The Qur'an and Its Study. Adnan Zarzour

Qur’an said.

      As noted earlier, the Qur’an mentioned that Abū Lahab, the Prophet’s uncle, will be in hell, and Abū Lahab did remain an unbeliever for the rest of his life. He could have pretended to accept Islam to prove that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was making a false prediction. How could Muhammad (peace be upon him) prejudge him, stating that he would remain an unbeliever and be thrown into hell? Yet this was not Muhammad (peace be upon him) making a prediction. Rather, it was a statement revealed by God, Whose knowledge is perfect and absolute. Such a verdict, as also the one concerning al-Walīd ibn al-Mughīrah, is clear evidence that the One Who knows people’s hearts and minds, and knows who responds to Divine guidance and who rejects it, is the One stating these verdicts in His revelations.

      When we look at such matters, bearing in mind the question of whether the revelation responded to actual events, is it possible to claim that these verdicts were made in response to events? If so, who was making this response: God’s revelation or Muhammad (peace be upon him)? As for the revelation, it simply stated God’s final judgement. Muhammad (peace be upon him), on the other hand, could not have made such a judgement. He was very keen to persuade his people to believe in his message. He never lost hope that even his hardest opponent would realise the truth of his message and accept Islam. Hence, it was totally uncharacteristic of him to confront his uncle, Abū Lahab, with this fearful announcement.

      58.Some scholars quote the verses: ‘This is indeed a glorious Qur’an, inscribed on an imperishable tablet’ (85: 21–22), and say that these refer to different stages of sending down the Qur’an. The first was sending it down to the imperishable tablets, when it was sent complete. The purposes of revealing it in parts to the Prophet (peace be upon him) could not apply to this first process. These scholars also maintain that a second process was sending it down to the first heaven. They cite in evidence for this the verses: ‘We have bestowed it from on High on a blessed night; for, indeed, We have always sent warnings’ (44: 3); ‘From on High have We bestowed it ‘i.e. the Qur’an] on the Night of Power’ (97: 1); and ‘It was in the month of Ramadan that the Qur’an was sent down’ (2: 185). They consider that together these verses imply that the Qur’an was revealed in whole on the Night of Power, which is in the month of Ramadan. The third process was its revelation to the Prophet in parts over a period of 23 years. This explanation must be accepted if the three processes of sending it down are confirmed by authentic Hadiths . We will, in this case, consider that this explanation is based on these Hadiths , otherwise these verses admit different interpretations. The verses in Surah 85, which are cited as indicating the first process, may not mean more than that the Qur’an was with God, and His word is final on all that relates to Him. All that God decrees, in the Qur’an or elsewhere is in this imperishable tablet, which we cannot fathom because it is part of the ghayb that God has reserved for Himself. The other verses that are taken as evidence of the second process simply point out that the Night of Power was the time when the revelation of the Qur’an to the Prophet (peace be upon him) started. It was subsequently revealed in parts at different times. Ibn ‘Aṭiyyah says in his commentary on the Qur’an (vol. 13, p. 262) that ‘the verse in Surah 44 means that its revelation started on the Night of Power. This is the view of the majority of scholars’.

      59.Related by al-Bukhārī, Hadith no. 5.

      60.We note that the Qur’an generates a rational climate, and establishes psychological and social conditions which helped scientific advancement in the Muslim world. Such a climate and conditions started with the beginning of revelation. Malek Bennabi said: ‘Right from the first line in Genesis, the Old Testament speaks about physical phenomena, while in the New Testament John’s Gospel begins by talking about the flesh. On the other hand, the Qur’an begins with an address to the mind: “Read in the name of your Lord...” The first word with which the first Muslim, Muhammad (peace be upon him), was addressed was “Read”.’ This subsequently applies to every Muslim. ‘Letters are the means to address the soul, to express every message and to communicate it. They carry all information. Hence, the first Islamic revelations .letters their high status in Muslims’ consciousness, right from the first moment, as it said: “Read”. Letters express meanings, address the soul and at the same time protect the meaning against loss. Letters have preserved the Qur’an. Not a single letter of the Qur’an has changed over a period of 14 centuries.’ M. Bennabi, Intāj al-Mustashriqīn wa Atharuh fī al-Fikr al-Islāmī al-Ḥadīth, p. 32.

