Abu Bakr and the supervision of Zayd bin Thabit? Can it be reasonably suggested that any difficulty could arise in the compilation into one volume of a Book which was being continuously recited every day by large numbers of persons, the whole text of which used to be recited from beginning to end in the course of the month of Ramadan by persons who had committed it to memory to the Muslims assembled in congregational prayers, the congregation itself containing large numbers of people who knew the whole of it by heart, and which had been reduced to writing at the dictation of the Holy Prophet himself as the revelation was received from time to time more specially when the task of compilation was committed to the care of a person who was himself one of the recorders of the Quran and had committed the whole of it to memory? Had the compiled volume contained a single variation from the text as dictated by the Holy Prophet and as committed to memory under his supervision by a large number of people, it would at once have been detected and set right. The authenticity and accuracy of the text of the Quran are thus established on the surest and most irrefutable evidence. The accuracy of the text of no other writing in the world is so far above the possibility of doubt as that of the Quran.

Standardized Copies of the Quran

During the time of ‘Uthman complaints began to be received that different tribes enunciated certain words of the Quran in their own peculiar manner and that as a result of this non-Muslims who heard these words differently enunciated fell into the misconception that there were variations in the text of the Quran. It has already been explained that these variations were the result of tribal or family practice and had nothing whatsoever to do with any variation in the text nor did they affect the meaning of any word. Nevertheless, ‘Uthman thought it wise to forbid all variations even of enunciation of vowel points. He had copies prepared of the text which had been collected in the time of Abu Bakr and despatched these copies into different parts of the Muslim dominions and issued a direction that no variation in the recitation of the Quran from the standard text, even if it was only in the matter of enunciation of vowel points, should be permitted. In the time of the Holy Prophet the social life of the Arabs was based upon their tribal divisions; each tribe led an existence separate from and independent of the others. In their speech they were accustomed to pronounce certain words in accordance with their own practice. When they accepted Islam they were welded into one cultured society and Arabic at once became the vehicle of that culture. Literacy spread very rapidly among the Arabs and it became quite easy for every one of them to adopt the correct literary enunciation of every Arabic word. The language of Mecca became the standard for this purpose. By the time of ‘Uthman, therefore, no justification had been left for variations in the enunciation of vowel points in accordance with tribal practices in the recitation of the Quran, particularly when such variations were likely to lead to misconceptions in the minds of non-Arabs. ‘Uthman’s very prudent and timely action has been made the basis of the charge by non-Muslim writers that he made changes in the Quran or that the copies of the Quran promulgated by him were in some manner different from the standard text or the text as revealed to the Holy Prophet. These authors imagine that they have discovered a potent weapon of attack against the accuracy of the text of the Quran, but those who are acquainted with the Arabic language and with the history of the compilation of the Quran merely smile at the lack of intelligence betrayed by them.

There can thus be no room for doubt that the text of the Quran promulgated by ‘Uthman was exactly the same as that revealed to the Holy Prophet. There is still less room for doubt that the text of the Quran has continued absolutely pure and uncorrupted since ‘Uthman had despatched copies of the standard text to different parts of the Muslim dominions. These copies were in turn multiplied so extensively and rapidly that very soon almost every literate Muslim possessed his own copy of the Quran. It is recorded that a few years later during the struggle between ‘Ali and Mu‘awiyyah the soldiers of the latter’s army on one occasion tied copies of the Quran to the points of their lances and proclaimed that the Quran should decide between the two opposing factions (The Caliphate). This shows that by that time it was usual for every Muslim to possess his own copy.

Practice of Committing the Quran to Memory Continued

The reciting, copying and publication of the Quran have always been regarded as acts of great spiritual merit in Islam. History tells us that great Muslim divines and even Muslim monarchs used to occupy themselves in copying out the text of the Quran. Even in a non-Arab country like India, centuries after the time of the Holy Prophet, when Muslims had in many respects adopted Hindu customs and practices, the great Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb used to devote his leisure hours to the copying out of the text of the Quran. It is recorded that he had written out with his own hand seven complete copies.

