At first and foremost is the durable fortress of Islāmic history, referred to as the Holy Qur’ān. According to the doctrine of the Muslims, each and every word and each and every letter of the Holy Qur’ān is the word of God, revealed to Muḥammadsa, the Prophet of Allāh. The span of this revelation is spread throughout the period of his 23-year prophethood. In other words, the first revelation indicated the commencement of his prophethood and the last portion of the Holy Qur’ān was revealed shortly preceding his demise. Therefore, if the collective days of prophethood are analysed against the total number of Qur’ānic verses, the average daily revelation equates to less than one verse per day. More or less, the total days of prophethood amount to 7970 days and the total number of verses in the Qur’ān only equal 6236. Since the individual words of the Qur’ān present a grand total of 77,934 words,1 the average number of words per verse equal twelve, which evidently results in an average revelation of approximately nine words per day. Based on these calculations it is obvious that the Holy Qur’ān was revealed very slowly and gradually. Although it is true that there were temporary respites in the revelation of the Holy Qur’ān, there were also certain days when many verses were revealed to the Holy Prophetsa all at once. Nonetheless, the Holy Qur’ān was never revealed in such magnitude as might seem arduous to preserve it by writing or memorize it continually.
It was the practice of the Holy Prophetsa that as verses of the Holy Qur’ān were revealed to him, he would dictate them to writing, and under divine knowledge, organize the sequential order of these verses as well. Many Aḥādīth2 have been narrated in this regard and the following Ḥadīth can be presented as an example:
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ قَالَ عُثْمَانُ ابْنُ عَفَّانَ رَضِیَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمَا كَانَ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَیْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اِذَا نَزَلَ عَلَیْهِ شَیْءٌ دَعَا بَعْضَ مَنْ كَانَ یَكْتُبُ فَیَقُوْلُ ضَعُوْا ھٰؤُلَآءِ الْاٰیَاتِ فِی سُوْرَةِ الَّتِی یَذْكُرُ فِیْھَا كَذَا وكَذَا فَاِذَا نَزَلَتْ عَلَیْهِ الْاٰیَةُ فَیَقُوْلُ ضَعُوْا ھٰذِہ الْاٰیَةَ فِیْ السُّوْرَةِ الَّتِیْ یَذْكُرُ فِیْھَا كَذَا وَكَذَا
Ḥaḍrat Ibni ‘Abbās who was the paternal cousin of the Holy Prophetsa narrates that Ḥaḍrat ‘Uthmān bin ‘Affān (who served as a scribe in the time of the Holy Prophetsa) would often state that “When several verses were revealed to the Holy Prophetsa all at once, the Holy Prophetsa would summon one of his scribes and instruct that these verses should be written in a certain chapter at the following place. If only one verse was revealed, the Holy Prophetsa would, in the same manner, summon one of his scribes and particularly instruct that this verse be written in the following place.”3
The names and life histories of the companions of the Holy Prophetsa who were a scribe of revelation have been documented in history and meticulously safeguarded. The most prominent companions among them were Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakrra, Ḥaḍrat ‘Umarra, Ḥaḍrat ‘Uthmānra, Ḥaḍrat ‘Alīra, Zubair bin Al-‘Awwāmra, Sharjīl bin Ḥasanahra, ‘Abdullāh bin Rawāḥahra, Ubaiyy bin Ka‘bra and Zaid bin Thābitra.4 Based on the above mentioned list it is evident that even in the preliminary stages of Islām, the Holy Prophetsa had at his disposal a reliable company of scribes to commit Qur’ānic revelations to writing. In this manner not only was the Holy Qur’ān preserved in writing but the final sequential order (which happened to be different to that of its revelation due to various wisdoms) was established along the way. After the demise of the Holy Prophetsa, when Qur’ānic revelation was complete, Ḥaḍrat Abū Bakrra, the first Caliph of the Holy Prophetsa, upon the advice of Hadrat ‘Umarra, ordered Zaid bin Thābit Anṣārira (who had remained a scribe of revelation to the Holy Prophetsa) to compile the Holy Qur’ān systematically whilst preserving it in book-form. Therefore, Zaid bin Thābitra diligently collected every verse of the Holy Qur’ān on the basis of solid written and verbal testimonies and compiled it into a proper book.5 Afterwards as Islām spread to diverse countries, Ḥaḍrat ‘Uthmānra, the third Caliph of the Holy Prophetsa, ordered that authenticated copies of the Holy Qur’ān be prepared in conformity to the book compiled by Zaid bin Thābitra. These genuine copies were then sent to every Islāmic country.6
On the other hand, there was an effective system in place for the memorization of the Holy Qur’ān, as there was a group of companions who would commit to memory the Qur’ān in its established sequential order at the time of its revelation. Although people who committed the Holy Qur’ān to memory in part were innumerable, yet a substantial population had memorized the Qur’ān completely during the time of the Holy Prophetsa.
