2. THE FIRST SOURCE OF SHARI’AH: THE QUR’AN
Being the verbal noun of the root word qara’a (to read), ‘Qur’an’ literally means ‘reading’ or ‘recitation’. It may be defined as ‘the book containing the speech of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in Arabic and transmitted to us by continuous testimony, or tawatur’.(The Quran also itself by alternative names, such as kitab,huda,furqan, and dhikr ( book, guide, distinguisher, and remembrance respectively). When the definite article, al, is prefixed to the whole of the Book, but without this prefix, the Quran can mean either the whole or a part of the book. Thus one may refer to a singular sura or ayah thereof as the Quran, but not as al- Quran). It is a proof of the prophecy of Muhammad, the most authoritative guide for Muslims, and the first source of the Shari’ah. The ulema are unanimous on this, and some even say that it is the only source and that all other sources are explanatory to the Qur’an. The revelation of the Qur’an began with the Sura al-‘Alaq (96:1) starting with the words ‘Read in the name of your Lord’ and ending with the ayah in sura al-Ma’idah (5:3): ‘Today I have perfected your religion for you and completed my favour toward you, and chosen Islam as your religion.(Some disagree on this point, saying that the last ayah of the Qur’an was al-Baqarah 2: 281 as follows: ‘Fear the day when you will be brought back to God; then every soul will be paid in full according to whatever it has earned, and they will not be treated unjustly.’) Learning and religious guidance, being the first and the last themes of the Qur’anic revelation, are thus the favour of God upon mankind.
There are 114 suras and 6235 ayat of unequal length in the Qur’an. The shortest of the suras consist of four and the longest of 286 ayat. Each chapter has a separate title. The longest suras appear first and the suras become shorter as the text proceeds. Both the order of the ayat within each sura, and the sequence of the suras, were re-arranged and finally determined by the Prophet in the year of his demise. According to this arrangement, the Qur’an begins with sura al-Fatihah and ends with sura al-Nas.
The contents of the Qur’an are not classified subject-wise. The ayat on various topics appear in unexpected places, and no particular order can be ascertained in the sequence of its text. To give just a few examples, the command concerning salah appears in the second sura, in the midst of other ayat which relate to the subject of divorce (al-Baqarah, 2:228-248). In the same sura, we find rules which relate to wine-drinking and war, followed by passages concerning the treatment of orphans and the marriage of unbelieving women (al-Baqarah, 216-211) Similarly the ayat relating to the pilgrimage of hajj occur both in sura al-Baqarah (196-2O3) and sura al-Hajj (22:26-27). Rules on marriage divorce and revocation (rij’ah) are found in the suras al-Baqarah, al-Talaq, and al-Nisa. From this a conclusion has been drawn that the Qur’an is an indivisible whole and a guide for belief and action which must be accepted and followed in its entirety. Hence any attempt to follow some parts or the Qur’an and abandon others will be totally invalid. This is in fact the purport of the Qur’anic text (al-Ma’idah, 5: 52) where the Prophet has been warned: ‘Beware of them (i.e. the disbelievers) lest they seduce you away from a part of that which God has sent down to you.
The Qur’an consists of manifest revelation (wahy zahir), which is defined as communication from God to the Prophet Muhammad, conveyed by the angel Gabriel, in the very words of God. Manifest revelation differs from internal revelation (wahy batin) in that the latter consists of the inspiration (ilham) of concepts only: God inspired the Prophet and the latter conveyed the concepts in his own words. All the sayings, or ahadith, of the Prophets fall under the category of internal revelation, and as such they are not included in the Qur’an. A brief word may be added here concerning Hadith Qudsi. In this variety of Hadith, the Prophet narrates a concept directly from God. Hadith Qudsi differs from the other varieties of Hadith in form only. The Prophet himself has not distinguished Hadith Qudsi from other hadith: it was in fact introduced as a separate category by the ulema of Hadith at around the fifth century Hijrah. Hadith in all of its varieties consists of divine inspiration which is communicated in the words of the Prophet. No Hadith may be ranked on equal footing with the Qur’an. The salah cannot be performed by reciting the Hadith, nor is the recitation of Hadith considered as of the same spiritual merit as the Qur’an.
