Introduction The Qur’ān is the word of the Ever-living God; it has been sent down to guide humanity for all times to come. No book can be like it. As you come to the Qur’ān, God speaks to you. To read the Qur’ān is to hear Him, converse with Him and to walk in His ways. It is the encounter of life with the Life-giver. ‘God - there is no diety except Him, the Ever-living, the Sustainer of existence. He has sent down upon you the Book with in Truth ... as a guidance for the people ...’ (Qur’ān 3: 2-3). For those who heard it for the first time from the lips of the Prophet, the Qur’ān was a living reality. They had absolutely no doubt that, through him, God was speaking to them. Their hearts and minds were therefore seized by it. Their eyes overflowed with tears and their bodies shivered. They found each word of it deeply relevant to their concerns and experiences, and integrated it fully into their lives. They were completely transformed by it both as individuals and as a nation - into a totally new, alive and life-giving entity. Those who grazed sheep, herded camels and traded petty merchandise became the leaders of mankind. New World As we come to the Qur’ān, we come to a new world. Each Ayat [verse] is a sign of God – informing us of His infinite mercy, power and knowledge. No other venture in our lives can be so momentous and crucial, so blissful and rewarding, as our journey to and through the Qur’ān. It is a journey that will take us through the endless joys and riches of the words that our Creator and Lord has sent to us and all mankind. Here we will find a world of untold treasures of knowledge and wisdom to guide us on the pathways of life, to mould our thoughts and actions. In it we will find deep insights to enrich us and steer us along the right course. From it you will receive a radiant light to illumine the deeper reaches of our soul. Here we will encounter profound emotions, a warmth to melt our hearts and bring tears running down our cheeks. It is beyond man’s power to comprehend, or to describe, the greatness and importance of what the Qur’ān holds for him. It is God’s greatest blessing for him. It is the fulfillment of His promise to Adam and his descendants: ‘when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve…’ (2: 38). It is the only weapon to help our frail existence as we struggle against the forces of evil and temptation in this world. It is the only means to overpower our fears and anxieties. It is the only ‘light’ (nur), as we grope in the darkness, with which to find our way to success and salvation. It is the only healing (shifa’) for our inner sicknesses, as well as the social ills that may surround us. Its the constant reminder (dhikr) of our true nature and destiny, of our station, our duties, our rewards and our perils. God - the Greatest The Qur’ān was brought down by the one who is powerful and trustworthy in the heavens – the angel Gabriel. Its first abode was the pure and sublime heart, the like of which no man has never had - the heart of the Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be on him. More than anything, it is the only way to come nearer and closer to our Creator. It tells us of Him, of His attributes, of how He rules over the cosmos and history, of how He relates Himself to us, and how we should relate to Him and to ourselves. Most important is to remember is that what we read in the Qur’ān is the word of God which He has conveyed to us in a human language, only because of His mercy and care and providence for us. ‘The Most-merciful, He has taught the Qur’ān’ (55: 1-2). ‘A mercy from your Lord’ (44: 6). The majesty of the Qur’ān, too, is so overpowering that no human being can truly comprehend it. So much so as God says, ‘If We had sent down this Qur’ān upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and coming apart from fear of God.’ (59: 21). This act of Divine mercy and majesty is enough to awe and overwhelm us, to inspire us to ever-greater heights of gratitude, yearning and endeavour to enter the world of the Qur’ān. Indeed, no treasure is more valuable and precious for us than the Qur’ān, as God says of His generosity, ‘O mankind, there has to come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers.’ (10:57). The outcome of our entire life depends on how we heed the call given by God. The journey is therefore decisive for our existence, for mankind, for the future of human civilization. A hundred new worlds lie in its verses. Whole centuries are involved in its moments. Know, in that case that it is the Qur’ān, and only the Qur’ān, which can lead us towards success and glory in this-world and in the world-to-come. We finish by citing a poem; ‘My mind ponders and contemplates, Dwelling on the reality of life, Yet nothing is as scary as the Realness of the Ever-Living. His closeness, His knowledge of my inner self, The insides tremble and frighten at this reality, I awake, Sometimes, I hear nothing except my heart beating, Beat after beat it beats, One thought is flowing in my mind, All that my mind and body desire at this moment, Is to stand, To stand before Him. This feeling I wouldn’t exchange for the world, To fall prostrate and praise Him, tell Him I love Him and am longing to meet Him. Life is a journey with many intended ambitions -Yet mine is simple……………to meet my Lord when I am closest to Him.’ Editor’s Preface In early 2007, a friend visited me at my home in Birmingham, UK. He was visually emotional and asked if I could give him a translation of the Qur’ān in English. He explained that he had a non-Muslim work colleague who had been enthralled by the Qur’ān and that he, as a Muslim, felt ashamed he had not read it. So I gave him a spare translation I had and began to tell him some basic facts he should know as a seeker of truth – The Qur’ān is a unique book for a multitude of reasons. To name a few: · It does not read in chronological order of revelation –- i.e. the first verse you read from Sūrah 1 is not that first verse revealed - nor the last verse from Sūrah 114 the very last verse of the Qur’ān. · The Qur’ān was revealed over 23 years to the Prophet Muhammad –- Sometimes a few Ayats at a time – (the first revelation began with five ayat, then seven, etc) - and at other times, Sūrahs (chapters) were revealed as a whole. (An Ayat is normally translated as ‘a verse’ - a more accurate linguistic translation would be ‘Sign’ [of God]) · The Archangel Gabriel, under instruction from God, informed the Prophet to arrange the various Ayats into Sūrahs. · These Sūrah’s (chapters) can be divided into two types – - those revealed before the migration of the Muslim community – The Makkan Period - and those revealed after the migration – The Madinan period. - These Sūrahs would often include Ayats from both time periods · The significance of the two periods – - in Makkah the call to one God was new. The Believers were opposed, beaten and oppressed by the Makkans who were the main proponents of idol-worship in Arabia. The revelations in Makkah were regarding the Oneness of God, Paradise and Hellfire, the Day of Judgment etc. This was a period of many trials and tribulations for the Prophet Muhammad and the Believers. - in Madinah the Prophet was the leader of the Islāmic state. The revelations here centered on establishing the religion, engaging the enemies of God, social and legal rulings on marriage, divorce, inheritance, punishment, etc. - The challenges of both periods were different and the various Ayats reflect this. After explaining the importance of knowing the biography of the Prophet in order to deepen one’s understanding of the Qur’ān, I began explaining how amazingly, the Qur’ān has been preserved word for word in written and oral form for over fourteen hundred years – a feat unmatched by any other book, including the Old and New Testament. I then went on to mention the many scientific miracles contained in the Qur’ān and also the prophecies in the Bible about the Prophet Muhammad. All this information I was relaying to my friend was scattered over many books and not contained in a single publication that I could give him. It was at this stage it became evident to me that there was a need to publish a translation of the Qur’ān which would give its reader a complete and informed introduction to the miraculous book. And so, The Qur’ān Project was born. Work then began by first selecting the Saheeh International translation of the Qur’ān as the translation we would use in our print - it is in simple English and corresponds well to the sentence structure of the Arabic. There were two changes that were made to this translation – the word ‘Allah’ was replaced with ‘God’ and ‘Bismillah ir Rahman nir Raheem’ (at the beginning of the Sūrahs) was replaced by ‘In the Name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful.’ It was then decided to use M. Mawdudi’s Sūrah introductions from his commentary of the Qur’ān, ‘Towards Understanding the Qur’ān’ (available online –quranproject.org). These have been edited and abridged to include the most relevant information for a beginner. The following chapters were then selected to also be included:
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 22:18:47 +0000
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