The practice of committing the Quran to memory was not confined to the time of the Holy Prophet or the early Caliphs. Even after written copies of the Quran began to be multiplied and became easily available, the Quran was in each age committed to memory by large numbers of Muslims. A modest estimate is that between one hundred and two hundred thousand Muslims have learnt the Quran by heart during all periods of Muslim history and sometimes the number of such persons was very much in excess of this estimate. European writers, not being conversant with the sentiments of Muslims and the degree of love and devotion inspired by the Quran in their hearts, are reluctant to believe that the purity and accuracy of the text of the Quran should have been safeguarded by Muslims in this manner. They find that history does not record the instance of a single person who had learnt the whole of the Bible by heart and it therefore seems to them incredible that the entire text of the Quran should have been committed to memory by large numbers of people in each generation. It must be remembered, however, that it is one of the outstanding characteristics of the Quran that its language is very rhythmic and that it lends itself very easily to memorization. The eldest son of the writer, Mirza Nasir Ahmad, who is a B.A. (Hons) of the Punjab University and M.A. of Oxford University, had under his direction committed the whole of the Quran to memory before he started on the course of his secular studies. In a small place like Qadian, two doctors and several graduates know the Quran by heart. One of these two doctors committed the whole of the Quran to memory within the space of four or five months. The father of Sir Zafrulla Khan, Judge of the Federal Court of India, committed the Quran to memory within the space of a few months after he had attained the age of fifty years. Hafiz Ghulam Muhammad, who was at one time the Missionary of our Movement in Mauritius, committed the Quran to memory in the space of three months. When the writer was on pilgrimage to Mecca, he met the grandson of Munshi Muhammad Jamal-ud-Din Khan (who had for a number of years been Minister in Bhopal State) and he told the writer that he had succeeded in committing the Quran to memory within one month. These instances show that the text of the Quran is couched in language which lends itself easily to memorization. It has been related to the writer by very aged persons that Mirza Gul Muhammad, great grandfather of the Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement who lived in the time of the Mughal Emperor, Alamgir II, used to maintain five hundred people at his court who knew the whole of the Quran by heart. Mirza Gul Muhammad was a chieftain who exercised authority over only two hundred and fifty square miles of territory. In some parts of India, which is a country where the Arabic language is not widely understood, it has been the practice of a majority of Muslims through the centuries to commit the Quran to memory.

One of the devices adopted by Muslims for safeguarding the purity of the text of the Quran and one which has been acted upon for centuries is that children who are born blind or who lose their sight during infancy are encouraged to commit the Quran to memory. This is done out of a feeling that as a blind person is not competent to adopt a normal occupation he can turn his handicap to account by becoming a guardian of the text of the Quran. This practice is so common that in India a blind Muslim is indiscriminately given the courtesy-title of Hafiz (i.e. the guardian) meaning a person who has become the guardian of the text of the Quran by committing it to memory.

During the month of Ramadan the whole of the Quran is recited aloud in the course of congregational prayers in all the principal mosques throughout the world. The Imam recites the Quran and another Hafiz stands immediately behind him and keeps watch over the accuracy of the recitation, prompting the Imam when necessary. In this manner the whole of the Quran is recited from memory during the month of Ramadan in hundreds and thousands of mosques all over the world.

These are the various devices and precautions adopted by Muslims to safeguard the purity and accuracy of the text of the Quran, with the result that even the bitterest enemies of Islam have had to admit that the text of the Quran has been fully safeguarded since the time of the Holy Prophet. It can, therefore, be asserted with the utmost confidence that the Quran exists today exactly as the Holy Prophet gave it to the world. We set out below the testimony of some Western writers in this behalf:

Sir William Muir in his work, The Life of Mahomet (p.xxviii) sums up his conclusion on this matter as follows:

What we have, though possibly corrected by himself, is still his own…
We may, upon the strongest presumption, affirm that every verse in the Quran is the genuine and unaltered composition of Mohammad himself.8
There is otherwise every security, internal and external, that we possess the text which Mohammad himself gave forth and used.9

And again, “…and conclude with at least a close approximation to the verdict of Von Hammer that we hold the Quran to be as surely Mohammad’s word as the Mohammadans hold it to be the word of God.”10

