Chapter Two The First Source of Shariah : The Quran

1. Chapter Two The First Source of Shariah: The Quran

2. Contents of the Lesson • Definitions and Characteristics • Revelation • Revelation-Graduality • Revelation-Content-Graduality • Revelation-Maccan and Madinan • Revelation-Legal Verses

3. Definitions and Characteristics • The verbal noun of the root word: qara’a means to read • Quran literally means ‘reading’ or ‘recitation’. • More closely, Quran is defined as ‘the book containing the speech of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic and transmitted to us by continuous testimony or tawatur’.

4. The most prominent attributes of the Quran are five: • it was revealed exclusively to the Prophet Mohammed; • it was put into writing; • it is all mutawatir; • it is the inimitable speech of God; • and it is recited in salah.

5. Revelation • The revelation of the Quran began with sura al-Alaq and ended with the ayah in surah Al-baqarah 281 • And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to Allāh. Then every person shall be paid what he earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly. • The Quran itself indicated that it was sent down and revealed in three successive stages. The first descent was to Lawh al-Mahfuz (the ‘guarded tablet’) in a manner and times that is not known: ‘Nay, it is a glorious Quran in a guarded tablet’ (al-Buruj, 85: 21-22).

6. The second descent was to the lowest heaven, described as bayt al-izzah(the abode of honour) and this occurred in the night of LaylatulQadr: • “ Truly We have revealed it on the Night of Majesty ” • (al-Qadr, 97:1) • In al-Dukhan, 44:3, it is revealed that ‘truly We revealed it on a blessed night’. The previous two passages suggest that the second stage of the revelation occurred in a single night, which is further specified as one of the last ten nights in the month of Ramadan.

7. In al-Dukhan, 44:3, it is revealed that ‘truly We revealed it on a blessed night’. The previous two passages suggest that the second stage of the revelation occurred in a single night, which is further specified as one of the last ten nights in the month of Ramadan. • Thus, it was only the last of the three stages that the Quran was revealed to mankind gradually, in about twenty-three years, the mediation of the archangel Gabriel.

8. Revelation • There are 114 suras and 6,235 ayat of unequal length in the Quran. • Both the order of the ayat within each sura, and the sequence were re-arranged and finally determined by the Prophet in the year of his demise. • The Quran consists of manifest revelation (wahy zahir), which is defined as communication from God to the Prophet Muhammad, conveyed by the angel Gabriel, in the very word of God

9. The prophet received the revelation in a state of wakefulness, and thus no part of the Quran originated in internal inspiration or dreams. • Manifest revelation differs from internal revelation (wahy batin) in that the latter consists of the inspiration (ilham) of concepts only: God inspired the Prophet and the latter conveyed the concepts in his own words; hadith of the Prophet fall into this category of internal revelation.

10. Hadith Qudsi differs from the other varieties of hadith in form only; • the Prophet narrates a concept directly from God which may consist of either wahy zahir or wahy batin

11. Revelation Gradualism • Graduality in the revelation of the Quran afforded the believers an opportunity to reflect on it and to retain it in their memories. • Revelation over a period of time also facilitated continuous contact between the belivers and renewal of spiritual strength, so that the hostility of the unbelievers toward the new faith did not weaken the hearts of the Muslims.

12. Revelation-Content-Graduality • Attention was initially focused on the rejection of false beliefs and superstitions. This was a preparatory stage for the next phase of teaching concerned with the basic dogma and value structure of Islam. • This stage was followed by the rules of ibadat leading in turn to a fuller exposition of the rules of mu’amalat. • A considerable portion of the Quran was revealed in response to questions that the Prophet was being asked from time to time, and also event that were experienced throughout the years of revelation. • Graduality provided the opportunity to rectify any errors that the Muslims, or even the Prophet himself, might have committed and lessons that could be learned from them.

13. Revelation • The phenomenon of naskh (abrogation) of an earlier ruling at a later stage owing to change of circumstance is also connected with the gradual unfolding of the Quran. • Quranic legislation concerning matters which touched the lives of the people was therefore not imposed all at once. It was revealed piecemeal so as to avoid hardship to the believers; for example, the ban on the consumption of alcohol.

14. Revelation-Maccan and Madinan • The larger part of the Quran, that is nineteen out of the total of thirty parts, was received during the first twelve and half years of the Prophet’s residence in Mecca. • The remainder of the Quran was received after the Prophet’s migration to Medina over a period of just nine and half years.

15. Revelation-Maccan and Madinan • The Meccan part of the Quran laid down the basic principles of law and religion that were elaborated in Medina. • With reference to the five essential values of Islam, that is, الدين والنفس والمال والعقل والنسل religion, life, intellect, family and property, al- Shatibi wrote in his book, al-Muwafaqat, that all these were in principle articulated in the Meccan portions of the Quran.

16. In addition to the essentials of belief and monotheism, matter of worship, and disputation with the unbelievers etc., the Meccan Quran also contained legal rulings on the permitted and forbidden varieties of food, the prohibition of murder and infanticide, safeguarding the property of orphans, the prevention of injustice, giving due measurement and weight in commercial transactions and a variety of other rulings. • Since the Medinan period signified the formation of the ummah and the growing Islamic state, the Quranic emphasis shifted to principles regulating the political, legal, social, and economic life of the new community.

17. With regard to distinguishing the Meccan from the Medinan portions of the Quran, the ulama, have applied three different criteria: • time of revelations, i.e. before or after the migration to Medina, for instance; the place of revelation, in Mecca or Medina; • the nature of the subject-matter and audience, which means that all the parts of the Quran that are addressed to the people of Mecca are classified as Meccan those which are addressed to the people of Medina are classified as Medinan.

18. Meccan ayat are recognized by the occurrence therein of the phrase, ya bani Adam (O Children of Adam), narratives and information about previous prophets, and the occurrence of the word, kalla, (not at all, certainly not) indicating argumentation with disbelievers on matters of belief in God, the prophethood of Muhammad, belief in the Hereafter, moral teachings, denunciation of acts of oppression and injustice, and the occurrence of the text of oath-like expressions (aqsam). • Medinan passages are distinguished by references to the people of scripture, permission for jihad, references to the muhajirun and the ansar (Emigrants and Helpers) and legislation on a variety of themes.

19. Revelation-Legal Verses • The legal or practical contents of the Quran (al-ahkam al-amaliyyah) constitute the basis of what is known as fiqh al-Quran. • There are two types of practical rules in the Quran those pertaining to ibadat and those pertaining to mu’amalat. • An ayah is classified as one of the ayat al-ahkam(legal verses) if it contains a ruling or hukm, even if this occurs in non-legal context, according to such as the Maliki jurist Ibn al-Arabi.

20. Those who classified a legal ayah only when it occurred in a legal context have identified a smaller number of ayat as falling into the legal category; among such scholars are three well-known : • Ahmed ibn Ali al Razi al-Jassas (d. 370 AH), Ahkam al-Quran, • Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Arabi (d. 543AH), Ahkam al-Quran, • and Abu Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Ahmad • al-Qurtubi (d. 671) AH), al-Jami li-Ayat al-Ahkam.

21. The ayat al-ahlkam are three types: • those which relate to belief known as ahkam i’tiqadiyyah, • those which relate to morality, known as ahkam khulqiyyah, • and the practical legal rules, known as ahkam amaliyayah. This last is then sub-divided into the two main categories of ibadat and mu’amalat.