1. Compilation of Quran

2. The Quran
• The Quran can be defined as follows:
– The speech of Allah sent down upon the
last prophet Muhammad through the
angel, Gabriel, in its precise meaning and
precise wording, transmitted to us by
numerous persons both verbally and in
writing.
– Inimitable and unique protected by God
from corruption

3. Other Names of Quran
• Furqan [criterion]
• Tanzil [sent down]
• Dhikr [reminder]
• Kitab [scripture]
• Noor [Light]
• Huda [Guidance]
• Rahma [Mercy]
• Majid [Glorious]
• Mubarak [Blessed]
• Bashir [Announcer]
• Nadhir [Warner]

4. The word Qur’an
• The Arabic word Quran derived from the root
qara’a
– Means to recite and read
– It refers to the revelation from Allah to prophet
Muhammad
– Revelation referred to other Prophets by different
name [Torah and Gospel (Injeel) ]

5. History of Scriptures
• Civilizations are build on books
• Vast majority of human civilizations are built
fundamentally from books
• In the 9th century there civilizations were built
on Greek epic poet [Homer- Iliad & Odyssey]
these are the greatest works of western
civilizations
• Greek civilizations are fundamentally derived
from Homer

6. Continued
• For Hebrew it’s the Torah became the
fundamental book for western and European
civilizations
• Bible became the fundamental book first in
Greek then in Latin
• For English people it was the King James Bible
• For Arabs there wasn’t a book in the Arabic
language until the Qur’an

7. Continued
• Arabs are ancient people
• Only poetry was done orally
• Quran brought a radical departure from
previous concepts within the culture of
knowledge and transmission of knowledge

8. Prophet Muhammad Biography [Brief]
• He was born in 570 CE in Makkah [Mecca]
• Mother name in Aminah
• Father died prior to the birth of Prophet Muhammad
• [1st five years] He was sent to the desert to learn a
tradition Arabic language
• He was extremely trustworthy and Quiet
• He was not a poet
• He was not very conversational
• He was kind to the poor and orphan
• He had no inspiration to be a leader

9. Continued
• He belonged to a tribe called Bani-Hashim
• Before his 40th Birthday he began to see
dreams
• He used to go outside of Makkah and
meditate to avoid Polytheism
• Few people in Makkah called Hunafah or Hanif
inclined towards Monotheism
• They did not worship idols, but they did not
speak against the idols

10. Continued
• At the age of 40 he was in the cave
• An angel [Gabriel] in the form of a man
appeared and he said, “Iqra!”
• Iqra can be interpreted as Read or Recite
• Muhammad PBUH was not a reciter of poetry
and he can not read
• He said, “I don’t know how to read and I don’t
know how to recite”

11. Continued
• Angel said it a second time and the Prophet said
the same thing
• Third time the angel said the same thing and
squeezed him to the extent he thought his rib
was going to burst
• The 1st revelation prophet received
– “Read in the name of your Lord, who created, created
man from a clot. Read! And you Lord is most
bountiful. [He who taught] the use of pen taught
which he knew not.”

12. Continued
• At this point the prophet was concerned and he
did not know what was happening to him.
• He went to his wife Khadija and explained to her
and she comforted him
• Told him that you are a good person you take
care of orphans/widows/needy and I don’t think
something bad is happening to you
• She took him to her uncle who had converted to
Christianity and has some knowledge about
previous scriptures

13. Continued
• Her uncle said you had a revelations like the
prophet Moses
• He said when people find out about this they will
become your enemy and will drive you out of this
city
• He began to receive revelations
• Revelations came to him like the ringing of a bell;
like vibrations and buzzing sounds
• It moved into letters then into to actual words
example: Alif Lam Meem

14. Continued
• There are a group of letters in the 19 chapter
of Quran
• When they are recited they begin like a
vibrations
• 1st people who believed in Prophet
Muhammad were:
– Wife: Khadija
– Cousin: Ali Ibn Talib [Young boy]
– Close Friend: Abu Bakr

15. Continued
• He was commanded to warn his family about
his prophet hood
• He gathered them all and said, “What would
you say if I told you that on the other side of
the mountain of Makkah someone is waiting
to attack you? ”
• They said, “We will believe you because you
are Al-Amin [Trustworthy one]”

16. Continued
• Then prophet said, “What would you say when I
say I am a messenger of God and was sent to
you?”
• They said, “We do not believe you.”
• He was rejected by them
• The Quraish began to worry and felt stupid when
prophet told him you are worshipping a piece of
wood and stone that can not hear or speak and
can not benefit you
• Similar story is written about Prophet Abraham in
Quran

17. Continued
• Prophet Abraham went into the temple and
destroyed all the idols except the Big one. He
put the axe on the Big one and left.
• When the people asked him why you did that
he told them ask the big idol.
• They told him he can’t speak and hear
• Prophet Abraham said then why are you
worshipping them?