Noldeke says:

Slight clerical errors there may have been, but the Quran of ‘Uthman contains none but genuine elements, though sometimes in very strange order. The efforts of European scholars to prove the existence of later interpolations in the Quran have failed.11

Arrangement of Chapters and Verses

It is sometimes asserted that the arrangement of the Chapters of the Quran is the work of ‘Uthman. This is not correct. It is well-known that the Holy Prophet used to recite the whole of the Quran in Ramadan and some of his Companions also did so. It is also mentioned in the traditions that the Holy Prophet used to recite the whole of the Quran to the angel Gabriel during the month of Ramadan.12 A non-Muslim may not be prepared to accept this last statement, but it is beyond doubt that the Holy Prophet used to recite the Quran and he must have done it in accordance with some arrangement.

After the Holy Prophet’s death ‘Ali did not call on Abu Bakr (who had been elected Caliph) for some time. Abu Bakr sent for him and asked him whether he was displeased with his election as Caliph. ‘Ali replied that it was not so, but that he had been busy in copying out the Quran in the order in which it had been revealed, as he had resolved at the time of the death of the Prophet that he would undertake this duty. This also shows that in the time of the Holy Prophet the Quran used to be recited in a certain order and that that order was different from the order in which it had been revealed. That is why ‘Ali decided that he should copy it out in the order in which it had been revealed so that for purposes of history that arrangement should also be preserved. There are traditions which relate that whenever a verse or group of verses was revealed to the Holy Prophet, he would send for one of the recorders and direct him to record the verse or verses indicating at the same time to which Chapter and where they belonged. This shows that at the time of receiving a revelation the Holy Prophet was also informed where the revealed verse or verses belonged.

The strongest evidence, however, in support of the arrangement adopted in the compilation of the Quran is the evidence of the subject-matter itself. A study of the Quran reveals that the subject-matter of each Chapter is connected with the subject-matter of the preceding and the following Chapters. If the current arrangement was adopted by ‘Uthman merely with reference to the length of each Chapter, how is it that the arrangement reveals a continuity of topics and subject-matter? For instance, the Surah al-Fatihah was revealed in Mecca and is the opening Chapter of the Quran. The Surah al-Baqarah was revealed at Medina and follows immediately after the Surah al-Fatihah, leaving out several Chapters that had been revealed during the interval. Western writers allege that the Surah al-Baqarah has been placed first as it is the longest Chapter of the Quran. To begin with, they forget that the first Chapter in the Quran is not the Surah al-Baqarah but the Surah al-Fatihah, which is a very short Surah comprising only seven verses. Further, when we read the Surah al-Fatihah we find that it concludes with the prayer “Guide us in the right path”, and the Surah al-Baqarah, which is the immediately succeeding Chapter, opens with the verse: “This is a perfect Book; there is no doubt in it; it is a guidance for the righteous.” If the Surah al-Baqarah was selected to follow after the Surah al-Fatihah merely by reason of the fact that it is the longest Chapter of the Quran, how is it that its very opening verse furnishes an answer to the concluding verse of the immediately preceding Chapter, the Surah al-Fatihah. The Surah al-Fatihah concludes with a prayer for guidance and the Surah al-Baqarah opens with a verse which points to the guidance which had been prayed for at the end of the previous Chapter. This is not a mere coincidence; for, this continuity of topics and subject-matter is to be found throughout the Quran in spite of the fact that sometimes a Chapter revealed at Mecca follows one revealed at Medina and vice versa. This proves that the arrangement of the Chapters and the verses of the Quran was adopted under divine direction.

