The last ten days of Ramadan have arrived, and one of these nights are the “Night of Power Laylatul Qadr.” Standing in worship through this night is equivalent to that of a thousand months. This night is immensely powerful. It falls on one of the last ten nights of Ramadan, and therefore it is imperative to be consistent in prayer for the last ten nights. A great part of this ibadah (prayer) is gaining closeness to Allah swt through the Quran. The Quran has been revealed through the divine source, and constantly reciting the Quran will help one gain closeness to the Almighty and it will increase God consciousness.
The last part of the ‘Story of the Quran’ will focus on the final stages of the Quran’s compilation and interpretation. This part will be divided into three sections: interpretation, compilation and distribution of the Quran.
In order to understand the Quran, the historical and social context of revelation needs to be understood. Many suras and aayas can be interpreted in multiple ways, therefore it is important to analyze the context of revelation and relevant ahadith. This process of understanding the Quran is not only done through translation, but a big part of it has to do with interpretation. Many Quranic passages have obvious and hidden meanings. The zahir content of the Quran is that which is manifest, obvious, and the batin content is that which has hidden meanings.
The compilation of the Quran is also not without its history. The Quran was revealed over a time span of 23 years. It was not revealed in the chronological order in which it is compiled today. The fact that the Quran was revealed over such a great span of time meant that the companions of the Prophet (s) had the time and opportunity to memorize the aayas before new ones were revealed. One of the main reasons that the Quran is not compiled in the chronological order in which it was revealed is because many of the suras came down in parts, and if it were compiled in chronological order, the topics in the suras would not flow. The current order in which the suras are placed is roughly by the length of the sura.
After the death of the Prophet (s), there was no hard copy of the Quran compiled as we know it today. One of the companions of the Prophet (s) name Ziad was one of the first individuals to memorize the Quran. He gathered written parts of the Quran from parchment, bark and bones and started to put all of the parts together. Ziad collected transcriptions from the companions of the Prophet (s) and transcribed the aayas onto loose sheets of paper, known as suhuf. These papers were kept by Abu Bark (r) until his death, and then were transferred to Umar bin Khattab (r). When Umar (r) passed away, he left the papers with his daughter, Hafsa, who was also the Prophet’s (s) widow. The last collection was kept by Uthman (r) and he ordered Ziad and a group of other companions to form a committee and write out the entire Quran. Passages written according to the dialect of the Quraysh. Once the new text was compiled, it was read publicly in Medina. This compilation became known as mushaf and it is the copy of the Quran as we know it today.
The Quran has been transcribed on a variety of medium including parchment, bark, bone, paper, the printing press, audio tapes, CDs and now, the Internet. The Quran has been translated into thousands of languages today; making it accessible to the audience it was initially aimed for: all of mankind. The true source of guidance from which we shall all learn, adhere and apply, inshAllah.
The last part of the ‘Story of the Quran’ will focus on the final stages of the Quran’s compilation and interpretation. This part will be divided into three sections: interpretation, compilation and distribution of the Quran.
In order to understand the Quran, the historical and social context of revelation needs to be understood. Many suras and aayas can be interpreted in multiple ways, therefore it is important to analyze the context of revelation and relevant ahadith. This process of understanding the Quran is not only done through translation, but a big part of it has to do with interpretation. Many Quranic passages have obvious and hidden meanings. The zahir content of the Quran is that which is manifest, obvious, and the batin content is that which has hidden meanings.
The compilation of the Quran is also not without its history. The Quran was revealed over a time span of 23 years. It was not revealed in the chronological order in which it is compiled today. The fact that the Quran was revealed over such a great span of time meant that the companions of the Prophet (s) had the time and opportunity to memorize the aayas before new ones were revealed. One of the main reasons that the Quran is not compiled in the chronological order in which it was revealed is because many of the suras came down in parts, and if it were compiled in chronological order, the topics in the suras would not flow. The current order in which the suras are placed is roughly by the length of the sura.
After the death of the Prophet (s), there was no hard copy of the Quran compiled as we know it today. One of the companions of the Prophet (s) name Ziad was one of the first individuals to memorize the Quran. He gathered written parts of the Quran from parchment, bark and bones and started to put all of the parts together. Ziad collected transcriptions from the companions of the Prophet (s) and transcribed the aayas onto loose sheets of paper, known as suhuf. These papers were kept by Abu Bark (r) until his death, and then were transferred to Umar bin Khattab (r). When Umar (r) passed away, he left the papers with his daughter, Hafsa, who was also the Prophet’s (s) widow. The last collection was kept by Uthman (r) and he ordered Ziad and a group of other companions to form a committee and write out the entire Quran. Passages written according to the dialect of the Quraysh. Once the new text was compiled, it was read publicly in Medina. This compilation became known as mushaf and it is the copy of the Quran as we know it today.
The Quran has been transcribed on a variety of medium including parchment, bark, bone, paper, the printing press, audio tapes, CDs and now, the Internet. The Quran has been translated into thousands of languages today; making it accessible to the audience it was initially aimed for: all of mankind. The true source of guidance from which we shall all learn, adhere and apply, inshAllah.
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