Living the Quran

Allaah The Exalted Says )what means(:}It was the month of Ramadan in
which the Quran was ]first[ sent down as guidance for all people,
having ]in it[ clear proofs of ]Divine[ guidance and the
criterion.{]Quran 2:185[
Since that first Ramadan revelation, believers the world over and
across history have drawn nearer to Allaah Almighty, rejuvenated their
faith, found their purpose in life, saved their souls from hellfire,
and found the key to eternal happiness in Paradise with their Beloved
Lord through the Quran.
Almost exactly 1,433 years ago, the Beloved Messenger of
Allaahcommenced his journey form Makkah to Madeenah and laid the
foundations of the greatest community of believers ever to have lived.
Among the foundations of that Community of men and women was a radiant
and vibrant faith in Allaah Almighty, unflinching love for His
Prophetand brotherhood and sacrifice for each other. These virtues
were implanted in their souls by the Prophetthrough the guidance of
the Quran. The foundation of that Community was the Quran. The Word of
God was what that blessed Community stood for.
Allaah's speeches, delivered and explained to them by His impeccable
Messengerhad created and nurtured that community in Makkah for the
previous 13 years. In the second year of Hijrah or shortly afterward,
the verses about fasting were revealed that eventually made the
fasting of the month of Ramadan an obligation. Just like all other
foundational markers and rituals of that blessed Community, the month
of fasting was connected to the Quran.
The pillar of Islam prior to fasting, that of Prayer, was also built
around the Quran. The Prophetand his followers prayed from the very
beginning of his blessed call, and read Quran in it. The five regular
prayers had been revealed toward the end of Makkan life )in the year
10 or 12 of prophethood( at the occasion of the Prophet's Ascension
)Mi`raaj( to Heaven. The Quran had already alluded to the number of
obligatory prayers, their times, and content, and the Prophethad given
them their final form by way of instruction from the Archangel
Gabriel.
The month of fasting was designed, in the wisdom of Allaah, to
celebrate the Quran in a different way, but one which complemented the
prayer. While the regular prayers set the tone and the rhythm of the
daily life of the believers, Ramadan would challenge them and all
their spiritual descendants to soar even higher in their worship and
remembrance of their Creator, and specifically to rejuvenate that
daily routine of prayer.
Allaah, Most High, is, of course, all aware of His servants, whose
habitual practices inevitably become monotonous. Thus the heart rusts.
Feelings mellow. Intellectual acuity in the form of spiritual
understanding clouds over. Hence, perspectives blur. The journey of
faith begins to seem long and uneventful from day to day. Impulsive
and short-sighted—"Man has been created from haste"]Quran 21:37[—the
human being is nonetheless capable of rising to great heights,
provided he is prompted with proper reminders that hold his attention
to his task and path. For no matter how great the reward, how high the
stakes, when the human heart loses sight of its purpose and road, it
gives up the struggle. It needs peaks from where to see the end
clearly, oases wherefrom to fill up on hope in order to gain the
stamina required to cross the many difficult vales along the way.
The Month of Ramadan provides that climax, that summit, that
viewpoint. It comes with intense physical training. But its soul is
the Quran. It is only as good as the closeness to the Quran—both
spiritual and intellectual—that one attains in it.
Without exemplifying the meanings of the Quran, without pondering its
signs, and rethinking the whole life in a coherent way through it,
Ramadan becomes empty. That is why the Prophethas tied fasting and the
Quran together as the two intercessors on the Day of Judgment: The
Prophetsaid:"Fasting and the Quran will intercede on behalf of the
servant on the Day of Resurrection. Fasting will say: `O Lord! I
prevented him from food and satisfying his desires during the day.
Therefore, do Thou make mean intercessor for him.' The Quran will say:
`I prohibited him from sleeping at night, therefore, do Thou make me
an intercessor for him.' Thus shall they intercede'"]Ahmad[
An intervening plea, then: Let us both strive, then, you and I, to
make this Ramadan truly the month of the Quran, a month in which we
transcend the monotony of life and reach a new level of faith and
bliss. For we know not how many Ramadan peaks we have left before our
way ends.

