Al-Quran, The Final Revelation From God

 What is the Qur'an?

The Word of God 

The Qur'an is the literal word of God, revealed to Prophet Muhammad.

"The revelation of The Book is from God, the Mighty, the Wise." (Qur'an 39:1)

"Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed," (Qur'an 53:3-4)

Guidance for Mankind
The Qur'an is a guidance for mankind and provides direction to help mankind judge between right and wrong. The Qur'an is complete, fully detailed.

"Shall I seek other than God as a judge when He has sent down to you the Book fully detailed?" (Qur'an 6:114)

"And We have revealed the Book to you which has clear explanation of everything, and a guidance, mercy and good news for those who submit." (Qur'an 16:89)

"Do you have another book which you study? In it you find whatever you wish to find?" (Qur’an 68:36-38)

"Ramadan, a month in which the Qur'an was sent down, as a guide to the people and as clarifications of the guidance and the criterion. Those of you who witness the month shall fast therein; and those who are ill or traveling may substitute the same number from different days. God wants to bring you ease and not to bring you hardship; and so that you may complete the count, and magnify God for what He has guided you, that you may be thankful." (Qur'an 2:185)

The Final Revelation

The Qur'an confirms what truth that remains in parts of previous scriptures and refuting and correcting fabrications and additions which have crept into such scriptures.

"O you who have received the Book, believe in what We have sent down authenticating what is with you, before We cast down faces and turn them on their backs or curse them as the people of the Sabbath were cursed. And the will of God is always done." (Qur'an 4:47)

"The messenger believes in that which has been revealed unto him from his Lord and (so do) believers. Each one believes in God and His angels and His scriptures and His messengers - We make no distinction between any of His messengers - and they say: We hear, and we obey. (Grant us) forgiveness, our Lord. Unto Thee is the journeying." (Qur'an 2:285)

"Again, We gave the Scripture unto Moses, complete for him who would do good, an explanation of all things, a guidance and a mercy, that they might believe in the meeting with their Lord. And this is a blessed Scripture which We have revealed. So follow it and ward off (evil), that ye may find mercy.

Lest ye should say: The Scripture was revealed only to two sects before us, and we in sooth were unaware of what they read; Or lest ye should say: If the Scripture had been revealed unto us, we surely had been better guided than are they. Now hath there come unto you a clear proof from your Lord, a guidance and mercy; and who does greater wrong than he who denies the revelations of God, and turns away from them? We award unto those who turn away from Our revelations an evil doom because of their aversion." (Qur'an 6:154-158)

How was the Qur'an Revealed?

The Qur'an was revealed to Prophet Muhammad and exists only in the language in which it was revealed - Arabic. However, the translation of the meaning of the Qur'an is available in many languages.

The Qur'an was not sent down as a complete book in one revelation; rather, the revelation spanned over a period of 23 years.

For this reason, it is essential to know in what circumstances the verses were revealed, in order to have a proper understanding of the Qur'an; otherwise, its teachings could be misunderstood.

How do I know that it is from God?

Preservation

The Qur'an is the only religious sacred text that has been in circulation for a lengthy period, and yet remains as pure as the day it was revealed. No words have been added nor were any words removed. There are however 2 versions of the Arabic Qur'an that are in print, they're known as Hafs and Warsh. They differ in many aspects although they convey the same meaning. The differences are purely spelling and a slightly different numbering system. The meaning of the Qur'an is not effected. Anyone with the most basic Arabic knowledge can prove this by simply comparing the 2 versions.

A common complaint from critics are that the original Qur'an lacks any diacritical marks (dots that differentiated the letters and vowel markings). The letters seen in his Qur'an are thus just the skeletal base of Arabic letters. For example, the word قيل (he said), without diacritical marks would look like this: ڡٮل. According to the claims of Orientalists, a reader can then read the word as فيل (elephant), قبل (before), or قَبّل (he kissed). Clearly, reading such different words would have a huge difference in meaning. Orientalists such as the Australian professor of the early 1900s, Arthur Jeffery, claim that Uthman’s copy of the Qur'an, with its lack of diacritical marks made it possible for variant readings, and thus variant meanings to exist, making the Qur'an today not authentic. There are numerous flaws in this argument:

First, we must remember that one of the ways the Qur'an was preserved was orally. If someone already has a verse memorized, the skeletal letters in a copy of Uthman’s Qur'an served only as a visual aid when reciting. To illustrate this example, we can look at the following inscription on the inside of the Dome of the Rock, in Jerusalem. The building was built in the late 600s and features one of the oldest calligraphic inscriptions in Arabic on the inside of the building, written in the same Kufic script as Uthman’s Qur'an:

For someone familiar with the Arabic language and some basic common phrases regarding the supremacy of God, it is easy to make out what this part of the inscription says:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم لا اله الا الله وحده لا

شريك له له الملك و له الحمد يحي و يميت و هو

على كل شئ قديرمحمد عبد الله و رسوله

In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. There is no god but God. He is One. He has no associate. Unto Him belongs sovereignty and unto Him belongs praise. He quickeneth and He giveth death; and He has Power over all things. Muhammad is the servant of God and His Messenger.

