The Preservation of Quran

Iqra: the first word that started the process of the Quranic revelations to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). The meaning of this word is ‘recite’.  The Quran was revealed to the Holy prophet at a time of its utmost need; a time when mankind was misguided and ignorance was easily found in abundance everywhere. Women were treated inhumanely and the only rule accepted and dominated was ‘Might is Right’. Islam, the religion of guidance and peace for mankind was completely forgotten. 

Quran sets forth rules for everyone and every aspect of life. It was, therefore, imperative that such a book doesn’t get altered to continue to be guidance for generations to come. From the first revelation or Nazool to the preservation of the Quran and making copies, everything was done with great care.

Revelation:

The Quran was revealed by Allah to Muhammad (S.A.W.) via Hazrat Jibraeel (A.S.). The same was not conveyed to the messenger of Allah via any human method which would otherwise, contain errors. Muhammad (S.A.W.) said in repetition to whatever was said to him in the form of the recitation by the angel. His sayings were recorded by Muslims who are educated and who noted down whatever the Prophet (S.A.W.) in the revelation’s duration.

Since it was Allah’s word, Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) was worried about making any mistake of pronunciation when repeating after the Angel. Upon that an ayah was revealed comforting him (S.A.W.) that he need not worry as the words would be pronounced from his lips by His power and no mistake would be made by him in recitation.

Copying:

In the Prophet’s (S.A.W.) time, very few Muslims were educated. Having the skill of reading and writing was considered a great attribute. For recording whatever he said on paper, Muslims having these skills were selected. Numerous copies of the original written material were made and distributed to different parts of the world.

Pronunciation:

The Quran was revealed in a place where the common language of the people was Arabic. The Arabs knew the exact ways to pronounce various words and did not require the need of any kind of diacritic marks on the alphabets.

When the Quran was distributed to different parts of the world where Arabic was not the primary language, so, it became necessary to present diacritic marks to assist in pronunciation. This practice was highly important because in Quranic Arabic, words can give different meaning if pronounced differently. Once pronounced differently, the style might be copied and spread to other parts of the region. Therefore, copies which are revised were sent with complete instructions of the diacritic marks to avoid confusions. It is, thus, customary to learn the Noorani Qaida first before proceeding to recitation of Quran to avoid any pronunciation mistakes.

Divine protection:

Besides the efforts of Muslims, this Holy Book is blessed with the protection of the Almighty Himself. There have been previous revelations to the prophet before Muhammad (S.A.W.) but the holy books like that could not remain preserved in their original state. Humans changed the verses according to their wishes (the ones they could not follow or did not like). The important downside of the Humans could not follow the true guidance of Allah and be directed to the right path. The Quran was, however, given the unique quality of having its creator’s protection. Allah has vowed to protect this book till the end of times. This is mentioned in the Quran in Surat Al-Hijr as:

“Indeed, it is We who sent down the Qur'an and indeed, We will be its guardian.” 

(The Quran 15:9)

This is the greatest evidence that no matter which century we belong to, we can use this book for whatever type of guidance we may need. Be it a matter of women’s rights, dealing with adults, the time of the prayer, patience etc.

Conclusion:

The Holy Quran’s preservation is what makes it unique from the rest of the books. No other book in the world can ever remain unaltered the way Quran has been. Quran hasn’t faced the alteration of even a slight dot in the past 1400 years. We should take advantage of this benefit and blessings (Surah Rahman) by taking its help whenever we seek guidance in a matter or wish to seek mental and inner peace. It is our Dua (40 Rabbana) that all Muslims remain on the right path.