The Quran: from Revelation to Preservation

• Prophets and messengers


  Their key purpose was to often receive new revelation and teach it to the people
• Preserved Tablet (al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūz)

  Where everything Allah intended to reveal to His messengers has been kept in the highest heavens
• Tawrah, Zabür and Injil


  The first three early scriptures that were revealed from the heavens, sent down to the messengers in one go
• Qur'an


  Revealed differently, brought down to the lowest heaven on the Night of Qadr, then revealed word by word to Prophet Muhammad over 23 years
• Revelation of the Qur'an

  1. Brought down to lowest heaven

  2. Revealed word by word to Prophet Muhammad over 23 years

  3. Revealed in response to incidents in Prophet's life
• Wahy (revelation)


  Different ways Prophet received it: Jibril in actual form, Allah inspiring it directly into his heart, hearing a sound resembling a bell
• Types of Quranic surahs


  • Makki (Meccan)
  • Madani (Medinan)
• Makki surahs

  • Stories of Prophets
  • Evidence of Allah
  • Resurrection and the Hereafter
  • Be patient
  • Shorter
• Madani surahs


  • Rules on war and peace
  • Marriage and divorce
  • End of the world
  • Quran and Sunnah are the sources of authority
  • Food and drink
  • Longer Surahs
  • Thought provoking
• Gradual revelation of rulings, e.g. on intoxicants, to allow Muslims to change pre-Islamic habits
• Abrogated verses still provide useful information and context for Muslims
• Scribes of the Qur'an


  Companions who wrote down the revealed verses as the Prophet recited them
• The Qur'an was initially preserved on parchments, bark of trees, animal bones, stone and papyri</b>
• The Prophet would recite the revealed verses in prayer until his blessed feet would swell
• The Prophet would recite the Qur'an to Jibril every Ramadan, and in the final year they read it twice
• Many companions memorised the Qur'an during the Prophet's lifetime
• The order of the Qur'an we have today is the same as when it was brought down from the Preserved Tablet
• The Prophet would instruct scribes to place newly-revealed verses between specific existing verses
• The complete manuscript of the Qur'an remained with Abu Bakr, then Umar, then Hafsah
• The conditions Abu Bakr placed on Zayd were to ensure the highest standards in documenting the Qur'an
• Conditions for collecting the Qur'an


  1. Find a person who had memorised a portion of the Qur'an

  2. That person to show a written piece of the Qur'an (written at the time of revelation)

  3. Every piece to have at least two witnesses who were there when it was written at the time of revelation
• The third condition was not as necessary as the first two, since the huffaz already knew the verses by heart
• Abu Bakr placed these conditions

  To ensure the highest standards in documenting the Qur'an and to prevent any later accusations of forgery
• The mushaf (Qur'an) that Abu Bakr prepared was done so with the agreement of the saḥābah and in the exact order of sūrahs and verses as instructed by the Prophet
• Dialects


  Different modes of speaking where the same thing is expressed in different ways
• The Qur'an came down catering for the different dialects of the Arab tribes
• Jibril taught the Prophet seven different aḥruf (modes/dialects) of reading the Qur'an, and the Prophet taught some of these to various ṣaḥābah
• Two companions who both learned the Qur'an directly from the Prophet would sometimes differ on how to pronounce or express certain words
• After the passing of the Prophet, the issue of different dialects grew to become a significant problem, especially in the generation that came after him (known as the tābi'ün)
• Uthmani mushaf


  The Qur'an that is found in every masjid and Muslim home across the world today
• No two mushafs will differ in any way, because it was through the efforts of the saḥābah that the word of Allah was preserved in its original form
• The present day Qur'ān is the exact same Qur'ān that Allah revealed to the Prophet, because it was preserved and transmitted through mass memorisation
• Early written manuscripts from the time of the ṣaḥābah still exist today and there is no difference from today's printed copies of the Qur'an
• The passing of time has only confirmed the truth of Allah's promise to preserve the Qur'an: "Indeed, it is We who revealed the Message [Qur'an], and it is We who will protect it" (15:9)
• The culture of hifz/tahfiz (memorising the Qur'an) remains intact to this day
• Tajwid is hugely important to learn and teach to others, as through it, Muslims are playing a significant role in preserving the Qur'an
• Pondering the meaning of the Qur'an is the only way to act upon its teachings in the most appropriate way for one's life and circumstances
• The time of the Prophet Muhammad

  • Quran revealed to him over a period of 23 years
  • Angel Jibril would come to him in angel or human form with a revelation and recite it to him
  • Prophet would memorise what was written to him
  • Prophet would select some companions (kuttab al-wahy) to write what was recited to him
  • Revelations written on different materials like bones, leaves, stones and animal skins
  • Prophet would tell companions which surah the ayahs belonged to
  • By the end of this phase the Quran was written on a collection of different materials
  • IT WAS NOT YET A BOOK!!!
• Important kuttab-al-wahy

  • Abu Bakr
  • Umar
  • Uthman b. Affan
  • Ali
  • Zayd ibn. Thabit
• The time of Abu Bakr

  • During Battle of Yamama many people who had memorised the Quran (hafiz) martyred
  • Umar noticed + told Abu Bakr if they didn't do something about the Quran then everyone who had knew it would eventually die and the Quran would be lost
  • Abu Bakr hesitant since the Prophet never said for this to happen but Umar convinced him
  • Went to Zayd ibn. Thabit and asked him manage project and compile Quran into one place
  • Zayd ibn. Thabit also reluctant but eventually accepted
  • Took Zayd ibn. Thabit 7 months to compile Quran into a book as it was a meticulous process