QUr'an khadeem or makhluq

The Quran is the book containing the speech of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic and transmitted to us by continuous testimony, or tawatur [1] . Literally the Quran means `recitation' or `reading'; it is the very words of God conveyed by the angel Gabriel to Muhammad (peace be upon him) : "And truly, this (Quran) is a revelation from the Lord of the `Alamin (worlds) which the trustworthy `Ruh' (Gabriel) has brought down; upon your heart (O Muhammad) that you may be one of the warners."[ash-Sh`ara 26: 192-194].
Arabic Quran:
Arabic is the description of the words of the Quran: "And thus We have inspired into you an Arabic Quran."[Ash-Shura 42:7; see also Az-Zumar 39:28; Az-Zukhruf 43:3]. Evidently Arabic is the description of the words of the Quran and not its meaning, because the meaning of words are universal and not restricted to the Arabs. For this reason the scholars of Islam have held that a translation of the Quran into another language cannot be considered as the Quran. The Quran, unlike the Hadith, is the words and meaning of God. Hadith consists of the Prophet conveying in his own words the meaning or concepts inspired by God.
The Miracle (Al-Mu'jizah):
The Quran is the Miracle (mu`jizah) of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the proof of his prophethood. "And if you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down to Our Servant Muhammad then produce a chapter (surah) of the like thereof and call your witness besides God, if you are truthful."[al-Baqarah 2:23]; see also 10:37-38; 28:49;17:88; and 11:13]. In the words of Imam Tabari, "there is no clear discourse more eloquent, no wisdom more profound, no speech more sublime, no form of expression more noble, than [this] clear discourse and speech with which a single man challenged a people at a time when they were acknowledged masters of theart of oratory and rhetoric, poetry and prose, rhymed prose and soothsaying. He reduced their fancy to folly and demonstrated the inadequacy of their logic. He dissociated himself from their religion and summoned all of them to follow him, accept [his mission], testify to its truth, and affirm that he was the Messenger sent to them by their Lord. He let them know that the demonstration of the truth of what he said, the proof of the genuineness of his prophethood, was the bayan - the clear discourse, the hikma - the wisdom, the furqan - the discriminator between truth and falsehood, which he conveyed to them in a language like their language, in a speech whose meanings conformed to the meanings of their speech. Then he told them all that they were incapable of bringing anything comparable to [even] a part of [what he had brought], and that they lacked the power to do this. They all confessed their inability, voluntarily acknowledging the truth of [what he had brought], and bore witness to their own insufficiency.".[2]
Compilation of Quran (Jam' ul-Quran):
The Quran was revealed piecemeal over a period of 23 years: "It is a Quran We have divided into parts in order that you may recite it to people at intervals: We have revealed it by stages." [Bani Israil 17:106]."The unbelievers say, why has not the Quran been sent down to him [Muhammad] all at once. Thus [it is revealed] that your hearts may be strengthened, and we rehearse it to you gradually, and well arranged." [al-Furqan 23:32] When the Quran descended upon the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) he would order his companions (may God be pleased with them) to memorise it in their hearts and to put it down in writing on such materials as was available, such as flat stones, parchments, bones and pieces of wood. As a consequence during the lifetime of the Prophet (saw) the text of the Quran was preserved in the memories of the companions and on numerous inscriptions. It is an article of faith for the Muslim to believe that the Quran with us today is the same authentic text as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). "Falsehood comes not to it from before it nor from behind it; a sending down from One All-wise, All-laudable." [41:42]. It is the Book of God "wherein is no doubt."[al-Baqarah 2:2]."We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and we will assuredly guard it (from corruption)."[al-Hijir 15:9]. "This is indeed a glorious Quran, inscribed on a well-guarded tablet" [al-Buruj 85:21-22]. The authenticity of the entire text of the Quran is proven by universally accepted testimony, in Arabic known as tawatur. The revelation had been completed during the lifetime of the Prophet. The last verse to be revealed being either "Today I have perfected your religion for you and completed my favour toward you, and chosen Islam as you religion." [al-Ma'idah 5:3], or "Fear the day when you will be brought back to God; then every soul will be paid in full according to what it has earned, and they will not be treated unjustly." [al-Baqara 2:281] [3]. The unanimity of the companions of the Prophet, known in Arabic as ijma as-sahaba, confirms that all the verses (ayat) of the Quran had been written during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).Abdul Aziz bin Rafii' has narrated that he and Shadad bin Maqil went to see Abdullah bin Abbas, and Shadad asked ibn Abbas "Did the Messenger of God leave something behind?" Ibn Abbas replied Only that which is between these two covers (i.e., the Quran)." he further added "Then I entered to see Muhammad bin Hanafiah, and we asked him the same question, he replied "He left nothing but what is between these two covers." In surah al-Bayinah (The Clear Proof) God says: "A Messenger from God reciting purified pages." [98:2], which means the companions during the lifetime of the Prophet were reciting from written texts. Abdullah bin Masud has narrated that the Prophet said: "Do not write anything from me except Quran." [Muslim]. Two years after the death of Muhammad (peace be upon him), during the khilafah of Abu Bakr (ra), many of the companions of the Messenger of God were being killed in the battle of al-Yamama fighting the false prophet Musailama. Umar bin al-Khattab (ra) went to see Abu Bakr (ra) and said to him: "The Companions of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, are flocking to al-Yamama like moths plunging into a flame, and I fear that they will not see their homes again, but will fight and be killed. Now these men are the bearers of the Quran [i.e., those in whose memories it is preserved], so the Quran will be lost and forgotten. What if you were to gather it together and write it down?"