The question then arises why the arrangement adopted in the compilation of the Quran was different from the order in which its verses were revealed. The answer is that when the Quran was being revealed, the teachings and doctrines contained in it were entirely novel and unfamiliar to Arabs. Their minds had to be familiarized and impregnated with the background of Islamic doctrines and teachings so as to prepare them for the reception of the details of those teachings and doctrines. The earlier revelations were, therefore, cast in the form of brief Chapters containing fundamental teachings like the Unity of God, kindness and consideration towards the poor, the necessity for and the benefits to be derived from the worship of God and His remembrance, and also prophecies indicating what kind of opposition the Holy Prophet would have to encounter, how Muslims would be treated, how Islam would progress, and what the end of its enemies and opponents would be. As the number of Muslims increased and Islam began to spread, the details of the Islamic Law and teachings also began to be revealed. The order in which the Quran was revealed was, therefore, best suited to the needs of the times in which it was revealed, but once the revelation was complete and hundreds of thousands of people had accepted it and even the non-Muslims had become aware of its background, it became necessary to present its teachings and doctrines to Muslims and non-Muslims from a fresh angle. To meet this need the Holy Prophet went on giving directions under divine guidance regarding the permanent arrangement of the Quran for use in the future. It is indeed an outstanding miracle of the Quran that it was revealed in the order which was best suited for the needs of the period during which it was revealed and was arranged for permanent use in the order which was best suited for the needs of Muslims in subsequent times. For a book to be revealed in fragments over a period of twenty-three years in an order best suited to the requirements of that period and simultaneously to be cast into a shape best suited for the requirements of future ages was an achievement which could have been accomplished only under divine direction.

The connection subsisting between the subject-matter of one Chapter and that of a succeeding Chapter has been explained in the preliminary note set out in the beginning of each Chapter.

Some Prophecies of the Quran

It has been explained in the earlier portion of this General Introduction that Scriptures revealed before the Quran contained prophecies relating to the Quran. Western writers have alleged that the Quran itself contains no prophecies. This is not correct. The very first revelation received by the Holy Prophet in Hira Cave contains the prophecy that through the Quran knowledge would be vouchsafed to man to which he had not had access before. Consequently, we find several instances where the Quran points out errors which had crept into previous Scriptures and in these respects the Quran has subsequently been confirmed by events. For instance, it was revealed in the Quran that when Pharaoh was drowned his body was saved and was preserved so that it should serve as a Sign for future generations. God says in the Quran:

And We brought the children of Israel across the sea; and Pharaoh and his hosts pursued them wrongfully and aggressively, till, when the calamity of drowning overtook him, he said, “I believe that there is no god but He in Whom the children of Israel believe, and I am of those who submit to Him.” “What! now! while thou wast disobedient before this and wast of those who create disorder. So this day We will save thee in thy body alone that thou mayest be a Sign to those who come after thee.” And surely many of mankind are heedless of Our Signs.13

That is to say: God carried the Israelites in safety across the sea and they were pursued by Pharaoh and his army out of enmity and transgression and the latter continued in their pursuit till they were overtaken by drowning. And at that moment Pharaoh said: 'I now believe that there is no god save the One in Whom the Israelites believe and I submit myself to Him.' Thereupon God decreed, 'Thou dost declare thy belief now whereas thou didst indulge in disobedience and transgression before. In return for thy last-moment declaration of belief We shall save only thy body from destruction so that it should serve as a Sign for coming generations, though in truth the majority of mankind pay little heed to Our Signs.' This incident is not described in the Bible or in any Jewish history or in any other authentic record of that period. The Quran made mention of it over thirteen and a half centuries ago. Thirteen centuries thereafter the body of this particular Pharaoh was discovered and identified which established beyond controversy the fact that after he was drowned his dead body was recovered and was embalmed and preserved. In spite of its having been embalmed it could have been destroyed during the many convulsions through which the land of Egypt had passed after the time of Moses but it escaped destruction and was preserved to serve as a Sign and a lesson to mankind and to confirm the truth of the Quran.

Again, the very early revelations contain the verse: “By the night when it spreads,”14 which means that God calls to witness the night to point to the fact that Islam would be subjected to a succession of severe trials and persecutions. This prophecy was made at a time when even the Holy Prophet himself did not apprehend that his people would put up a severe opposition to his Mission. Immediately after he had received the first revelation, Khadijah took the Holy Prophet to her cousin, Waraqah bin Nawfal. After the Holy Prophet had related his recent experience to him, Waraqah said: “The angel that brought the revelation to Moses has also descended upon you. I fear, however, that your people will persecute you and expel you from Mecca.” The Prophet was very much struck by this and asked in great surprise: “Will my people indeed expel me?”15 He knew that he was a great favourite with his people and did not apprehend that he would be opposed by them. At that very time, however, God informed him that Islam and the Muslims would have to pass through a very dark night of opposition and persecution. That night soon commenced and lasted through ten weary years.

