The Qur'an is a continuation of the previous divine Messages that Allah sent to people via His Messengers throughout history.
It is the grand finale of those divine Messages. To the polytheistic Arabs of Mecca, nevertheless, Islam was a new religion.
The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters, and each chapter consists of a number of verses. Chapter 2, which is the longest chapter, contains 286 verses, whereas chapters 103, 108, and 110 consist of only 3 verses each. The Qur'an contains 6236 verses in total.
Out of the 114 chapters, 86 were revealed in the twelve years that the Prophet lived in Mecca after the revelation.
The other 28 chapters were revealed in al-Madina. These Madinite chapters include some of the longest chapters of the Qur'an. This is why although they represent about 25% of the Qur'anic chapters; the Madinite chapters make up about 40% of the Qur'an.
A number of those latter chapters contain detailed information on legal issues and answer various questions that were continually rising as a distinct Muslim community was emerging.
The overwhelming majority of scholars consider the following verses the first that were revealed to the Prophet:
Read [O Muhammad!] in the name of your Lord who created (96.1). He created man from a clot (96.2). Read and your Lord is the Most Honorable (96.3). Who taught with the pen (96.4). Taught man what he knew not (96.5)?
Scholars are in far less agreement on which verses were revealed last. This is one verse that is considered likely to have been the last that was received by the Messenger:
And guard yourselves against a day in which you shall be returned to Allah; then every soul shall be paid back in full what it has earned, and they [the souls] will not be wronged (2.281).
THE NAMES OF THE QURAN
NO. NAME MEANING REFERENCE
1. Kitab Scripture 43:2/44:2
2. Qur’an 56:77
3. Kalam Word 9:6
4. Nur Light 4:174
5. Huda Guidance 10:57/31:32
6. Rahma Mercy 10:57/10:58
7. Furqan The Criterion (of right and wrong) 25:1
8. Shifa’ Healing 17:82
9. Maw‘iza Exhortation 10:57
10. Dhikr Reminder 21:50
11. Karim Noble 56:77
12. ‘Ali Sublime 43:41
13. Hikma Wisdom 54:5
14. Hakim Wise 10:2
15. Muhaiman Watcher (i.e., over the previous Scriptures) 5:48
16. Mubarak Blessed 38:30
17. Habl Cable (i.e., Allah’s) 3:103
18. as-Sirat al-Mustaqim Straight Path 6:153
19. al-Qiyyam Straight
The Qur'an and Modern Science
Introduction
The relationship between the Qur'an and science is a priori a surprise, especially when it turns out to be one of harmony and not of discord. A confrontation between a religious book and the secular ideas proclaimed by science is perhaps, in the eyes of many people today, something of a paradox.
The majority of today's scientists, with a small number of exceptions of course, are indeed bound up in materialist theories, and have only indifference or contempt for religious questions which they often consider to be founded on legend.
In the West moreover, when science and religion are discussed, people are quite willing to mention Judaism and Christianity among the religions referred to, but they hardly ever think of Islam.
So many false judgements based on inaccurate ideas have indeed been made about it, that today it is very difficult to form an exact notion of the reality of Islam.
The totally erroneous statements made about Islam in the West are sometimes the result of ignorance, and sometimes of systematic denigration.
The most serious of all the untruths told about it are however those dealing with facts; for while mistaken opinions are excusable, the presentation of facts running contrary to the reality is not.
It is disturbing to read blatant untruths in eminently respectable works written by authors who a priori are highly qualified.
The following is an example taken from the Universalis Encyclopedia (Encyclopedia Universalis) vol. 6. Under the heading Gospels (Evangiles) the author alludes to the differences between the latter and the Qur'an: "The evangelists (. . .) do not (. . .), as in the Qur'an, claim to transmit an autobiography that God miraculously dictated to the Prophet . . .". In fact, the Qur'an has nothing to do with an autobiography: it is a preaching; a consultation of even the worst translation would have made that clear to the author.
The statement we have quoted is as far from reality as if one were to define a Gospel as an account of an evangelist's life.
The person responsible for this untruth about the Qur'an is a professor at the Jesuit Faculty of Theology, Lyon ! The fact that people utter such untruths helps to give a false impression of. the Qur'an and Islam.
In the Introduction to this work, I mentioned the great change that has taken place in the last few years and I quoted a document produced by the Office for Non-Christian Affairs at the Vatican under the title Orientations for a Dialogue between Christians and Muslims (Orientations pour un dialogue entre chrétiens et musulmans).
It is a very important document in that it shows the new position adopted towards Islam.
As we read in the third edition of this study (1970), this new position calls for 'a revision of our attitude towards it and a critical examination of our prejudices' . . . 'We should first set about progressively changing the way our Christian brothers see it. This is the most important of all.' . . . We must clear away the 'out-dated image inherited from the past, or distorted by prejudice and slander' . . . , and 'recognize the past injustice towards the Muslims for which the West, with its Christian education, is to blame.'
At a certain period of history, hostility to Islam, in whatever shape or form, even coming from declared enemies of the church, was received with the most heartfelt approbation by high dignitaries of the Catholic Church.
Thus Pope Benedict XIV, who is reputed to have been the greatest Pontiff of the Eighteenth century, unhesitatingly sent his blessing to Voltaire.
This was in thanks for the dedication to him of the tragedy Mohammed or Fanaticism (Mahomet ou le Fanatisme) 1741, a coarse satire that any clever scribbler of bad faith could have written on any subject.
In spite of a bad start, the play gained sufficient prestige to be included in the repertoire of the Comédie-Francaise.
