Course Title: Islamic Studies

Course code: HU-101

Course Instructor: Dr. Kulsoom Fatima
Credit hours: 2
Department of Mechanical Engineering (SMME)
THE HOLY QURAN : GUIDANCE FOR MANKIND

➢ 1.Introduction to the Holy Quran (Revelation, Preservation &

Compilation)
➢ 2.Main Themes of The Holy Quran
➢ 3.Significance of The Holy Quran
➢ 4.Building Relationship With The Holy Quran
➢ Conclusion
 1. Introduction to the Holy Quran

The Holy Quran is last revealed book by Allah on his last beloved
Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). This book has
authenticated the earlier revealed books including Zaboor ,Old
testament and New testament) and repealed their injunctions.
The Holy Quran is written in Arabic and it is the word of God.
The word Quran literally means both “Recitation” and
“Reading”. It is the only book which is being read through out
the world.
The word Quran appears about 70 times in the Quran itself, •
assuming various meanings. it is derived from the Arabic word
meaning ‘he read’ or ‘he recited’.it is said in the )‫“(قرأ‬qara’a” ,
Holy Quran:

(Al-Qiyamah:17)ُ‫إِ َّن َعلَْي نَا ََجْ َعهُ َوقُ ْرآنَه‬

Translation: “Indeed, It is for us to collect and recite it”

It is the last divine scripture, revealed to Holy Prophet

Muhammad(PBUH), over a period of twenty-three years, through
an Angel Jibrail. It was revealed in portions, every portion used to
be written and committed to memory as soon as it was revealed.
 1.1 Revelation of the Holy Quran

Revelation: The Arabic word for revelation is “Wahi” derived

from the word ‘awha’ which means to inform secretly.
The Holy Quran was first revealed on the Holy Prophet Hazrat
Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him)at the age of 40 in the Cave
of Hira (Mecca).where he would spend his time in worship and
solitude.
One day Hazrat Jibraeel appeared before him while he was
meditating and asked him to read, This was repeated thrice
after which the angel Jibraeel recited the following five verses
of Surah Alaq:
 ِ ‫ق‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ن‬ ِ
‫م‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ا‬ ‫س‬ ‫ن‬ ِ
‫اْل‬ ‫ق‬‫ل‬ ‫خ‬ ‫ق‬ ِ َّ ِ ِ ِ ِ
‫ك‬ ‫ب‬‫ر‬ ‫و‬ ‫ا‬
‫ر‬
َ َُّ َ َْ ‫ق‬
ْ ‫ا‬ ) ۲ ( َ َ ْ َ َْْ َ َ َ ) ۱ ( َ َ ْ َ َ ْ َْ ‫"ا‬
‫ل‬
َ ‫خ‬ ‫ی‬ ‫ذ‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ك‬ ‫ب‬‫ر‬ ‫م‬ ‫س‬‫ِب‬ ‫ا‬
‫ر‬ ‫ق‬
ْ
‘‘‫سا َن َما ََلْ یَ ْعلَ ْم‬ ‫ن‬
ْ ِْ ‫) َعلَّم‬۴(‫) الَّ ِذی َعلَّم ِِبلْ َقلَ ِم‬۳(‫ْاْلَ ْكرم‬
‫اْل‬
َ َ َ ْ َُ

Translation: “Proclaim in the name of your Lord

who created(1)
Created man from a clinging substance(clot of
blood)(2)
 Recite, and your Lord is the most Generous(3)
Who taught by the pen(4)
Taught man that which he didn’t know(5).”
Revelation methods:
 1.2 Preservation of the Holy Quran
Writing and Memorization
During the period of Revelation, the verses of Quran were memorized as
they were revealed and also it was preserved in writing by 40 Amanuensis
of the Revelation .They wrote it on different materials such as :
 the piece of Leather
 thin slate of white stones
The round bone of the shoulder of the camel
Parchment
Branches of palm trees
But it was not in a form of book which is present today
 1.3 Compilation of Holy Quran
During the period of Caliph Hazrat
Abu Bakar(R.A)

During the time of Caliph Hazrat Abu Bakar (R.A), when 70 people
who knew the Quran by Heart were killed in the Battle of Yamama,
Hazrat Umar (R.A) came and appealed to Hazrat Abu Bakar(R.A) in
order to compile the Quran into the form of book.
Hazrat Abu Bakar (R.A) formed a delegation under the leadership of
Hazrat Zaid bin Thabit (R.A) , thus the delegation of 75 people came
together and collected all the material on which verses from the
Quran were written .
• Zaid bin Thabit traced out and collected chapters of the Quran
from every person and material on which the Quranic verses
were being written. He was not content just Finding a written
piece of the Quran from every person, but he also verified it.

