noor-i-islam (september 2011) (official magazine of the...

19 Scenic Gardens NW, Calgary, Alberta – Canada - - - email: [email protected]

AL-QUR’AN AL-KAREEM

“In a Book Form”

The first complete copy

of the Qur‟an was

collated during the reign

of Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him always), the

first successor of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon

him). It is well known that Abu Bakr ruled for only two

years and four months, then died and was succeeded by

Umar ibn Al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him always). So,

it was during this short period after the Prophet that the

Qur‟an was physically collated in a complete copy. The

process was most accurate. Acting on Umar‟s advice,

Abu Bakr felt that it was beneficial for the Muslim

community that a reference copy of the Qur‟an should

be put together, so that it could be used to check the

accuracy of any text presumed to be part of the Qur‟an.

Abu Bakr assigned the task to Zaid ibn Thabit, a young

companion of the Prophet (pbuh) who had learned the

Qur‟an in full by heart. Abu Bakr instructed all people

who had any surah, passage or verse of the Qur‟an,

written down to bring it over. Two witnesses to the

accuracy of the writing were required. When Zaid

Ah

ma

diy

ah

An

jum

an

Ish

a’a

t-i-

Isla

m

(La

ho

re),

Ca

na

da

NO

OR

-I-I

SL

AM

S E

P T

E M

B E

R

2 0

1 1

Editor: Sadiq Noor Visit: aaiil.org Read: aaiil.org/Canada write: [email protected]

www.aaiil.org

mailto:[email protected]


completed his task, which he described as „heavier than

moving Mount Uhud‟, he gave the complete copy to

Abu Bakr and Umar, who both checked it anew. It was

then given to Hafsah, the

Prophet‟s wife, for safekeeping. The

main reason advanced for this first

task was that the new Muslim state

had to fight several battles in its early

days, when a number of the

Prophet‟s companions who knew the Qur‟an by heart

died. Should the task be delayed, the accuracy of the text

could not be guaranteed.

A second and more thorough collection of

the Qur‟an was undertaken during the reign

of the third Caliph, Uthman (may Allah be pleased

with him always), who started his rule 12 years

after the Prophet (pbuh) had passed away. Uthman‟s reign

lasted for 15 years. In the early years of his reign,

Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yaman, a companion of the Prophet

who was the commander of a Muslim army in some

battles in Iraq, returned to Madinah, the capital of the

Muslim state and met the Caliph. He explained to him

that confusion threatened to creep into the way people

learned the Qur‟an. This was due to the fact that, like all

languages, Arabic was pronounced differently by people

in different areas. This produced different

pronunciations of vowels as well as a different manner

of the articulation of some sounds and words. These

variants were accepted by the Prophet, and no one

complained about them, because the text itself was the

same. However, when people outside Arabia became

Muslims, and they learned the Qur‟an from the

Prophet‟s companions, these variant pronunciations

began to have a greater effect. Some people started to

say that their own way of reading is better, or more

eloquent, or closer to the Prophet‟s way of reading, than

that of other people. Hudhayfah said to Uthman:

“Something needs to be done urgently before people

quarrel over Allah‟s book.” Uthman consulted the

Prophet‟s companions in Madinah, and they all

concluded that reference copies of the Qur‟an should be

made available in the main population centers of the

Muslim state.

This started a second collation of the Qur‟an. The task

was again commissioned to Zaid ibn Thabit, but he was

now the head of a committee of four companions of the

Prophet who were well versed in the Qur‟an. Yet they

did not rely on their own memories. They required

people to bring them written passages of the Qur‟an, on

whatever material they were written. The collection was

thus started. However, they only accepted a written text

when the owner had two witnesses to testify that they

were present when the Prophet (pbuh) dictated that text.

Thus, we had the owner of the written material who

knew the piece he had by heart. The written text was

confirmed to be accurate and dictated by the Prophet by

two witnesses. Then the four members of the committee

checked it against their own memorization. Uthman

himself supervised the task. Should

there be any question of accuracy,

there were many companions of

the Prophet in Madinah who knew

the Qur‟an by heart and whose

services were always ready. When the task of collation

was complete, several copies were made of the full text.

