lecture 4 february 10 2013 divine revelation: a study of the qur’anic sciences qur'anic...

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Lecture 4

February 10 2013

DIVINE REVELATION: A STUDY OF THE QUR’ANIC SCIENCES

Qur'anic Sciences - DKI

2Qur'anic Sciences - DKI

Chapters 5.1-5.2

MAKKAN AND MADINAN

REVELATIONS

TIMES AND LOCATIONS OF

REVELATION

Qur'anic Sciences - DKI 3

The Surahs in the Qur’an are labeled as “Makki” or “Madani”

Many misinterpret this to mean that the Surah/Ayah was revealed in the city of Makkah or Madinah That is not the case

Makki = Revealed before HijrahMadani = Revealed after Hijrah

MAKKI AND MADANI REVELATIONS


The Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص himself is not known to have classified the Surahs as Makkan or Madinan This classification came from the Sahabah and their

followers

Some Surahs or Ayahs were not classified by the Sahabah, but the Scholars were able to classify them based on consistent patterns found in Makkan or Madinan revelations We will cover shortly



Some Surahs are entirely Makkan Ex. Surah Al-Muddathir

Some Surahs are entirely Madinan Ex. Surah Al-Imran

Some Surahs are Makkan as a whole, but contain one or more Madinan verses Ex. Surah Al-A’raf

Some Surahs are Madinan as a whole, but contain one or more Makkan verses Ex. Surah Al-Hajj

Classifi cation of a Surah is based on the majority of its verses

But in some cases a Surah is classifi ed based on when its initial verses were revealed (before or after Hijrah)



CONSISTENT

Any Surah that contains the word “كال” Contains an Ayah of Sajdah

According to the Hanafis; Shaf’is consider one Madinan verse to be an Ayah of Sajdah (Surah Al-Hajj)

FREQUENT Mention the story of Adam and Iblis

Except Surah Al-Baqarah

Contain الناس Nها اي (!Oh People) يا Surahs are short in length Mushrikin (idol-worshippers) are addressed Complex, elegant language

Themes: Tawhid, prophethood, afterlife, resurrection, stories of previous prophets, comfort and encouragement of patience

CHARACTERISTICS OF MAKKAN VERSES


CONSISTENT Mention of the munafi qun (hypocrites)

There were no hypocrites in Makkah Any Surah mentioning jihad

FREQUENT

Contains آمنوا الذين Nها اي (!Oh you who believe) يا Long in length People of the Book are addressed Straight-forward language

The language is simpler because majority of these verses discuss Law, which must be clear and unambiguous

Themes: Family and societal law, jihad, obligations (fara’id), penalties (hudud)

CHARACTERISTICS OF MADINAN VERSES


“By the One besides Whom there is no Lord, there is no chapter revealed in the Book of Allah except that I am the most knowledgeable one regarding where it was revealed. There is no verse from the Book of Allah that has been revealed except that I am the most knowledgeable one regarding the circumstances of its revelation.”(Bukhārī , Muslim)

~ Abdullāh ibn Mas’ūd (R)

TIMES AND LOCATIONS OF REVELATION


Hadri – Verses revealed when the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص was staying at home and not travelling Majority of verses fall in this category

Safri – Revealed during travel

Ex. ه�ا ل� ه� ه� � ى ه ل�� ل� �ه� �ه� ه� ه� ٱ ا� د��و ه� د� ه�ن �ه �د د� د� ها ه ه! �� ه ٱ ه�ن ل��

Nahari – Revealed during the daytime Most verses are in this category

Layla – Revealed at night Ex. "ل �ه# ه ه� ه� ٱ ل او د� ل� �% ت �ه ه'� ه) ل( ه�ا �� ه هوٱ ل* ه+ � ه ٱ ل, �ه� ل- ه. هوٱ ل/ ه( ه� ه� هوٱ ل0 �ه1 �ه2 ه�3 ٱ ل4 ه� ه. ل5 ه�ن ل��

CLASSIFICATIONS


Sayfi – Revealed during the summer

Ex. 6ل ه� �ه� ه7 ه ٱ ل5 �ه د7 ل-+ ه8 د د! �� ه ٱ ل* د9 ه: ه; د-1 ه8 ه- ه3 ه Shitaa’i – Revealed during the winter

Ex. The ayaat from Surah Al-Nur which condemn the slanderers of Sayyidah ‘Ayesha (RA)

Firashi – Revealed to the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص while he was lying in his bed

Ex. ل> ه��ا ٱ ه= ل� ه: د2 ل< ه? ه د! �� ه هوٱ

CLASSIFICATIONS


Nawmi – Revealed while the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص was sleeping Sayyidina Anas: “The Holy Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص was once sitting

among us when he suddenly got a wink of sleep, and thereafter he raised his head, smiled, and said that a Surah has just been revealed to him, and then he recited Surah Al-Kauthar.”

