Uloom al Quran The Basmallah and How the Quran was Preserved

Uloom al-Quran: The Basmallah and How the Quran was Preserved -

Navaid Aziz

Opening

(بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ - bismillahir-rahmanir-rahim)

(الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى أَشْرَفِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ - al-ḥamdu lillāhi rabbi al-ʿālamīna waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā ashrafi al-ʾanbiyāʾi wa-l-mursalīna nabiyyinā muḥammadin wa ʿalā ʾālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ʾajmaʿīn)

Questions and Answers Session

Prior to the last break, we didn't have a question and answer session. So, bi-idhni Allahi ta'ala, we'll go through some of the questions that were brought forward quickly.

Question 1: Can we recite and hold the Qur'an during menstruation?

Question: Assalamu alaikum, can we recite the Qur'an at the time of period? Can we hold the Qur'an at that specific time?

Answer: So, the sister is asking that, is it permissible to recite the Qur'an during her menstrual cycle? And secondly, is it permissible to hold the Qur'an during that menstrual cycle?

As for the recitation of the Qur'an, first of all, both of these questions, or the answers to both of these questions, one needs to understand that there is a valid difference of opinion in the answers. That you'll find some scholars who go towards one opinion and scholars who go towards another.

But to summarize it, and without going into too much detail:

• As for the recitation of the Qur'an: Then, bi-idhni Allahi ta'ala, insha'Allah, there is no harm in reciting the Qur'an while a sister is in her menstrual cycle

• As for touching the Qur'an: Then there is a stronger difference of opinion over here. And to stay on the safe side, what the sister should do is wear some sort of covering, either some gloves, or have a sheet between herself and the Qur'an. This is just something to be on the safe side. Like we mentioned, there is a difference of opinion. Some scholars have said it is permissible for her to touch it, some said it is not. But again, to be on the safe side, she should put a barrier between herself and the Qur'an. Something like gloves or a sheet.

Wallahu ta'ala a'lam.

Question 2: Halal and Haram in Common Products

Question: What should be the strategy for us dealing with halal and haram and buying products of regular use? What should we look for out of research? And how should we verify something has undergone istihada? Any rulings on common products like soap, toothpaste, bread, ice cream, deodorant, creams, etc.?

Answer: The general rule in food products is that it is permissible until it is proven haram. And this is the third thing in everything with the exception of ibadah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made our lives facilitated for us.

So when it comes for food, the general case scenario, it is permissible until a person has a reason to think that there is something haram in it.

Now let's just say you come across an item, let's just say maybe cheese or bread that has rennet in it or has mono and diglycerides in it. Now these products can be derived from unquestionably haram sources, the likes of pig, and they can come from substances which are sometimes halal and sometimes haram, the likes of meat which are from cows and from sheep and other than that, depending on whether it has been slaughtered properly or not.

Now when these products are composed, I guess that's the most appropriate word, is when they are composed and put together and compiled, they go through a chemical transformation. And again it's a very detailed process. But amongst three madahib, this chemical change that the components go through, it purifies the substance. So things like rennet and mono and diglycerides, the vast majority of the times they go through this chemical change and they thus become purified of the original substance that was in them.

An example of this or to get a clearer example of this is you can take the example of vinegar. Vinegar is a form of alcohol and can lead to a form of alcohol, and its origin can be from grape juice or from dates or anything other than that. So this chemical process or this metamorphosis at times can purify things.

So amongst three of the schools of thought - amongst the Maliki madhab, the Shafi'i madhab and the madhab of Imam Ahmed - they agree that this chemical change purifies it and thus it is no longer an issue. Whereas in the madhab of Imam Abu Hanifa rahimahullahu ta'ala, they say that this chemical change doesn't bring about purification. Thus it stays on its original form of impurity.

So the general case scenario is to simplify everything: That if a person can go to a halal meat market and can go to a halal grocery store owned by Muslims who are trustworthy, it's better to go there. But if he's unable to do that and he's forced to go to his local grocery store (like I don't know what you have here, but in Quebec we have IGA and Bob Laws, and I've seen the No Frills over here as well, and Maxi as well, and any other grocery store that you may have), that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala didn't make this life extremely difficult for you. So those things that you need like cheese and bread, you have the benefit of the doubt that inshallah it's permissible for you.

Products like meat within of itself, then this is a more debatable issue which again I know every single person likes to ask, "Can we eat the meat of the people of the book in this land or not?" Inshallah the next speaker that comes you can ask him that question inshallah.

But as for myself I won't get into the details. It requires a lot of explanation. But in terms of other things like the soaps and the cheeses and the bread, things that are regular to use, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has made this thing easy and he doesn't need to get into too much detail when looking into these issues.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows best.

Question 3: Miracles of the Qur'an

Question: The questioner mentions that there are people who challenge the Muslims to show miracles of the Quran. Please advise us how to answer this question.

Answer: The miracles of Islam are many. One is the advocacy of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. I was going to be discussing shortly is that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was an unlettered man. That the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam didn't know how to read or write. So for him to come with the Quran, and again this is historically documented that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam didn't know how to read or write, so for an unlettered man to come with the Quran, this is a big miracle.

Then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam splitting the moon and the Quran documenting this, this is a big miracle.

Then you have the scientific miracles of the Quran which was published by Dr. Maurice Bucaille. That he published the scientific miracles of the Quran.

