Hajr-uz-zawiyah

LESSON 1
How was Islam taught?

Di erences between traditional and Modern teaching methods.

Teaching styles and spiritual elements

The Role of the Messenger (s) :

The Qur'an consistently employs derivations of Tala (: Recited ‫( ﺗﻞ‬Yutla, Atlu, Tatlu, Yatlu
etc., tatlu, Jatlu etc. (‫ ﻳﺘﻠﻰ‬،‫ أﺗﻠﻮ‬،‫ ﺗﺘﻠﻮ‬،‫ﻳﺘﻠﻮ‬.(We read this in verses 3:164,22:30,29:45 and 62:2,
among many others; all of them allude to Prophet's role of disseminating the revelations
throughout the Community .But recitation alone is insu cient if it is unaccompanied by
instruction. The Prophet's responsibilities towards the Word of Allah are easily discerned
in the following verses, the first being from Prophet Ibrahim’s Dua. Baqarah:129.
Other. Verses : 3:164, 2:151, 75:16-19.

To continually refresh the Prophet's memory, the Archangel Jibril would visit him particularly
for that purpose every year. Quoting a few Hadith in this regard:

Fatima said, "The Prophet informed me secretly, Jibril used to recite the Qur'an to me
and I to him once a year, but this year he has recited the entire Qur'an with me twice. I do
not think but my death is approaching.” [Al-Bukhari, Sahih , Fada'il al-Qur'an.]
Ibn 'Abbas reported that the Prophet would meet with Jibril every night during the month
of Ramadan, till the end of the month, each reciting to the other. [Al-Bukhari, Fada'il
Saum]
Abu Huraira said that the Prophet and Jibril would recite the Quran to each other once
every year, during Ramadan, but that in the year of his death they recited it twice.'”
[Al Bukhari, Fada'il al-Qur'an.]
Ibn Mas'ud gave a similar report to the above, adding , “whenever the Prophet and Jibril
finished reciting to each other I would recite to the Prophet as well, and he would inform
me that my recitation was eloquent."
The Prophet, Zaid b.Thabit, and Ubayy b.Ka'b recited to one another after his last session
with jibril. The Prophet also recited twice to Ubayy in the year he passed away. [Taahir Al-
Jazairi, at-Tibyaan, p.126]
 Each of the above hadiths describes these recitations and Prophet using the term
Mu'drada." MUĀRADA (‫( ﻣﻌﺎرﺿﺔ‬is from MUFA’ALA (‫ ﻣﻔﺎﻋﻠﺔ‬,(meaning that two people are
engaged in the same action. For example MUQĀTALA (‫ ﻣﻘﺎﺗﻠﺔ‬:(to fight each other. Thus
MUĀRADA indicates that Jibril would read once while the Prophet listened, then vice versa.
The general practice continues to this day. A few of the Companions were infact a privy to
this Mu'arada between the Prophet and Jibril , such as 'Uthman, Zaid b. Thabit, and 'Abdullah
b. Mas'ud.

Important Principles Derived :

Study is a slow process.

You need a Study Buddy

And so after memorisation, the responsibilities of recitation, compilation, education and

explanation coalesced into the Prophet's prime objective throughout his prophethood, duties
he discharged with tremendous resolve, sanctioned in his e orts by Allah.

TEACHING THE QUR'AN

Incentives for Learning, Teaching and Reciting the Holy Qur'an :

Uthman bin 'A an reports that the Prophet said, “The best among you is the one who
learns the Qur'an and teaches it”. The same statement is reported by 'Ali bin AbI Talib.
According to Ibn Masud the Prophet remarked, “If anyone recites a letter from the Book
of Allah then he will be credited with a good deed, and a good deed attains a tenfold
reward. I do not say that Alif Laam and Meem are one letter; but Alif is a letter, Laam is a
letter and Meem is a letter.”
Among the immediate rewards for learning the Quran was the privilege of leading fellow
Muslims in prayer as Imaam , a crucial post especially in the early days of Islam. 'A'isha an
Abu Masud al Ansari both report that the Prophet said, "The person who has memorised,
or learned, the Qur'an the most will lead the others in prayer,"!' 'Amr b. Salima al-jarmi
recounts his tribe came to the Prophet, intending to embrace Islam. As they turned to
depart they asked him, "Who will lead us in prayer ?” and he replied, "The person who has
memorised the Quran, or learned it, the most." During the Prophet's last days Abu Bakr's
privilege to lead the daily prayers, and this proved to be his greatest credential when the
time came to appoint a caliph for Muslim nation.
Another benefit was the electrifying possibility of observing the angels. Usaid bin Hudair
was reciting the Quran in his enclosure when his horse began jumping about frantically.
Repeatedly he would stop till the horse was calm, and begin reciting only to have the
horse jumping wildly again. Eventually he stopped altogether for fear his son trampled;
while standing near the horse he observed something like a overhanging canopy above
him, illuminated with lamps and ascending through the sky till it disappeared. The next
 day he approached the Prophet and informed him of the night's occurrences. The
Prophet told him that he should have continued reciting , and Usaid bin Hudair replied
that he had only stopped on a his son Yalna. The Prophet then said, "Those were the
angels listening to you, and had you continued reciting, the people would have seen them
in the morning for they would not have concealed themselves from them.?"
Ibn 'Umar narrates from the Prophet, "Envy is justified in only two cases: a man who,
having received knowledge of the Quran from Allah, stays awake reciting it night and day;
and a man who, having received wealth from Allah, spends on others night and day.
Respect and Dignity: Umar bin al-Khattab states that the Prophet said, "With this book
Allah exalts some people and lowers others." In expounding on the excellence of the
hu az, Abdullah bin Amr reports that the Prophet said, "The one who was devoted to the
Quran will be told [on the Day ofJudgment] to recite and ascend , and to recite with the
same care he practised while he was in this world, for he will reach his abode [in Heaven]
with the last verse he recites."
Dangers of Ignoring the Connection with the Quran: And for that lethargic slice of society
which favours idleness over these benefits, the Prophet confronted them with warnings.
Ibn Abbas narrates that the Prophet said, ''A person who has nothing of the Quran within
him is like a ruined house" He also condemned the forgetting of verses after having
memorised them as a grievous sin and advised people to go through the Qur'an regularly.
Abu Musa al-Ash'ari reports that the Prophet said, "Keep refreshing the knowledge of the
Qur'an, for I swear by Him in whose hand is the life of Muhammad that it is more liable to
escape than hobbled camels.
A great Hadith about the Quran: Hadith regarding who leave the Quran. The tashrih of it
should be studied from Tafheem Al Hadith and it’s explanation.

