1 / 12

Quranic Studies Course Century Welfare Association Belall Maudarbux Week:2

Quranic Studies Course Century Welfare Association Belall Maudarbux Week:2.

floresteresa
Download Presentation

Quranic Studies Course Century Welfare Association Belall Maudarbux Week:2

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Quranic Studies CourseCentury Welfare AssociationBelallMaudarbuxWeek:2

  2. Qur’an: Meaning & Definition- Literal:1-Derived from Qa-ra-a: to recite, read [Tabari]2- Derived from Qa-ra-na: to join together [al Ash’ari] 3- Proper noun, not a derivative: just like, Tawrat, Injil [al shafi’i]- Definition: ‘word of God[kalāmullāh] revealed to Muhammad [p.b.u.h] in Arabic through angel Gabriel and preserved in the mus-haf [written text] through multiple unanimous reports [mutawātir]’ [Qadhi Y. 1999, p.25]- Qur’an is essentially an ORAL text disseminated primarily through recitation [daily prayers] as was the customs of the Arabs.- The Original Qur’an rests with God: ‘But it is a Glorious Qur’an. In a preserved tablet’ [85:21]; also [56:77]

  3. Explanation- Kalāmullah: The precise wordings are divine; they are not Muhammad’s words conveying divine meanings; the latter are hadithqudsī.- The Qur’an exists only IN ARABIC. Translations or transliterations are not-strictly speaking- Qur’an and do not possess its inimitable [I’jāz] features.- Non Arabic words in the Qur’an are have been Arabised and hence their inclusion in the text [e.g: tūr(syriac)-tafiq(Roman)-sijl (Persian)-Sundus (Sanskrit)-Sirri (Greek)]; View of IbnAbbas & ‘Ikrima- Revelations onto previous prophets–though divine- are not Qur’an [except where the Qur’an explicitly cites them; e.g: We decreed for the Children of Israel that whoever kills a souls…5:32]- The Qur’an is an ORAL text. Its compilation in written form in a book is called the Mus-haf. - Marginal reports/texts (IbnMas’ud, Ubayy, etc) are not part of the Qur’an.

  4. Qur’an: Names & AttributesHow the Qur’ān named itself? [5 names]1- al Furqān: criterion [3:1]2- al Dhikr: advice [3:58;14:8]3- al kitāb: book [2:1;16:64]4- al Tanzīl: revelation [26:5; 56:80]5- al Qur’ān: reading [70 occurrences]Attributes:[more than 90][2:2]Guide: A guide for the virtuous[72:2] They (jinns) said: we have heard a wonderful Qur’an (qur’anan ‘ajaban) [5:48]: ‘We sent down the Book in truth confirming that which came before it and has revealed the law…’ (fulfillment theory)[10:57] ‘O mankind! there hath come to you an admonition from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts,- and for those who believe, a guidance and a Mercy’.Note: 3 domains of personal growth: admonition-healing-guidance-….mercy

  5. Scripture: Is the Qur’an a scripture?Lit: from Latin scriptura: a writing.Terminological: the text of a religion considered sacred by its followers- Scripture is used for a ‘text’ that:1- evokes a deep connection with the divine2- conveys spiritual truths3- fosters communal identity4- guides individual and group practice5- is used for liturgical [salāt] and ritual purposes- Mc Auliffe (p3) considers a ‘scripture’ to mean a ‘relationship’ rather than a ‘writing’, a form or a content. In this sense, Qur’an is a scripture not in the Judeo-Christian traditional sense.

  6. The concept of Qur’anic meta-textuality?- The Qur’an speaks of itself. For Wild S. (1996:140), Qur’an is the most self referential holy text in world religions.- The Qur’an ‘describes itself by various generic terms, comments, explains, distinguishes, puts itself into perspective vis-a-vis other revelations,denies hostile interpretations, and so on’ [wild 1999. see Qur’anic names & attributes above].Complexity of Quranic text (McAuliffe:3)- Qur’an describes its verses into 2 hermeneutical categories:1- clear [the ‘mother’ of the book, i.e. matrix for all other verses]2- ambiguous[3:7] ‘He is the one who revealed to you the kitāb in which there are clear verses – they are the ‘mother’ of the book – and others which are ambiguous.’

