9. REASONS FOR SENDING DOWN THE QUR’ᾹN
IN STAGES (4)
Other reasons for sending down the
Qur’an in stages are:
5. to facilitate memorizing,
understanding and applying its contents.
The Qur’an was revealed to people where the vast
majority of them were illiterate. The pre-Islamic Arabs did not see any
importance of writing, and therefore, they preserved their literature in their
lips and hearts. Unlike our modern proverb saying, “The weakest ink is better
than the strong memory”, their motto was) الْعِلْمُ فِي الصًّدُوْرِ لَا فِي السُّطُوْرِ
“Knowledge
is in the heart (memory), not in lines (of writing)”. It was not by accident
that Allah revealed the Qur’an to people who were endowed with strong memory.
Allah says in the Qur’an,
هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا
مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ
الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ
لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ (الجمعة:2)
He it is Who sent among
the unlettered ones a
Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves,
reciting
to them
His Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief
and polytheism), and teaching them the Book
(the Qur’an)
and
Wisdom (i.e. the Sunnah of the Prophet). And verily,
they had
been before in manifest error. (Q. 62:2)
‘Umar r.a. himself advised people to memorize the Qur’an each in
five verses, as it was revealed by Gabriel averagely in five verses. By
memorizing they also learned the deep meanings of these verses.
The “unlettered
ones”, those who were illiterate refer to the Arabs. In another verse those who
are illiterate refers to the Arabs as follows:
وَقُلْ لِلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا
الْكِتَابَ وَالْأُمِّيِّينَ أَأَسْلَمْتُمْ فَإِنْ أَسْلَمُوا فَقَدِ اهْتَدَوْا وَإِنْ
تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّمَا
عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَاغُ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبَادِ (آل عمران:20)
And
say to those who were given the Scripture and
those who are illiterates: “Do
you submit yourselves?”
If they
do, they are rightly guided; but if they turn away,
your duty is only to convey the
message; and Allah is
All-Seer of (His) servants. (Q. 3:20)
The Qur’an commentator Ibn Khathīr in his commentary said
this: “Mentioning the unlettered ones in specific here does not mean that
Muhammad s.a.w. was only sent to them, because the blessing of the Arabs is
greater than that of other nations.”
He then cited some other verses, including that states that the Prophet was
sent to the whole mankind, as follows:
قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ
إِلَيْكُمْ جَمِيعًا ... (الأعراف:158)
Say (O Muhammad): “O mankind! Verily, I am sent to
you all as the Messenger of Allah…” (Q. 7:158)
6. to challenge those who reject the Qur’an as the
very words of Allah revealed to Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. and to show its
miraculous nature. There were many allegations against Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
by the pagans of Makkah, such as being suffered from epilepsy, being a
poet, a magician, a soothsayer, being taught by someone from the Torah and the
Injil (Bible), so that he often referred to them in the Qur’an. They said that
if it were truly from Allah, and he was a true Messenger as he claimed, they
asked him many unreasonable things, such as:
وَقَالُوا لَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّى تَفْجُرَ لَنَا
مِنَ الْأَرْضِ يَنْبُوعًا. أَوْ تَكُونَ لَكَ جَنَّةٌ
مِنْ نَخِيلٍ وَعِنَبٍ فَتُفَجِّرَ الْأَنْهَارَ
خِلَالَهَا تَفْجِيرًا. أَوْ تُسْقِطَ السَّمَاءَ كَمَا زَعَمْتَ
عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا أَوْ تَأْتِيَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ
قَبِيلًا. أَوْ يَكُونَ لَكَ بَيْتٌ مِنْ زُخْرُفٍ أَوْ تَرْقَى
فِي السَّمَاءِ وَلَنْ نُؤْمِنَ لِرُقِيِّكَ حَتَّى
تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا كِتَابًا نَقْرَؤُهُ قُلْ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّي
هَلْ كُنْتُ إِلَّا بَشَرًا رَسُولًا. وَمَا مَنَعَ
النَّاسَ أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا إِذْ جَاءَهُمُ الْهُدَى إِلَّا
أَنْ قَالُوا أَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ بَشَرًا رَسُولًا.