Among them, there were at least four such persons whom the Holy Prophetsa himself tried and after finding them completely reliable appointed them to the educational tuition of other companions.7 Moreover, following the demise of the Holy Prophetsa when the Holy Qur’ān had been brought into book-form, the number of Ḥuffāẓ8 increased at such an astonishing pace, as in the time of Ḥaḍrat ‘Umarra alone, at one place, there were more than 300 Ḥuffāẓ in the Islāmic Army.9 As a result of these reasons, behind which the hand of divine protection was playing its part, the text of the Holy Qur’ān has been protected from the dangers of distortion and misappropriation since the beginning of Islām. Following this time period, authenticated copies of the Qur’ān were distributed throughout diverse countries and the number of the Ḥuffāẓ grew to such extent as any possibility of distortion was completely uprooted. Both friend and foe has admitted that there is absolutely no doubt or uncertainty in the fact that the Qur’ān present today is exactly that which was revealed to the Holy Prophetsa 1300 years prior, without a single alteration even to a diacritical sign. In this regard, the viewpoints of various Christian research scholars are presented below.
Sir William Muir writes:
“There is probably in the world no other work which has remained twelve centuries with so pure a text.”10
“To compare (as the Moslems are fond of doing) their pure text, with the various readings of our Scriptures, is to compare things between the history and essential points of which there is no analogy.”11
“There is otherwise every security, internal and external, that we possess a text the same as that which Mahomet himself gave forth and used.”12
“We may upon the strongest presumption affirm that every verse in the Corân is the genuine and unaltered composition of Mahomet himself.”13
Nöldeke, a famous German-Christian orientalist of the past is accepted as an expert in his field. With regards to the Holy Qur’ān he states:
“The Qur’ān present today is exactly the same as in the time of the companions of the Prophet.”
“All efforts of European scholars to prove the existence of later interpolation in the Koran have failed”14
In addition to the salient feature that since its revelation, the Holy Qur’ān has remained fully preserved and safeguarded until today, there exists another distinction also. Due to the fact that it was revealed gradually throughout the course of the 23-year prophethood of the Holy Prophetsa, there remains not a single aspect of his life upon which the Holy Qur’ān does not directly shed light. A practical commentary of this statement is provided by Ḥaḍrat ‘Ā’ishahra as she states, كَانَ خُلُقُهُ الْقُرْآنُ, in other words the entirety of the Sīrat15 of the Holy Prophetsa is encompassed in the Holy Qur’ān.16 Therefore, the Holy Qur’ān is a book which comprises the character and practices of the Holy Prophetsa and a record of his state of affairs was documented on a daily basis. Most definitely, there is not a single person found in the history of the world whose personality is recorded with such solidity and authenticity. Undoubtedly, there had always been such (and are still found today) whose biographies are published either in their lifetime or shortly after their demise. However, the distinction of Muḥammadsa, the Messenger of Allāh (may peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) in conjunction with the Holy Qur’ān, due to the constant documentation of his daily affairs, till this day, has not been received by any other individual. Western research scholars have also openly acknowledged this distinctive feature of the Holy Qur’ān. Hence, Sir William Muir writes:
“The importance of this deduction can hardly be over-estimated. The Corân becomes the ground-work and the test of all enquiries into the origin of Islām and the character of its founder. Here we have a storehouse of Mahomet’s own words recorded during his life, extending over the whole course of his public career, and illustrating his religious views, his public acts, and his domestic character.”17
“And so true a mirror is the Corân of Mahomet’s character, that the saying became proverbial among the early Moslems, His character is the Corân”18
Furthermore, a renowned Christian-British orientalist by the name of Professor Reynold A. Nicholson writes in his English work titled ‘Literary History of the Arabs’:
“The Koran is an exceedingly human document, reflecting every phase of Muḥammad’s personality and standing in close relation to the ontward events of his life, so that here we have materials of unique and incontestable authority for tracing the origin and early development of Islām – such materials as do not exist in the case of Buddhism or Christianity or any other ancient religion.”19
Therefore, in Islāmic literature, not only is the Holy Qur’ān a genuine and authentic record of the Sīrat and biography of the Holy Prophetsa, but also, it possesses a position in reference to his Sīrat which no other book possesses in relation to any other individual. Finally, its integrity is of such magnitude, as friends aside, even the worst of adversaries dare not criticise it.
