Juz’ 14 – SŪRAT AL-ḤIJR (CHAPTER OF THE ROCK)

Revelation Of The Qur’ān

﴿ إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ ﴾

Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder; and indeed,
We are surely Guardians of it. [15:9]

The preservation of the Qur’ān started from the time of the Prophet g. The Prophet g, due to his eagerness and zeal, would listen to Jibrā’īl n and read softly side by side, so that he g could memorise the verse. Allah f said:

﴿ لَا تُحَرِّكْ بِهِۦ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعْجَلَ بِهِۦ ﴾

Do not move with it (Qur’ān) your tongue
to hasten with it. [75:16]

Allah f declared, “It is My responsibility that you will have it memorised,” Allah f Himself was the Prophet’s g teacher. The Prophet g preserved the Qur’ān in his heart. The verses we recite therefore have a divine connection with Allah f and his Messenger g. We should endeavour to connect ourselves to the Qur’ān and what better opportunity than the blessed month of Ramaḍān?

The Qur’ān has been preserved and continues to be preserved in the hearts of Muslims around the world. During the time of the Prophet g, the disbelievers used to mock the process of revelation. Allah f mentions:

﴿ وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ عَلَيْهِ الْقُرْءَانُ جُمْلَةً وَٰحِدَةً  ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ

لِنُثَبِّتَ بِهِۦ فُؤَادَكَ وَرَتَّلْنَـٰهُ تَرْتِيلًا ﴾

And those who disbelieve said, “Why was the Qur’ān not revealed to him
all at once?” Thus, that We may strengthen thereby your heart;
and We have recited it with distinct recitation. [25:32]

In this verse, Allah f explains why the Qur’ān was being revealed to the Prophet g over a period of time. Allah wanted to strengthen the heart of the Prophet g.

Allah f would reveal verses according to the need and necessity at the time. Verses were sometimes revealed in relation to an incident that had occurred or was about to occur. They were revealed to educate mankind about Allah’s f Will.

Ultimately, this process of revelation was a method of preservation. The Prophet g would learn and propagate the revelation before receiving a new revelation.

The Companions of the Prophet g also preserved the Qur’ān by memorising it. Centuries later, the Qur’ān remains unchanged.

Libraries across the globe including the western world contain the original collections of the Qur’ān such as the ‘Mingana collection’ stored in the University of Birmingham.

Not only has Allah f preserved the Qur’ān through the memories of Muslims but through efforts of non-Muslims too.

Alphonse Mingana had a collection of 3000 Middle Eastern manuscripts among which he had a fragment of the Qur’ān dating back to the first century of Islam.

This Birmingham Qur’ān manuscript is one of the earliest surviving fragments of the Qur’ān and one of only a handful of early manuscripts of the Qur’ān in the world to have been radiocarbon dated. It is part of the Mingana Collection of 3000 Middle Eastern manuscripts, cared for by the Cadbury Research Library at the University of Birmingham, UK.

The Birmingham Qur’ān Manuscript contains parts of sūrahs 18-20 of the Islamic holy book, written on parchment in anearly form of Arabic script known as Ḥijāzī. [1]

Furthermore, Hinckelmann, a Protestant theologian and Orientalist, had his critical Qur’ān published in Hamburg in 1694.  

Hinckelmann’s version was the second edition of the complete text to be typeset in Christian Europe, after the Venetian Qur’ān of 1537/1538; [2] and this was immediately followed by Luigi Marracci’s superior Alcorani textus universus [3] which dominated European Qur’ān scholarship until the beginning of the nineteenth century. [4]

Immense effort has of course been made by Muslims all over the world to understand, memorise and preserve the Qur’ān, and to attain its blessings; this will continue, Allah f willing until the Day of Judgement.

We should also embrace this opportunity during the blessed month of Ramaḍān and endeavour to attain the blessings of the Qur’ān. We should recite it and do all we can to understand its message and significance.

[1] https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/facilities/cadbury/birmingham-quran-mingana-collection/birmingham-quran/index.aspx

[2] for the reproduction of a page from this very rare book, see Sprachen des Nahen Ostens und die Druckrevolution, eds. Eva Hanebutt-Benz et al., Westhofen: WVA Verlag Skulimus, 2002, p. 153 fig. 2.

[3] 2 vols., Padua, 1698.

[4] https://blogs.cuit.columbia.edu/islamicbooks/2012/03/31/hinckelmann/