Abu Bakr (ra) disliked this suggestion and said: "Should I do what the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, never did?" So they argued about this matter. -Abu Bakr then sent word to Zaid bin Thabit, and [this is how Zaid narrated the sequel]:- "I went to see Abu Bakr, and Umar was sitting there very tense and alert. Abu Bakr said: `This man has invited me to do something which I have refused to do. You [Zaid] are the "scribe" of the revelation. If you agree with me, I shall not do it.' Abu Bakr recounted what Umar had said, while Umar kept silent.
I did not like what I heared, and said:`Should we do what the Messenger of God, may the blessings and peace of God be upon him, never did?' Whereupon Umar said the words:`What could be held against you two if you were to do this?' So we turned it over in our minds, and [coming to the same conclusion] said: `Nothing, by God! What could be held against us for doing this?' So Abu Bakr ordered me to gather the Book together and write it down. I wrote it on page-size pieces of hide, small pieces of scapula and palm leaves."
When Abu Bakr died, and Umar became khalif, all this was written down again on a single scroll and deposited with him. When he died, the scroll remained with his daughter, Hafsa, the wife of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace.
Then, when Hudhaifa bin al-Yaman returned from a military expedition to the Armenian steppes, before he even entered his home, he went straight to Uthman bin Affan (ra) and said: "O Commander of the Faithful, you must attend to the people!" `Uthman said:`What is the matter?' ` I took a military expedition to the Armenian steppes,' he said, `and people from Iraq and Syria took part. Since the Syrians recited [in their prayers] according to the recitation of Ubaiy bin Ka'b and uttered what the people of Iraq had never heard before, the people of Iraq called them infidels. And since the people of Iraq recited according to the recitation of Ibn Masud and uttered what the Syrians had never heard before, the Syrians called them infidels.'
Uthman bin Affan ordered Zaid to write out a definitive scroll for him, saying: "I will send in to work with you an intelligent man whose Arabic is pure; when you are in agreement on something write it down. But if you disagree on something, refer it to me." Uthman assigned Aban bin Said bin al-As to Zaid. When they reached "The sign of his kingship is that the Ark (al-tabut) will come to you" [al-Baqarah 2:248], Zaid said al-tabuh and Aban bin Said said al-tabut, so they refered the matter to Uthman, who wrote al-tabut. When Zaid finished he reviewed the text, but could not find [in written form] the verse"Among the believers are men who were true to their covenent with God; some of them have fulfilled their vow by death, and some are still awaiting, and they have not changed in the least."[al-Ahzab 33:23]. Zaid sought out the Muhajirun, and asked them about this, but he could find no written copy with them. So he sought out the Ansar, and asked them about it, but he could find no trace of it with them. Finally, he found it with Khuzaima bin Thabit, and Zaid wrote it down.
Zaid then made another revisison, and this time failed to find the verses: "Now there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves; grievous to him is your suffering; anxious is he over you, gentle to the believers, compassionate. So if they turn their backs, say: `God is enough for me. There is no god but He. In Him have I put my trust. He is Lord of the Mighty Throne.' [at-Tauba 9:128-129] So Zaid sought out the Ansar and asked them about it, but he could find no trace of it with any of them. Finally he found the written verse with another man called Khuzaima and he set these verses at the end of al-Bara'a (another name for at-Tauba, sura 9).