The Qur’an explicitly states that it is all communicated in pure and clear Arabic (al-Nahl, 16:3o). Although the ulema are in agreement that words of non-Arabic origin occur in the Qur’an, they are, nevertheless, words which were admitted and integrated into the language of the Arabs before the revelation of the Qur’an. To give just a few examples, words such as qistas (scales – occurring in the Sura al-Isra’, 17:35), ghassaq (intense cold) in Sura al-Naba’ (78:2 5) and sijjil (baked clay – in al-Hijr, 15:74) are of Greek, Turkish and Persian origins respectively.(For an exclusive treatment of words of foreign origin in the Qur’an see Shawkani, Irshad, p. 22ff. See also Ghazali, Mustasfa, I, 68.) But this usage is confined to odd words; a phrase or a sentence of non-Arabic origin does not occur in the Qur’an. Since the Qur’an consists of manifest revelation in Arabic, a translation of the Qur’an into another language, or its commentary whether in Arabic or other languages, are not a part of the Qur’an. However, Imam Abu Hanifah has held the view that the Qur’an is the name for a meaning only, and as such, salah may be performed in its Persian translation. But the disciples of Abu Hanifah have disagreed with this view and it is reported that Abu Hanifah himself reversed his initial ruling, and this is now considered to be the correct view of the Hanafi school. [This report is attributed to a Nuh b. Maryam who has confirmed that Abu Hanifah changed his initial ruling. See Aba Zahrah, Usul, p. 60; Shaltut, Al-Islam, P. 478; Sabuni, Madkhal, P. 4.]
The Prophet himself memorised the Quran, and so did his Companions. This was, to a large extent, facilitated by the fact that the Qur’an was revealed piecemeal over a period of twenty-three years in relation to particular events. The Qur’an itself explains the rationale of graduality (tanjim) in its revelation as follows: ‘The unbelievers say, why has not the Qur’an been sent down to him [Muhammad] all at once. Thus [it is revealed] that your hearts may be strengthened, and We rehearse it to you gradually, and well-arranged’ [al-Furqan, 23:32].
Elsewhere we read in the text: ‘It is a Qur’an We have divided into parts in order that you may recite it to people at intervals: We have revealed it by stages’ (Bani Isra’il, 17:106). In yet another passage, Almighty God addresses the Prophet: ‘By degrees shall We teach you to declare [the message] so that you do not forget’ (al-A’la, 87:6).
Graduality in the revelation of Qur’an afforded the believers the opportunity to reflect over it and to retain it in their memories. Revelation over a period of time also facilitated continuous contact and renewal of spiritual strength so that the hostility of the unbelievers toward the new faith did not weaken the hearts of the Muslims. Furthermore, in view of the widespread illiteracy of the Arabs at the time, had the Qur’an been revealed all at once, they would have found it difficult to understand. The Qur’anic legislation concerning matters which touched the lives of the people was therefore not imposed all at once. It was revealed piecemeal so as to avoid hardship to the believers. The ban on the consumption of alcohol affords an interesting example of the Qur’anic method of graduality in legislation, and throws light on the attitude of the Qur’an to the nature and function of legislation itself. Consumption of alcohol was apparently subject to no restriction in the early years. Later, the following Quranic passage was revealed in the form of a moral advice: ‘They ask you about alcohol and gambling, say: in these there is great harm and also benefit for the people, but their harm far outweighs their benefit’ (al-Baqarah; 2:219). Then offering prayers while under the influence of alcohol was prohibited (al-Nisa’, 4:43). Finally a total ban on wine drinking was imposed (al-Ma’idah, 5:93) and both alcohol and gambling were declared to be ‘works of the devil … the devil wants to sow enmity and rancour among you’. This shows the gradual tackling of problems as and when they arose.