This was not actual sleep, but a state particular to the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص when Wahy was sent to him

Samaawi – Revealed during the Mi’raj of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص The last verses of Surah Al-Baqarah near Sidrat-ul Muntaha

Fidaai – Not revealed on earth nor in the sky, but somewhere in the atmosphere – Ibn Arabi 3 verses of Surah As-Saffat and 1 verse of Surah Az-Zukhruf Imam Suyuti could not find any authentic proof for this

CLASSIFICATIONS


Mentioned earlier – Qur’an was revealed bit by bitSometimes Jibril (AS) came with a single verse or a

portion of a verse Smallest portion of Qur’an to be revealed: الضرر أولى غير

(portion of Surah Nisa) Largest revelation: Surah Al-An’am

Reasons for why not revealed all at once:1. Diffi cult for Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص because he was unlettered2. Entire Qur’an would become obligatory all at once3. Brought peace to the heart of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص during

diffi culty4. Many verses refer to specific incidents (Asbab al-

Nuzul)

GRADUAL DESCENT OF QUR’AN


Many verses in the Qur’an were revealed by Allah SWT in reference to specific incidents and contexts in the Prophet’s ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص life that caused revelation to descend. These incidents are referred to as the Causes of Revelation, or Asbab al-Nuzul

Knowledge of the causes of revelation is an essential component of tafsir and understanding of the Qur’an To understand why a command was given

@� ه� �ه7 Aد �ه د- ه�; هو Bه 1� ه� ه�< ٱ ا� 1Cد ه� Dه ه� ه�� ا� د�1 ه� ه'� ه= Eل � ه ٱ ه�ا د� ها �ه ى To understand the true meaning of a verse

�F م ل�+ Hه IF Aل �هو ه! �� ه ٱ ه�ن ل�� J ل! �� ه ٱ د! Lه هو �ه� Mه ه5 ا� 1 د� ه1 د� ه2ا ه� ه ها ه5 J Nد ل� Oه ه2 ه هوٱ Pد ل� Qه ه2 ه ٱ ل! �� ه ل هو

Many more reasons are listed by the Scholars

ASBAB AL-NUZUL: CAUSES OF REVELATION


The verses of Quran revealed regarding a specifi c incident are of four kinds in relation to their general or specifi c application:

1. If the verse addresses a person by name, the ḥukm is specifi c to that person (e.g. Ṣūrat al-Lahab)

2. If the exact name is not mentioned, but other evidence determines that it is about a specifi c person, the ḥukm is specifi c to him (e.g. Ṣūrat al-Layl) تقى األ tبها وسيجن

3. If the words of the verse are specifi c, but Hadith shows that the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص applied it generally, it’s ḥukm is general (e.g. verses of inheritance were revealed specifi cally, but Hadith shows that Prophet applied them generally)

4. If words of the verse are general, but Hadith show that they were revealed for a specifi c incident, the ḥukm is general

CAUSES OF REVELATION: GENERAL AND SPECIFIC COMMANDS


The Qur’an is not compiled in order of when the Surahs/Ayahs were revealed The Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص instructed the Sahabah where to put the

Ayahs in the Surahs when they were revealed to him There is a difference of opinion regarding the order of the

Surahs1. The order of Surahs was also dictated by Wahy2. The order of Surahs was determined by the Sahabah

The stronger opinion is the order of Surahs is from WahyThe chronological order of the entire Qur’an cannot be

mapped with certainty The Sahabah did not put much importance in this, other than

for understanding the Asbab al-Nuzul Many non-Muslim scholars have attempted to put the Qur’an in

chronological order, because they feel it is currently “out of order”

The Qur’an is exactly in the order in which Allah SWT has willed

CHRONOLOGICAL VS. COMPILED ORDER


Review Chapters 5.1-5.2 in Course ManualRead ahead to Chapter 5.3-5.5

Recommended supplementary reading:An Approach to the Qur’anic Sciences

By Mufti Muhammad Taqi Uthmani

Questions?

ASSIGNMENTS & QUESTIONS

lecture 4 february 10 2013 divine revelation: a study of the qur’anic sciences qur'anic...

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