The history of the noble Quran

02/06/2022| IslamWeb

The Quran is the backbone of Islam. On this Sacred Book of Allah depends the Islamic call, state, society and the civilization of the Muslim world. It is the last Divine revelation, which was sent down to Prophet Muhammad the last and final of all Prophets, may Allah exalt their mention. First of all, Prophet's mission was to convey the message of worshipping the One God, Allah, without ascribing any partners to Him. The Noble Quran, which is the source of guidance and mercy to mankind, is divided into one hundred and fourteen (114) chapters (Soorah) of varying lengths. Ninety-three chapters were revealed in Makkah (known as Makki Soorah), while the remaining twenty-one were revealed in Madeenah (known as Madani Soorah).

The first revelation that the Prophet received was Soorat Al-'Alaq [Quran 96], which was in Makkah where Soorat An-Najm [Quran 53] was to later became the first to be recited openly to the people. In Madeenah, Soorat Al-Mutaffifeen [Quran 83] was the first one revealed after the Hijrah (migration). The Prophet compelled to move to Madeenah to save his own life and the lives of his followers, upon the Command of Allah.

The last verse sent down to the Prophet was the saying of Allah, which interprets as a hint to conclude the mission entrusted to him by Allah, the Almighty. Allah Says (what means): {…This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favour upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion...} [Quran 5:3]

Some chapters in the Quran focus on the call to Islam (Da‘awah) as guidance for humanity. They focus upon monotheism and the fight against polytheism and idolatry. Thus, stress is laid on all that is related to faith. In other chapters, attention is given to legislation, acts of worship, relationships among people and the laws that regulate matters within the Muslim community (Islamic nation), government, and family.

A number of chapters inform about Resurrection, the Hereafter and the unseen; others relate the stories of various prophets and their calls to their people to return to Allah. We see how the previous nations were severely punished when they disobeyed Allah and denied the messages of previous prophets, may Allah exalt their mention.

In addition, several chapters focus on the story of creation and the development of human life. In fact, Makkan revelations made the Muslims' faith in Allah firmly established. On the other hand, Madeenan revelations were meant to translate the faith into action and give details of the Divine Law.

Allah will forever preserve the Quran against all attempts to destroy or corrupt it. Being guarded by Allah, it will always remain pure and unaltered. There does not exist a single copy with any variation from the recognized text.

All attempts of alteration have resulted in failure

Upon the command of the Prophet his Companions would write down what was revealed of the Noble Quran. They used, for this purpose, palm branches stripped of leaves, parchments, shoulder bones, stone tablets, etc. About forty people were involved in this task. One of the talented and expert writers among them was Zayd Ibn Thabit who showed his work to the Prophet . Thus, the Quran was correctly arranged during the Prophet’s life, but it was not yet compiled into one book. In the meantime, most of the Prophet’s Companions memorized the Quran (Quran Hafidh).

When Abu Bakr became Caliph after the Prophet died, a large number of the Companions were martyred during the War of Apostasy. 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattab went to the Caliph Abu Bakr and discussed the circumstances, then put forward the idea of compiling the Quran into one volume. Abu Bakr was disturbed, as most of those who memorised the Quran had died. Then, Abu Bakr called for Zayd Ibn Thabit and commissioned him to collect the Quran into one book. Zayd Ibn Thabit accomplished the historical mission successfully, which became known as the ‘Mus‘haf.’

After Zayd Ibn Thabit accomplished this great task and organized the Quran into one book, he submitted the precious collection to Abu Bakr who kept it in his possession until the end of his life. During the Caliphate of ‘Umar it was kept with his daughter Hafsah who was also a wife of the Prophet .

During the Caliphate of ‘Uthman Islam reached many countries, and readers began to recite the Quran in different ways (dialects). ‘Uthman then had various copies made and sent them out to the different Muslim lands, lest these dialects would cause alterations to the Quran, and kept the original copy with Hafsah . Thus, the Quran remained preserved and the Caliph was very much pleased with his achievement.

Today, every copy of the Quran conforms with the standard copy of ‘Uthman . In fact, Muslims over the ages excelled in producing the best manuscripts of the Noble Quran in the most wonderful handwriting. With the introduction of printing, more and more editions of the Noble Quran became available all over the world.