The Chronological Analysis of the Quran

The Quran was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Mohammadin 610 CE over
22 years. In the first twelve years of the revelation, the Prophetwas
living in Makkah )Mecca(. Persecution, at the hands of the tribe of
Quraysh then forced him, allallaahu alayhi wa sallam, and his
companionsto leave to Al-Madeenah, in what is known as the Hijrah
)immigration(, where he lived the last ten years.
The 114 chapters of the Holy Quran are not listed in the chronological
order of their revelation. This special order, however, was inspired
to the Prophetby Allaah, the Most Exalted, so it is a genuine quality
of the Quran. Each chapter is described as either Makkan or Madeenan,
depending on whether the majority of its verses were revealed before
or after the Hijrah.
Knowing the chronological order in which the different Soorahs
)Quranic chapters( or verses were revealed can be of importance in
some cases. And even though this may not be possible for all of the
6234 verses, because the sequence was recorded at anytime, through
sound Ijtihaad )research( and analysis, scholars were capable of
putting together the cases where authentic reports confirmed such
order and the cases where that order was made clear.
These efforts resulted in the development of a method in which the
revelation of the Quran was looked at in chronological terms as well
as dividing revelation into Makki )Makkan( and Madani )Madeenah( types
or periods.
We will first look at some of the benefits of this chronological
analysis, then proceed to discuss the Makki and Madani criteria and
their use in the Tafseer )interpretation of the Quran( and the
deduction of Fiqh )Islamic jurisprudence( rulings.
In the following we will present a very brief look at three main
benefits of the chronological analysis of the Quran, other benefits
and many more examples can be found in Al-Itgaan, by Imaam As-Suyooti:
Assessment of Rulings' Abrogation
Abrogation is a term that refers to the cases in which a ruling gets
abrogated by another. Simply put, abrogation means the replacement of
one verse by another thus reversing or repealing the ruling that was
revealed in it. Therefore, if we have a case in which we have two
verses that carry in them two rulings which oppose one another and we
could reconcile them in a way that is acceptable under the Principles
of Fiqh )Jurisprudence(, then we look at the chronological order of
their revelation to assess which verse carries the abrogated ruling.
Obviously, the verse revealed first carries the abrogated ruling, and
we should uphold the ruling carried in the late-revealed one.
Examples of that: If we knew that:
1. The verses making Salaah )prayer( obligatory were revealed in
Makkah before the Hijrah ]migration of Prophet Muhammadand his
companionsfrom Makkah to Madeenah[.
2. The verses making Zakaah )the Poor Due( and Sawm )fasting(
obligatory were revealed during the second year of Hijrah, and
3. The verses that established the obligation of Hajj )pilgrimage to
Makkah( were revealed in the sixth year of Hijrah,
We would know the sequence in which these pillars of Islam were established.
Appreciation of the Gradual Process in Legislation
This is an important part of the general message of Islam, especially
the aspect related to making prohibitions and having people go through
major changes of lifestyle. Knowledge of the chronology of how these
aspects were made in the early period of Islam leads one to appreciate
the wisdom behind the gradual process of legislation. A good example
of this is the prohibition of inebriants. First, people were told they
are bad but may have some benefit, as in the verse )which means(:"They
ask you )O Muhammad( about wine and gambling. Say, 'In them is great
sin and ]yet, some[ benefit for people.'"]Quran 2:219[
Then they were told not to drink before Salaah, through the verse
)which means(:"O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while
you are intoxicated ..."]Quran 4:43[
And later inebriants were prohibited altogether, through the verse
)which means(:"O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling,
]sacrificing on[ stone alters ]to other than Allaah[, and divining
arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you
may be successful. "]Quran 5:90[
In this example we notice the way the legislation considered the fact
that drinking was a major solid part of the Arabs' social life. But
the gradual approach used in indicating its harms and making it
prohibited on them made it easy for them to accept, a realistic
approach which we can all learn from.

