Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Burhan,

I need some clarification regarding "Ramadhan is the month when the Holy Quran was sent down". This is widely accepted by all sects and also referenced in the Quran.

How do I reconcile this with my knowledge that the Quran came down in stages over an extended period of time and it came down in a form (in terms of its organisation / compilation) differently from the way we see it today. What I mean is that I totally believe that the message has not been altered but the compilation was done after.

This may not be a great question but I just seek help in clearing up my confusion.

Thank you

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Quran revelation and compilation

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 185:

185 Ramadan is the (month) in which was sent down the Qur'an as a guide to mankind, also clear (Signs) for guidance and judgment (between right and wrong).

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 97 Surah Al-Qadr verse 1:

1                    We (Allah) have indeed revealed this (Quran) in the Night of Power.

In light of the above verses of the Glorious Quran and the various authentic traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws), The Lord Most Merciful ‘started’ the Revelation of His Glorious Message on the Night of Qadr or Power in the blessed month of Ramadan. According to authentic and established traditions of the Messenger of Allah (saws), the first five verses of Surah 96 Al-Alaq were Revealed by the Lord upon the Prophet (saws) during his stay at the Cave of Hira in Makkah 13 years before Hijrah.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 96 Surah Al-Alaq verses 1-5:

1 Proclaim! (or Read!) in the Name of thy Lord and Cherisher Who created

2 Created man out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:

3 Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful

4 He Who taught (the use of) the Pen

5 Taught man that which he knew not.

Your Question: How do I reconcile this with my knowledge that the Quran came down in stages over an extended period of time and it came down in a form (in terms of its organisation / compilation) differently from the way we see it today.

Dear and Beloved Brother in Islam, the Quran that we have in our midst today, is in the exact same format, and each Surah and each verse arranged in the exact same manner as commanded by Allah Subhanah and recited by the Messenger of Allah (saws). Whenever a verse or Surah of the Holy Quran was revealed, the Messenger of Allah (saws) would command, as guided by Allah Subhanah, that it be documented and gave precise instructions where exactly the verse and the Surah was to be placed in the Quran. This process of arranging the Surahs and verses in their exact location was commanded by the Messenger of Allah (saws) under the guidance of Allah Subhanah.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 25 Surah Furqaan verse 32:

32 Those who reject Faith say: "Why is not the Qur'an revealed to him all at once?" Thus (is it revealed) that We (Allah) may strengthen thy (O Prophet (saws)) heart thereby, and We have rehearsed it to thee in slow well-arranged stages gradually.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 75 Surah Qiyaamah verses 17-18:

(O Prophet) It is upto Us to have it (the Quran) collected and read! Therefore, when We are reciting it, listen to its recital carefully.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 15 Surah Al Hijr verse 9:

It is We (Allah), Who has sent down this Quran, and We will assuredly guard it (against corruption).

Time and time again the Messenger of Allah (saws) recited the Glorious Quran in public in the prayers; and he (saws) would recite the Glorious Quran every year with Hadrat Jibrael (a.s.), and in the last year of his life he (saws) recited the Quran in full twice with Hadrat Jibrael (a.s.) exactly verbatim and in the same format which is available amongst us today.

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.819 Narrated by Aisha

Once Fatima came walking and her gait resembled the gait of the Prophet(saws) . The Prophet (saws) said, "Welcome, O my daughter!" Then he made her sit on his right or on his left side, and then he told her a secret, and she started weeping. I asked her, "Why are you weeping?" He again told her a secret and she started laughing. I said, "I never saw happiness so near to sadness as I saw today." I asked her what the Prophet (saws) had told her. She said, "I would never disclose the secret of Allah's Apostle (saws) ." When the Prophet (saws) died, I asked her about it. She replied: "The Prophet (saws) said, 'Every year Gabriel used to revise the Qur'an with me once only, but this year he has done so twice. I think this portends my death, and you will be the first of my family to follow me.' So I started weeping. Then he said. 'Don't you like to be the mistress of all the ladies of Paradise or the mistress of all the lady believers? So I laughed for that.' "

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 6.520 Narrated by Abu Huraira

Gabriel used to repeat the recitation of the Qur'an with the Prophet (saws) once a year, but he repeated it twice with him in the year he died.

Hadrat Jibrael (a.s.) used to revise the Quran, in the format that we have today with the Prophet (saws), and this exact format was taught by the Prophet (saws) to the believers. This compilation of arranging the Surahs and verses as we recite them today, is done not only with the knowledge of the Prophet (saws), but it was done with the knowledge and under the guidance of the All Knowing, All Wise, Allah Subhanah.

The wisdom behind the revelation and then the compilation of the Glorious Quran in a different order than its chronological sequence of revelation was because when it was first revealed, it was revealed to one man (The Messenger of Allah (saws)), and his main audience were the disbelievers and polytheists of the Quraish. But when the revelations were complete, and an Islamic State had been formed in Medina with a multitude of believers; the Glorious Quran was to be a Book of Guidance for all of mankind until the end of time! The All Knowing, All Wise Lord of the Worlds has chosen this form of arrangement as the best way for the guidance of all mankind!

Thus, my dear and beloved brother in Islam, the Quran that we have in our midst today is neither compiled without the precise knowledge of Allah and His Messenger (saws), nor was it ever supposed to be arranged in the chronological sequence of revelation. Allah Subhanah Himself declares in His Glorious Quran that it is upto Him to reveal the Quran, upto Him to compile the Quran, and upto to Him to guard it against any corruption whatsoever.

This is the precise reason, that even today, regardless of which sect of Islam the muslims claim they belong to, each and every sect in Islam without exception believe in the exact same Quran. No sect in Islam, regardless of their differences between one sect and the other, and regardless of however misguided their beliefs and ‘aqeedah’ might be, ever claim to follow the Quran in a different format than the one that is available amongst mankind today. Not even an alphabet of the Glorious Quran, leave alone a word, or a verse or a Surah is ever disputed as being omitted, or in the wrong place, or in the wrong sequence in the Glorious Quran!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 173 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘Verily the Ummah of Muhammad, will not agree on error; and the hand of Allah is upon the community; he who sets himself apart from it will be set apart in Hell Fire.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisaa verse 82:

82 Do they not consider the Qur'an (with care)? Had it been from other than Allah they would surely have found therein much discrepancy.

One thing the Ummah of Prophet Mohamed (saws), regardless of how many sects the Shaytaan might have been successful in breaking them into, is absolutely unanimous that there is absolutely no discrepancy in the Glorious Quran in any way whatsoever!

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan