CHAPTER ONE:

SOURCES
OF
ISLAMIC
KNOWLEDGE

REVIEW

LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
At the end of the chapter, students should be
able to do the following:
To explain the Transmission of the Quranic
Revelation

MEMORIZATION
AND
ORAL TRANSMISSION

Transmission of the Qur'anic Revelation

MEMORISATION AND ORAL TRANSMISSION
Memorization by the Prophet
'... an apostle from God, rehearsing scriptures, kept pure and
holy ...' (98: 2)

Memorization by the Companions

'... the first man to speak the Qur'an loudly in Makka after the
apostle was 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud

The Prophet encourages Memorization

'The Prophet said: "The most superior among you (Muslims) are
those who learn the Qur'an and teach it".

The Prophet sent Teachers

'When these men (of the first pledge of 'Aqaba) left (for Madina)
the apostle sent with them Mus.'ab bin 'Umair .

Qur'an Readers among the Companions

'Narrated Masruq: 'Abdullah bin 'Amr mentioned 'Abdullah bin

Mas'ud and said: I shall ever love that man for I heard the Prophet
saying: Take (learn) the Qur'an from four: 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud,
Salim, Muiadh and Ubay bin Ka'b'. [Bukhari, VI, No. 521.]

TRANSMISSION OF THE WRITTEN TEXT

Transmission of the Qur'anic Revelation

TRANSMISSION OF THE WRITTEN TEXT
What is the general meaning of Jam' al-Qur'an?
Bringing together the Qur'an orally, or in one's mind (hifz).
Bringing together the Qur'an in written form, or on sheets, or in a book

The meaning of Jam' al-Qur'an in the classical literature

learn the Qur'an by heart
write down every revelation.
bring together those materials upon which the
Qur'an has been written.
bring together the reports of people who have memorized the Qur'an.
bring together all such sources, both oral and written.

How was the Qur'an Collected?

According to Suyuti, the Qur'an had been written down in its entirety

in the time of the Prophet but had not been brought together in one
single place, and that therefore these written records or documents
had not been arranged in order.' [Itqan, I, p. 41]
However, the arrangement of the suras, was fixed by the Prophet
himself and safeguarded through oral transmission

Transmission of the Qur'anic

Revelation
TRANSMISSION OF THE WRITTEN TEXT
Stages of Collection
In the time of the Prophet.
In the time of Abu Bakr.
In the time of 'Uthman.

Why was no Book left by the Prophet?

The revelation did not come down in one piece
Some verses were abrogated in the course of revelation, and
therefore flexibility needed to be maintained.
The ayat and suras were not always revealed in their final order, but
were arranged later.
The Prophet lived only nine days after the last revelation and was
severely ill.
There was no dispute about the Qur'an in the time of the Prophet.

Writing down the Revelation

While writing was not widespread among the people in Arabia at the
time of the Prophet there were persons of whom it is reported that
they did write.

Transmission of the Qur'anic

Revelation
TRANSMISSION OF THE WRITTEN TEXT
Did the Prophet himself write?
There is unanimous agreement among scholars that Muhammad
himself did not write down the revelation. The Qur'an clearly states:
And thou (O Muhammad) wast not a reader of any scripture before it, nor
didst thou write it with thy right hand, for then might those have doubted
who follow falsehood' (29:48).

The Qur'an written during the Prophet's Lifetime

There is no doubt that the Qur'an was not only transmitted orally by
many Muslims who had learned parts or the whole of it, but that it was
also written down during the lifetime of the Prophet.

The Qur'an dictated by the Prophet

The Prophet said: 'Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the

ink pot and the scapula bone (or the scapula bone and the ink pot).'
Then he said: 'Write: Not equal are those believers ... [Bukhari, VI,
No. 512; also VI, No. 116-18.]

Written during the Prophet's Lifetime

Another report informs us that when people came to Madina to learn
about Islam, they were provided with 'copies of the chapters of the
Qur'an, to read and learn them by heart'

Transmission of the Qur'anic

Revelation
TRANSMISSION OF THE WRITTEN TEXT
Collection of Revelation during the Prophet's
Lifetime
The Prophet said: 'I have left with you something which if you
will hold fast to it you will never fall into error- a plain indication,
the book of God and the practice of his prophet. [Ibn Hisham]
Zaid is reported to have said:'We used to compile the Qur'an
from small scraps in the presence of the Apostle.' [Itqan]

What did the Prophet leave behind?

All parts of the revelation were available both in written form
and memorized by the Companions.
All pieces were available on loose writing material, making it
easy to arrange them in the proper order.
The order already fixed of the ayat within the suras, in the
written form, as well as in the memory of the Companions, and
of the suras in the memory of the Companions.

REFERENCES
Afzalur

Rahman, Islam Ideology

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

http://web.youngmuslims.ca/online_library/

books/ulum_al_quran/index.htm