1 Al-Itqānu fī ‘Ulūmil-Qur’ān, By ‘Allāmah Jalāl-ud-Dīn Suyūṭī, Part 1, p. 108, An-Nau‘ut-Tāsi‘-‘Ashar fī ‘Adadi Suwarihī wa Āyātihī wa Kalimātihī wa Ḥurūfihī, Faṣl, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2004)
2 Sayings of the Holy Prophetsa (Publishers)
3 Mishkātul-Maṣābīḥ, Kitābu Faḍā’ilil-Qur’ān, Bābu Ikhtilāfil-Qirā’āti wa Jam‘il-Qur’ān, Al-Faṣluth-Thālith, Ḥadīth No. 2222, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2003)
4 * Fatḥul-Bārī Sharḥu Ṣaḥīḥil-Bukhārī, By Aḥmad bin ‘Alī bin Ḥajar ‘Asqalānī, Volume 9, Kitābu Faḍā’ilil-Qur’ān, Bābu Kātibin-Nabīsa, p. 27, Qadīmī Kutub Khānah, Ārām Bāgh, Karachi
* Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Muḥammad bin ‘Abdul-Bāqī Az-Zarqānī, Part 4, pp. 533-554, Al-Faṣlus-Sādisu fī Umarā’ihī wa Rusulihī wa Kitābihi wa Kutubihī ilā Ahlil-Islām..., Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996)
5 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Faḍā’ilil-Qur’ān, Bābu Kātibin-Nabīsa, Ḥadīth No. 4989
6 * Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Faḍā’ilil-Qur’ān, Bābu Jam‘il-Qur’ān, Ḥadīth No. 4987
* Fatḥul-Bārī Sharḥu Ṣaḥīḥil-Bukhārī, By Aḥmad bin ‘Alī bin Ḥajar ‘Asqalānī, Volume 9, Kitābu Faḍā’ilil-Qur’ān, Bābu Jam‘il-Qur’ān, Ḥadīth No. 4987, pp. 24-25, Qadīmī Kutub Khānah, Ārām Bāgh, Karachi
7 Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Faḍā’ilil-Qur’ān, Bābul-Qurrā’i min Aṣḥābin-Nabīsa, Ḥadīth No. 4999
8 People who have committed the Qur’ān to memory (Publishers)
9 Kanzul-‘Ummāl fī Sunanil-Aqwāli wal-Af‘āl, By Imām ‘Alā-ud-Dīn Al-Muttaqī bin Hassām-ud-Dīn, Volume 1, Part 2, Kitābul-Adhkār, Bābu fil-Qur’ān, Faṣlun fī Faḍā’ilil-Qur’āni Muṭlaqan, p. 124, Ḥadīth No. 4016, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2004)
10 Life of ‘Mahomet’, Sir William Muir, p. 558, Reprint of the 1894 Ed., Published by Voice of India New Delhi
11 Life of ‘Mahomet’, Sir William Muir, p. 558 (footnote 1), Reprint of the 1894 Ed., Published by Voice of India New Delhi
12 Life of ‘Mahomet’, Sir William Muir, p. 561, Reprint of the 1894 Ed., Published by Voice of India New Delhi
13 Life of ‘Mahomet’, Sir William Muir, p. 562, Reprint of the 1894 Ed., Published by Voice of India New Delhi
14 Encyclopedia Britannica, Under the word ‘Koran’, p. 905, Edition 11
15 The Life and Character of the Holy Prophetsa (Publishers)
16 Tafsīrul-Qur’ānil-‘Aẓīm, By Abul-Fidā’ ‘Imād-ud-Dīn ibni Kathīr, Volume 8, pp. 206-207, Tafsīru Sūratin-Nūn (Al-Qalam), Under the verse “Innaka l‘alā Khuluqin ‘Aẓīm”, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1998)
17 Life of ‘Mahomet’, Sir William Muir, p. 563, Reprint of the 1894 Ed., Published by Voice of India New Delhi
18 Life of ‘Mahomet’, Sir William Muir, p. 563, Reprint of the 1894 Ed., Published by Voice of India New Delhi
19 Literary History of the Arabs, Reynold A. Nicholson, Chapter 4, The Prophet and the Qur’ān, p. 143, Printed in New York, 1907