vii
Arabic Consonants
Initial, unexpressed medial and final:
’
b
t
th
j
h
kh
d
dh
r
z
s
sh
s
d
t
z
[
gh
f
q
k
l
m
n
h
w
y
Vowels, diphthongs, etc.
Short:
Long:
Diphthongs:
a
a
i
i
aw
ay
u
u
viii
The Qur’an is the foundation and mainstay of Islamic faith, life and culture. Islam and the Muslim ummah are unique in so far as their bedrock is primarily a Book – the Qur’an. This Book gave the Muslims their distinct worldview and vision of life. Historically speaking, the Qur’an performed the great feat of transforming a motley group of warring tribes of seventh-century Arabia into the Muslim ummah which soon developed into a dynamic world community with a message for humanity at large. It not only fashioned the historical personality of the Muslims but also remained the main source of their inspiration and guidance throughout the fourteen centuries of their history.
The Qur’an encompasses the totality of God’s Revelation to Muhammad (peace be on him), the last in the distinguished series of Prophets raised for mankind’s guidance. The uniqueness of the Qur’an lies in its being the Final Revelation. It is precisely for this reason that it preserves and protects whatever was revealed prior to it. It also represents the culmination and zenith of the Divine Revelation which commenced with the birth of Adam and came to an end with the Prophet’s return to the Mercy of his Lord. Being the Final Revelation, God saw to it that the ravages of time would play no havoc with it: that nothing of it would be lost, nor any part of it altered, nor anything extraneous to it find its way to it. It was God’s Will that the Final Revelation should be preserved in its entirety exactly as it had been communicated to the Prophet (peace be on him) by Gabriel, and exactly as the Prophet (peace be on him) had communicated it to
ix
Towards Understanding the Qur’an
his contemporaries. All this was essential since this Last Book was meant to serve as a beacon light for the guidance of all humanity till the end of time.
The intrinsic value of the Qur’an is evident to many perceiving eyes and reflecting minds. On the other hand is the heart-rending fact that human beings in large numbers are scarcely aware of the Qur’an’s message and teachings. What is more, thanks to the strong Islamophobic media that presently holds sway over the world, multitudes of people are averse to it. Quite a few Muslims regard an accumulation of external factors as responsible for creating a deep-seated prejudice against Islam and the Qur’an. The fact, however, is that it is we Muslims who are to blame more than anyone else for the present state of affairs in so far as we have failed to give this Book its due by making it widely available in a form that would enable our fellow beings to grasp its meaning.
For