Contemplation Discussion 01

Contemplation ﴾ ‫ﺂ‬‫ﺏ ﹶﺃ ﹾﻗﻔﹶﺎﹸﻟﻬ‬ ‫ﻋﻠﹶﻰ ﹸﻗﻠﹸﻮ ﹴ‬ ‫ﻡ‬ ‫ﺮﺀَﺍ ﹶﻥ ﹶﺃ‬ ‫ﻭ ﹶﻥ ﺍﹾﻟ ﹸﻘ‬‫ﺑﺮ‬‫ﺪ‬ ‫ﺘ‬‫ﻳ‬ ‫ﻼ‬ ‫﴿ﹶﺃﹶﻓ ﹶ‬ Will they not then reflect upon the Qur'an, or are there locks upon their hearts. Al-Qur’an 47:24

Introduction to the study pattern

Discussion - I

Contemplation ﴾ ‫ﺂ‬‫ﺏ ﹶﺃ ﹾﻗﻔﹶﺎﹸﻟﻬ‬ ‫ﻋﻠﹶﻰ ﹸﻗﻠﹸﻮ ﹴ‬ ‫ﻡ‬ ‫ﺮﺀَﺍ ﹶﻥ ﹶﺃ‬ ‫ﻭ ﹶﻥ ﺍﹾﻟ ﹸﻘ‬‫ﺑﺮ‬‫ﺪ‬ ‫ﺘ‬‫ﻳ‬ ‫ﻼ‬ ‫﴿ﹶﺃﹶﻓ ﹶ‬ Will they not then reflect upon the Qur'an, or are there locks upon their hearts. Al-Qur’an 47:24 Introduction to the study pattern Discussion - I The revelation of Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad began with an allusion to man’s humble origin as well to his consciousness and intellect Read in the name of thy Sustainer, who has created created man out of a germ-cell! Read - for thy Sustainer is the Most Bountiful One who has taught [man] the use of the pen taught man what he did not know.

Al-Qur’an 96:01

and concluded, shortly before his death, on the reminder of the life to come And be conscious of the day on which you shall be brought back unto God, whereupon every human being shall be repaid in full for what he has earned, and none shall be wronged; Al-Qur’an 2:281

between these two verses unfolds a book which stresses the importance of man’s discovery of truth and brings glad tidings to mankind along with divine admonition. This fresh reading of the Qur’an is intended to serve the same purpose. 1

Though several basic exegesis of the Qur’an are consulted by the first line members, the study follows the simple summarization pattern based on Quran’s internal structural & thematic 2

coherence .

Structure & Theme Revelation of the Qur'an in Seven Ahrûf It is a well-known fact that there are seven different ahrûf in which the Qur'an was revealed. In the Islamic tradition, this basis can be traced back to a number of hadîths concerning the revelation of the Qur'an in seven ahrûf. Some of the examples of these hadîths are as follows: Narrated Abû Hurairah: The Messenger of God said: "An All-knowing, Wise, Forgiving, Merciful sent down the Qur'an in seven ahruf."

And in another hadîth Abdullâh Ibn Masud said: The Messenger of God said: "The first Book came down from one gate according to one harf, but the Qur'an came down from seven gates according to seven ahruf: prohibiting and commanding, lawful and unlawful, clear and ambiguous, and parables. So, allow what it makes lawful, proscribe what it makes unlawful, do what it commands you to do, forbid what it prohibits, be warned by its parables, act on its clear passages, trust in its ambiguous passages." And they said: "We believe in it; it is all from our Lord."