قُلْ لَوْ كَانَ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَلَائِكَةٌ يَمْشُونَ
مُطْمَئِنِّينَ لَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ
مَلَكًا رَسُولًا. قُلْ كَفَى بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا
بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ بِعِبَادِهِ
خَبِيرًا بَصِيرًا (الإسراء:90-96)
And they say: “We shall not believe in you
(O Muhammad) until
you cause a spring gush forth
from the earth for us; Or you have a garden of
date-
palms and grapes,
and cause rivers to gush forth in its
midst abundantly; O you cause the heaven to
fall upon
us in pieces, as you have pretended, or you
bring Allah
and the angels
before (us) face to face; Or you have a house
of zukhruf (like silver and pure gold), or you
ascend up into
the sky, and even
then we will put no faith in your faith in
your ascension until you bring down for us a
Book that we
would read.” Say (O Muhammad): “Glorified (and
Exalted)
is my Lord [(Allah)
above all that they (polytheists) associate
with Him]! And I anything but a man, sent as a
Messenger?”
and nothing
prevented men from believing the guidance came
upon them, except that they said: “Has Allah
sent a man as
His Messenger?” Say: “If there were on the
earth, angels
walking about in peace and security, We should
certainly
have sent down for them from the heaven an
angel as
a Messenger.” Say:
“Sufficient is Allah for a witness
between me and you. Verily, He is Ever Well-
Acquainted, All-Seer of His slaves.”(Q. 17:90-96)
These Makkan pagans even asked the Prophet to send them punishment as
evidence of His prophethood. Allah said:
وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا قَالُوا قَدْ
سَمِعْنَا لَوْ نَشَاءُ لَقُلْنَا مِثْلَ هَذَا إِنْ هَذَا
إِلَّا
أَسَاطِيرُ الْأَوَّلِين. وَإِذْ قَالُوا اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كَانَ هَذَا هُوَ الْحَقَّ
مِنْ عِنْدِكَ فَأَمْطِرْ
عَلَيْنَا
حِجَارَةً مِنَ السَّمَاءِ أَوِ ائْتِنَا بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ. وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُمْ
وَأَنْتَ
فِيهِمْ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ
يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ (الأنفال:31-33)
And when Our Verses (of the
Qur’an) are recited to
them, they say: ”We
have heard (the Qur’an); if we wish we
can say the like of this. This is nothing but
the tales of the
ancients.” And (remember) when they said: “O
Allah! If this
(the Qur’an) is indeed the truth (revealed)
from You, then
rain down stones on us from the sky or bring
on us
a painful torment.” And Allah would not punish
them while you (Muhammad) are among them,
nor will He punish them while they seek
(Allah’s) Forgiveness. (Q. 8:31-33)
One of the Prophet’s arch-enemy, al-Naḍr ibn al-Ḥārith,
who frequented the city of Ḥīrah in Persia as a trader, passed by worshippers
citing the Bible, bowed down and prostrated themselves. When he came to Makkah
he found the Prophet was doing the same thing, citing the Qur’an, bowed down
and prostrated himself. He then said, “We have heard it, if we want we can say
something like it,” namely, what he had had heard from the worshippers in Ḥīrah.
He was so
sure that the Prophet was not sent by Allah, that he asked Allah to rain down
stones on them. This reminds us of the late Ahmad Deedat who was so convinced
that Jesus had never claimed himself to be God, and never said, “I am God,
worship Me,” in any Bible in any language. He said that if they find any, he
would worship him, which means, he would be an apostate, a Christian.
Although
it is true that Allah sent Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. but He would
not do what the Quraysh idolaters wished, namely, to punish them, as the
Prophet was among them, and many of them asked Allah’s forgiveness.
The Qur’an
said that Allah is "the
creator of everything" (خَالِقُ
كُلِّ شَيْئٍ) Q. 6:102; 39:62 and 40:62), and
challenged them that their idols could not even create a fly. Allah said,
يَا
أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ ضُرِبَ مَثَلٌ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَدْعُونَ مِنْ
دُونِ اللَّهِ لَنْ يَخْلُقُوا ذُبَابًا وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعُوا لَهُ وَإِنْ
يَسْلُبْهُمُ الذُّبَابُ
شَيْئًا
لَا يَسْتَنْقِذُوهُ مِنْهُ ضَعُفَ الطَّالِبُ وَالْمَطْلُوبُ. مَا قَدَرُوا
اللَّهَ حَقَّ قَدْرِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَقَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ
(الحج:73-74)
O people! A parable is set forth, therefore listen
to it:
surely those
whom you call upon besides Allah cannot
create a
fly, though they should all gather for it, and
should the fly snatch away anything from them,
they could
not take it back from it, weak are
the invoker and the invoked.(Q.
22:73-74)
Ibn ‘Abbas said that the idolaters overlaid their idols
with saffron, then it became dry and the fly took it away. Al-Suddī said that
they gave them food, and the fly came and ate it. The Qur’an commentator al-Qurṭubī (d.
609-669 /1214-1273) gives us three possible meanings here: (a) the idolaters
who seek help from the idols to make them nearer to Allah, and the idols themselves
which cannot answer their request are both weak; (b) the idols who are unable
to protect themselves from the fly that can sting their body and snatch
anything from them, and the fly itself are both weak. Even we human beings, let
alone the idols, cannot take back our food eaten by flies, after being digested;
(c) the idolaters themselves and the idols they are worshiping are both weak.
Al-Qurṭubī says further that the
fly has four distinctive characteristics: lowliness, weakness, dirtiness, and its
great in number. However, the idols could not create even such abased creature,
the fly. One of my teachers at the Secondary School in early 50s told us that
scientists had successfully made an artificial egg, but it could not hatch.
Certainly it could not, as there was no life in it.
The pagan Arabs
in pre-Islamic and early Islamic period worshiped idols to make them near to
Allah. They said, as mentioned in the Qur’an,
وَالَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا
مِنْ دُونِهِ أَوْلِيَاءَ مَا نَعْبُدُهُمْ إِلَّا لِيُقَرِّبُونَا
إِلَى اللَّهِ زُلْفَى ... (الزمر:3)
And those who take
protectors (gods) besides
Him (say): “We worship them only that they
may bring us near to Allah”… (Q. 39:3)
The Makkan idolaters’ allegation that the Qur’an was not
from Allah, but from the Prophet’s own words was challenged by the Qur’an with
the following verses which were revealed in the early period of Islam where the
Muslims were still weak:
أَمْ
يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ إِنِ افْتَرَيْتُهُ فَعَلَيَّ إِجْرَامِي
وَأَنَا بَرِيءٌ مِمَّا تُجْرِمُونَ (هود:
35)
Or they (the pagans
of Makkah) say:
“He (Muhammad) has fabricated it (the
Qur’an).”
Say: “If I have
fabricated it, upon be my crimes,
but I am innocent of (all) those crimes
which you
commit.”(Q. 11:35)
The
Prophet was told by Allah to tell them, “If I lied it is only me who would bear
the consequence of it, not you.”
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ
افْتَرَاهُ قُلْ إِنِ افْتَرَيْتُهُ فَلَا تَمْلِكُونَ لِي مِنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا
هُوَأَعْلَمُ بِمَا تُفِيضُونَ
فِيهِ كَفَى بِهِ شَهِيدًا بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ وَهُوَ
الْغَفُورُ
الرَّحِيمُ (الأحقاف: 8)
Or say they: “He
(Muhammad) has fabricated it?” Say:
“If I have fabricated it, still you have no
power to support
me against Allah. He knows best of what you
say among
yourselves
concerning it (i.e., this Qur’an)! Sufficient
is He as a witness between me and you! And He
is
Oft-Forgiving, the Most
Merciful.” (Q. 46:8)
Allah told the
Prophet to tell them that had he invented the Qur’an none of them would be able
to help him from Allah’s punishment.
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ
بَلْ هُوَ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لِتُنْذِرَ قَوْمًا مَا
أَتَاهُمْ مِنْ نَذِيرٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ لَعَلَّهُمْ
يَهْتَدُونَ (السجدة: 3) .
Or say they: “He
(Muhammad) has fabricated it?” Nay,
it is the truth from
your Lord, so that you may warn a people
to whom no warner
has come before you (O Muhammad):
in order that they
may be guided. (Q. 32:3)
Here Allah told
the Prophet to convince him that the Qur’an is the truth, and his duty was to
warn people who had not received any prophet before.
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ
قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِعَشْرِ سُوَرٍ مِثْلِهِ مُفْتَرَيَاتٍ وَادْعُوا
مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ
دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (هود: 13)
Or they say: “He
(Muhammad) forged it (the Qur’an).”
Say: “Bring you then ten sūrahs (chapters)
like it, and call
whomsoever you can, other than Allah (to your help!
If you speak the truth”1 (Q 11:13).
أَمْ يَقُولُونَ افْتَرَاهُ
قُلْ فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِثْلِهِ وَادْعُوا مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ
مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ إِنْ
كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ (يونس: 38)
Or do they say: “He
(Muhammad) has forged it?”
Say: “Bring, then, a surah (chapter) like it,
and
call upon whomsoever you can besides
Allah, if you are
truthful.” (Q.
10:38)
Here
the challenge of the Qur’an is reduced to one chapter, and the shortest one is sūrat
al-Kawthar (chapter 108) consisting
of of 3 verses and ten words. The next short one is sūrat al-‘aṣr (chapter
103), then followed by sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ (chapter 112), consisting of 5
verses and 15 words (if we do not consider wa meaning “and” as one word).
Had anyone accepted the challenge, and how far did he succeed or fail, will be
dealt with, inshā Allāh, in the next khuṭbah. (CIVIC, 7 February,
2014)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري
تفسير القرطبي
افسير أبن كثير
http://ejabat.google.com/ejabat/thread?tid=04eff66438299537
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