Zaid then made a third revision of the text and found nothing missing. Then Uthman sent word to Hafsa asking her to give him the scroll, making a promise to her that he would return it. She handed it over to him, and he compared the book Zaid and Aban compiled and found no difference between them. Then Uthman returned it to her. He was pleased and ordered people to copy several books from the master copy. When Hafsa died, a strict order was sent to her bother Abdullah bin Umar for the scroll, and he gave it to them. The parchment was then given a thorough washing to efface what was written on it. [4]
The Quran had been memorised by the companions during the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Abu Bakr's task had been to collect the written pieces of the Quran. The criteria used by Zaid bin Thabit in collecting the written accounts of the Quran was that it must be in the possession of a companion of the Messenger of God, who wrote it in his presence, confirmed by two just witnesses and it accorded with the Quran as preserved in the hearts of the community. Accordingly, Abu Bakr's contribution was only to gather together all the written pieces of the Quran that had been written during the presence of the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace). This definitive collection of the scrolls passed to Umar bin al-Khattab and, upon his death, his daughter Hafsa [5].
The Quran was sent down in seven harfs (dialects) of the Arabic language. During the lifetime of the Prophet (peace be upon him) some of the companions disputed with one another over their recitation of the Quran. Umar bin al-Khattab has narrated that he heared Hisham bin al-Hakim recite the surah of the Furqan during the lifetime of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. Umar listerned to him recite in a manner he had never heared before. So Umar seized him and took him to the Messenger of God. Umar said: O Messenger of God, I have heared this man recite the surah of the Furqan in harfs in which you never taught me to recite it, and it was you yourself who taught me to recite the sura of the Furqan." The Messenger of God said: "Let him go, Umar; and you, Hisham, recite." So he recited for him the recitation Umar had heared him recite and the Messenger of God said: "It was sent down like that." Then the Messenger of God said: Now you recite Umar." Umar recited it as the Messenger of God had taught him. Then the Messenger of God said: "It was sent down like that." Then the Messenger of God said: "Indeed this Quran was sent down in seven harfs. You should recite which ever comes easily to you." [6]. When Uthman saw the Muslims calling each other infidel over their differences in recitation he ordered Zaid bin Thabit, Abdullah bin Zubayr, Abdul-Rahman bin Harith and Aban bin Said bin al-As to compile one definitive copy of the Quran in the dialect of the Quraysh, which was the tongue of the Messeneger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace [7]. Uthman ordered that all other copies in a variant recitation to be destroyed. Copies of were made and sent to Makkah, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Basrah, Kufa in Iraq, and one remained in Medina. Thus, Uthman's task was to unite the Muslim community over a single recension of the Quran, all other harfs were therefore abandoned.
When Zaid had finished his revision of the text, Uthman called for the scrolls kept by Hafsa, he examined both texts and found no difference between them. Proof that the copies that Uthman had sent to the various regions of the Islamic lands were exactly the same as the text revealed by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and written down and memorised in his presence. Following the death of Hafsa, Marwan in his capacity as governor of Medina ordered the washing of the scrolls. Salim bin Abdullah bin Umar has reported that Marawan said he did this because he feared a time would come when the Muslims would doubt whether the Quran in their hands was the same as the scrolls kept by Hafsa. In destroying the scrolls the Muslims had no choice but to believe that the Quran in their possession was the same as that revealed to the Messenger of God.
Al-Tabari in his introduction to Jami al-Bayan `an ta'wil ay al-Quran, said, "The most significant excellence which God granted the community of our prophet, Muhammad, the greatest rank and pre-eminence which He ennobled them above all other communities, the most resplendent mark of honour He granted them, is the preservation of His Revelation."
The Muslim must also believe that the arrangement of the verses within each sura were ordered by the Messenger of God on the command of God through His messenger Gabriel. Uthman has narrated that "When the verses descended upon the Messenegr of God, he would say put them in surah which mentions so and so." [Muslim, Bukharai] The sequence of the verses are definitive (qati) and unchangeable (tawqifi), but the arrangement and sequence of the chapters or surah were the ijtihad (exertion) of the companions. Ahmed, Sahih Ibn Habban and alHakeem have reported from Ibn Abbas that he said to Uthman "Why did you not separate sura al Anfal and surah al-Bara'a with bismi'llahi 'l-rahman 'l-rahim ( In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate)? Othman said: "Al Anfal was among the earliest to be revealed in Medina, and al-Bara'a was from the last of the Quran to be revealed, and its contents are similar to al Anfal, so I thought that al-Bara'a was from al Anfal. The Prophet died without telling us whether al Bara'a was from al Anfal." Said ibn Jabir has narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of God did not know the end of a surah until bismi'llahi 'l-rahman 'l-rahim descended. All this means that the sequence of the verses of the Quran were universally agreed by the