That this period of persecution and trial would extend over ten years was also foretold in another place in the Quran. In the opening verses of Surah al-Fajr God calls to witness the ten nights which will precede the dawn. Sir William Muir and other Western writers agree that this Surah was revealed towards the close of the third year of the Prophet’s Ministry. Up to that time opposition by the people of Mecca had not taken on a severe complexion. At that time the Quran gave a warning that Muslims would have to pass through ten dark nights of persecution. Those who are familiar with the phraseology of sacred Scriptures are aware that a day or a night often signifies a year. The Bible contains many instances of this, though it employs the expression “a day” to indicate a year while the Quran when indicating a period of distress employs the word “night”, for a period of distress is a period of darkness and is signified more properly by “night”. This verse gave warning of severe trials and persecutions which would last for a period of ten years. That period commenced almost immediately after this verse was revealed and continued for ten years. A hostile critic might suggest that at the time when this verse was revealed the Holy Prophet could well have anticipated that the Meccans would soon convert their opposition into persecution; but were there any means, apart from divine revelation, by which he could have ascertained that the period of persecution would continue for ten years and not for five or for eight or for twelve or for thirteen? The revelation specified ten years and the Holy Prophet was permitted to remain in Mecca for only ten years after this revelation was received and was subjected to persecution throughout that period. After ten years, he was compelled to depart from Mecca which had nothing but persecution to offer to him and his followers and he arrived at Medina where God made provision for the rapid progress of Islam and of Muslims and his departure from Mecca thus became the dawn of Islam’s spread and progress.

It might be suggested that the period of ten years was an intelligent guess on the part of the Holy Prophet, but was it also an intelligent guess on his part that ten years after the revelation was received a large number of the people of Medina would accept Islam and that he would migrate to that town? Was it left to his option to convert the people of Medina to Islam and was it left to his option to accomplish the journey from Mecca to Medina in safety?

But the revelation did not end there. It went on to say: “And the night when it passes away.”16 In this verse God calls to witness another night with which the darkness will depart, meaning that after the dawn which would appear at the end of ten years of persecution the darkness would not disappear altogether but that the dawn would be followed by another night and that thereafter there would be no further period of darkness. This is exactly what happened. The Migration from Mecca was followed by another year of alarm and distress when Muslims in Medina were in continuous dread of being invaded by the Meccans. The Battle of Badr was fought about one year after the Prophet’s Migration from Mecca and this battle, as had been foretold in the Bible and as we have already stated in the earlier part of this Introduction, laid low the glory of Kedar and brought to an end the whole series of persecutions of Muslims by Meccans. The Muslims had to fight other and greater battles later, but the Battle of Badr established them as an independent and sovereign people and swept into the common pit of ruin and destruction the leading men of the Quraysh, who had been prominent persecutors of Muslims.

Again, while the Prophet was still in Mecca he received the revelation:

Verily He Who has prescribed the teachings of the Quran for thee will bring thee back to the ordained place of return.17

The verse means to say that God Who has revealed the Quran to the Prophet and has imposed upon him the duty of obedience to it guarantees that He will restore him once more to Mecca. This verse not only revealed that the Holy Prophet would have to migrate from Mecca but also contained the prophecy that after his Migration he would return to Mecca as a victor. Nobody passing through the circumstances which surrounded the Holy Prophet at the time when this verse was revealed could have guessed that after he had been forced to depart from Mecca he would return to it in triumph. There is another prophecy in the Quran foretelling the same event and that was also revealed while the Prophet was still at Mecca:

And say, “O my, Lord, make my entry a good entry, and then make me come forth with a good forthcoming. And grant me from Thyself a helping power.”18

In this verse God commanded the Prophet to pray that He should make his entry (into the town to which He was sending him) a successful entry and thereafter enable him to issue forth therefrom with success to deliver his attack and be his Ally in that attack. This verse foretold that the Prophet would migrate from Mecca to Medina and that he would invade Mecca from Medina and that Mecca would eventually submit to him.