God has protected the oldest versions of the Qur'an to show to us that indeed He has preserved the Qur'an just as He promised.

"Indeed it is We who have sent down the Reminder, and indeed it is We who will preserve it." (Qur'an 15:9)

Not only has the Qur'an been preserved in written form, but also in the hearts of men, children and women. Today, millions of people have memorized the Qur'an from cover to cover (but most put little to any effort in actually learning and understanding what it says).

Uniqueness

Ever since its revelation, no person has been able to produce a single chapter like that of the Qur'an in its beauty, eloquence, splendor, wisdom, prophecies, and other perfect attributes.

"And if you are in doubt as to what We have sent down to Our servant, then bring a chapter like this, and call upon your witnesses other than God if you are truthful." (Qur'an 2:23)

The people that rejected the Prophet Muhammad failed this challenge, even though they were extremely eloquent in the language of the Qur'an.

No Contradictions

When people write, they are bound to make mistakes such as spelling and grammar, contradictory statements, incorrect facts, omission of information, and other various errors.

"Do they not reflect on the Qur'an? If it was from any other than God they would have found in it many discrepancies." (Qur'an 4:82)

The Qur'an has no contradictions whatsoever, be it in its explanations of the water cycle, embryology, geology and cosmology; historical facts and events; or prophecies.

Purpose of Revelation

To Believe in the One True God

"And your god is but One god, there is no god except He; the Almighty, the Merciful." (Qur'an 2:163)

The most important topic mentioned throughout the Qur'an is the belief in the One, True God. God informs us that He has no partner, no son, no equal, and that none has the right to be worshiped except Him alone. Nothing is comparable to God and none of His creation resembles Him. The Qur'an also rejects the notion of attributing human qualities and limitations to God.

To Reject All False Gods

"And serve God and do not set up anything with Him, and do good to the parents, and the relatives, and the orphans, and the needy, and the neighbor who is a relative, and the neighbor nearby, and the friend nearby, and the wayfarer, and those maintained by your oaths. God does not love the arrogant, the boastful." (Qur'an 4:36)

Since God alone is the only One worthy of worship, false deities and false gods must be rejected. The Qur'an also rejects the notion of attributing divine qualities to anyone or anything other than God.

To Narrate the Stories from the Past

The Qur'an contains many narratives with beneficial lessons, including the true stories of previous prophets such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jesus, and Moses. Of these stories, God says:

"In their stories is a lesson for those who possess intelligence. It is not a narration that has been invented, but an authentication of what is between his hands and a detailing of all things, and a guidance and a mercy for a people who believe." (Qur'an 12:111)

To Remind us of the Day of Judgement

This Noble Book reminds us that everyone will taste death and will be held accountable for all their actions and sayings:

"And We place the balances of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so that no soul will be wronged in the least. Even if it was the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it. And We are enough as a Reckoner." (Qur'an 21:47)

To Fulfill the Intended Way of Life

Importantly, the Qur'an teaches that the purpose of life is to worship God alone, and live one's life according to the way of life prescribed by Him.

To give charity

“[True] righteousness is [in] one who believes in God, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets and gives of their wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes Prayer and practices regular charity…” (Qur'an 2:177)

To be honest

"And do not confound the truth with falsehood, nor keep the truth secret while you know." (Qur'an 2:42)

To be modest

"Tell the believing men that they should reduce/lower their gaze/vision and guard their private parts..." (Qur'an 24:30)

"Tell the believing women that they should reduce/lower their gaze/vision and guard their private parts..." (Qur'an 24:31)

To be thankful

"And God brought you out of the wombs of your mothers while you knew nothing. And He has made for you the hearing and the eyesight and the heart, perhaps you would be thankful." (Qur'an 16:78)

To be just

"O you who believe, stand with justice as witnesses to God, even if against yourselves, or the parents or the relatives. Even if he be rich or poor, God is more worthy of them, so do not follow desire into being unjust. And if you twist or turn away, verily, God is Ever Well-Acquainted with what you do." (Qur'an 4:135)

To be patient

"And be patient, for God does not waste the reward of the good doers." (Qur'an 11:115)

To be good

"God has promised those who believe and do good works that they will have forgiveness and a great recompense." (Qur'an 5:9)

Conclusion

In summary, the Qur'an teaches mankind how to worship the one true God, hence fulfilling their true purpose in life, and attaining success in both this world and the next. It is God alone that guides whom He wills to the straight path.

"We have sent down to you the Book for the people with the truth. Then, whoever is guided is guided for himself, and whoever goes astray goes astray to his own loss. And you are not a keeper over them." (Qur'an 39:41)

Don't you owe it to yourself to at least read the Quran in your own language to understand its beautiful verses? Just simply reading and memorizing verses whilst not knowing the meaning of them isn't going to help you, nor will you be able to understand the Qur'an's message this way. Fortunately, the Qur'an is available in about every language today. It must be said that following an accurately translated version of the Arabic verses is following the Qur'an, since what it means to follow the Qur'an is to follow the message therein, not the language, which is only a medium to communicate the message.

[Source: Guided Islam]