The Qur'an and Its Study. Adnan Zarzour

The Source of the Qur’an

      We have already noted that the definition of the Qur’an mentions that it is ‘God’s word revealed to Muhammad (peace be upon him).’ It is necessary, then, to prove that it is God’s word. Evidence confirming this fact is plentiful and wide ranging. The breadth of such evidence is confirmed by countless old and new studies by scholars that differ in their styles, means of research, cultural background and knowledge. Added to this is the great scope of topics covered by the Qur’an and their ever-renewing understanding that always brings new confirmation of the Divine source of the Qur’an.

      I will tackle this aspect from two angles. The first is the revelation phenomenon, which is usually discussed in books about the Qur’an. The other is the Prophet’s life as a proof of the Qur’an’s source and that the Prophet’s role was only to recite the Qur’an and make it known to people. We need, however, to remind ourselves that both serve only as an introduction to this fascinating aspect. In fact, much of the subject matter mentioned in the Qur’an and its disciplines, particularly its inimitability, and the characteristics of its style and the way it addresses man provide more evidence of its source.

1. The Revelation Phenomenon

      1.1 The Realm Beyond Human Perception

      The phenomenon of revelation represents a direct contact between the realm that lies beyond the reach of human perception and our world. In Qur’anic terminology, the first is called ‘ghayb’, which means ‘absence, beyond’, and the second shahādah, which means ‘witnessed’. Revelation represents the source of human knowledge about the realm of ‘ghayb’, while the mind and senses are sources of knowledge about the realm of shahādah. What is important to realise in this context is that belief in the ghayb is not beyond man’s mental ability, or contrary to the natural laws of the human mind. The mind, as the prime actor in perceiving the world of shahādah, is able to recognise the realm of ghayb through its perception of shahādah. The first step in such recognition is to believe in God, and such belief does not involve any arbitrary acceptance of a falsehood or an impossibility.

      One of the natural laws of reason, according to the eminent philosopher Immanuel Kant, is that of cause and effect. According to this law, reason looks for the cause when an effect takes place, and for the ‘doer’ when something is done. This law, which applies to the world of shahādah, applies to all things in our world, requiring a cause for every effect. It applies in a greater degree to the universe as a whole, looking naturally for a cause that brings it into existence. Undoubtedly, the application of the law of causality to the universe is within our rational ability. The physical world includes not only individual matters, but also the greatest of all physical matters which is the universe. Indeed, to require a Maker of the universe is a natural progression in the application of the law of causality.⁴⁹

      Moreover, the human mind is not content with all that humanity has produced of knowledge, arts, physical and mental enjoyment so as to ignore the need to find out how the universe has come into existence, or to define man’s role in the universe and his future. In between the beginning and the destination, the origin and the end, the first cause and the ultimate goal, the human mind will continue to face something that scientific knowledge cannot explain in any way.

      We may restate our point that the acceptance of the realm of ghayb is not beyond reason. Indeed, reason itself indicates its existence, even though reason cannot venture into it, or learn its essence, by the means available to it: the mind and the senses. This brings about the need for revelation, which informs man of the nature of the realm of ghayb and God’s attributes, charts for him the best course for his life and gives him all that revelation has given.

      To deny the existence of ghayb because it is not subject to the senses is strange to say the least. It is a fact that consciousness of God’s existence, which is the basis of believing in ghayb, is present in every human being. Even if we put this aside, the fact that the human mind cannot fathom the realm of ghayb or the nature of God does not lessen its role within this world, the world of shahādah. This inability simply puts the human mind in its right place: it is able to conduct and organise life, but not to govern existence. It makes it more realistic when it recognises that it has not yet understood its own nature.

      1.2 The Meaning and Forms of Revelation

      From the linguistic point of view, waḥy, which is the Arabic word for revelation, means a quick signal. It is also said that it means subtle and quick information given to the intended person and kept unknown to others. When prophets received revelation from God, in any method or form, both subtlety and speed were observed. Shaykh Muhammad ‘Abduh defined revelations as: ‘A knowledge a person realises within himself, with absolute certainty that it comes from God, through some means or without any means. When it is through some means it may be with a sound he hears or without a sound.’⁵⁰

      The Qur’an mentions three ways in which God may give information to His servants: ‘It is not granted to any human being that God should speak to him except through revelation or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal by His command what He will. He is Exalted, Wise’ (42: 51). These means are:

      i.Putting the message God wants a prophet to know directly in that prophet’s heart, without any role for the angel assigned to pass on revelations. Needless to say, this is the speediest and most discreet method. Hence, it is called ‘revelation’ in the Qur’anic verse.⁵¹ Mujahid mentions that God gave the Psalms to David in the first method, while the second was true of Moses to whom God spoke directly from behind a veil, and He sent the angel Gabriel as a messenger to give His revelations to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

      ii.‘Speaking from behind a veil’ means that God says something to a prophet who hears it without seeing God as He speaks. The prophet in this case cannot see God. Thus, the veil hides the person to whom the words are addressed. It cannot be said that God speaks from behind a veil, because a veil only screens objects. In the case of Moses, he was screened by a tree, which constituted the veil, as God says: ‘When he came close to it, he was addressed from the right-side bank of the valley, out of the tree on the blessed site: Moses! Truly, I am God, the Lord of all the worlds’ (28: 30); and ‘God has spoken His word directly to Moses’ (4: 164).

      iii.A prophet is addressed through Gabriel, the angel of revelation. Gabriel used to come to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in one of two ways: either making a ringing sound near his head or by taking human form and speaking to him. Al-Bukhārī relates that al-Ḥārith ibn Hishām asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) how revelation was given to him. The Prophet said: ‘Sometimes it comes to me like a ringing bell, and this is the hardest for me. When it goes, I find myself having learnt what it has said. At other times, the angel takes human form and speaks to me and I learn what he says.’ ‘Ā’ishah said of the Prophet (peace be upon him): ‘I saw him receiving revelations on a very cold day, and when it was finished, he was perspiring.’⁵²

      The Qur’an was revealed in total, word and meaning, through the angel, which is the most common. God says: ‘Most certainly, this [Qur’an] has been bestowed from on High by the Lord of all the worlds. The trustworthy Spirit has brought it down into your heart – so that you may give warning, in the clear Arabic tongue’ (26: 192–195); and ‘Say: Whoever is an enemy of Gabriel should know that he revealed it [the Qur’an] to your heart by God’s leave’ (2: 97). Both these verses make it clear that the revelation of the Qur’an was made through Gabriel, and not via any other form of revelation. That Gabriel brought it down in his angelic form is also clear because both verses state that the revelation was to the Prophet’s heart.

      Thus, Gabriel would come down to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his light, or angelic, form and he would not be seen. The Prophet found this method of revelation very tiring. Indeed, the matter was very serious, as Gabriel established contact between the realm of ghayb and the physical world of mankind. God prepared His Messenger, Muhammad (peace be upon him), to tolerate this such that he could receive the revelations. This confirms the Qur’anic statement: ‘God knows best whom to entrust with His message’ (6:124).

      We maintain that the spiritual or ghayb aspect was central