Preservation of the QuranAgainst Distortion

The Noble Quran is unlike the other divinely revealed Books for Allaah
The Almighty has undertaken to preserve it against distortion and
change. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Indeed, it is We who
sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its guardian.{]Quran 15: 9[
Scholars said that Allaah The Almighty has protected it from the least
additions or deletion of words. Had not Allaah The Almighty promised
to preserve it with Himself, it would have met the same fate of the
other divinly revealed books in the way they were distorted and
altered. That is because Allaah The Almighty entrusted the
preservation of these Books to those to whom such books were revealed.
Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}Indeed, We sent down the Torah,
in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted ]to
Allaah[ judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by
that with which they were entrusted of the Scripture of Allaah, and
they were witnesses thereto.{]Quran 5: 44[
The wisdom behind preferring the Quran to the other divinely revealed
Books with this great privilege is that it is the last of them.
Allaah The Almighty has prepared for it the favorable factors of its
preservation unlike the other divinely revealed Books. Amongst such
factors is what the rightly guided Caliph Abu Bakrdid concerning
collecting the Quran in a single Mus-haf. This happened when many of
the Companions who had memorized the Quran were killed in the Battle
of Al-Yamaamah. Abu Bakrwas afraid that the Quran would be lost by the
demise of its memorizers, as authentically proved in Saheeh
Al-Bukhaari.
Then the rightly guided Caliph 'Uthmaan ibn 'Affaanafter obtaining the
agreement of all the Companions of the Prophetcompiled it in one
unified version in which he combined the authentic recitations of the
Quran. He then distributed it to the various regions so as to put an
end to the emerging discrepancies, and burnt any copy other than that
one.
Furthermore, one of the greatest factors that Allaah The Almighty made
for the preservation of the Noble Quran is that Allaah The Almighty
has made it easy to remember and be memorized so that all people;
young, old, illiterate, literate, Arab, and non-Arab may learn it by
heart. Allaah The Almighty Says )what means(:}And We have certainly
made the Quran easy for remembrance, so is there any who will
remember?{]Quran 54: 32[
Moreover, there is an amazing story which acts as clear-cut evidence
proving that Allaah The Almighty has protected and preserved the Quran
from the distortions of the hands of humans: "Once a Jewish man
entered upon Caliph Al-Ma'moon while he had people gathered in his
court and he spoke with much eloquence. When the gathering disbanded,
Al-Ma'moon called him and asked if he was Jewish. The man answered
that he was. Al-Ma'moon invited him to Islam and encouraged him with
gifts. The Jewish man said: It is my religion and the religion of my
forefathers then he left. A year later, the same man came again and
spoke about Islamic Fiqh with much eloquence. So Al-Ma'moon said: Are
you that man who came to us last year? He answered in the affirmative.
Al-Ma'moon said: What made you embrace Islam? He said: When I left you
a year ago, I decided to examine those religions, and you know that I
am clever in calligraphy. I started with the Tawraah )Torah(. I wrote
three copies of it. I introduced additions and deletions in it. Then I
presented them to the synagogue and they were bought from me. Then I
did the same with the Injeel )Gospel( and introduced three copies to
the church and they were bought from me. Then I did the same with the
Quran. I wrote three copies and introduced some additions and
deletions to it and presented them to the booksellers. When they read
them, they found additions and deletions in them. They immediately
threw them away and did not buy them from me. Thus I became sure that
the Quran is a preserved book. This was the reason I embraced Islam.
Consequently, the issue of the preservation of the Noble Quran is
decisively settled in the minds of Muslims and taken for granted by
every believer. Scholars stated that whoever claims that there is the
least addition or deletion in the Noble Quran, would be denying what
Allaah The Almighty Stated, and whoever does so would put himself
beyond the pale of Islam.

