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In fact, there are different ways to prove that the Qur'an is the word of
God, which has always been true and has never been subjected to change
or distortion. These proofs can be classified into three types: the way the
Qur'an was transmitted throughout the centuries, some challenging
verses within the Qur'an itself, and the periodic, modern -day discoveries
in the universe that were first mentioned in the Qur'an more than
fourteen centuries ago.
Unlike the Bible and Old Testament that have been subject to
innumerable translations, doubtful and spurious transmissions, and
corruptions at the hands of clerics up till now (with the 0
versions coming out these days), the Qur'an was transmitted
to us in an unprecedented and unique manner according to rigorous rules
of transmission. The Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) via the angel Gabriel, and the Prophet subsequently
memorized the whole scripture.
We know the Qur¶an was recorded in totality during the lifetime of the
Prophet (pbuh) and the different surahs (chapters) personally arranged
by him. Many copies of the text were used for study and teaching, even in
Mecca before the Hijrah, the migration to Medina.
The entire Qur¶an was written down during the lifetime of the Prophet
Muhammad, and trusting the fact that many scholars knew it by heart, it
was not collected in one volume. It was personally arranged by him, and
the Muslims memorized it in the same order. The companion Uthman
reported that whenever a new verse was revealed, the Prophet would
immediately call a scribe to record it. He would instruc t the person to put
the specific verse or verses in a particular chapter.
During the rule of the first Caliph Abu Bakr, there was a rebellion among
some distant Arab tribes that resulted in a series of fierce battles. In one
particular battle, a number Companions who had memorized the Qur¶an
were killed. The Companion Omar worried that the knowledge of the
Qur¶an was in danger, thus he convinced Abu Bakr that the Qur¶an should
be compiled into book form as a means of preserving it once and for all.
Zayd bin Thabit was entrusted with this important task. Zayd followed
strict methods in his compilation and had dozens of other huffaadh
recheck his work to ensure its accuracy. Abu Bakr, who had also
committed the entire Qur¶an to memory, approved of the final product.
After Abu Bakr passed away, the copy was passed to the Caliph µOmar,
and then Uthman.
However as the Muslim world expanded into lands where the people
spoke Arabic as a second language, the new Muslims had a difficult time
learning the correct pronunciation of the text. The Caliph Uthman
consulted other Companions, and they agreed that official copies of the
Qur¶an should be inscribed using only the pronunciation of the Quraysh
tribe, the Arabic dialect that the Prophet spoke.
Zayd bin Thabit was again given this assignment, and three other
huffaadh were assigned to help him in the task. Together, the four scribes
borrowed the original, complete copy of the Qur¶an, duplicated it manually
many times over, and then distributed them to all of the major Muslim
cities within the empire. Two of these copies still exist today: one is in
Istanbul and the other in Tashkent.
One must keep in mind that in traditional learning in the Arab world,
transmission was based upon an oral tradition as well as a written on e;
the Arabs (and later all Muslims) excelled in accurately reporting
scripture, poetry, aphorisms, etc. through the generations without
change. Similarly, the chain of huffaadh was never broken, and thus the
Qur'an today has reached us in two forms: the memorized version
transmitted through the scholarly chain, and the written version based
upon the Companions¶ initial recording.
Allah has said in the Qur¶an that He alone will protect His book, and
indeed He has kept His promise. The Qur¶an that we read today contains
the same exact words that were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) over 1400 years ago. This is quite a miracle,
especially when you consider that no other group of people can say that
their book has not been subject to change by the time it reached the
present generation.
Only the Qur¶an has survived through the centuries unchanged, and the
language in which it was revealed, classical Arabic, still enjoys practical
usage around the world. While classic English of the 14th century can be
understand by very few native English speakers, the Qur¶an can be
understood by the vast majority of Arabic-speaking Muslims. When
compared to other scriptures, the Qur¶an is unique in these two respects.
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Ref : http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-341960.0.html