Islamic texts in translation - Quiz 1 prep

• Hadith Jibreel - Reference?

  Muslim, Al-Musnad Sahih, #8
• Islamic paradigm has 3 parts to it: Ibadaat, Imaan, Ihsan - all explained in Hadith Jibreel
• Taqwa is following Allah's commandments and abstaining from what He has refrained
• Description of Jibreel (AS) in Hadith Jibreel

  1. No signs of travel on him - pure white clothes
  2. Dark black hair
  3. No sahabi recognized him (he DIDNT come in the form of Dahya Al-Kalbi)
  4. Asked Qs knowing the answers to them
• Ibadaat - what we MUST do

  Imaan - what we MUST believe

  Ihsan - worshipping Allah as if u see Him, even tho u cannot see Him, He sees u
• Total number of ayats in the Quran is 6236
• A paradigm is a typical example, pattern, or model
• In the Islamic Paradigm, Islam is defined as testifying that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, performing prayers, paying zakat, fasting during Ramadan, and making the pilgrimage to the House if able
• Faith (iman) in the Islamic Paradigm involves believing in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and Qadr
• The Qur'an is defined as:

  1-the word of Allah as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW),

  2-miraculous in nature,

  3-consecutive in its transmission (mutawatir),

  4-Begins with surat al-Fatiha and ends with surat al-Nas
• The Qur'an is considered "inimitable" (mu'jaz/i'jaaz) in nature , meaning that no one can produce anything like it, as stated in the Quranic verse: "Say: If the mankind and the jinn came together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they would be unable to produce its like, even if they were to help one another." (Q. 17: 88)
• The Qur'an forms the basis of Islamic thought and Law
• The Sciences of the Qur'an include:

  • The Qur'an's names and characteristics
  • The nature of revelation
  • The inimitability of the Qur'an
  • The preservation of the Qur'an
  • The Qur'anic Script
  • The structure of the Qur'an
  • The content of the Qur'an, including definitive and ambiguous verses, Meccan and Medinan verses, and abrogation
  • Circumstances of revelation
  • Major themes of the Qur'an
  • Variant readings and modes of recital
  • The art of reciting the Qur'an
  • Qur'anic parables and similitudes
• Quran is "miraculous" in many ways:

  1. Linguistically -> challenge to replicate smth even close to it (despite Allah reducing the challenge from making a similar book -> 10 chpts -> one chpt - still couldnt be done by the elqouent poets of the time)
  2. Historically -> prophesied Byzantines downfall
  3. Scientifically -> stages of human embryo develop shown b4 tech to explain it
• Quran root words, two interpretations:

  1. ق ر ا -> 'to read'
  2. ق ر ن -> 'to combine'
  3. (Most agreed upon) 'To read' was from the first time Jibreel told Rasoolullah to read
  4. 'To combine' was coz we combine surahs to make the Quran
• The Qur'an is written in Classical Arabic, not Modern Arabic or any dialect spoken today. Which make sit a challenge for even Arab speakers to understand it.
• Tafsir literal meaning is commentary of the Quran
• Tafsir's Islamic meaning:

  "-The body of knowledge that deals with explanation, interpretation & commentary of the Quran,

  -encompassing all the ways of acquiring knowledge

  -which contributes to the proper understanding,

  -explains its meaning,

  -and deduces its laws & wisdoms
• Tafsir root word = fa-sa-ra -> means to interpet/comment
• Tafsir's islamic definition is by: Al-Zarkashi, AL-Burhan fi Ul'um Al-Quran (3: 13)
• Tafsir can be of 6 types:

  1. On transmission (tafsir ar-riwaya),
  2. knowledge (tafsir bil ilm),
  3. tradition (tafsir al-ma'thur),
  4. opinion/reason (tafsir ar-ra'iy),
  5. understanding (tafsir ad-diraayah),
  6. or allusion (tafsir al-ishara)
• Ta'wil, another form of interpretation, is derived from the root "awwala" meaning to derive, to deduce, to interpret
• Tafsir bi ’l-ra’y is an act of disbelief according to a statement that argues based on opinion regarding the Qur’an, WITHOUT having the knowledge to do so
• Examples of different interpretations of the Qur'an include interpretations by al-Mu‘tazila, al-Qadiyaniyya, and Sufis
• Sahabas that were well versed in the commentary for the Quran:

  -Ibn Abbas

  -Ibn Masood

  -Ubayy Ibn Ka’ab 
• Al-Mu'tazila -> were sect of confused Muslims that beleived in AQL over NAQL/ LOGIC over REVELATION.

  They would wanna know the reasoning behind commandments and IF it made sense to them they would follow it.

  & if it didn’t make sense not them - they will reject it AND try to give it a twisted reasoning 
• Al-Qadiyaniyya -> Ppl that believed there was a prophet after Rasoolullah (SAW) called Meerza Ghulam Ahmed. Besides this, they follow muslims exactly.

  Qaadiyaan - place in India -> origin of THEIR prophet, a false prophet. They argue that Rasoolullah (SAW) ‘...is the SEALER of the prophets to come’ (falsehood) NOT ‘the SEAL of the prophets’ (the truth).