It is the grand finale of those divine Messages. To the polytheistic Arabs of Mecca, nevertheless, Islam was a new religion.
The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters, and each chapter consists of a number of verses. Chapter 2, which is the longest chapter, contains 286 verses, whereas chapters 103, 108, and 110 consist of only 3 verses each. The Qur'an contains 6236 verses in total.
Out of the 114 chapters, 86 were revealed in the twelve years that the Prophet lived in Mecca after the revelation.
The other 28 chapters were revealed in al-Madina. These Madinite chapters include some of the longest chapters of the Qur'an. This is why although they represent about 25% of the Qur'anic chapters; the Madinite chapters make up about 40% of the Qur'an.
A number of those latter chapters contain detailed information on legal issues and answer various questions that were continually rising as a distinct Muslim community was emerging.
The overwhelming majority of scholars consider the following verses the first that were revealed to the Prophet:
Read [O Muhammad!] in the name of your Lord who created (96.1). He created man from a clot (96.2). Read and your Lord is the Most Honorable (96.3). Who taught with the pen (96.4). Taught man what he knew not (96.5)?
Scholars are in far less agreement on which verses were revealed last. This is one verse that is considered likely to have been the last that was received by the Messenger:
And guard yourselves against a day in which you shall be returned to Allah; then every soul shall be paid back in full what it has earned, and they [the souls] will not be wronged (2.281).
THE NAMES OF THE QURAN
NO. NAME MEANING REFERENCE
1. Kitab Scripture 43:2/44:2
2. Qur’an 56:77
3. Kalam Word 9:6
4. Nur Light 4:174
5. Huda Guidance 10:57/31:32
6. Rahma Mercy 10:57/10:58
7. Furqan The Criterion (of right and wrong) 25:1
8. Shifa’ Healing 17:82
9. Maw‘iza Exhortation 10:57
10. Dhikr Reminder 21:50
11. Karim Noble 56:77
12. ‘Ali Sublime 43:41
13. Hikma Wisdom 54:5
14. Hakim Wise 10:2
15. Muhaiman Watcher (i.e., over the previous Scriptures) 5:48
16. Mubarak Blessed 38:30
17. Habl Cable (i.e., Allah’s) 3:103
18. as-Sirat al-Mustaqim Straight Path 6:153
19. al-Qiyyam Straight
The Qur'an and Modern Science
Introduction
The relationship between the Qur'an and science is a priori a surprise, especially when it turns out to be one of harmony and not of discord. A confrontation between a religious book and the secular ideas proclaimed by science is perhaps, in the eyes of many people today, something of a paradox.
The majority of today's scientists, with a small number of exceptions of course, are indeed bound up in materialist theories, and have only indifference or contempt for religious questions which they often consider to be founded on legend.
In the West moreover, when science and religion are discussed, people are quite willing to mention Judaism and Christianity among the religions referred to, but they hardly ever think of Islam.
So many false judgements based on inaccurate ideas have indeed been made about it, that today it is very difficult to form an exact notion of the reality of Islam.
The totally erroneous statements made about Islam in the West are sometimes the result of ignorance, and sometimes of systematic denigration.
The most serious of all the untruths told about it are however those dealing with facts; for while mistaken opinions are excusable, the presentation of facts running contrary to the reality is not.
It is disturbing to read blatant untruths in eminently respectable works written by authors who a priori are highly qualified.
The following is an example taken from the Universalis Encyclopedia (Encyclopedia Universalis) vol. 6. Under the heading Gospels (Evangiles) the author alludes to the differences between the latter and the Qur'an: "The evangelists (. . .) do not (. . .), as in the Qur'an, claim to transmit an autobiography that God miraculously dictated to the Prophet . . .". In fact, the Qur'an has nothing to do with an autobiography: it is a preaching; a consultation of even the worst translation would have made that clear to the author.
The statement we have quoted is as far from reality as if one were to define a Gospel as an account of an evangelist's life.
The person responsible for this untruth about the Qur'an is a professor at the Jesuit Faculty of Theology, Lyon ! The fact that people utter such untruths helps to give a false impression of. the Qur'an and Islam.
In the Introduction to this work, I mentioned the great change that has taken place in the last few years and I quoted a document produced by the Office for Non-Christian Affairs at the Vatican under the title Orientations for a Dialogue between Christians and Muslims (Orientations pour un dialogue entre chrétiens et musulmans).
It is a very important document in that it shows the new position adopted towards Islam.
As we read in the third edition of this study (1970), this new position calls for 'a revision of our attitude towards it and a critical examination of our prejudices' . . . 'We should first set about progressively changing the way our Christian brothers see it. This is the most important of all.' . . . We must clear away the 'out-dated image inherited from the past, or distorted by prejudice and slander' . . . , and 'recognize the past injustice towards the Muslims for which the West, with its Christian education, is to blame.'
At a certain period of history, hostility to Islam, in whatever shape or form, even coming from declared enemies of the church, was received with the most heartfelt approbation by high dignitaries of the Catholic Church.
Thus Pope Benedict XIV, who is reputed to have been the greatest Pontiff of the Eighteenth century, unhesitatingly sent his blessing to Voltaire.
This was in thanks for the dedication to him of the tragedy Mohammed or Fanaticism (Mahomet ou le Fanatisme) 1741, a coarse satire that any clever scribbler of bad faith could have written on any subject.
In spite of a bad start, the play gained sufficient prestige to be included in the repertoire of the Comédie-Francaise.
0 comments:
Post a Comment