The last step was to check these against the first copy,

collated under Abu Bakr‟s supervision and kept by

Hafsah. When this was done and the accuracy of all

copies confirmed, one copy was sent to each main city

in the Muslim state. It served as the reference copy from

which more copies were made.

If you look carefully at the whole enterprise, you cannot

conceive of a more thorough method or a product of

greater accuracy. It was done by the people whose

sincerity, diligence and dedication to the task in hand

could not be surpassed. Hence, the Qur‟an was

preserved in the most accurate way known to human

history. {the editor}


It w

as

the

fir

st e

nco

un

ter

wit

h t

he

Pro

ph

et

(pb

uh

) th

at

ma

de

Um

m M

aa

ba

d r

ea

lize

th

at

he

wa

s u

nli

ke

all

me

n. S

he

wa

s a

Be

do

uin

wo

ma

n l

ivin

g w

ell

in

to t

he

de

sert

at

a c

on

sid

era

ble

dis

tan

ce f

rom

Ma

kk

ah

.

When the Prophet (pbuh)

immigrated to Madinah,

the people of Makkah

were keen to kill him.

They put into action their

plot to assassinate him but

he managed to migrate.

He headed to Madinah,

taking a very unfamiliar

desert route. With him

were Abu Bakr, his

closest companion, Amir

ibn Fuhairah, Abu Bakr‟s

servant, and a guide who

was an expert in desert

routes. The journey would

take them more than two

weeks, and they obviously

needed to rest and get

food on the way. Hence,

they stopped at Umm

Maabad‟s place who

provided generous

hospitality to travelers.

That was a year of

scarcity, with little rain,

which adversely affected

people and cattle. As the

Prophet (pbuh) and his

companions sat in her

tent, they asked her

whether she could sell

them any food, but she

had none. She told them

that they would have been

her honored guests, but

she had nothing. Looking around, the Prophet saw a

sheep at one corner of the tent. He asked her whether she

would permit him to milk the sheep. She said: “This

sheep is too weak to join our other sheep which my

husband has driven to graze. If you can find a drop of

milk in her, milk her by all means.”

The Prophet (pbuh) rubbed the udder of the sheep,

glorified Allah and prayed to Him. He then added a

special prayer: “My Lord, bless her sheep for this

woman.” The sheep‟s udder was soon full of milk. The

Prophet asked Umm Maabad for a large pan and he

milked the sheep. The pan was full of milk. He gave first

to Umm Maabad and she drank as much as she could.

Then he gave it to his three companions, one after the

other. He was the last to drink. He said: “The server

drinks last.” Everyone had their full. The Prophet (pbuh)

then milked the sheep again and filled the pan to the

brim.

When they had rested for a while, the Prophet and his

three companions resumed their travel. When Umm

Maabad told her husband that evening of her remarkable

guest, he suggested that he was most probably

Quraysh‟s wanted man. Therefore, the following day,

when his chasers arrived at her tent and asked whether

she saw him, she pretended not to understand their

inquiry, giving them the impression that no one passed

that way for days.

Umm Maabad was an intelligent woman. When she

heard the Prophet (pbuh) and saw him, she realized that he

was a man of the truth. Some reports suggest that she

adopted Islam on that day, before he left her. Other

reports suggest that she traveled to Madinah later with

her husband where both became Muslims. We have her

description of the Prophet, which is more detailed and

comprehensive than any of his companions gave.

Some 20 years later, the Prophet‟s wives went to

pilgrimage, they passed by her tents. They were

accompanied by Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with

him), toward the end of Umar‟s reign. When she saw

them, she wept and told them of the Prophet‟s visit.

They recognized her action, and they also wept. Each

one of them gave her gifts. They also told her to visit

them when the Caliph distributed the state‟s income. She

did, and each one of them gave her 50 dinars, (the gold

currency used then). They were seven at the time. {Ibn Saleh}

Women Companions of Prophet (pbuh)

“UMM MAABAD”

Hostess of the Prophet


Much has been said about Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani who is still respected by millions of Muslims throughout the

world. However, much of what is being said about him is absolutely nonsense. As a Mujaddid, Scholar and dedicated

worker of Islam, Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani would not approve of anything weird being said about him. An example of which

is that which the questioner has provided. That he had memorized the Qur‟an while still a fetus is a claim that cannot

stand to the shortest of serious examinations. Nevertheless, we know that Allah is powerful to accomplish any purpose. If

he wanted him to memorize the Qur‟an before he was born, He would certainly have enabled him to do so. But Allah has

a purpose and wisdom behind any action He takes. What purpose would be served by giving Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani, or

indeed any other human being, that accomplishment before birth? Besides, how can one prove such a claim? Abdul Qadir

Al-Jilani himself did not make it. Then how can anyone say that this was the case? And then why this would be needed?