The Makkan Period:

What are the Surah revealed in Mekkah. What are its peculiarities.

The Prophet as Teacher:

After Abu Bakr Islam and How he brought others along with him to the prophet (s) and
how he taught them.
Abu Ubaidah, Abu Salama, Abdullah bin Al-Arqam.
Utbah bin Rabiah comes to the Prophet with a o er from Qureysh. Prophet listens
patiently and then recites to him the Quran.
Umar Conversion story and Quran.
Quran selection and recitation with the Di erent tribes that came for Pilgrimage. How
Abu Bakr helped him with their genealogy and how prophet selected the verses.
Teaching to some 20 Christians that came from Ethiopia.
Specific Surah being taught to the companions: Rafi Ibn Maalik is the first to bring Surah
Yousuf to Madina. Some were taught Ya-Seen, Ta-Ha etc.

The Companions as Teachers:

 Abdullah Ibn Masood was the first Companion to teach the Quran.
Khabbab bin Al Arath taught to both Fatima ('Umar bin al-Khattab sister), and her
husband Said Bin Zaid.
Musab bin Umair as teacher in Madina.
The Outcome of this Educational Policy in Makkan Period:
Propagation beyond Mecca to di erent tribes.
On arrival in Madina Prophet presented with a Child Prodigy, Zaid Bin Thabit. 11 Yr old
boy who has already memorised sixteen Surah of the Quran.
Hazart Bara and his learning of the MUFASSAL before arrival of the prophet to Madina.

The Madani Period

The Prophet as Teacher:

The Phenomenon called SUFFAH. The Prophet imparted the Quran, others Such as
Abdullah Bin Saeed bin Al As, Ubada Bin Samit and Ubayy bin Kaab taught the essentials
of reading and writing.
Quran teaching to the Delegations that came to Madina.

Dialects used by the Prophet for Teaching in Madina:

It is a well-established fact that the dialects of di erent people speaking the same
language can vary drastically from one area to the next. Two people both living in
Mumbai but coming from di erent cultural and socio-economic backgrounds, will each
possess a distinct and recognisable accent. The same is true of people living in London
versus those residing in Glasgow or New York . Then there are the di erences between
standardised American and British spellings and quite often (as in 'schedule') a similarity
in spelling but a di erence in pronunciation.
Let us examine the situation in present-day Arab countries , using the word QULTU (‫ ﻗﻠﺖ‬:I
said) as a test case. Egyptians will pronounce this as ULTU. substituting the for the initial
q. And a Yemeni speaker will say GULTU. though in writing the word all Arabs will spell it
identically.
The Prophet taught them in their own dialects.

The Companions as Teachers:

Abdullah bin Mugha al al-Muzani said that when someone of Arab stock migrated to
Madinah, the Prophet would assign (‫( ﻛﻠّﻮ‬someone from the Ansar to that individual
saying: let him understand Islam and teach him the Qur'an. "The same was true with me,"
he continued, “as I was entrusted to one of the Ansar who made me understand the
religion and taught me the Quran”.
Various Companions had important roles to play. Prophet also send them as teachers. Bir
Ar-Raji and Bir Al-Mauna incidents.
Muaadh bin Jabal dispatched to Yemen and Abu Ubaidah was sent to Najran.
The Outcome of the Educational Activities: The teaching and Life
philosophy of SUFFAH.

Conclusion:

What happened to previous scriptures?

Replaced by biographical works of anonymous writers.

Comprehensive preservation of the Quran.

LESSON 2
The Quran

The Linguistic Meaning of the Word Quran:

It is a derived noun (a MASDAR) of QARA’A. [THE RECITATION]

Not a derived noun. It’s a proper noun, just like TORAH or INJEEL.
Comes from the root QARANA. Meaning ‘to join’, ‘to associate’. Just like when Hajj and
Umrah are combined, it’s called HAJJ QIRAAN.
It comes from the QARAAIN. Meaning ‘to resemble, to be similar to. Hence Quran is
composed of verses that aid one another in comprehension and Soorahs that resemble
each other in beauty and prose.

Allah Himself has used the word Tibyan to describe the Holy Quran, the source of all
knowledge, which He says He revealed tibyanan Ii kulli shay' or as a clarification of
everything. That is, it exposits in detail the things no human being can know, not the merely
physical and intellectual dimensions of man in the world, which anyone can find out, but the
very context of man and his reality, the "why" of being itself, when man came, why he exists,
runs his full term, dies, and what he shall meet on the other side of the impenetrable veil of
death. In the Quran, our reality itself is a sign, an ayah, something that points beyond itself
for those who realise what it signifies, namely the Tawhid or Oneness of Allah. Hence Imam
Nawawi titled his book.

The De nition of the Qur'an

The Quran is the Arabic speech (kalaam) of Allah, which he revealed to Muhammed (s) in
wording and meaning, and which has been preserved in the Mushafs, and has reached us