And Abû Qilaba narrated: It has reached me that the Prophet(P) said: "The Qur'an was sent down according to seven ahruf: command and prohibition, encouragement of good and discouragement of evil, dialectic, narrative, and parable." 3

These above hadîths serve as evidence that the Qur'an was revealed in seven ahruf. The defination of the term ahruf has been the subject of much scholarly discussion and is included in the general works of the Qur'an. Imam Amin Ahsan Islahi, in his “Tadabbur-e-Qur’ān”, has presented conclusive evidence that the Qur’ān is divided into seven discrete groups. Each group has a distinct theme. Every group begins with one or more Makkan Sūrah and ends with one or more Madinan Sūrah. In each group, the Makkan Sūrahs always precede the Madīnan ones. The relationship between the Makkan Sūrahs and Madīnan Sūrahs of each group is that of the root of a tree and its branches. In every group, all the phases of the Prophet’s mission are depicted. Two sūrahs of each group form a pair so that each member of the pair complements the other in various ways. Sūrah Fātihah, however, is an exception to this pattern: it is an introduction to the whole of the Qur’ān as well as to the first group which begins with it. Each sūrah has specific addressees and a central theme around which the contents of the sūrah revolve. Every sūrah has distinct subsections to mark thematic shifts, and every subsection is paragraphed to mark smaller shifts. Following is a brief description of the seven Qur’ānic groups: Group I

Chapters Sūrah Fātihah (1) - Sūrah Māidah (5)

Makkan: 1 Madinan: 2-5

Central theme Islamic Law, Admonition (indhār) to the Jews and the Christians.

II

Sūrah An`ām (6) - Sūrah Tawbah (9)

Makkan: 6,7 Madinan: 8,9

The consequences of denying the Prophet (sws) for the Mushrikīn of Makkah.

III

Sūrah Yūnus (10) - Sūrah Nūr (24)

Glad tidings of the Prophet’s domination.

IV

Sūrah Furqān (25) - Sūrah Ahzāb (33)

Makkan: 10-23 Madinan: 24 Makkan: 25-32 Madinan: 33

V

Sūrah Sabā (34) - Sūrah Hujrāt (49)

VI

Sūrah Qāf (50) - Sūrah Tihrīm (66)

VII

(Sūrah Mulk (67) - Sūrah Nās (114)

Makkan: 34-46 Madinan: 47-49 Makkan: 50-56 Madinan: 57-66 Makkan: 67-112 Madinan : 113-14

Arguments on Tawhīd and the requirements of faith in it. Arguments on Aakhirah and the requirements of faith in it. Admonition to the Quraysh about their fate in the Herein and the Hereafter if they deny the Prophet.

Arguments on the Prophethood of Muhammad (sws) and the requirements of faith in him.

This is just a brief introduction of the thematic and structural coherence in the Qur’ān as presented by Islāhī in his “Tadabbur-e-Qur’ān”. The masterpiece needs to be studied by every person who wants to understand the Qur’ān so that he may have an idea of the giant leap forward it has brought about in the field of Qur’ānic Sciences.

Quran chapters in Chronological Order: Chronological Order 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59

Surah Name Alaq (Al-) Qalam (Al-) Muzammil (Al-) Mudathir (Al-) Fatehah Masad (Al-) Takwir (Al-) A'la (Al-) Leyl (Al-) Fajr (Al-) Dhuha (Al-) Sharh (Al-) Asr (Al-) Aadiyat (Al-) Kauthar (Al-) Takathur (Al-) Ma'un (Al-) Kafirun (Al-) Fil (Al-) Falaq (Al-) Nas (Al-) Ikhlas (Al-) Najm (Al-) Abasa Qadr (Al-) Shams (Al-) Bhruj (Al-) T'in (Al-) Qureysh Qariah (Al-) Qiyamah (Al-) Humazah (Al-) Mursalat (Al-) Q'af Balad (Al-) Tariq (Al-) Qamr (Al-) Sad A'Raf (Al-) J'nn (Al-) Ya'sin Farqan (Al-) Fatir Maryam Ta Ha Waqiah (Al-) Shuara (Al-) Naml (Al-) Qasas (Al-) Israa (Al-) Yunus Hud Yousuf Hijr (Al-) Ana'm (Al-) Saffat (Al-) Luqman Saba Zamar (Al-)

Verses 19 52 20 56 07 05 29 19 21 30 11 08 03 11 03 08 07 06 05 05 06 04 62 42 05 15 22 08 04 11 40 09 50 45 20 17 55 88 206 28 83 77 45 98 135 96 226 93 88 111 109 123 111 99 165 182 34 54 75