The ulema are in agreement to the effect that the entire text of the Qur’an is Mutawatir, that is, its authenticity is proven by universally accepted testimony. It has been retained both in memory and in written records throughout the generations. Hence nothing less that tawatur is accepted in evidence to establish the authenticity of the variant readings of the Qur’an. Thus the variant reading of some words in a few ayat, attributed to ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, for example, which is not established by tawatur is not a part of the Qur’an. In the context of penance (kaffarah) of a false oath, for example, the standard text provides this to be three days of fasting. But Ibn Mas’ud’s version has it as three consecutive days of fasting. Since the additional element (i.e. consecutive) in the relevant ayah in surah al-Ma’idah (5:92) is not established by tawatur, it is not a part of the Qur’an and is therefore of no effect. (Ghazali, Mustafa, Shawksni, Irshad, Shaltut, Al-Islam,. The same would apply to the other instances of variant readings which are attributed to Abdullah ibn Mas’ud concerning the punishment of theft,and the form of divorce known as ila in sura al-ma’idah and al-baqarah respectively. Since these are only supported by solitary reports (Ahad) they do not constitute a part 0f the quran)
During the lifetime of the Prophet, the text of the Qur’an was preserved not only in memories, but also in inscriptions on such available materials as flat stones, wood and bones, which would explain why it could not have been compiled in a bound volume. Initially the first Caliph, Abu Bakr, collected the
Qur’an soon after the battle of Yamamah which led to the death of at least seventy of the memorisers of the Qur’an. Zayd b. Thabit, the scribe of the Prophet, was employed on the task of compiling the text which he accomplished between 11 and 14 Hijrah. But several versions and readings of this edition soon crept into use. Hence the third Caliph, ‘Uthman, once again utilised the services of Zayd to verify the accuracy of the text and compiled it in a single Volume. All the remaining variations were then destroyed. As a result only one authentic text has remained in use to this day.
The Qur’an was revealed in two distinct periods of the Prophet’s mission in Mecca and Madinah respectively. The larger part of the Qur’an, that is nineteen out of the total of thirty parts, was received during the first twelve and a half years of the Prophet’s residence in Mecca. The remainder of the Qur’an was received after the Prophet’s migration to Madinah over a period of just over nine and a half years. (To be precise, the Meccan period lasted twelve years, five months and thirteen days, and the Madinan period, nine years, seven months and seven days).The Meccan part or the Qur’an is mainly devoted to matters of belief, the Oneness of God (Tawhid), the necessity of the prophethood of Muhammad, the hereafter, disputation with the unbelievers and their invitation to Islam. But the Madinese part of the Qur’an also comprised legal rules and regulated the various aspects of life in the new environment of Madinah. Since the Madinese period signified the formation of the ummah and of the nascent Islamic state, the Qur’anic emphasis was shifted to principles regulating the political, legal, social and economic life of the new community. During this period Islam expanded to other parts of Arabia, and the Qur’anic response to the need for rules to regulate matters of war and peace, the status and rights of the conquered people as well as the organisation of the family and principles of government feature prominently in the Madinese part of the Qur’an. The knowledge of the Meccan and the Madinese contents of the Qur’an gives one an insight into the context and circumstances in which the ayat were revealed; it is particularly relevant to the understanding of the incidence of abrogation (naskh) in the Qur’an. To distinguish the abrogating (al-nasikh) from the abrogated (al-mansukh) portions of the text depends on determining the chronological order in the revelation of the relevant ayat. Similarly, most of the general (Amm) rulings of the text have been qualified either by the text itself or by the Hadith. Thus the knowledge of the Makki and Madani parts of the revelation facilitates a better understanding of some of the characteristic features of the Qur’anic legislation.
A sura is considered to be Makki if its revelation had begun in Mecca, even if it contained ayat that were later revealed in Madinah. The Qur’an consists of eighty-five Meccan and twenty-nine Medinan suras. The differences of content and style that are observed in each are reflective of the prevailing circumstances of each period. Since Muslims were in the minority in Mecca the Meccan ayat may thus be especially meaningful to Muslims living in a dominantly un-Islamic environment, whereas the Madinese ayat may take for granted the presence of the sovereign authority of the Islamic state. The Meccan suras are generally short but rhythmical and intense in their emotional appeal to the pagan Arabs, whereas the Madinan suras are detailed and convey a sense of serenity that marks a difference of style in the revelation of the Qur’an.
The distinction between the Meccan and Madinan parts of the Qur’an is based on the information that is provided mainly by the Companions and the following generation of the ‘successors’: the Prophet himself has said nothing on the subject. The distinction is also facilitated considerably by internal evidence in the Qur’an, such as the theme itself: ayat about warfare were, for example, revealed only after the Hijrah, but references to Abu Lahab in sura 111 and to the battle of Badr (3: 123) indicate the Meccan origin of the suras in which they occur. Similarly the form of address is often different in the two parts. The frequent address, ‘O you who believe’ and ‘O people of the Book’ indicates a Madinan origin, while ‘O people’ or ‘O mankind’ are typically Meccan. There are nineteen suras in the Qur’an which begin with abbreviated letters (al-muqatta’at); all of them are known to be Meccan except two, namely al-Baqarah, and Al-Imran. All references to the munafiqun (hypocrites) are Madinan and all suras that contain sajdah, that is, an order to prostrate, are Meccan. The distinction between the Makki and Madinese portions of the text is on the whole a well-established feature of the Qur’an, which is normally indicated next to the title of each sura, and the best evidence of such distinction is internal evidence in the Qur’an itself.
