The Qur’an: The Revealed Sacred Book of Islamic Religion

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The three Abrahamic religions, namely: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have claims to three different yet analogical sacred books. For Judaism, it is the Torah; for Christianity, it is the Bible; and for Islam, it is the Qur’an. All three lay claims to the divine revelation of their holy books respectively. In this brief writing, the Islamic holy book, the Qur’an will be introduced and described as a spiritual guide to Muslims as well as the straightway to God (al-Fatihah 1:6). In the course of this description, an emphasis on its claim to revelation will be examined, such as the reasons why the Qur’an was revealed and how it views revelation. The other two sacred books, namely: the Bible and Torah have no place in this piece of writing.

The Qur’an – Reasons

The Qur’an is the sacred scripture of the Islamic religion. The word “Qur’an” takes its formation from the Arabic root “qara’a” (to read), or “qarana”, (to gather or collect). According to Esack, the word “Qur’an” is used in the Qur’an in the sense of “reading” (17.93), “recital” (75.18), and “a collection” (75.17). The Qur’an also describes itself as “a guide for humankind” and “a clear exposition of guidance”, “a distinguisher” (25.1), “a reminder” (15.9), “ordinance in the Arabic tongue” (13.37), “a healer” (10.57), “the admonition” (10.57), “the light” (7.157), “the truth (17.81) and “the rope to God” (3.102). [i] The above suggests that the word Qur’an has two distinct senses: “portions of revelation” and “the name of the entire collection of revelations to Muhammad.”[ii] Ayoub noted that the first revelation to prophet Muhammad was a command to “recite” or “read” (Iqra)... Therefore, so to speak, (Qur’an) is a sacred book meant to be recited or chanted aloud, not silently perused or read.[iii]

It is believed that the Qur’an is the compilation of the speech of Allah and is considered God’s direct speech. Affirming the above narrative, Abdul-Raof argued that “the Qur’an is the word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, the seal of the Prophets in the early part of the seventh century AD. The word ‘Qur’an’ means ‘reading’; it is interesting to learn that the first word said to the prophet Muhammad by Gabriel was “Read”... which is also a derivative form of the word ‘Qur’an.’”[iv] Besides, the Qur’an is conceived as eternal; it is the ‘word of God’  that became ‘Book’ as against, the Christian understanding that the ‘Word of God’ became ‘Man’. If the Qur’an is the eternal ‘word of God’ it could only come to humanity through revelation.  

The question to ask is why did God choose to reveal another sacred scripture? In several pages of the Qur’an, overwhelmingly reiterates that Tawhid was the reason why it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (Al-Fatihah 1; Al-‘Imran 3:64; Al-Nisa’ 4:153-176; Al-Ikhlas 112). The reason for Qur’anic revelation is understood as the word of Allah against polytheism. Examining the reasons for revelation from the Qur’anic perspective is its invitation to the worship of a true God. The following verses illustrate these reasons: “Behold, he said to his father: O my father! Why worship that which heareth not and seeth not, and can profit thee nothing?” (Maryam 19:42); “The people of Moses made, in his absence, out of their ornaments, the image of a calf, (for worship) ….” (Al-A‘raf 7:148). Referring to the worshippers of idols, the Qur’an says: “could they not see that it could not return them a word (for answer) and that it had not to power either to harm them or to do them good?” (Ta-Ha 20:89).

The Qur’an explicitly condemns the worship of false gods and for the Muslims, it is the guide in the straightway of God (Al-Fatihah 1:6). Having examined the reasons why Qur’an was said to be a revealed message, let us now examine how the Qur’an is a revelation.

Qur’an and Revelation

For Muslims, the Qur’an is “the word of Allah and a universal message containing final guidance to mankind.”[v] Hence, it is divinely revealed. Revelation (Wahy), literally means “to point out, to write, to give a message, to put something in the mind, a secret conversation.” Revelation (Wahy) in Shar’iah’s understanding means “a secret way through which without any imagination, personal effort, experience, and private reasoning, with the special favour and blessing of Allah, a Messenger knows something.”[vi]

