It is believed
that Prophet Muhammad had received revelations from Allah for 23
years. At first, these revelations were preached by the prophet
verbally. Later Muhammad's teachings were set down in a book
called the Quran (Koran). After Muhammad's death all the
teachings of Muhammad were compiled under the direction of the
first Sunni Caliph Abu Bakr. The work was completed about 1,400
years ago.
Composed in 114 verses or surah(s) of varying lengths,
the Quran covers a wide range of subjects. Quran has been
revealed for the guidance of mankind and invites the people of
wisdom to read into its pages to enhance human knowledge about
the universe and Creator, and to create environments where man
could live in peace and harmony with the fellow human beings and
with the Nature. It puts a special emphasis on the concept of
oneness of god and his concern about the spiritual and worldly
welfare of man. The holy scripture also enlightens on the
creation of the world, specially, of man; of good and evil
spirits; man's responsibility for his actions; the Day of
Judgement; the final account; and rewards and punishments.
The book also contains rules and regulations regarding worship
and the life of the community, the laws of the family: like
marriage, divorce and inheritance. Since the Quran is
said to be the very word of god, it is untranslatable.
Nevertheless, for those who don't understand Arabic, the Quran
has been explained and translated into almost all world
languages. Still, every Muslim is expected to learn the Arabic
script to be able to read the original text, even if he does not
understand its meaning in Arabic.
Quran is a part
of the Knowledge - which is limitless, and therefore it
encapsules the stages of human development. It also contains the
solutions of issues and problems which mankind faces and
specifies a complete Islamic system ie the system which
facilitates living in peace - where there is no oppression,
insecurity, fear and inequality. Quran commands authority and
leadership and thus declares that if anyone has any doubts about
the truth of the Book which has been revealed to Prophet
Muhammad (s.a.w), then they should try to make even one passage
which could match the Book, and poses the challenge that despite
the knowledge and resources that man has , he will not be able
to do so (re: Al-Baqra 2:23-24). This challenge has not
been met to-date.
We have
outlined few basic but key aspects of the Quran:
Literary
aspect:
The language, the
poetic element and the continuity of the Quran can only be fully
appreciated by those who have the knowledge and command of
Arabic language, though people who have no or little knowledge
of the language get a wealth of satisfaction by reciting Quran
or listening to its recitation. Translation of Quran in other
languages can not reproduce the true meanings or the appropriate
sense, therefore those who know no or little Arabic and would
really like to understand Quran, should learn the language
first. Perhaps it would be interesting to point out that enemies
of Islam attack Quran mostly by using its translation or
analysing its passages which are taken out of context.
Al-Zikir:
Where the reader
can easily extract the lessons from what he reads. In this
respect the Quran is very easy to understand for those who have
some language skills. Allah says that the Quran was made easy in
order to benefit and guide human (re: Murryam 19:97; Qamar
17:54; Dukhan 44:58).
Al-Taddabur:
Where the
reader has to think through, analyse the concepts and deduce
conclusions. It is this aspect of Quran which is most difficult
since it goes right into the philosophy, knowledge and higher
level of understanding. To highlight this point let me give a
few examples. Abdulllah ibni Omar (son of Omar ibni Khattab) was
a sahabi (companion of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w) and therefore was
in the era in which the Quran was revealed, he was a thinker and
researcher who had a total command of the Arabic language, and
yet it took him approximately 8 years to interpret and document
one surah ie Al-Baqra (this work was done well after the
Prophet).
Imam Razi was a
philosopher and researcher, had a command of Islamic thoughts
and interpreted Quran in 36 volumes. But when it came to
interpret and explain Aya 2 and 3 of Al-Huded (57) which says
that He is the first and He is the last and that He is most
overt and most covert, Imam Razi wrote R this is very deep, very
difficult. It is impossible to explain in words.
We hope that
the serious readers would be able to appreciate that the Quran
represents social, economic and political code for improving the
quality of life. If people, Muslim or non-Muslim, do not
practice the code, it is they who are the losers and not the
Islam or the Quran.