Revelation

4

Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca

Present Order 96 68 73 74 01 111 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 07 72 36 25 35 19 20 56 26 27 28 17 19 11 12 15 06 37 31 34 39

60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114

Ghafer Fazilat Shura (Al-) Zukhruf (Al-) Dukhan (Al-) Jathiyah (Al-) Ahqaf (Al-) Dhariyat (Al-) Ghashiya (Al-) Kahf (Al-) Nahl (Al-) Noah Ibhrahim Anbiya (Al-) Muminun (Al-) Sajdah (Al-) Tur (Al-) Mulk (Al-) Haqqah (Al-) Maarij (Al-) Naba (Al-) Naziat (Al-) Infitar (Al-) Inshiqaq (Al-) Rum (Al-) Ankabut (Al-) Motafefin (Al- ) Baqarah (Al-) Anfal (Al-) Imran (Al-) Ahzab (Al-) Mumtahana (Al-) Nisa (Al-) Zilzaleh (Al-) Hadid (Al-) Muhammad Ra'd (Al-) Rahman (Al-) Ensan (Al-) Talaq (Al-) Beyinnah (Al-) Hashr (Al-) Nur (Al-) Hajj (Al-) Munafiqun (Al-) Mujadila (Al-) Hujurat (Al-) Tahrim (Al-) Taghabun (Al-) Saff (Al-) Jumah (Al-) Fath (Al-) Maidah (Al-) Taubah (Al-) Nasr (Al-)

85 54 53 89 59 37 35 60 26 110 128 28 52 112 118 30 49 30 52 44 40 46 19 25 60 69 36 286 75 200 73 13 176 08 29 38 43 78 31 12 08 24 64 78 11 22 18 12 18 14 11 29 120 129 03

Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Mecca Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina Madina

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 02 08 03 33 60 04 99 57 47 13 55 76 65 98 59 24 22 63 58 49 66 64 61 62 48 05 09 110

1. Tafsir Ibn Kathir ('Imad Ad-Din Isma'il bin 'Umar bin Kathir), Tadabbur-i-Qur’an (Maulana Amin Ahsan Islahi), Tafheem-ul-Quran (Maulana Syed Abul A’ala Maududi), Ma’arif-ul-Quran (Mufti Muhammad Shafi) 2. Though we are going to use the thematic and structural coherence as an instrumental tool to understand the message of Qur’an, it is not considered to be a key element in understanding the meanings. The key to understand the Qur’an in its own words is Taqwa. Vُ XWY‫ ُ] ُ\ ُ[ ا‬X^`َ aُ‫ َو‬Vَ XWY‫اْ ا‬dُefW‫وَا‬ 02:282 iًoiَpْqrُ ْ[\ُ YW sَ`t ْ aَ Vَ XWY‫اْ ا‬dُeuWfَ ‫اْ إَن‬dُxyَ ‫{ ءَا‬ َ aِhYW‫ ا‬iَjaklَ‫ِـ‬a 08:29 Vِ ƒِ ‫ن‬ َ dُ„]ْ fَ ‫رًا‬dُo ْ[\ُ YW sَ`t ْ aَ ‫ َو‬Vِ uِ ]َ | ْ ‫ر‬W {ِy { ِ ~ْ Xَْ ‫ ُ\[ْ ِآ‬fِ ْaُ ِVYِdُ‚qَ ƒِ ْ‫ا‬dُxyِ ‫ َوءَا‬Vَ XWY‫اْ ا‬dُefW‫اْ ا‬dُxyَ ‫{ ءَا‬ َ aِhYW‫ ا‬iَjaklَa 57:28 See discussion in Mutala-e-Qur’an (Maulana Wahiduddin Khan) page 04-21

3.

Abû Jafar Muhammad bin Jarîr al-Tabarî’s Jami al-Bayân, 1987, Volume 1, Oxford University Press, p. 16. 4. The division of surahs into 'Meccan surahs' and 'Medinan surahs' is primarily a consequence of time consideration. Classification of the surahs into these periods is based upon Prophet's migration (hijra) from Mecca to Madina. Surahs revealed before migration are labeled as being Meccan and those revealed after migration are labeled as being Medinan.