In the Qur’an, revelation is described as a methodical source of knowledge. An example is this Makkan revelation (which suggests that Makkah was one of the places where the prophet Muhammad received his revelation): “Neither speaketh he from mere impulse. The Qur’an is no other than a revelation revealed to him” (An-Najm 53:3-4). Of course, the above citation is based on Rodwell’s translation of the Qur’an.[vii] However, Yusuf Ali’s translation of the same (An-Najm 53:3-4) differs: “Nor does he say (aught) of (his own) Desire. It is no less than inspiration sent down to him.”[viii] From the two translations of (An-Najm 53:3-4), Rodwell’s keyword is ‘revelation’ while Yusuf Ali’s is ‘inspiration’. Moreover, the tafsir of Ibn ‘Abbas says that: “(It is) i.e. the Qur'an (nought save an inspiration) from Allah (that is inspired) to him through Gabriel who comes and recites it to him.”[ix]

The two words differ in meanings. According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), the word inspiration specifically and theologically means:

Special immediate action or influence of the Spirit of God (or of some divinity or supernatural being) upon the human mind or soul; said especially of that divine influence under which the books of Scripture are held to have been written … A breathing or infusion of some idea, purpose...into the mind; the suggestion, awakening, or creation of some feeling or impulse, especially of an exalted kind.”[x] 

The same dictionary defined revelation as “The disclosure or communication of knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural agency”; it is also the “disclosure of facts made by a person; exposure of something previously disguised or concealed.”[xi] The above translations suggest that the Qur’an can be viewed as both inspired and revealed.

Further Arguments from Scholars

Some Islamic scholars like al-Qattan[xii] and al-Salih [xiii] observed and interpreted other meanings of the word revelation as used in the Qur’an. In several chapters of the Qur’an, they argued that revelation could be viewed as:

  • As a natural human instinct (Al-Ma’idah 5:111; Al-Qasas 28:7);
  • As an instinctual animal habit (An-Nahl 16:68);
  • As making a quick signal as a gesture (Maryam 19:11);
  • As Devilish insinuation (Al-An ‘am 6:112);
  • As commands of Allah to Angels (Al-Anfal 8:12).

The Qur’an reveals that: “It is not fitting for a man that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by the sending of a Messenger to reveal, with Allah’s permission, what Allah wills: for He is Most High, Most Wise” (Ash-Shura 42:51). 

Abdul-Raof analysing the latter Qur’anic verse noted that these usages of the word revelation in the Qur’an can be categorized into three forms and that revelation can take one of the following forms:

  1. Casting the meaning into the heart of the Prophet or inspiring it in his mind/heart,
  2. Talking to the Prophet from behind a screen, and
  3. Informing the Prophet through the angel Gabriel who came to him either in the form of a man or in an angelic shape.[xiv]  

Thus, the above claims suggest that the Qur’an is the revealed word of God that was cast into the heart of the prophet, passed on through a veil separating the prophet from the communicator of the message and other times, an angel informing the Prophet.  It could be deemed analogous to the way the Word of God took flesh in Mary, informed by archangel Gabriel and she was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-38). Such a parallel reveals how Christianity and Islam have closely benefitted from each other’s history. For Islam, the word of God became a book, and for Christianity, the Word of God became flesh.

Footnotes

[i] Esack, F 2005. The Qur’an: a user’s guide. Oneworld, Oxford. P.30

[ii] Ibid.

[v] Surty, MI 2007. Islam the Qur’anic Overview. Qur’anic Arabic Foundation. Birmingham.P.20

[vi] Ibid.

[vii] J. M. Rodwell. Edition 1994.

[viii] The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an. Abdullah Yusuf Ali. English Edition. 2008

[ix] Firouzabadi, MIY & Guezzou, M 2008. Tafsir Ibn ‘Abbas. Fons Vitae. Louisville. KY.

[x] Bradley, H, Craigie, WA, Murray, JAH, & Onions, CT (eds) 2004, The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, vol. IV. Creel-Duzepere; vol XIII. Quemadero – Roaver;  vol. III. Hat – Intervacuum;  vol. X. Moul – Ovum;  vol. XIV. Rob – Sequyle; vol. VIII. Interval – Looie;  vol. VI. Follow – Haswed, Clarendon Press, Oxford. P.1036

[xi] Op.cit. p. 813

[xii] Al- Qattan, M 1990. Mabahith fi Ulum al-Qur’an. Maktabat Wahba. Cairo. P.28

[xiii] Al- Salih, S 1997. Mabahith fi Ulum al-Qur’an. Dar al-Ilm Lil-Malayin. Beirut. P.23

[xiv] Abdul-Raof, H. Op.cit. p. 43

  

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