Would Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani have been able to talk to other fetuses in their mothers‟ wombs and explain to them the

Qur‟an? The fact is that such nonsense reflects badly on anyone who repeats it and indeed on the man himself. Many

people who are aware of the true concepts of Islam adopt a very suspicious attitude to anyone around whom such myth is

woven. No one does Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani any good service by claiming for him any of the miraculous acts that he is said

to have accomplished. Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani was not a prophet. If Allah works out a miracle through him, he had no

choice in it and he could not have determined its happening. Allah works such miracles when He chooses and for a

purpose He determines.

Therefore, before we begin to read about Abdul Qadir Al-

Jilani, we have to put out of our minds any notion about his being of

a superior type.

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani was born in Jilan, which is

also known as Vailam, in the Northwest of Iran, south of the Caspian

Sea. He was an Arab by descent, but belonged to Iran by migration

of his ancestors. In the year 488 (a.h.), when he was about 18, he

went to Baghdad. Although inclined to penance and cultivation of

religious observances from an early age, Sheikh addressed himself

whole-heartedly to the acquisition of education under the most

reputed teachers of the time such as Ibn Aqeel, Al-Baqillani and Al-

Tabrizi, turned to mysticism and was guided in its tenets and

practices by Sheikh Abu Al-Kheir Al-Dabbas and Mubarak ibn Ali.

After completing his education of religious sciences, Sheikh

Abdul Qadir began his career as a teacher in the seminary of his

teacher Mubarak ibn Ali Al-Makhrami. He soon acquired great fame

and people flocked from all areas of Baghdad to listen to his

sermons. Ibn Qudama, a famous Hanbali scholar, records that he

had not seen a man more reverent for his piety and religious learning than Sheikh Abdul Qadir. The king and his

ministers attended his sermons along with the rank and file. Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani himself was always modest, humble

and unpretentious. He often left his work to attend to the needs of a child, a destitute or a slave girl. Never evading the

company of the poor, he even washed their clothes or performed similar personal services for them. He never stood up in

the honor of any person of high rank. If he got information that the Caliph would be visiting him, he deliberately went

inside his house so that he might not have to stand up to welcome him. He used to come out of the house after the Caliph

had seated himself in the mosque. He never paid back such a courtesy call.

Those who have seen Sheikh Abdul Qadir have paid a glowing tribute to his moral excellence and large-

heartedness, modesty and hospitality, generosity and goodness of the heart. Held in such high esteem by the people,

Abdul Qadir showed great respect to his elders, met the youngsters with a good grace, was always the first to salute those

whom he met, and hailed the poor courteously.

HISTORY Q: Would you please give a

short biography of Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani and his contribution to Islam? In our country [India and Pakistan], people believe that he memorized the Qur’an when he was still a fetus. Please explain.


Two great scholars, each of whom came later to be known as Sheikh Al-Islam, Izzuddin ibn Abdul Salan and Ibn

Taimiyah are of the view that Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani‟s work was miraculous, but his miracle of miracles was

filling the hearts of the despaired and the broken-hearted with faith, hope and enthusiasm. He infused a breath of new life,

zeal and self-confidence into countless persons through his power of speech and the spiritual power of his heart. He was,

in truth, a blessing for the world of Islam for he renovated and revived the true content of the faith and tapped the sources

of moral spiritual strength for a religious renaissance.

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani was a follower of the Hanbali school of thought and he endeavored to root out

innovations and deviations from the orthodox faith and practices. Because of his forceful defense of the need to follow the

Sunnah strictly, scholars of Hadith and their disciples came to be held in high esteem by the masses.