  7. Example of self-referentiality using the word kitāb- ‘That is the kitāb about which there is no doubt, guidance for those who fear God’ (Q 2:2); -‘indeed, we revealed it as an Arabic quran so that you may understand’ (Q 12:2); -‘these are the verses of the kitāb and a quran that makes clear’ (Q 15:1); -‘a kitab that we have revealed to you, full of blessing so that you may reflect upon its verses’(Q 37:29); -‘rather, it is a glorious quran’ (Q 85:21).Q: The Quran describes itself using different names and several other attributes. - List 5 of them (with references)- What does this multiplicity of description suggest to you?

  8. Wahy: The Islamic theory of Revelation- Meaning: divine inspiration- Different ways: 1-intuition [28:7] ‘And ‘We inspired the mother of Musa’2- Instinct [16:68] ‘And Your Lord inspired the Bees…’3- Guidance [8:12]‘When Your Lord inspired the angels..’4- Revelation [42:51]. This occurs through medium like:1- Inspiration in dream [37:102]2- Divine word through a medium [from fire-to Moses] [27:8]3- Through an angel [2:97]The Islamic theory of QuranicWahy contends that from the time of revelation to its written form, theQur’anunderwent through 4 stages: reception, transmission, preservation and compilation.

  9. Stage 1: Reception of Wahy(A’zami 45-50; Qadhi 75-87)-IbnAbbas: i- The entire Quran was sent down form the ‘Tablet’ (lawhmahfūdh) to the lowest heaven in the night of destiny (laylatulqadr)- Revelation to earth occurred piecemeal –as and when required- for 23 years.- Prophetic experience of wahy: His face would turn red; His breathing heavy and with a snore; sweat heavily; body weight increases heavily.First Revelation: [570 AD- Cave Hīra on Mount Nūr] Story: Muhammad meditating in the cave for days; Sudden appearance of angel Jibrīl- Repeated requests to read-Muhammad cannot read- Angel pressed him against him 3 times and then recited verses 1-5 of sura 96 (‘Alaq)[Qadhi p.89]

  10. Last Revelation-IbnAbbas: several opinions, namely: 4:93; 2:110; 2:278; 2:281- Ibn al Musayyib: 2:282- Majority opinion: 5:3 ‘Today I have perfected your faith….’- Most probable view is 2:281 ‘And fear the day on which you will return to Allah…’ since the Prophet lived for about a week after it (Bukhari; Qadhi p.91 )Earliest MeccanSuras- Order of ‘Abd al kafi:96, 68, 73, 74, 1, 111, 81, 87, 92, 89,93, 94, 103, 100, 108, 102, 107, 109, 105, 113,114, 112, 53, 80, 97, 91, 85, 95, 106, 101,75, 104, 77, 50, 90, 86, 54, 38, 7, 72,36, 25, 35, 19, 20, 56, 26, 27, 28, 17,10, 11, 12, 15, 6, 37, 31, 34, 39, 40,41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 88, 18, 16,71, 14, 21, 23, 32, 52, 67, 69, 70, 78,79, 82, 84, 30, 29, 83- Some variations occur in NoldekeGeschichte des Qorâns

  11. Activity Using any translation of the Quran and the above chronology of the Suras;A-find out how many times the following themes appear [list the sura and verse number for each theme]: (i) wealth/riches and topics related to them(ii) Man’s personality/ attitude, especially his:- arrogance-denial-self sufficiency-calumny/vilification/slur(iv) neglect of the poor & orphans.(V) Hereafter/last day B- Why do you think these early Suras link riches with man’s attitude? Is there any correlation?C- Why do think God talks about wealth and then links it with neglect of the poor and the most vulnerable? D- To what extent do you see the themes of social justice reflect in the daily practice of Muslims in Mauritius?

  12. Graduality In Revelations [Tanjīm] (Qadhi p.81-87)- Qur’an was revealed piecemeal to:i- allow mankind enough time to adapt their behaviour to the requirements of the laws (halāl & harām) and avoid hardshipsii- To allow time for memorisation and mastery of its teachings (progressive approach to Quranic study)iii- To ease the burden of revelation on the ProphetMeccan Critics of Progressive Revelations- Their precipitation and impatience to know the ultimate outcome of Quranic teachings made them frustrated.[25:32] ‘The disbelievers say: why is the Qur’an not revealed to him all at once? Thus (We did) so that We may pacify your heart… (linuthabbitabihifu’ādaka)

More Related