The Qur'an: Essential Teachings. Abdur Raheem Kidwai

any Scripture. For them, oral tradition served as their guidance. Some fallacious views however had crept into the beliefs of followers of even major world faiths who had been favoured with the Scriptures, especially as regards their source status. For example, the Jewish holy Book is reckoned as Scripture by Christians. Known popularly as the Old Testament, it forms part of the Bible. As opposed to this instance of the appropriation of one faith community’s Scripture by another, there is yet another example at the other end of the scale. The Theravada Buddhist Scripture, the Tiptaka is taken only as a preparatory text by Mahayana Buddhists. For Hindus, the Bhagavad Gita is, no doubt, an important religious text yet it is not part of their Scripture, the Vedas. Besides Scripture, there have been serious misconceptions about the nature of divine revelation and its human recipient and the relationship between the two. On this count, the example of the Bible is most instructive. The Bible, though widely regarded as Scripture, took hundreds of years of compilation to receive this designation. No one can say with certainty which part of the Bible represents the exact Word of God and which is the product of its human scribes. More regrettably, for Christians, Christ has more meaning than the Bible.

      In the above quoted passage, the Qur’ān presents a clear and cogent account of Scripture, divine revelation alone being its origin and content and the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as its recipient being the one who faithfully transmitted it to mankind without having any role in its composition. The Qur’ān represents wholly the Word of God in its purity. In stating these articles of faith, the Qur’ān dispels all the prevalent misconceptions about Scripture which is the very basis of a faith community. More significantly, the Qur’ān declares that it is a miracle which is unique and inimitable. Also, it clarifies the relationship between the Word of God, the Qur’ān and its bearer the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) who is essentially God’s servant. It leaves no room for confusion.

      The passage is equally remarkable for the statements it declares, though initially directed at its immediate addressees, yet addressed to the whole of mankind. These are that

       The Qur’ān is the direct Word of God.

       It was sent down piecemeal to Allah’s servant, the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

       The Qur’ān is inimitable.

       No human being, individually or jointly, can produce anything like the Qur’ān.

       Those refusing to accept the above statement as true will be consigned to Hellfire.

      Moreover, the passage vindicates the Oneness and Omnipotence of Allah, the Messengership as well as the humanness of the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and the genuineness of the Qur’ān as the Word of God.

      At the outset, it is declared that the Qur’ān is the direct Word of God. On this count the Qur’ān excels all existing Scriptures. For the latter have been distorted beyond recognition. It is impossible for one to distinguish between their divine and human components. By contrast, the Qur’ān has been preserved in its pristine purity since the day of its revelation up to the present time. It exists word by word exactly as it was sent down by Allah. Another striking feature of the Qur’ān is its gradual revelation, spread over around 23 years, which bears out its uniqueness. For it was sent down as the Book of guidance for an emerging community of believers in seventh-century Arabia. Circumstances changed dramatically during the course of its revelation. The community naturally needed clear instructions at each and every step. That the Qur’ān adequately catered for their ever-changing needs reinforces its divine credentials. For only the Word of God could steer a community in such trying circumstances. Furthermore, that the Qur’ān helped establish the invincible Muslim community and Islamic state and the splendid Islamic civilisation in Arabia during the brief span of only 23 years is another pointer to its miraculous nature. Only Allah’s Book could accomplish all this in such a short time. Such a feat is without a parallel in history.

      The Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him), servant of Allah is introduced as its recipient. This point is emphasised with a view to refuting misconceptions about his role in the authorship of the Qur’ān. Being a servant of Allah he regarded it as his greatest privilege to transmit it faithfully to his audience. As an unlettered person, not known for his literary or intellectual prowess in his pre-Prophetic life, he could not be credited with the composition of such a masterpiece as the Qur’ān is. However, blinded by their stubborn opposition to Islam, the unbelieving Arabs rejected the Qur’ān as the product of the Prophet’s mind. In this passage they are asked to see reason and realise that the Prophet being Allah’s obedient servant did not and could not ascribe anything to Allah which was not His. Notwithstanding this weighty argument adduced by the Qur’ān, even present-day detractors of Islam persist in hurling the same silly charge of dubbing the Qur’ān as the work of the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him). It shows their ignorance of the phenomenon of divine revelation and their inability to note the marked distinctions between the human and the divine. In their malicious attempt to divest the Qur’ān of its divine origin, they betray their lack of discernment. A work as perfect as the Qur’ān could not be produced by the human mind.

      Going a step further, the Qur’ān throws out an open challenge, asking the distrustful unbelievers to compose even one sūrah (chapter) like the Qur’ān. They are further told to seek the help of others, including those whom they imagine to be gods, besides Allah, in taking up this challenge. As part of this scintillating challenge the Qur’ān asserts that the unbelievers, both in the present and future, will never achieve any success in this attempt. History testifies that this Qur’ānic challenge has remained unanswered. Man should better realise that the Qur’ān is a miracle and that he is wholly subservient to Allah. Since this is the incontrovertible truth, man should not pursue further the path of falsehood or self-destruction which would land him only in Hellfire. Both the unbelievers and their idols made of stone will be the fuel of Hellfire. It will add to the unbelievers’ anguish to see their idols beside them being roasted in Hellfire.

      This dire warning rests on the premise that the Qur’ān is an unmatchable work. The unbelievers will never be successful in composing anything like the Qur’ān because it is characterised by numerous outstanding features. Of these, the following are worth mentioning:

       Unlike the palpable miracles granted to earlier messengers, which were specific to their time and place, the Qur’ān is timeless, relevant for all mankind until the end of time.

       The Qur’ān is inimitable in terms of its literary, linguistic and rhetorical excellence, a point conceded, in equal measure, by both the seventh-century unbelieving Arabs and twentieth century Orientalists. Since its emergence on the scene, the Qur’ān has all along been the standard in the Arabic language and literature, against which all literary works are measured. In its vocabulary, usage, idiom, figurative language, literary devices, narrative techniques, textual finesse and stylistic features the Qur’ān is a work par excellence. Any human work pales into insignificance in comparison to its literary splendour and majesty.

       Notwithstanding its considerable length, consisting of more than six thousand verses, the Qur’ān stands out for its perfect coherence and cohesion. Unity of thought and singleness of purpose permeate and bind every part of the text. This distinction has never been achieved in any literary work composed by man. Some Qur’ānic scholars have conclusively identified this continuity of thought and thematic unity, featuring as it does like a thread, connecting one