Sheikh used to hold classes on daily basis teaching the Qur‟an, the Hadith and Fiqh, and explaining the

differences between various schools of thought in Islam. The classes were held in the morning and evening, while Abdul

Qadir recited or listened to the recitation of the Qur‟an after the mid-day prayers. Thereafter, he dictated his rulings on

religious or legal questions referred to him. His rulings, or Fatwas, generally followed the Shafie and Hanbali schools of

thought.

Following the example of the Prophet (pbuh), his companions

and successors and great past scholars, Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani touched

on the current problems of his days, analyzed the reasons for the

miseries and maladies of the people and provided answers to their

doubts and deficiencies. Along with this, his sincerity and earnest zeal

for the welfare of the people fired his enthusiasm and enhanced his

appeal to people‟s hearts.

The forces of worldliness had become so strong during

Sheikh‟s time and the entire social and economical life of the

community appeared to be woven into the context of the prevailing

political situation that people had developed a tendency to rely on

kings and the noble elite for the realization of their worldly ends.

Abdul Qadir tried hard to drive it home to the people that only Allah

could bring them benefit and spare them harm. He stressed that all

worship should be addressed to Allah alone. No false object of

worship could be entertained. In one of his speeches, he explained this

meaning by saying: “You put your trust in your own self, in others, in

your wealth, in your resources and customs, in your trade and

business, or in your rulers; but in whatever object you place your reliance, it becomes, to say the truth, your object of

worship. If you fear someone or expect harm or favor from him, or else you deem him as your intercessor with Allah,

then he is the object of worship for you.”

Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani did not preserve his admonition to ordinary people alone. He fearlessly performed the duty

of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong. This is a duty incumbent on all the Muslims, particular their

scholars. Therefore, whenever he considered it necessary, he publicly denounced actions of even the highest government

officials. He bitterly criticized faults of the great ones without the slightest consideration for their power or position. Ibn

Katheer, the highly renowned commentator on the Qur‟an, highlights this fact, saying of Abdul Qadir: “He admonished

all – the caliphs, viziers, kings, jurists, elite and the laity – to adopt the righteous course and to forsake what Allah has

forbidden. He openly and unsparingly criticized everyone to his face. He used to denounce the authorities sternly if they

appointed anyone to public office who was known for his cruelty, heavy-handiness or tyranny. He never cared for anyone

if he saw the commands of Allah being overstepped.

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him)

{488 – 561 A.H.} “You put your trust in your own self, in others, in your wealth, in your resources and customs, in your trade and business, or in your rulers; but in whatever object you place your reliance, it becomes, to say the truth, your object of worship. If

you fear someone or expect harm or favor from him, or else you deem him as

your intercessor with Allah, then he is the object of worship for you.”


He also criticized other scholars and jurists for paying too much attention to the concerns of this world and who

were prepared to accept office or be in the entourage of the rulers. He held such scholars and jurists responsible for the

waywardness of the kings and ruling chiefs.

The moral and spiritual excellence of Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani, his unflinching devotion to Allah‟s cause,

the effectiveness of his sermons, the inspiring and regenerating influence exercised by him over the people in his own

time, and the upright character and moral rectitude of those who have had an opportunity to be instructed by him, mark

him as one of the most eminent workers for the Islamic cause. His inspiring brought about his greatest achievement and

impressive teachings, which made thousands of people, turn away from the lust of power and wealth and his ability to

inculcate the true spirit of faith through self-correction and purification of the soul. In short, his was a striking example of

the innate power of Islam to produce a true spirit of religion, love of Allah and moral righteousness in an age of crass

materialism.

This brief account of the life and work of Hazrat Sheikh Abdul Qadir A-Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him) gives a

totally different picture of this eminent Scholar and Mujaddid of his time, from that held by numerous people who think

of him as a man of physical miracles. I even heard from some people in Pakistan that Abdul Qadir Jilani used to fly over

the heads of those attending his circle in the mosque. Such stories are absolute rubbish and they do not do any service to

Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani or his cause. Sheikh was a dedicated worker for the cause of Islam and we would do well if

we follow his example by purging all traces of impurity of faith and mistaken concepts from our hearts and minds. May

Allah have mercy on Sheikh Abdul Qadir Al-Jilani and reward him for his dedicated efforts.

Sheikh died at the age of 90, in the year 561 A.H.

noor-i-islam (september 2011) (official magazine of the...

Documents