History and Importance of Quran

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Q. HOW IS HOLY QURAN USED IN ESTABLISHMENT OF

ISLAMIC LAW

The Holy Quran, last revealed book by God on Muhammad (P.B.U.H),

is the foundation of our religion and the fountain of Islamic law. It is a

complete book for the guidance of mankind. It is addressed to the entire

humanity without any limitation of race, religion or time. It guides the man inall spheres of life-spiritual, temporal, individual and collective.

It is the first source of Islamic law. It is said,

“O you who believe

Obey Allah 1

 And obey the Messenger 2

 And those charged with authority among you 3

 If you differ in any thing among yourselves

 Refer it to Allah and His Messenger 4”

(Al -Nisa 4.59)

This verse confirms the validity of Quran as a first source of IslamicLaw.

The Quran gives the basic principles and fundamental rules of Islamic

beliefs and practices.

For beliefs, it is said,

“It is righteous to believe in Allah and the last day and the angels and

the book and the messengers” (2:177)

The Quran gives a set of Islamic practices. It commands to establish

worship (prayer) and to pay the poor due after faith in one God. The Quranfrequently says:

“And establish prayer and pay the poor due commandments about the

 fasting and pilgrimage to the House of God are prescribed in the holy Quran”.

 It is said,

“O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you” (2:183)

“Complete Hajj and Umrah in the service of God” (2:196)

Ahadith of the Holy Prophet provides further detail of these practices.

The Quran becomes basis of Ijma and Qiyas.  According to Qiyas

 based on Quran, all intoxicants are haram (forbidden)as Quran has declared

Wine as haram. It is said.“O you who believe, intoxicants and gambling, sacrificing to stones and

arrows are an abomination of Satan’s handiwork: shun you may prosper”.

(Al Maida 5.90)

The Quran makes distinction between Halal (lawful) and Haram

(unlawful) by providing clear and unambiguous instructions. It says:

“O you people! Eat of what is on earth lawful and good; and do not

 follow the footsteps of Satan for he is your avowed enemy” (2:168)

It enjoins upon us to establish justice, observe patience and perseverance

and taking care of the rights of fellow-beings. It also prescribes punishmentsfor serious and major crimes like theft (cutting off hand)

It is said

“As to the thief, male or female, cutting of his or her hand” (5:38)

For punishment of Zina or fornication (100 lashes)

It is said,

“The woman and man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them

with a hundred stripes”. ( 24:2)

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For the heinous crime of murder it recommends the simple rule of an eye for an

eye; by saying:

“O you who believe! The law of equality is prescribed to you in case of

murder: the free for free, the slave for slave, the women for women”

(2:178)

The Quran’s superiority in deciding the matters of daily life including

the judicial issues is an established fact because the Quran says:

“We have sent down to you the Book in truth so that you may judgebetween men as guided by God” (4:105)

For division of inheritance, the Quran says,

“ Allah directs you concerning your children: to the a portion equal to;

that of two females”. ( Al Nisa 4.11)

It means double share of male as compared to female is mentioned.

In legal matters, the Quran gives some instructions less straightforward.

These instructions require reflection and systematic applications of

interpretational method to the text. This science of tafseer includes

interpretation of Quran with Quran, interpretation of Quran with Hadith, asbabal nuzul and nasikh-o-mansukh

Thus it can be seen that the Quran serves as the fountainhead of Islamic

law encompassing all aspects of life though not in fine details. For details we

use others sources in the light of the Holy Quran for example the details of

 prayer, fasting and matters of marriage, divorce and inheritance are to be found

in Ahadith literature and the scholarly works. The Quran mentions the

fundamental rulings regarding all these matters and has left to its followers to

apply its basic principles to counter the matters of coming time. 

Q. Outline the process of Compilation of the Holy Quran

during

Period of  The Holy Prophet The Holy Quran, last book of God was revealed by Jibrail on

Muhammad (P.B.U.H). Immediately after the revelation of each verse the Holy

Prophet dashed to memorize it. This job of recording the Divine Revelation

was devolved to the number of scribes by the Holy Prophet particularly the

four Caliphs and Hazrat Zaid bin Sabit, Khalid bin Saeed, Obay bin Kaab,

Muawiya bin Abu Sufyan, Sabit bin Qais, Abdullah bin Masaud etc. Atwhatever time a chapter or a verse was revealed, the companions with the

directive of the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) wrote it down. The

Holy Prophet also illustrated the proper place of a specific verse in a pertinent

chapter.

In this way the Quran was recorded in the scriptural form and committed

to memory during the lifetime of the Holy Prophet The Quran was written on

thin and flat tablets of stone, wood, twigs of palm trees, carcasses of camels

and goats and on the pieces of leather. It was not compiled in the book form

during the time of the Holy Prophet. According to the scribe Hazrat Zaid binSabit:

“The Holy Prophet departed from this universe and the Quran had not

been collected and compiled on any thing so far” 

Period of Hazrat Abu Bakr During the reign of the first rightly guided Caliph Abu Bakr, the

necessity to collect and compile the Book was felt by a few of the companions

of the Holy Prophet after the battle of Yamama against the false prophet

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Musailma, the great liar. During this battle a number of the readers of the Holy

Quran lost their lives and this made fear that Quran might be lost. Hazrat Umar

suggested the compilation of the Quran. Abu Bakr hesitated to do this job left

undone by the Holy Prophet. Very soon he realized the need of compilation of

Quran. Hazrat Abu Bakr undertook this dignified task, which was completed

during his office and under his supervision. According to Hazrat Abu Bakr:

“Umar went on persuading me to accept his suggestion till I was

convinced that he was right so I accepted it.”Hazrat Abu Bakr then directed Zaid bin Sabit , one of the scribe, to

compile the Quran with care.

Zaid was not content just finding a written piece of the Holy Quran, but

also verified its correctness from those people who had heard it from the Holy

Prophet and beard it in mind. He compiled the Quran.

Period of Hazrat Usman 

The compiled copy prepared by Zaid remained with the first Caliph.

After his death, it was transferred to Hazrat Umar. After the death of Umar in644A.D. this script was passed to daughter of Umar, Hazrat Hafsa, who had

 been the Prophet’s wife. The collection of sheets became known as the Mushaf

Hafsa. With expansion of Islamic state, Commanders of Muslim forces soon

discovered that soldiers from different places were reciting the Quran in

different ways.

Huzaifa bin Yamman approached to Hazrat Usman and requested him to

take immediate action for the removal of those differences, otherwise it might

 be the cause of rifts among the Muslims.

Hazrat Usman commissioned Zaid bin Sabit to make an accurate

collection of the revelation.Zaid was assisted by other knowledge ablecompanions, Abdullah bin Zubair, Saad bin Aas and Abdul Rehman bin Haris.

Finally, they compared this standardized copy with mushaf Hafsa. Other

versions, which differed in any way, were destroyed. Hazrat Usman ordered a

number of copies of this authoritative collection to be made and had them sent

to major cities of the empire.

Due to this fabulous, prominent, superlative, matchless, spectacular,

incredible and snooping service Hazrat Usman reaped the title of Jami-ul-

Quran.

Q. Describe the role of these companions in the of

Compilation of the Holy Quran

Hazrat Abu Bakr During the reign of the first rightly guided Caliph Abu Bakr, the

necessity to collect and compile the Book was felt by a few of the companions

of the Holy Prophet after the battle of Yamama against the false prophet

Musailma, the great liar. During this battle, a number of the readers of theHoly Quran lost their lives and this made fear that Quran might be lost. Hazrat

Umar suggested the compilation of the Quran. Abu Bakr hesitated to do this

 job left undone by the Holy Prophet. Very soon he realized the need of

compilation of Quran. Hazrat Abu Bakr undertook this dignified task, which

was completed during his office and under his supervision. According to

Hazrat Abu Bakr:

“Umar went on persuading me to accept his suggestion till I was

convinced that he was right so I accepted it.”

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Hazrat Abu Bakr then directed Zaid bin Sabit , one of the scribe, to

compile the Quran with care.

Hazrat Usman During caliphate period of Hazrat Usman, Islamic state was expanded up

to east in Persia, west in Byzantine and North Africa. With expansion of

Islamic state, Commanders of Muslim forces soon discovered that soldiers

from different places were reciting the Quran in different ways.Huzaifa bin Yamman approached to Hazrat Usman and requested him to

take immediate action for the removal of those differences, otherwise it might

 be the cause of rifts among the Muslims.

Hazrat Usman commissioned Zaid bin Sabit to make an accurate

collection of the revelation. Zaid was assisted by other knowledge able

companions. Finally, they compared this standardized copy with mushaf Hafsa.

Other versions, which differed in any way, were destroyed. Hazrat Usman

ordered a number of copies of this authoritative collection to be made and had

them sent to major cities of the empire.Due to this fabulous, prominent, superlative, matchless, spectacular,

incredible and snooping service Hazrat Usman reaped the title of Jami-ul-

Quran.

Hazrat Zaid bin Sabit

Abu Bakr realized the need of compilation of Quran after great loss of

readers of Quran in battle of Yamama. He gave this responsibility to Zaid bin

Sabit, one of the scribes of the Holy Prophet. Zaid collected the Quran from

thin and flat tablets of stone, wood, twigs of palm trees, carcasses of camels

and goats and the pieces of leather.Zaid was not content just finding a written piece of the Holy Quran, but

also verified its correctness from those people who had heard it from the Holy

Prophet and beard it in mind. He compiled the Quran in book form.

After finding differences in accent of recitation of Quran in new

conquered territories, Hazrat Usman gave responsibility of standardized

compilation of Quran to Zaid bin Sabit. Zaid was assisted by other

knowledgeable companions, Abdullah bin Zubair, Saad bin Aas and Abdul

Rehman bin Haris. Finally, they compared this standardized copy with mushaf

Hafsa.Other versions, which differed in any way, were destroyed.

Hazrat Hafsa

Hazrat Hafsa was daughter of Hazrat Umar and wife of Holy Prophet.

The compiled copy prepared by Zaid remained with the first Caliph. After his

death, it was transferred to Hazrat Umar. After the death of Umar in 644AD,

this script was passed to daughter of Umar, who had been the Prophet’s wife.

The collection of sheets became known as the Mushaf Hafsa At demand of

Hazrat Usman , this copy was given to him.

Q.1: Explain with example, how do the Quran and Hadith

work together in establishment of Sharia.

Q.2: Explain with example, how are the Quran and Hadith

used in working out the Islamic law?

The Quran is first source and Hadith is the second source of Islamic law.

The clear Quranic teachings are followed without question. Where Quranic

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teachings are undetailed or not clear, the Ahadith are employed. The Ahadith

fill out the Quran and add teachings where it is silent. Quran and Hadith are

 primary sources of Islamic law. It is said,

“O you who believe

Obey Allah 1

And obey the Messenger 2

 And those charged with authority among you 3

If you differ in any thing among yourselves Refer it to Allah and His Messenger 4”

(Al -Nisa 4.59)

This establishes the authority of the Quran and Hadith as the first and

second source of Islamic law.

The Quran gives the basic principles and fundamental rules of

Islamic beliefs and practices. 

The Quran repeatedly asks us:

“Establish regular prayer”

without speaking about the number of raakats and manners in which itshould be performed. Sunnah of the Prophet explains it.

The Holy Prophet said,

“Look at me, see I worship and follow me” (Al-Bukhari) 

Hadith/ Sunnah of the Prophet provides the explanation of the

teachings of the Quran.

The Quran says,

“Allah has permitted trade and forbidden Riba” (2:275)

Sunnah of the Holy Prophet provides detail of the Riba by saying,

The Holy Prophet said.

“The bartering of gold for gold is Riba, except if it is from hand to handand equal in amount, and wheat grain for wheat grain is Riba, except if it is

 from hand to hand and equal in amount” 

The Quran says

“As to the thief, male or female, cutting of his or her hand” (5:38)

Further detail is given in the Hadith. it is said

“Allah’s Messenger cut off the hand of a thief for stealing a quarter of

quarter of dinar or more” 

Sunnah of the Holy Prophet provides practical methods of Islamic

practices. The Quran enjoins us:“Pilgrimage thereto is a duty men owe to Allah, those who can afford

the journey”

Full method of the Hajj is not mentioned in Quran. Sunnah of Prophet

explains its performance, as it is said.

Ibn Umar reported,

“The Holy Prophet pronounced Talbiyah in Hajj and Umrah”

Quarn and Sunnah of the Prophet become basis of Ijma and Qiyas.

These examples show that Quran and Hadith work side by side and together in

establishment of Islamic law.

Q. GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF THE FOLLOWINGS.

Kinds of tafsir

The word 'tafseer comes from fassara', which means, 'to explain, to

expound, to elucidate, to interpret. This word is meant for the explanation or

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interpretation of the Holy Quran. There are two kinds of tafseer, tafseer ul

Quran bil Quran and tafseer ul Quran bil Hadis.

In tafseer ul Quran bil Quran, one quranic verse is clrified by any other

Quranic verse.

In one Quranic verse it is said,

O you who believe, fulfill all regulations. Lawful to you are all beasts

of cattle, with the exceptions named. (Al-Ma’ida 5.1)

Here ‘the exception named’ are not directly listed. It is mentioned in later, 

Forbidden to you are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that

on which has been invoked the name of other than Allah; that which has

been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by

being gored to death; that which has been eaten by a wild animal, unless

you are able to slaughter it; that which is sacrificed on stone altars; also

the division by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. (Al-Ma’ida 5.3)

This very full list clarifies exactly the exception to which the earlier verse

refers.

The second kind of tafseer is tafseer ul Quran bil Hadis.It is said in the Holy Quran,

“Allah has permitted trade and forbidden Riba” (2:275)

Hadith of the Holy Prophet provides detail of the Riba by saying,

The Holy Prophet said.

“The bartering of gold for gold is Riba, except if it is from hand to

hand and equal in amount, and wheat grain for wheat grain is Riba,

except if it is from hand to hand and equal in amount”.

This Hadith confirms the concept of riba in Islam.

Nasikh o MansookhMansookh verses are particular verses that were overtaken by verses revealed

at a later date, the nasikh verses. As the Quran says.

None of Our revelations do We abrogate (nansakh) or cause to be

forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Do you not know

that Allah has power over all things? (Al-Baqara 2.106)

This verse confirm the concept of nasikh and mansookh in the Holy Quran.

An example of nasikh and mansookh is given in two verses in the same surah

relating to prayer.In surah Al-Muzammil it is said,

O you folded in garments! Stand by night but not all night half of it,

or a little less, or a little more; and recite the Qur’an in slow, measured,

rhythmic tones. (Al-Muzammil 73.1-5)

At the end of the same surah is a long verse that provides these details more

clearly.

Your Lord knows that you stand almost two-thirds of the night, or

half the night, or a third of the night, and so does a party of those with you.

But Allah appoints night and day in due measure. He knows that you are

unable to keep count of it. So He has turned to you: Therefore, read from

the Qur’an as much as may be easy for you. (Al-Muzammil 73.20)

Here, the Prophet Muhammad and his followers are advised more definitely to

 be moderate in the time they devote to prayer at night. Rather than making this

 prayer a hardship by prolonging it, they are advised not to recite more of the

Quran than is easy for them.

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Pre requite of a Mufassir

The practice of tafsir developed into an advanced science as time progressed,

and there were many pre-requisites of a good mufassir, clarifier or

commentator of the Holy Quran.

  Mufassir must be pious Muslim

He must be expert in Arabic grammar and the manner in which the

language is used, the science of recitation.

He must be competent in use of Ahadith of the Holy Prophet.

He must be capable of full understanding of the asbab al nuzul, the

occasions on which verses were first revealed.

He must be skilled in nasikh o mansookh verses, clarified or redefined

earlier verses with later verses.

Q. How does Quran work for Ijma.

Ijma is the third source of Islamic Law. It means, “agreeing upon” or “uniting

in opinion”. It is the unanimous agreement of the Islamic Community on someaspect of law.

The use of Ijma in legal thinking is based on the number of verses in the

Quran.

“You are the best of peoples evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right,

forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah”.

(AL, Imran 3.110)

These references indicate that Quran allows the use of Ijma. It has been

accepted that agreed view of the community is binding upon Muslims in legal.