      61.Another version of this Hadith adds at this point: ‘I was called and I looked in front of me, behind me, to my right and to my left, then I looked up to the sky.’ Ref: al-Bukhārī, Hadith nos. 4, 4922 & 4924; Muslim, Hadith no. 161.

      62.This lull took place shortly after the Prophet (peace be upon him) had been reassured that what had happened to him was a meeting with the angel Gabriel who had told him that he had been chosen as God’s Messenger. This served as a period of preparation for him so that he could realise the task he was assigned with and the duties associated with it. The lull lasted a few weeks, according to the majority of scholars.

      63.Al-Suyūṭī, Al-Itqān, vol. 3, pp. 458–459.

      64.Al-Zarkashī, Al-Burhān, vol. 1, pp. 209–210. Another report suggests that the Prophet (peace be upon him) lived only seven nights after its revelation, and according to a third report mentioned by Ibn Ḥajar, he lived twenty-one days after it.

      65.A more detailed discussion is given in my booklet: Āyat al-Walāyah ‘Ind al-Shī‘ah al-Imāmiyyah, pp. 44–47. It is also included in vol. 5 of my Complete Works.

      66.Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qur’an al-‘Aẓīm, vol. 3, p. 317.

      67.S. Qutb, In the Shade of the Qur’an, vol. 12, p. 409.

      68.This is the name given in the Qur’an to the rumour that accused the Prophet’s wife, ‘Ā’ishah, of being in a sexual relation with a man called Ṣafwān ibn al-Mu‘aṭṭal. The rumour was started by ‘Abdullāh ibn Ubayy, the chief of the hypocrites in Madinah. God absolved ‘Ā’ishah of all wrongdoing in verses 11–20 of surah 24, and made clear that the ones who spread the rumour will be severely punished in the life to come. The Prophet (peace be upon him) could not deal with the rumour or take any measure against those who circulated the rumour because he had no evidence against them, until the Qur’an was revealed to declare ‘Ā’ishah’s innocence.

      69.We have noted some of these benefits and evils when we talked of the Arabs and the Qur’an in the first chapter.

      70.Related by al-Bukhārī, Hadith no. 4620.

      71.Alcoholic drinks were prohibited in the US over the period 1920–1933. The US Congress approved the prohibition law after a sustained campaign that linked alcohol with road accidents that killed thousands every year. The campaign was joined by medical personnel, lawyers, politicians, sociologists and the media. However, people persisted in drinking and consumption rose to an even higher level. As a result, Congress repealed its earlier laws after 13 years.

      72.Related by al-Bukhārī, Hadith no. 4993. The full Hadith as it is entered in al-Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ quotes Yūsuf ibn Māhak: ‘I was at the home of ‘Ā’ishah, the Mother of the Believers, when an Iraqi man came over. He asked her: “Which type of sheet is best to wrap a deceased person in?” She said: “What difference will it make?” He said: “Mother of the Believers, show me your copy of the Qur’an.” She said: “What do you want it for?” He said: “I hope to arrange my copy on its basis, as it is being read in no particular arrangement.” She said: “What is wrong with reading any part of it first? The early revelation of the Qur’an was a short surah...” At the end she added: “I was a young girl in Makkah when the verse was revealed: ‘But the Last Hour is their appointed time, and the Last Hour is most calamitous and most bitter’ (54:46). The surahs ‘The Cow’ and ‘Women’ were only revealed after my marriage.” She brought out her copy and dictated the arrangement.’ The surahs mentioned are 2 and 4 respectively, and they contain many pieces of legislation.

      73.M. Draz, Al-Naba’ al-‘Aẓīm, p. 140. English edition: The Qur’an: An Eternal Challenge, p. 122.

      74.Ibid, p. 149. English edition, pp.