SOURCES

OF
ISLAMIC KNOWLEDGE

At the end of the chapter, students

should be able to do the following:
To explain the history of Revelation & Scripture
before the Quran.
To comprehend the meaning The Qur'an,
Hadith And Hadith Qudsi
To comprehend the meaning of Revelation And
How It Came To The Prophet Muhammad

Revelation & Scripture before the Quran

God's Communication with Man

Man denies God

Empiricism and Realism

Creation is Material Evidence for God

Man's Pride

Guidance for Man

Revelation & Scripture before the Quran:

The Messengers

The Names of the Prophets and their Number

The Names of the Scriptures and their Number

The Contents of the Former Scriptures

The Final Revelation

I slamic Studies

THE QUR'AN

Def: The speech of Allah, sent down upon the last

Prophet Muhammad, through the Angel Gabriel, in its
precise meaning and precise wording, transmitted to us
by numerous persons (tawatur), both verbally and in
writing.
Inimitable and unique, protected by God from corruption
The Arabic word Qur'an' :

derived from the root qara'a,

to read
to recite.

Name Qur'an :

furqan (criterion, Al-Qur'an 25: 1)

tanzil (sent down, Al-Qur'an 26: 192)
dhikr (reminder, Al-Qur'an 15: 9)
kitab (scripture, Al-Qur'an 21:10).

The Hadith
Def: The word hadith means news, report or narration.
Technically, the word hadith, (pl. ahadith) means in
particular the reports (verbal and written) about the
sunna of the Prophet Muhammad which cover all that
He did (fi'l) or said (qaul) or sanctioned as permissible
by his silence when any particular action was done in
his presence (taqrir).There are also reports about him,
i.e. about what he was like (sifa).
The difference between Qur'an and Sunnah is that the
Hadith is the words or actions of a human being, and not
the speech of God as the Qur'an is. Not necessarily
reported in their precise wording, as the Qur'an is. Not
necessarily transmitted by tawatur, except in some
instances.

The Hadith Qudsi

Qudsi means holy, or pure. There are some reports from the Prophet Muhammad
where he relates to the people what God has said (says) or did (does), but this
information is not part of the Qur'an. Such a report is called hadith qudsi, e.g.:

Hadith Qudsi 2 : On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that

http://www.iiu.edu.my/deed/hadith/other/hadithqudsi.html

the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Allah Almighty has said: The son of Adam denied Me
and he had no right to do so. And he reviled Me and he had no right to do so. As for his denying Me, it is
his saying: He will not remake me as He made me at first (1) - and the initial creation [of him] is no
easier for Me than remaking him. As for his reviling Me, it is his saying: Allah has taken to Himself a son,
while I am the One, the Everlasting Refuge. I begot not nor was I begotten, and there is none
comparable to Me. i.e., bring me back to life after death.It was related by al-Bukhari (also by an-Nasa'i).

While the common factor between hadith qudsi and the Qur'an is that
both contain words from Allah which have been revealed to Muhammad, the main
points of difference between Qur'an and hadith qudsi are as follows:
In the Qur'an the precise wording is from Allah, while in the hadith qudsi the wording is
given by the Prophet Muhammad.
The Qur'an has been brought to Muhammad only by the Angel Gabriel, while hadith
qudsi may also have been inspired otherwise, such as e.g. in a dream.
The Qur'an is inimitable and unique, but not so the hadith qudsi.
The Qur'an has been transmitted by numerous persons, (tawatur) but the hadith and
hadith qudsi often only by a few or even one individual. There are hadith qudsi which
are sahth, but also others hasan, or even da'if, while there is no doubt at all about any
aya from the Qur'an.
Another point is that a hadith qudsi cannot be recited in prayer.

God guides His Creation

Allah the Creator has not only brought about the creation,
but continues to sustain and direct it, in the way that He has
created us and all that is around us. He has provided many
forms of guidance, indeed, a system of guiding principles, of
which the laws of 'nature' are a part.

Guidance through Revelation

Prophets receive the word of God through revelation and
then communicate it to their fellow human beings:

The Meaning of Wahy

The word awha, from which 'wahy' (revelation) is derived,
occurs in a number of shades of meaning in the Qur'an,
each of them indicating the main underlying idea of
inspiration directing or guiding someone.

Means of Revelation
Means of revelation are: Inspiration, e.g. in a dream; Speech
hidden away; Words (speech) sent through a special messenger
from God.

The Qur'an revealed to Muhammad

According to Suyuti' the Qur'an descended in two stages:
From the lauh al-mahfuz, the 'well-preserved tablet', to the
lowest of the heavens (bait al-'izza) of the world, all
together, in the laila al-qadr.
From the heavens to earth in stages throughout the twentythree years of Muhammad's prophethood, and first in the
laila al-qadr of Ramadan, through the Angel Gabriel.
This second descent from the heaven to the heart of the
Prophet is referred to in Sura al-isra' (17) and Sura alfurqan (25).

Beginning of The Revelation

The Pause (fatra)
The Second Revelation
The Last Revelation

The Qur'an was revealed in stages over a period of

23 years, and not as a complete book in one
single act of revelation. There are a number of
reasons for this; most important are the following:
To strengthen the heart of the Prophet by addressing him
continuously and whenever the need for guidance arose.
Out of consideration for the Prophet since revelation was a very
difficult experience for him.
To gradually implement the laws of God.
To make understanding, application and memorization of
the revelation easier for the believers.

 Afzalur

Rahman, Islam Ideology

and the Way of life 3rd Edition,
Malaysia: A.S.Noordeen.

http://www.iiu.edu.my/deed/hadith/other/h

adithqudsi.html

http://web.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/b
ooks/ulum_al_quran/index.htm