The Noble Qur'an and Qur'anic Sciences

Abu Sa‘īd Rāfi’ ibn al-Mu‘alla (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to me: "Shall I teach you the greatest Sūrah in the Qur’an before you leave the mosque?" Then he took me by the hand, and when we were about to leave, I said: "O Messenger of Allah, you said: 'I shall teach you the greatest Sūrah in the Qur’an.'" He said: "It is 'Alhamdulillāh Rabb al-‘Ālāmīn.' (i.e. Sūrat al-Fātihah) It is the seven oft-repeated verses and the Glorious Qur’an which was given to me."

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The proficient reciter of the Qur’an will be with the noble and obedient angel-scribes, and the one who recites the Qur’an stutteringly and finds it difficult will have two rewards."

‘Uqbah ibn ‘Āmir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Have you not seen that some verses were revealed (to me) tonight the like of which has never been seen before? They are: {Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the daybreak} [Sūrat al-Falaq: 1] and {Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of mankind.} [Sūrat An-Nās: 1]"

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Indeed, Allah elevates some people with this Book and degrades others.”

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Abu Jahl asked (the people of Makkah): "Does Muhammad place his face on the ground in your presence?" It was said to him: 'Yes.' He said: "By Al-Lāt and Al-‘Uzza! If I were to see him do that, I would trample his neck, or I would smear his face with dust." He went to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) as he was engaged in prayer and thought of trampling his neck (and the people say) that he came near him but turned upon his heels and tried to ward off something with his hands. It was said to him: "What is the matter with you?" He said: "There is a ditch of fire and horror and wings between me and him." Thereupon, Allah's Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If he had come near me, the angels would have torn him to pieces." Then Allah, the Exalted, revealed this verse. (The narrator) said: "We do not know whether it is the Hadīth transmitted by Abu Hurayrah or something conveyed to him from another source:" {No! [But] indeed, man transgresses, because he sees himself self-sufficient. Indeed, to your Lord is the return. Have you seen the one who forbids a servant when he prays? Have you seen if he is upon guidance or enjoins righteousness? Have you seen if he (Abu Jahl) denies and turns away? Does he not know that Allah sees? No! If he does not desist, We will surely drag him by the forelock - a lying, sinful forelock. Then let him call his associates; We will summon the guards of Hell. No! Do not obey him} [Sūrat al-‘Alaq: 6-19]. ‘Ubaydullāh (a sub-narrator) made this addition: "And He ordered him (to do what is mentioned in the verse)." Ibn ‘Abd al-A‘la also added that by "Nādiyah" (in the verse: associates), he meant his people.

Zayd ibn Thābit al-Ansāri (may Allah be pleased with him) one of the scribes of the Qur'an, reported: Abu Bakr as-Siddīq sent for me when the people (of the battle) of Yamāmah were killed. I found ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb sitting with him. Abu Bakr said: "‘Umar came to me and said: 'The death toll was heavy on the day of (the battle of) Yamāmah and I feared that many of the memorizers of the Qur'an would be killed on other battlefields, and a large part of the Qur'an might be lost unless you collect it. Can I suggest that you collect it?' I said to ‘Umar: 'How could I do something that the Messenger of Allah had not done?' ‘Umar said: 'By Allah, this is good.' ‘Umar kept on debating with me until Allah opened my heart to it and I accepted ‘Umar’s point of view." Then Abu Bakr said: "While ‘Umar was sitting with him silently: 'You are a wise young man and we do not have any suspicions about you. You used to write the revelation for the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). So track down the Qur'an and collect it.' By Allah, had he ordered me to move one of the mountains, it would not have been harder on me than what he ordered me to do in collecting the Qur'an." I said to Abu Bakr: "How could you do something that the Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had not done?" Abu Bakr replied: "By Allah, this is good." Abu Bakr kept on talking to me about it until Allah opened my heart to what He had opened the hearts of Abu Bakr and ‘Umar to. So I tracked down the Qur'an, collecting it (written) on parchment, shoulder blades, and palm stalks, and from the hearts of men, until I found these last two verses of Sūrat At-Tawbah from Khuzaymah al-Ansāri; I did not find them with anyone else: {There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Grievous to him is what you suffer, [he is] concerned over you...} until the end of the two verses [Sūrat At-Tawbah: 128-129]. The sheets on which the Qur'an was collected remained with Abu Bakr until he died, then with ‘Umar until he died, and then with Hafsah, the daughter of ‘Umar.

Ibn Shihāb reported from Anas ibn Mālik that he informed him that Hudhayfah ibn al-Yamān came to ‘Uthmān when he was preparing the people of the Levant and Iraq to conquer Armenia and Azerbaijan. Hudhayfah was alarmed by their difference in reading the Qur’an, so he said to ‘Uthmān: "O Commander of the Believers, save this nation before they diverge on the Book as the Jews and Christians diverged (on their scriptures)." So ‘Uthmān sent a message to Hafsah: "Send us the sheets so that we will transcribe them in the Mus'hafs, and then we will return them to you." Hafsah sent them to ‘Uthmān, who then ordered Zayd ibn Thābit, ‘Abdullāh ibn Az-Zubayr, Sa‘īd ibn al-‘Ās, and ‘Abdur-Rahmān ibn al-Hārith ibn Hishām to transcribe the sheets into the codices. ‘Uthmān said to the three Qurayshi men: "In case you disagree with Zayd ibn Thābit on anything of the Qur’an, then write it in the dialect of Quraysh, for the Qur’an was revealed in their dialect." They did so, and when they had transcribed the sheets into the Mus'hafs, ‘Uthmān returned the sheets to Hafsah. He sent one of the Mus'hafs which they had transcribed to every province and ordered that all the other Qur’anic materials, in each manuscript or Mus'haf be burned.

‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard Hishām ibn Hakīm recite Sūrat al-Furqān during the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). I listened to his recitation and noticed that he recited it in many ways which the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) had not taught me. So I was about to jump upon him during the prayer, but I waited till he finished the prayer, whereupon I seized him by either his upper garment or mine and asked him: "Who taught you how to recite this Sūrah?" He replied: "The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) taught me how to recite it." So I said to him: "You have told a lie! By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) taught me this Sūrah which I have heard you recite." So I set forth, leading him to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). I said: "O the Messenger of Allah, I heard this man recite Sūrat al-Furqān in ways which you have not taught me, and you taught me how to recite it." On that, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O ‘Umar, let go of him! Recite, O Hishām." So Hishām recited before him in the way I had heard him recite. the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It was revealed like this." Then the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Recite, O ‘Umar!" So I recited it. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It was revealed like this." And then he added: "Indeed, this Qur’an has been revealed in seven different ways, so recite it in the way that is easy for you."

Ubayy ibn Ka‘b (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) met Jibrīl and said: "O Jibrīl, I have been sent to an illiterate nation among whom there are the elderly woman, the old man, the young boy, the young girl, and the man who have never read a book." He said: "O Muhammad, indeed the Qur'an was revealed in seven Ahruf (modes of recitation/styles of Arabic language)."

‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Rufay‘ reported: Shaddād ibn Ma‘qil and I entered upon Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him). Shaddād ibn Ma‘qil asked him: "Did the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) leave anything (besides the Qur’an)?" They said: "He did not leave anything except what is between the two bindings (of the Qur’an)." Then we visited Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and asked him (the same question). He replied: "The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) did not leave except what is between the bindings (of the Qur’an)."

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: Al-Hārith ibn Hishām (may Allah be pleased with him) asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him): "O Messenger of Allah, how does the revelation come to you?" The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Sometimes it comes to me like the ringing of a bell, and that is the hardest for me. When it leaves me I remember what it has said. And sometimes the angel appears to me in the shape of a man, he talks to me, and I understand what he says." ‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "I saw him when the revelation was descending upon him on a very cold day. When it had left him, his forehead was dripping with sweat."

‘Ubādah ibn As-Sāmit (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: When the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) received revelation, he felt distressed and the color of his face changed

‘Ā'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: Revelation would descend upon the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) on a cold morning and his forehead would stream with perspiration.'

Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him) commented about the verse: {Move not your tongue with it, [O Muhammad], to hasten with recitation of the Qur'an} [Sūrat al-Qiyāmah: 16], saying: "The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to experience hardship while the revelation was being sent down upon him, and he used to move his lips (quickly) with what was being revealed to him." Ibn ‘Abbās moved his lips saying: "I am moving my lips in front of you as the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to move his." Sa‘īd (the sub-narrator) also moved his lips saying: "I am moving my lips just as I saw Ibn ‘Abbās moving his." Ibn ‘Abbās added: "So Allah revealed the following verses: {Move not your tongue with it, [O Muhammad], to hasten with recitation of the Qur'an. Indeed, upon Us is its collection [in your heart] and [to make possible] its recitation.} [Sūrat al-Qiyāmah: 16-17] which means that Allah will make him (the Prophet) remember the portion of the Qur'an which was revealed to him at that time by heart and recite it. Then the verse that followed these two was: {So when We have recited it [through Jibrīl], then follow its recitation} [Sūrat al-Qiyāmah: 18] It means ''listen to it and be silent. Then, it is (for Allah) to make you recite it." Afterwards, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to listen to Jibrīl whenever he came to him, and after his departure he used to recite it just as Jibrīl taught him to recite it."

Al-Barā' ibn ‘Āzib (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Adorn the Qur'an with your voices."

‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "How terrible it is for someone to say: ‘I have forgotten such-and-such verse of the Qur’an', for indeed, he has been caused to forget it. So, you must keep on memorizing the Qur'an for it is more likely to escape from the hearts of men faster than camels.”

Abu ’Umāmah al-Bāhili (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Recite the Qur’an, for on the Day of Judgment it will come as an intercessor for those who recite it. Recite Az-Zahrāwayn (the two bright ones), Al-Baqarah, and Āl ‘Imrān, for on the Day of Judgment, they will come as two clouds or two shades, or two flocks of birds in ranks, pleading for those who recite them. Recite Surat al-Baqarah, for taking recourse to it is a blessing and abandoning it is a cause of grief, and magicians cannot confront it."

Jundub ibn ‘Abdullāh (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Recite the Qur’an as long as your hearts are harmonious, but if you diverge, then move away from it."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a number of people were sitting at the door of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). Some of them said: "Did Allah not say such-and-such?" Others said: "Did Allah not say such-and-such?" So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) heard that and came out, and he was (red) as if a pomegranate was bursting through his cheeks. He said: "Is this what you have been ordered with?" or "Is this what you have been sent with? That you set the Book of Allah against itself? The people before you were only ruined when they differed about this matter. You have nothing to do with what was going on here. See what I commanded you to do, and observe it and act upon it, and what I forbade you to do, desist from it."

‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not argue about the Qur’an, for arguing about it constitutes disbelief."