Ijma is based on Quran and Sunnah and it can only be operated when Quran

and Sunnah become silent on some aspect of law. Ijma is employed when the

teachings of Quran and Sunnah don’t clarify the problem of the Umma.

•  It is unanimously agreed according to teachings of Quran that marriage

 between a man and any of his grandmothers or granddaughters is

forbidden.

This is based on the teaching in the Quran

“It is prescribed, when death approaches any of you, if he leaves any

goods, that he should make a bequest to parents and next of kin.

(Al- Baqrah 2: 180)

It allows for the grandfather to take the father’s place in inheriting from the

son, even though it is not stated in so many words in the Holy Quran.

This is based on the teaching in the Quran

•  Marriage between man and any of his grandmothers or granddaughters is

forbidden.

This is based on the teaching in the Quran

“Prohibited to you are , your mothers, daughters, sisters, father’s sister,mother’s sisters, foster mothers, foster sisters, your wives’s mothers,

your step daughters under guardianship, born of your wives.

(Al- Nisa 4: 23)

The principle follows the spirit of this full list, and adds two categories

about which it is silent but which clearly conform to all the ones mentioned

here.

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These examples show that Ijma can be regarded as a continuation of the

divine teaching for legal and practical purposes.

Example of Ijma at present time.

* For sighting of moon of all months, a committee of experts is appointed

 by the government, to refer whether the moon is sighted or not.

Unanimous decision of the committee is accepted by every one. This is

 based on Ijma.

Q. How does Quran work for Qiyas.

Qiyas literally means measuring or ascertaining the length, weight or

quality of something.. Qiyas means essentially to use human reasoning to

compare an existing situation with one for which legislation already exists.

Qiyas is comparison to establish equality or similarity between two things.

It is the fourth source of Islamic law. It is said,

“o you who believe

obey Allah 1 

and obey the Messenger 2 and those charged with authority among you 3 

if you differ in any thing among yourselves

refer it to Allah and His Messenger 4” (Al -Nisa 4.59)

This verse confirms the validity of Qiyas as a fourth source of Islamic law.

Qiyas is the most important method of Ijtihad. It is exercised when

Quran, Sunnah and Ijma become silent. It is based upon human reasoning. It is

dependant upon Quran, Sunnah and Ijma. It is practised when common feature

 between new matter (far) and fundamental teaching (asl) is found. It cannot be

exercised against any “Nas”

Qiyas is exercised with the help of these four pillars ,Asl: the fundamental teaching

Far: the new matter in question

Illah: the linking cause that connects them

Hukm: new judgment

Quranic example would is as follows;

It is said in the Holy Quran

The Quran forbids sales transactions after the call to prayer on Friday

(asl). By analogy, all kinds of transactions (far) have been forbidden (hukm),

 because like sales they distract Muslims from Friday prayer.Examples of Qiyas based on Quran

Justification of Qiyas is seen in many verses. For example, in the verse

following more than one wife;

Marry women of your choice, two or three or four; but if you fear that you

shall not be able to deal justly, then only one. (Al-Nisa’ 4.3)

Here a man himself will know whether he can deal justly by exercising

 personal judgement.

Use of sand if water is not available is based on Qiyas; 

And [if] you find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand (or earth),

and with it rub your face and hands. (Al-Nisa’ 4.43)

The point of comparison between water and clean sand is that they can both be

used effectively to rub off any dirt or pollution. Water may be better for this,

 but sand has similar properties, so it can be used in emergencies.

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Conditions of Qiyas

There are certain conditions for a person to exercise Qiyas. The person

has to be a Mujtahid or doctor of law with command over Quranic & Sunnah

matters & the Arabic language. He must have sound memory & enjoy good

repute as a pious person. He must have good knowledge of history &

contemporary matters.

There are necessary conditions for Qiyas. Qiyas must be according to

 basic principles of Quran and Sunnah. The aim of Qiyas is not to alter any

Quranic or Sunnah law or text (Nas). Moreover it should be understandable for

the Ummah. Its reasoning should be easily comprehended by human intellect.

Qiyas is redundant where Nass is there. Qiyas is accepted by majority

including 4(four) Sunni schools and Zaydi Shias.

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