And then you have some of the books that talk about the other miracles of the Quran. So all of this, you know, these are miracles that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala granted.

But again this should not be our general approach to convince people about Islam. As we mentioned in yesterday's class, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He created a fitrah for people, or a natural disposition, that all of us were created upon. Muslim or Kafir, we have this natural disposition where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made something inside of us that we naturally incline towards worshipping one lord. And if you can ignite that fitrah inside the person, then inshallah the person will seek out Islam for themselves. The only matter is reigniting that or kindling that fire of seeking the truth inside the person. And once you rekindle it, then inshallah that makes your task more easy.

And again in terms of miracles, there are numerous amount of miracles up to the person to go back to the books and study them and bring them forth. But again I wouldn't advise this to be the core of your discussion in giving da'wah, but rather it should be who Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is, the prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam being sent to all of mankind, and then you can talk about the Quran, some of the miracles in the Quran. But don't make it the focal point of your discussion.

Wallahu ta'ala a'lam.

Main Topic: The Basmallah and Compilation of the Qur'an

The Status of the Basmallah

Now people may notice why am I being so brief in answering the questions. We have about 20 hours of material which we're trying to cover in a total of 6 hours. So spending time on questions that aren't pertinent to the discussion obviously takes away from it. But likewise at the same time, to not answer those questions is also quite rude.

So now getting back to the discussion at hand, we mentioned some facts prior to the break about the Quran and we talked about the number of verses. And one of the brothers came up to me and he asked me: The number of verses that you mentioned, does this include the basmala as an ayah or does it not include the basmala as an ayah?

So I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to bring this up now. With consensus, the basmala is only part of the Quran in one ayah, and that's in surah an-Naml, ayah number 30. This is with consensus that it is part of the Quran only in one ayah. All the scholars have agreed to this where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"That indeed this is from Sulaiman and it says Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim."

Then the strongest scenario is that the basmala is part of surah al-Fatiha. This is the second strongest location where a lot of the scholars have come to agree that the basmala is part of surah al-Fatiha. But upon further review and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala knows best, the correct opinion is that the basmala is not part of surah al-Fatiha. Again this is a lot of discussion but we're just mentioning opinions for the time being.

Now as for the rest of the surahs, then the more correct opinion is that it is not part of any other surah. So putting surah al-Fatiha aside, it's not part of any other surah.

And again with consensus, it's not part of Surah al-Taubah. You'll notice when you read the Quran at the beginning of surah al-Taubah, even as something which is mustahab for those scholars who say this, it doesn't mention the basmala. But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam agreed that it wasn't to be mentioned before surah al-Taubah.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah wa ta'ala mentions the opinion that the wisdom behind this is that it's a continuation of the surah before it. That surah al-Anfal and surah al-Taubah, you'll notice that the themes are quite similar to each other. That they discuss common themes and in actuality it's just a continuation of one surah to the next with a separation in between. So there's no need for another basmala.

Another opinion is that when you mention "in the name of Allah the most beneficent, the most merciful" (how it's commonly translated), it isn't appropriate to the beginning of surah al-Taubah where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is free from the mushrikeen. So he mentioned that this is another opinion where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala doesn't mention the basmala at the beginning of surah al-Taubah.

The Compilation of the Qur'an

Now continuing with our discussion at hand, we reach the topic of the compilation of the Qur'an. The compilation of the Qur'an went through three main phases before it reached our time. And we'll only focus on those three phases. There's an actual fourth phase which can be divided into many other phases, which is from the time of Uthman until our time today. But we won't be touching on that because again there's a lot of time and there's very little benefit pertaining to it.

So we'll take the first three time periods:

1. During the time of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasalam - How the Qur'an was preserved during that time

2. During the time of Abu Bakr radiallahu ta'ala anhu

3. During the time of Uthman radiallahu ta'ala anhu

So these are the three time frames that we will be discussing.

Historical Context of Arabian Society

Now before getting into this, one needs to look at the historical context and the way society was at the time of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasalam.

So firstly, we mentioned several times previously that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala took it upon himself to preserve the Qur'an. That Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions that he will preserve the Qur'an.

Secondly, we need to understand that as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala promised us this, we should have no doubt as to the authenticity of the Qur'an and how accurate the Qur'an is in relation to when it was first revealed. That we believe that the Qur'an is just as it was revealed without a single letter or vowel or word missing.

Now thirdly, how was society at the time of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasalam? We mentioned that the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wasalam was unlettered or commonly known as illiterate. Now this wasn't something unique to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasalam, but rather it was something very general. That the Arabs of the past, they may have not known how to read and write, yet they maintained their eloquency through their speech and through their memorization.

If you refer back to some of the books of history, they mentioned that during the time of the hajj seasons (obviously hajj was something known from the time of Ibrahim alaihi wasalam), the people would come to the Kaaba and would perform hajj or the pilgrimage and visit the Kaaba. And prior to this season, they would have a competition amongst the poets which they would call the Fair of Okaz. And in this fair they would gather all the poets and all the poets would come together and come up with the best poetry or the most beautiful poetry in describing the Kaaba and the season of hajj.

So we understood that even though they may have been unlettered, meaning that they didn't know how to read or write, they still maintained eloquence in their language.

And another fact to keep in mind is that there are some reports in history that when the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasalam was in Mecca, there were only 17 people who knew how to read and write. This is again some facts that are documented in the books of history. That there were only 17 people who knew how to read and write during the time of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wasalam in Mecca.