The script prepared by Zaid bin Thabit(R.A) remained with the first
Caliph and after his death was transferred to the custody of Hazrat
Umar (R.A), the second Caliph . After his death , the script was
transferred to Hazrat Hafsa (R.A).
 1.4 Dialect of Quraish

Then a difference was observed in the recitation of the Quran in

the period of Hazrat Usman (R.A) . Hazrat Usman (R.A) said that
the dialect of Quraish should be preferred. Then the verses were
written in the Quraish dialect. The old copies were destroyed to
prevent future conflicts.
Names of the holy Quran:
The word Quran is mentioned frequently in the book itself.
According to scholars ,it has fifty-five other names derived from
various Quranic verses, some of them are:

1. Al-Kitaab - The Book (Al Baqarah: 2)

2. Al-Quran – (Recited) (Al Baqarah: 185)
3. Al-Zikr (Adh-Dhikr) - the remembrance/Reminder (Al Hijr : 9)
4. Al-Furqan–the distinction between Truth and Falsehood (Al Furqan: 1)
5. Al-Huda – The Guidance (Al-Imran:4)
6. Al-Majeed – The Glorious (Al-Hud:73)
 ‫ض ُه ْم‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ب‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ا‬‫ك‬ ‫و‬ ‫ل‬‫و‬ ِ
‫ه‬ ِ
‫ل‬ ‫ث‬ ِِ
‫ِب‬ ‫ن‬ ‫و‬ ‫ت‬ْ
‫َي‬ ‫ْل‬ ِ
‫آن‬‫ر‬ ‫ق‬ ْ
‫ل‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ا‬‫ذ‬ ‫ه‬ ِ
‫ل‬ ‫ث‬ ِِ
‫ِب‬ ‫وا‬ ‫ت‬ْ
‫َي‬ ‫ن‬ َ
‫أ‬ ‫ى‬‫ل‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ن‬ ِ
‫ْل‬ ‫ا‬‫و‬ ‫س‬ ‫ن‬ ِ
‫اْل‬ ِ
‫ت‬ ‫ع‬ ِ ِ
ُ َْ َ َ َ
َْ ْ َ ُ َ َ ْ ُ َ َ ْ ُ َ ْ َ َ ُّ ْ َ ُ ْ ْ َ َ َ ْ ‫قُ ْل لَئ‬
‫م‬ ‫ت‬ ‫اج‬ ‫ن‬
(Al-Israa: 88) ‫ريا‬ ‫ه‬ِ ‫ظ‬
َ ‫ض‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ب‬ِ‫ل‬
ً َْ
Translation: “Say, If men and jinn should gather together to
produce the like of this Quran, they could not bring the like of it,
even if they assisted one another”.

(Al -Ana’aam:155) ‫ار ٌك فَاتَّبِعُوهُ َواتَّ ُقوا لَ َعلَّ ُك ْم تُ ْر ََحُو َن‬ ِ

َ َ ُ ُ َ َ ٌ َ‫ َو َه َذا ك‬
‫ب‬ ‫م‬ ‫اه‬‫ْن‬
‫ل‬‫ز‬ ‫َن‬
ْ ‫أ‬ ‫اب‬‫ت‬
Translation: “And this is a book which We have revealed as a
blessing, so follow it and fear (Allah), that you may receive
mercy”.
 2.Main Themes of the Holy Quran

➢ Theology (Aqaa’id)
➢ Tenets of Islam (Pillars/Arkaan)
➢ Reward And Punishment
➢ Laws (Personal, Public & International)
➢ Economics
➢ Social Life
➢ Domestic Life (Status of Men & Women)
➢ Politics
➢ Historical Events (Real Stories)
3.Subject matter of the Holy Quran
➢ The magnitude and variety of the Quranic theme is
unique.
There are four main subject divisions of the contents of
the Holy Quran:

(1) Passages commanding worship of Allah, The Creator

and Bestower, and His marvelous creation.

(2) Eschatology - Resurrection, Judgement, Rewards and

Punishment in the Hereafter.
 CONT….
(3) Narratives of earlier Prophets - The Quran speaks very lovingly
about all Prophets.

