INTERNAL EVIDENCE

  Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society

Chapter 2

THE PROCESS OF COMPILATION

 

 

1.  INTERNAL EVIDENCE

Although the Qur’an was revealed piece-meal, the fact that its Message was meant to be presented to humanity in the form of a book—that it was to be al-Kitab, or, the Book—projected itself in the very first revelation wherein God mentioned explicitly the role of the Pen in human history. Indeed, we find the Qur’an characterising itself as a book even in the Makkan period of its revelation. Thus, we come across the verses: 

“Praise be to Allah, Who has sent down unto His Servant (Muhammad) the Book …” (18:1). 

“(This is) a revelation from (Allaah) the Compassionate, the Merciful—a Book whereof the verses are detailed …” (41:2-3). 

“By (this) luminous Book! verily We have made it an Arabic Qur’an that haply you may reflect.” (43:2-3). 

“A Messenger (Muhammad) from Allaah rehearsing (unto them) Writs (ÎuÍuf) kept pure (from every type of corruption and falsehood) and holy, wherein are discourses (kutub) eternal.” (98:2-3). 

 

Then, in the portion revealed at Madina the emphasis on the Qur’an as to its being a Book comes before us again. For instance: 

“This is the Book wherein there is no (ground for) doubt.” (2:2). 

“… (the Prophet) teaches them the Book and the Wisdom …” (62:2). 

 

Moreover, we come across the following objection raised by the opponents: “They say: (These are) tales of the ancients which he (i.e., Muhammad) has caused to be written …” (25: 5). This objection too affirms explicitly that whatever portion of the Qur’an had been revealed upto that time existed in written form.

 

All this means that writing down the revelations according to some arrangement was the law that was followed, which means that the Qur’an must have been put into writing from the beginning of its revelation to the end according to some principle, —and that writing and compilation should have been executed not merely on palmleaves and shoulder-bones and pieces of wood and stone but also, and that basically, on paper, or, at least, on parchment, through which alone the form of a ‘book’ could have emerged after properly arranging and putting together uniform pieces of paper or parchment. Indeed, the incontrovertible truth is that the Qur’an grew up as a    book from the beginning—growing in its contents with the progress in revelation, and was used as such by the Muslims even at Makka. Historical facts confirm this fully, as we shall now see.

 

Source

to be continued . . . . .