The Qur’an (12:2) states: “We have revealed this Qur’an in the Arabic language so that you may understand.” And the Qur’an (15:9) states: “Verily, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’an) and surely, We will guard it.”
The Qur’an was revealed in the Arabic language, to the Prophet and Messenger of Allah ﷺ, delivered by the most honourable angel Gabriel, in Makkah. The Qur’an is perfect in every respect. It is the word of the Lord of the Worlds, which He revealed to His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ, to bring mankind from darkness into light.
Preservation of the Qur’an
Allah has guaranteed to preserve the Qur’an: “Verily, it is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’an) and surely, We will guard it.” (Surah 15 – Al-Hijr – Ayah 9) Unlike earlier Books which Allah revealed to the people of a particular Prophet only, and not to all of mankind, so He did not guarantee to preserve them and, therefore, all these earlier books are not available in their original form. The Qur’an, on the other hand, was revealed by Allah for all of humanity until the end of time because the message of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is the final message, so the Qur’an is preserved in men’s hearts and in written form unchanged through the passage of time, as is proven by the events of history.
Beginning of the Revelation
The Prophet ﷺ received the first revelation in 610 CE, in the Cave of Hira (Ghar-e-Hira), in the Mountain of Light (Jabal-e-Noor), two miles and a half from the House of Allah in the city of Makkah. It was revealed in Laila-tul-Qadr (Night of Decree) in the blessed month of Ramadhan, through Angel Gabriel. The Qur’an was revealed in stages over a period of 22 years, and not as a complete book in one single act of revelation. During the 22 years of the revelation, Prophet ﷺ stayed at Makkah for about 12 years, and then he migrated to Madinah in 622 CE, where the revelation continued for ten more years. Nearly two-third of the Qur’an was revealed in Makkah, and the remaining in Madinah, with some surah revealed during the migration from Makkah to Madinah.
Division of Qur’an
The Qur’an has been divided into Manzil, Juz, Surah, Ruku and Ayah for the convenience of the readers who wish to complete it in a given time and according to the subject matter. Ayah (Signs): The Qur’an is guidance from Allah to mankind and it is therefore not at all surprising to find that its smallest divisions are called signs (ayah) i.e. signs of the Wisdom of Allah. The terms sentence and verse are not appropriate to use in place of the word ayah, as the Qur’an is not a Book of literature, science or poetry. The size of an ayah varies in different surahs.
Surah: It is the passage-wise division of the Qur’anic text. The Qur’an has 114 surahs of unequal length, the shortest consisting of four (Al-Asr) and the longest of 286 ayat (Al-Baqara). Ruku: The surah is further divided into sections called ruku. Ruku are indicated by the Arabic letter ‘Ain’ and a number on it. Juz:
The Qur’an is also divided into thirty well known Juz (or para) of approximately equal length for easy recitation during the thirty nights of a month, especially of the month of Ramadhan. Manzil: The Qur’anic text is also divided into seven parts of approximately equal length, called Manzil. Pairs: Some surahs in the Qur’an form pairs, like Surah Al-Baqara and Surah Aal-i-Imraan.
Makkan and Madinan Division: As part of studying the revelation of the Qur’an, scholars have categorised the surahs of the Qur’an according to the time or era of their revelation. This subject came to be known as the Makkan and Madinan division of Qur’an. The surahs revealed before Hijrah – migration to Madina from Makkah – are known as Makkan (Makki) surahs and those revealed after Hijrah are called Madinan or Madni surahs. The Makkan surahs are 85 and Madinan surahs 28.
The Order of Surahs and its Compilation
The complete Qur’an was revealed over a period of 22 years portion by portion, as and when it was required. The sequence of the ayat as they appear in the Mushaf, is different from its chronological order of revelation. The order and sequence of the Qur’an was Divinely inspired and was instructed to the Prophet ﷺ by Allah through angel Gabriel. The Prophet told his scribes where to place a particular ayah that was just revealed. Its ayat were ordered and arranged according to Allah’s inspiration. At the beginning, it was not gathered in one book, which was later done during the caliphate of Abu Bakr who ordered Zaid bin Thabit to collect the Qur’an. Zaid collected it from various written materials and the memories of people. The sheets thus prepared were kept with Abu Bakr, then Umar, and then Hafsah. In these Suhuf the order of the ayat within each surah was fixed, but the sheets with the surahs on them were still in a loose arrangement, i.e. not bound into a volume. The Qur’an was finally compiled into a Mushaf (collected Suhuf into a volume), during the Caliphate of Usman, where both the order of the ayat within each surah, as well as the order of the sheets were fixed. It was written from the main copy gathered during the era of Abu Bakr. Usman kept a copy at Madinah and sent the remaining copies to the various Islamic countries and it is only Mushaf that is in circulation world-wide and we recite from the same.
Qur’an with our family
The Ramadan this year is very unique and since all of us are confined to our houses, Allah has given us great opportunity for self-introspection, our own training (tarbiyat) and teaching and training (tarbiyat) of all the members of our families especially children. Heads of the families have a greater role to play. They should ensure that the obligatory prayers are being offered in congregation with all the family members (male, female, and children); all the family members participate for at least one hour Dars-e-Qur’an (lot of audio and video dars applications are available on Android and Ios, like, Beyanul Quran by Late Dr. Israr Ahmad to start with) and; the head of the family should also ensure that this year when all are at home with not much to do, so, Allah has given us great opportunity for Qiyamul Lail. Make your family members get up one hour before Sehri and lead them to 8 rikats nawafil followed by 3 witr. May Allah make us discharge our duties as being the head of the family and may He be pleased with all of us, Ameen.