One of the most common myths about the Qur'an, is that Usman (r.a.), the third Caliph of Islam authenticated and compiled one Qur'an, from a large set of mutually contradicting copies. The Qur'an, revered as the Word of Allah (swt) by Muslims the world over, is the same Qur'an as the one revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). It was authenticated and written under his personal supervision. We will examine the roots of the myth which says that Usman (r.a.) had the Qur'an authenticated.
1. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself supervised and authenticated the written texts of the Qur'an
Whenever the Prophet received a revelation, he would first memorize it himself and later declare the revelation and instruct his Companions (R.A. Radhi Allahu Taala Anhu) May Allah be pleased with him who would also memorize it. The Prophet would immediately ask the scribes to write down the revelation he had received, and he would reconfirm and recheck it himself. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was an Ummi who could not read and write. Therefore, after receiving each revelation, he would repeat it to his Companions. They would write down the revelation, and he would recheck by asking them to read what they had written. If there was any mistake, the Prophet would immediately point it out and have it corrected and rechecked. Similarly he would even recheck and authenticate the portions of the Qur'an memorized by the Companions. In this way, the complete Qur'an was written down under the personal supervision of the prophet (pbuh).
2. Order and sequence of Qur'an divinely inspired
The complete Qur'an was revealed over a period of 22½ years portion by portion, as and when it was required. The Qur'an was not compiled by the Prophet in the chronological order of revelation. The order and sequence of the Qur'an too was Divinely inspired and was instructed to the Prophet by Allah (swt) through archangel Jibraeel. Whenever a revelation was conveyed to his companions, the Prophet would also mention in which surah (chapter) and after which ayat (verse) this new revelation should fit.
Every Ramadhaan all the portions of the Qur'an that had been revealed, including the order of the verses, were revised and reconfirmed by the Prophet with archangel Jibraeel. During the last Ramadhaan, before the demise of the Prophet, the Qur'an was rechecked and reconfirmed twice.
It is therefore clearly evident that the Qur'an was compiled and authenticated by the Prophet himself during his lifetime, both in the written form as well as in the memory of several of his Companions.
Ibn Munqidh, Usama. "From Memoirs." McNeill, William and Marilyn Robinson Waldman. The Islamic World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. 184-206.
Although written over 800 years apart, Muhammad's Night Journey and
The Koran, is a religious document. It was wrote by Muhammad. It took Muhammad 23 years to write, beginning on 22 December 609 CE. He wrote the documents in the Cave of Hira and Medina. The reason why he wrote this is because Allah had spoken to him and requested for him to write.
The Documentary Theory holds that the Pentateuch was composed or compiled from several different documents or traditions written by several different authors. These original documents were argued to favor different styles and names for God, and thus were written by different authors. One document might favor “Elohim,” while another might favor “YHWH.” These sources are generally argued to be source J, E, P, and D. Genesis, however, only shows traces of J, E, and P. Some have even further subdivided the four primary sources. However, this theory fails to adequately explain the origin of the Pentateuch. Religious documents of the ancient Near East were not complied in this way, nor are variations in style and word choice conclusive. Dating the different documents is extremely difficult and far too subjective to prove the Documentary Theory.1
"The Noble Qur'an - القرآن الكريم." The Noble Qur'an - القرآن الكريم. The Noble Qur'an, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. .
In the discussion that follows, I will often talk of what “the Qur’an intends,” or what “the Torah means to say” on a topic. It should be understood that I am not ascribing human attributes to inanimate books, but rather that I am intentionally avoiding the conflict inherent in naming the author of these books. Depending on one’s tastes, one could understand the Qur’an’s intention to be either Muhammad or Allah’s intention. Likewise, “the Torah means to say” could really be understood as what either Moses or G-d means to say. Either way, the important point is that somebody thought through the stories and decided on which words were worthy of being included in the holy texts and which were not. One of the underlying assumptions of this paper is that the stories were written down the way we find them today for a reason, and this paper intends to shed light on some of those reasons.
Noah then recorded the events of Gen 6-9 and passed the tablets to his descendant Shem, and so one until Joseph. Joseph then recorded the final chapters of Genesis and placed all of the tablets in the library of the pharaohs. Moses then, while in pharaoh’s court, would have had access to these tablets. He then translated them into his native Hebrew.
The Quran and the Bible deal with Jesus during two different periods and with different purposes. It is interesting to note how the two largest religions of the world share so much in common and yet are so different. Yet for the purpose of their followers, both the religious texts are perfect in their own way.
Traditionally, John the apostle, the son of Zebedee, is seen as the author of Revelation. He is clearly a well-known and recognized teacher in the church of Western Asia Minor, part of the reason he could address such a letter of significance to these churches. Another possible author, John of Patmos, is supposed by some critics because of the drastic stylistic difference between the four NT books (John, 1, 2, and 3 John) and the book of Revelation. John in Revelation promotes himself as a recorder of this apocalypse, not necessarily as the “apostle that Jesus loved”, causing some to affirm John of Patmos as the author. The third author, suggested by some, is another “John” altogether, possibly a high ranking member or elder of the early
Given the vast array of situations and obstacles that a scribe in ancient times had to deal with, it seems to be a bit ludicrous to place ones beliefs in the hands of a scribe and/or scholar that is unknown. The above obstacles could easily have impaired the scribe’s ability to copy the scrolls correctly. When the Septuagint was completed, it was known who assisted in the translation and the copying as well as the time that it was copied, making it easier to visualize what working conditions were like. The Septuagint was accepted because of this factor.
Handout Week 4: The Qur’an on the Attributes of Muhammad and the Names of God.
While most westerners know the story of Joseph as a passage from the end of the book of Genesis in the Bible or the Torah, understanding the story and its intricacies in sura 12 of the Qur’an proves equally important. Joseph’s story in Genesis emphasizes his personal abilities and God rewarding him and his people’s loyalty and faith amidst hardship. The Qur’an takes the same plot and enforces the theme of monotheism and Joseph’s prophetic role in its spread. The Qur’an’s interpretation serves as a more influential religious text in the context of its body of belief, whereas the Biblical story of Joseph, with its thematically intriguing story line and embellishments, comparatively serves a greater literary purpose. By reading and understanding both passages, one can gain a clearer knowledge of what is regarded as important to the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.
A brief illustrated guide to understanding Islam. 2nd ed. of the book. Houston: Darussalam Books, 1997. The Holy Bible: giant print ; containing the Old and New Testaments translated out of the original tongues ; and with the former translations diligently compared and revised, by His Majesty's special command, authorized King James version ; words of Chri.
With the traditions of the Old Testaments, Prophets were used to predict what was going to take place in the future. “The opening paragraphs following the genealogy emphasizes the ways in which Jesus’ conception, birth, and earliest years fulfilled Old Testament prophecy” (Varughese, A., 2005, p.50). The prophecies of the Old Testament shaped the New Testament by predicating the miracles that were going to take
Himself? Although God did not put pen to paper to produce the first hard copy, the Bible