18. Continued
• The teaching of the Quran help them to
realize the following:
• Arabs were forced to look at their
cultural practices, worshipping
idols, burying baby girls
alive, gambling, drinking
• In their culture everything was normal
and acceptable

19. Continued
• But in our Culture this is not the case
– For example: Abortion and Gay marriages not
acceptable
– And people have the right to say no to these
practices

20. Makkan period
• 1st thirteen years of revelations is called the
Makkan period
• This period has dominant theme which is Tauhid
[worshipping one God without association:
monotheism].
• According to Jewish/Christian traditions Muslims
are considered “radical” monotheists
• Abu Bakr said “Your inability to comprehend God
is the comprehension of God” this is the essence
of Tauheed

21. Continued
• In Christian tradition they are trying to know
God through Christ
• Christ becomes the object of God’s
knowability
• God becomes man so man can understand
God this is a Christian theology
• For the Muslim knowability of God through
the creation itself

22. Continued
• Creation itself is seeing as a theater of the
divine manifestation
• God is not incarnated into creation

23. Akhirah
• Akhirah means hereafter Quran focused on the
hereafter because Arabs did not believe in it Arab
thought when you die this is it and they said if we
are bone and dust how can we be brought back
to life?
• Quran said “Who created you the 1st he is
capable of creating you the second time.”
• Hereafter is descriptive in Quran example: River
flowing under the garden fruits and beautiful
maidens

24. Continued
• Arabs didn’t believe in this
• 1st thirteen years the Quran challenged them
to think about their cultural practices they
persecuted Muslims
• In this period Quran was not in form of book
just in their memories
• Eighty-five chapter in Quran is Makkan and 19
chapter from medina

25. Continued
• The Quran is divided into thirty equal parts
• Makkan verses are revealed 1st but found in
the end
• When Muslims learn Quran they start from
the end-beginning

26. Saat
• Saat = End of time
• Prophet Muhammad said “He was the 1st sign
of the end of the time of the beginning of the
end of time.”
• For Muslims the end of the time is their death
• 1st Thirteen Years we mentioned the Quran
focused on Tauheed, Akhirah, and Saat.
• During these thirteen years Quran focused on
to strengthen their faith.

27. Medina Period
• Thirteen years of oppression prophet
Muhammad migrated to Medina (Hijra)
• In Medina many people began to become
Muslim
• Quran teaching radically changed from Mecca
period to Medina period
• Focus of verses of Quran move away from
(Tauhid, Akhira and Saat)

28. Continued
• Quran Focused to social environment
• How to implement (Tauhid, Akhira and Saat)
Into their faith with firm belief and How to
implement these into their social behavior
• Example- If you believe in God how is it
changing your character and your behavior?
• How will it change you as an individual?
• During this period focus of Quran was on
Character, building a community and society

29. Continued
• Many verses begin in Mecca Start with “O
Humanity” or “O Mankind”
• In Medina it begin “O Who you believe”
• Meccan Verses to the people
• People who responded to Islam and they
migrated to Medina
• The focus of Quran which manifests in
teaching in societal level not individual level
• Next ten years Quran revealed in Medina
called Medina Period

30. Continued
• Over 23 years period Quran was revealed
• In Medina period Gabriel came to Prophet to
put the Quran in order and began to move in
sequence
• Medina chapters are in the beginning and
Meccan in the end
• During Prophet lifetime the entire Quran was
written but not collected together
• Entire Quran was written in his presence

31. Continued
• Muslim do not have doubts about this
• In 632 Prophet died
• Prophet left companion behind him who memorized
entire Quran
• Many of Companions used to recite to prophet and he
listened
• They started to teach people and Islam began to
spread
• In 633 their was a battle of Yamama many of recitors of
Quran were killed
• At this point Umar wanted to collect entire Quran and
asked Abu Bakr (Khalifa) to do so

32. Continued
• Abu Bakr refused because “Prophet
Muhammad PBUH didn’t do it, so I will not do
it”
• Umar explained to him if the all recitors of
Quran die then Quran can get lost
• Abu Bakr was convinced and he ordered to
collect the Quran
• Ordered to Zaid bin Thabit

33. Compilation Of Quran
• They began to collect and set the criteria
• Criteria is each piece of Quran must be
brought and had written in the presence of
Prophet with two witnesses
• It took them while but they did it
• They made into one compilation written on
gazelle skin( Leather)
• Previously it was written on shoulder blades
of Camels, Ribs, Stones, and Wood

34. Continued
• They compiled into one Quran
• Umar kept it and later on gave it to his
daughter Hafsa
• At the time of Usman the third caliph, there
was a Dispute in Azerbaijan regarding
differences In recitations of the Quran
• There was no standardized writing of Quran

36. Continued
• There were no dots, diacritical marks, no
vowels
• People who did not memorize the Quran and
started to learn from their teacher began to
differ in recitation
• Usman wanted to standardize the writing of
Quran
• This was done in 658 after the death of the
prophet in 632

37. Continued
• The bible old Testament was gathered over 900 years
• Gospel compiled at 325 C.E.
• It took 300 years to compile the gospel, Quran took 26
years
• Companion of Prophet who gathered the Quran into
one compilation are the one who memorized the
entire Quran from the prophet based on this oral
tradition
• Quran is not itself a primary source in which Quran is
protected; Protected through oral transmission
• When they print the Quran they do not check the with
other Quran but they send to different Hufaza to verify

38. Continued
• Zaid and three companions went back to Hafsa to collect the
compilation of Quran and they prepared the Quran according to
Usman recommendation
• One of them was: Quran was written in Quraish Dialect or
Pronunciation
• eg. Momin and Mo’min; Malik and Malik
• Meaning was same but pronunciation was different
• Sometimes different pronunciation can change the meaning of the
word
• Finally the Quran was standardized in Quraish Dialect which was a
language of Prophet Muhammad Peace be Upon Him.
• Usman completed this project and send identical copies of Quran to
various center of Muslims and governors.
• Demanded them that all the Quran should be burned except those
which is based on this writing