**Dought & clear, - Why do we pray five times each day?.

**I read in the Qur'aan that a man should pray three times: before
sunrise, after sunset and in the middle of the day. So why do we pray
five times? I hope that you will not give me the story that 50,000
prayers were enjoined then it was reduced to five. I want a convincing
answer.
Praise be to Allaah.
1 - What is mentioned in the question about the number of prayers is
mistaken. It was 50 then it was altered to 5 prayers, a favour from
the Lord of the Worlds to the Muslims.
2 - The rules of sharee'ah may be divided into two categories: those
which may be understood on a rational basis; and those which are
purely worship, the wisdom behind which is concealed from us and is
not mentioned in either the Qur'aan or the Sunnah.
Examples of the first include: the prohibition on alcohol and
gambling. Allaah has told us the reason why they are forbidden, which
is:
"Shaytaan (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you
with intoxicants (alcoholic drinks) and gambling, and hinder you from
the remembrance of Allaah and from As-Salaah (the prayer). So, will
you not then abstain?"
[al-Maa'idah 5:91]
And there are other similar rulings.
Examples of the second kind include offering Zuhr prayer when the sun
has passed its zenith, circumambulating the Ka'bah with it on one's
left (i.e., anticlockwise), the nisaab of gold being a quarter of ten
percent; Maghrib prayer being three rak'ahs, and many other such
rulings.
What is mentioned in the question falls into this second category,
which is things for which we do not know the reason from the Qur'aan
or Sunnah, so we have to submit to the command of Allaah. This applies
to all such rulings.
The Muslim has to accept the things for which Allaah has not explained
the reason, and say as the believers say: "We hear and we obey." He
should not be like the Children of Israel who said: "We hear but we
disobey."
Accepting what Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):"He
[Allaah] cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they will be
questioned" [al-Anbiya' 21:23]is better for the believer in his
religious and worldly affairs, for he is a slave who has a Lord, and
the slave has no right to ask his Lord why He enjoined something.
Rather he has to submit to His command. If he tells us why, we should
do it, and if He does not tell us why, we should still do it.
3 - Inal-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah al-Kuwaitiyyah(1/49-51) there is a
useful discussion which we will quote here:
With regard to understanding the reasons why things have been
prescribed, we may divide the issues of fiqh into two categories:
1 - Rulings whose wisdom may be understood on a rational basis, either
because the reason is stated in the texts, or because it is easy to
work out.
Such rulings are the majority of those that Allaah has prescribed,
such as enjoining prayer, zakaah, fasting and Hajj in general, and
such as enjoining the mahr (dowry) in marriage, 'iddah (waiting
period) following divorce or widowhood, spending on one's wife,
children and relatives, divorce when married life becomes unbearable,
and many other such issues of fiqh.
2 - Ruling which are enjoined on us as a kind of pure worship. These
are rulings in which the connection between the ruling and the action
is not clear, such as the number of prayers, the number of rak'ahs and
most of the actions of Hajj. By the mercy of Allaah, such rulings are
few in relation to the rulings the wisdom behind which may be
rationally understood. These rulings are prescribed as a test to
demonstrate whether a person is a true believer. It should also be
noted that sharee'ah - both general principles and minor details -
does not prescribe anything that contradict common sense, but it may
prescribe something the reason for which cannot be understood. There
is a big difference between the two. If a person is rationally
convinced that Allaah exists and that He is wise, and that He alone
deserves to be acknowledged as Lord, and he is rationally convinced
that the Prophet(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is a true
Prophet, then he affirms that Allaah is the Sovereign and the Lord,
and that he is His slave. Then if he is commanded to do something or
is forbidden to do something, and he then says, "I will not follow
this ruling until I know the reason behind this command or
prohibition," then he has proven himself to be false in his claim to
be a believer in Allaah and His Messenger. The human mind has a limit
beyond which it cannot go.
The one who rebels against the rulings of Allaah that have to do with
rituals is like a sick person who goes to a trustworthy doctor who
prescribes various kinds of medicine for him, some to be taken before
eating, some to be taken during the meal and some to be taken
afterwards, in various amounts, and he says to the doctor: I will not
take your medicine until you explain to me the reason why this one
should be taken before eating and this one afterwards, and this one
during the meal, and why are they are varying amounts, some small and
some big? Does this patient really trust his doctor? The same may be
said of a person who claims to believe in Allaah and His Messenger,
then he rebels against the rulings the wisdom behind which he does not
understand. The true believer, if he is commanded to something or
forbidden to do something, says, "I hear and I obey," especially when
we have explained that there are no rulings that can be rejected on
the basis of reason. Not knowing something does not indicate that it
is not true. How many rulings are there, the reason for which has been
concealed from us in the past, then we discovered that there is great
wisdom behind them? The reason why pork is forbidden was unknown to
many people, then we found out that it carries germs and disease and
other bad things, and Allaah wanted to protect the Muslim society
against them. The same may be said concerning the command to wash
vessels that have been licked by a dog seven times, one of which
should be with earth... and other rulings the wisdom behind which may be
discovered one day even though it is hidden from us now.
And Allaah knows best.