Again, while the Prophet was still in Mecca he received the revelation to the effect that the hour of the victory of Islam was approaching and that the moon would be rent.19 The moon was the symbol of Arab power and the rending of the moon meant that the Arab power was about to be shattered. This verse was revealed at a time when the Muslims had been compelled to migrate in different directions and the Holy Prophet was persecuted in Mecca and was not permitted even to say his prayers in the Ka’bah. On one occasion when he wanted to say his prayers there, he was ignominiously dragged from its precincts. At that time when the whole of Mecca was afire with opposition to him the Holy Prophet informed the Meccans that God had decreed that their power would be broken and that the victory of Islam was drawing near. Within a few years, this prophecy was fulfilled in the clearest possible manner. In the Battle of Badr the vaunted power and glory of Kedar was broken and the banner of Islam was planted firmly for ever. The moon was indeed rent. That day was the Day of Judgement for the Arabs. On that day a new heaven and a new earth were created.

While Islam and the Muslims were still the targets of Arab persecution in Mecca, news arrived that the Persians had vanquished the Romans in battle. This occasioned great rejoicing among Meccans, for the Persians were idolaters and the Romans were Christians. The Meccans took the victory of the Persians as a good omen indicating their own ultimate triumph over Muslims. On this occasion the Holy Prophet received the revelation that the Romans had been vanquished in a neighbouring land but within nine years of their defeat they would again be victorious;20 the word occurring in the verse, viz. expresses a number from three to nine. When this revelation was announced among the Meccans they laughed and jeered at the Muslims. Some of them laid a wager of a hundred camels with Abu Bakr that the prophecy would not be fulfilled. Events indicated that there was very little chance of the Romans defeating the Persians as their defeat in Syria was followed by further victories of the Persians and the Roman army was pushed back by stages to the shores of the Sea of Marmora. Constantinople was cut off from its Eastern dominions and the Roman Empire was reduced to the size of a small State. The word of God was, however, bound to be fulfilled and was fulfilled. The Romans, though smaller in number and not so well equipped as the Persians, won a complete victory and the Persians were put to flight. They retreated into Persia and the Romans re-occupied their Asiatic and African possessions.

The Quran contains several prophecies relating to later times, some of which have already been fulfilled. For instance, at one place it says:

He has let loose the two bodies of water, which will meet one day. Between them is a barrier; they encroach not one upon the other…There come out from them pearls and coral…And His are the lofty ships upon the sea, looking like mountains.21

These verses purport to say that two oceans from which pearls and coral are recovered and which are separated would meet each other and high-prowed vessels would pass through them. This prophecy was fulfilled by the construction of the Suez and the Panama Canals. The oceans that were joined together by these canals are well-known for their pearl fisheries and coral.

The Surah al-Kahf contains prophecies relating to the rise and progress of the Christian nations, their naval might and hegemony over the greater part of the earth and their mutual wars. The ultimate victory and triumph of Islam have also been foretold. The greater part of the prophecies regarding the rise and fall of the Christian nations has been fulfilled. The next stage is the fulfilment of the prophecy relating to the victory and triumph of Islam. A European Christian or a European atheist, judging only from the present condition of Muslims, would laugh at this; but the God Who revealed these prophecies and Who has fulfilled those of them that related to the Christian nations will surely cause the prophecy relating to the triumph of Islam to be fulfilled also. The days of the victory of Islam are at hand. The rays of the sun of Islam are penetrating the thick curtains of darkness. God’s angels are descending from the Heavens. The earth is no doubt in the grip of satanic powers but the days of the clear triumph of divine forces against the forces of Satan are rapidly drawing near. The Unity of God will then be firmly established and mankind will realise and admit that the Quran alone is capable of making peace between God and man and of establishing justice and fair dealing between man and man and of setting up the Kingdom of God upon earth.