companions but the arrangement of the chapters was the ijtihad of the companions, thus in this regard they differed. For example, the arrangement of the chapters in Abdullah bin Masud's copy of the Quran was ordered with al Fatiha first, then al Baqarah then an-Nisaa, then al -i-Imran. Uthman's arrangement places al-i-Imran before an-Nisaa. Imam Ali's arrangement was entirely different. He placed the chapters revealed in Makkah first with the longer chapters revealed in Medina last, so after al Fatiha he had al Muddathir, al Qalam, al Muzzammil, an Nabaa, at-Takweer etc. For this reason the scholars have said that it is not compulsory to recite the chapters in the order we find them in the Quran, but they say it is compulsory to recite the verses within each of the chapters in the order we find them in the Quran. In support of this opinion they quote the tradition "The prophet (peace be upon him) recited during his prayer in the night the Sura of an Nisaa before al-i-Imran." [Muslim]. Some scholars to quote a tradition which prevents reciting the Quran out of sequence, but the prohibition relates to the order of the verses and not to the chapters. Some people maintain that the order of the chapters was dictated by God and quote in support the hadith narrated from Fatima, the daughter of the Messenegr of God: "The Prophet told me secretly that Gabriel used to recite the Quran to me and I to him every year, but this year he recited the whole Quran with me twice, which means my appointed time is near." [8] Abu Hurayrah has narrated a similar hadith [9]. Evidently the recitation of the Quran by Gabriel involves reading it in a sequence; verse by verse and chapter by chapter. However, there is another tradition narrated by Aysha, the wife of the Prophet, which would appear to confirm that whilst the verses were arranged upon the instruction of Gabriel the sequence of the chapters was not: "An Iraqi came to Aysha (ra) and said: `O Mother of the Believers! Show me your Quran?' Aysha replied `Why?' He said: `So I can compile the Quran according to it, because the people recite it without a set order of the chapters.' Aysha said:`What does it matter which chapter you read first?'... She then dictated to him the verses of the chapters (in their proper order) [10]. This confirms that the arrangement of the chapters in the Quran was the result of the agreement of the companions, otherwise Aysha would not have said the order of the chapters did not matter.
It has also been accepted by unanimous testimony of the companions of the Messenger of God that the way in which the Quran has been transcribed into writing, i.e., the written characters of the words, cannot be changed. The scribes of the Prophet wrote down the revelation upon the order of the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, so we are not allowed to substitute the Quranic form of writing a word with its conventional form of writing. This applies to the spelling of the words and not to the style of writing, i.e., calligraphy, which has changed with time.
The Issue of The Quran Being Eternal (Qadeem) or Created (Makhlouq):
During the khilafah of al-Mamun, the Mutazilah held the view that the Quran was created. Al-Mamun adopted this view as a part of the Muslim creed. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal rejected this on the grounds that God's speech is one of His attributes and therefore there could be no rational discussion about this question. The Mutazili scholar al-Huayan al-Karabisi put forward a compromise idea - that the Quran considered, as God's speech was indeed uncreated but that when it was put into human words it became a created thing. Imam Ahmad rejected this idea. Al-Karabisi put forward another view, that the written and spoken Arabic of the Quran was uncreated in so far as it partook of God's eternal speech. This was also rejected on the grounds that it is unlawful to speculate about the Quran in this rationalistic way because as the Quran is an attribute of God to discuss such a question is to discuss the essence and nature of God which is forbidden. Al-Ashari said the Quran is eternal and uncreated word of God but that the ink, paper and the Arabic words of the sacred text were created.
The fact of the matter is that the question is meaningless. Logic can be applied to the question to prove that Quran is both created and eternal. Those that argue that Quran is created say that it is composed of letters arranged and in sequence and in reality, therefore it exists and is a created thing. Those that argue Quran is eternal say that Quran is the speech of God. His speech like His Knowledge, His Will, His Hearing etc. have existed with God from all eternity therefore the Quran is eternal. The truth of the matter is that logic and rational argument is not an appropriate tool in this subject area and therefore the question should not be asked. What needs to be known is that the Quran is the speech of God, the miracle brought by Muhammad (peace be upon him), unaltered and preserved in its entirety.
Notes:
1. Kamali, Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence, p.14.
2. al-Tabari's introduction to his Commentary on the Quran translated by J. Cooper, pp10-11.
3. According to Imam Shawkani the Prophet lived twenty-one days after the latter verse was revealed.
4. Narration from Zaid bin Thabit quoted by Imam Tabari in his introduction to his commentary on the Quran, pp.24-26 of J.Cooper's translation.
5. Sahih al-Bukhari, the Collection of the Quran.
6. al-Tabari's Introduction to his Commentary on the Quran, p17; Sahih al Bukhari
7. Sahih al-Bukhari, chapter `The Quran was revealed in the language of Quraysh and the Arabs'.
8. Sahih al Bukhari,chapter `Gabriel used to recite the Quran to the Prophet'.
9. Sahih al Bukhari.
10. Sahih al Bukhari, Chapter `The Compilation of the Quran'.