(4) Commandments and regulations for conducting all earthly

affairs. So, the Quran contains the general code of the Muslim
world - social, civil, commercial, military, judicial, criminal and
religious.
Everything is regulated from ceremonies of religion to those of
daily life, from salvation of soul to the health of body, from
morality to crime, from punishment here to that of life to come.
 4.Comprehensiveness of the Holy Quran

➢ Islam is a belief system with moral and practical laws that are
inculcated in Quran. The fact is that mankind is in a loss if it does not
pay heed to the advice given to it in the Holy Quran. Allah says:

(Al- Nahal: 89)‫اب تِْب يَ ًان‬َِ ‫ك ال‬

‫ت‬ ‫ْك‬ َ ‫➢ َونَ َّزلْنَا َعلَْي‬
َ
Translation: And We have revealed to you the book which clarifies
every matter.”
 CONT…..
➢ We have so many verses in the Quran which tell us that the
Quran is a guidance to mankind and Allah guides those who obey
the commands of Allah. It says:

(Al-Yoonus: 9) ‫ات یَ ْه ِدی ِه ْم َرُّّبُ ْم ميِِِنَامِِ ْم‬َ

ِ ‫الص‬
ِ ‫اِل‬ َّ ‫وا‬ُ‫ل‬‫م‬ِ ‫➢ إِ َّن الَّ ِذین آمنُوا و َع‬
َ َ َ
Translation: “No doubt Those who believe, and work in
righteousness, the Lord will guide them because of the faith.”
 CONT…..
The Holy Quran is very steadfast about being a guidance to man. It
is a message of significant importance which has to be obeyed and
followed by the entire mankind. Allah says:

ِ ‫الص‬
ِ ‫اِل‬
َّ ‫ات أ‬ ِ َّ ِ ِ ِ ِ ِ َّ ِ ِ َّ ِ
‫َن‬ َ َّ ‫ن‬
َ ‫و‬‫ل‬
ُ ‫م‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ی‬ ‫ین‬‫ذ‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ني‬ ‫ن‬ ‫م‬‫ؤ‬ْ
َ ْ َ َ َ ُ ُ َُ َ ُ َ َ ‫ْم‬
‫ل‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ش‬ ‫ب‬ ‫ی‬‫و‬ ‫م‬‫و‬ ‫َق‬
ْ ‫أ‬ ‫ي‬‫ه‬ ‫ِت‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ي‬‫د‬ ‫ه‬ ‫ی‬
َْ ْ‫ن‬
َ ‫آ‬‫ر‬ ‫ق‬
ُ ْ‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ا‬‫ذ‬َ َ ‫إ‬
‫ه‬ ‫ن‬
(Al-Israa’: 9)‫ريا‬ ِ‫َجرا َكب‬
ً ً ْ ‫ََلُ ْم أ‬
Translation: “Verily this Quran guides to that which is most
straight(upright) and gives the glad tidings to the believers who
work towards righteousness, that there is a great reward for
them.”
 5.Significance of the Holy Quran

➢ The Holy Quran was revealed in the Arab Society but it addressed to
whole Mankind. There are Verses in the Holy Quran where Allah
Almighty explicitly talks to the Arabs and there are Verses in the Divine
Book where Allah Almighty talks to whole Mankind.
The Holy Quran directs that there should be a group of people who should
invite others to virtues and should forbid them from evils.
➢ Why was the Quran revealed? Quran answers this question by saying
that it is:
“A guidance and a mercy for those who do good(good-doers).” (Surah-
Luqmaan: 3) .
 CONT…..

➢ This verse clearly tells us that the Quran is meant to be a guidance for
the entire human race, but it is a mercy only to the righteous ones.
➢ Who are the righteous ones? Quran answers it by saying that: "Those
who believe in the Unseen, establish Prayer, and donate from what we
have provided to them and who believe in that which has been
revealed unto you(O Prophet) and which was revealed before you,
and believe in the Hereafter.” (Al-Baqarah: 3-4)
 6.Building Relationship with the Holy Quran

Holy Quran is the Book that can be understood by a laymen as well as

the scholars. We need to understand that it is a book that was meant
to be for all times.
It is guidance for Mankind on how to live in this world and how to
prepare for the life hereafter. It has directions on what to do in times
of war, and wars must be fought when deemed necessary.
This book has guided a great number of people to the straight path
than any other book in the world. Although the Quran was brought
down in Arabic, it is for the whole of Mankind.
 7.The Holy Quran and Character Building

The Holy Quran is the tool with which the Holy Prophet (Peace Be
Upon Him) built the character of the most uncivilized people of
that time.

Character can be classified into Constructive and Destructive.

Among the destructive characters (discouraged by the Quran) are:
“jealousy, lying, Love for this world, power and status, Obscenity,
Show off, Vanity and selfishness etc.”
 Cont…

Whereas among the characters which bring success are: Sincerity,

Positive thinking, Justice, Compassion, Trust in Allah, Truthfulness,
Abiding by Bonds and many others. The Holy Quran promotes all
these desired traits.
All the Islamic compulsory forms of worship i.e. Prayer, Zakat,
Fasting, Hajj and Jihad etc. are designed as exercises and training to
enable people to acquire correct morals and habits to live
righteously, and adhere to these virtues till the end, whatever
circumstances may be.
Conclusion