With regard to distinguishing the Makki from the Madani contents of the Qur’an, the ulema have applied three different criteria: 1) The time of the revelation, meaning that the part of the Qur’an which was revealed prior to the Prophet’s migration to Madinah is classified as Makki and the remaining part which was revealed after the occasion is identified as Madani regardless of the locality in which they were received. In this way the ayat which were actually revealed in Mecca after the Year of Victory (‘am al-fath) or during the Farewell Pilgrimage (hajjah al-wida) are accounted as Madani. This is considered to be the most preferred of the three methods under discussion. 2) The place of revelation, which means that all the ayat that were revealed while the Prophet was in Mecca, or its neighbouring areas, are classified as Makki, and ayat that were actually revealed in Madinah or its surrounding areas are classified as Madani. This criterion is, however, not conclusive in that it leaves out the ayat which were received while the Prophet was travelling to places such as Jerusalem or Tabuk. 3) The nature of the audience, which means that all the parts of the Qur’an which are addressed to the people of Makkah are classified as Makki and those which are addressed to the people of Madinah are classified as Madani. In this way all passages which begin with phrases such as ‘O mankind’ or ‘O people’ are Makki and those which open with phrases, such as ‘O believers’ are typically Madarni.
In the sense that legal material occupies only a small portion of the bulk of its text, the Qur’an is not a legal or a constitutional document. The Qur’an calls itself huda, or guidance, not a code of law. Out of over 6,200 ayat, less than one-tenth relate to law and Jurisprudence, while the remainder are largely concerned with matters of belief and morality, the five pillars of the faith and a variety of other themes. Its ideas of economic and social justice, including its legal Contents, are on the whole Subsidiary to its religious call.
The legal or practical contents of the Qur’an (al-ahkam al-‘amaliyyah) constitute the basis of what is known as fiqh al-Qur’an, or the Juris corpus of the Qur’an. There are close to 350 legal ayat in the Qur’an, most of which were revealed in response to problems that were encountered. Some were revealed with the aim of repealing objectionable customs such as infanticide, usury, gambling and unlimited polygamy. Others laid down penalties with which to enforce the reforms that the Qur’an had introduced. But on the whole, the Qur’an confirmed and upheld the existing customs and institutions of Arab society and only introduced changes that were deemed necessary. There are an estimated 140 ayat in the Qur’an on devotional matters such as salah, legal alms (zakah), siyam (fasting), the Pilgrimage of hajj, jihad, charities, the taking of oaths and penances (kaffarat). Another seventy ayat are devoted to marriage, divorce, the waiting period of ‘iddah, revocation (rij’ah), dower, maintenance, custody of children, fosterage, paternity, inheritance and bequest. Rules concerning commercial transactions (mu’amalat) such as sale, lease, loan and mortgage, constitute the subject of another seventy ayat. There are about thirty ayat on crimes and penalties such as murder, highway robbery (hirabah), adultery and false accusation (qadhf). Another thirty ayat speak of justice, equality, evidence, consultation, and the rights and obligations of citizens. There are about ten ayat relating to economic matters regulating relations between the poor and the rich, workers’ rights and so on. It will be noted, however, that the Fuqaha are not in agreement over these figures, as calculations of this nature tend to differ according to one’s understanding of, and approach to, the contents of the Quran. (Note, for example, Ghazali, who estimates the ayat al-ahkam at 500. While commenting on Ghazali’s estimate, Shawkani on the other hand observes that any such calculation can only amount to a rough estimate (Mustasfa, II, 101, and Shawkani, Irshad, p. 250)
Characteristics of Qur’anic Legislation
We have already described the phenomenon of graduality (tanjim) in Qur’anic legislation, its division into Makki and Madani, and also the fact that the Qur’an has been revealed entirely in pure Arabic. In the discussion below, I have also included ratiocination (ta’lil) among the characteristic features of Qur’anic legislation despite the fact that the Qur’an specifies the effective cause or the rationale of only some of its laws. The Qur’an is nevertheless quite expressive of the purpose, reason, objective, benefit, reward and advantage of its injunctions. Since the Qur’an addresses the conscience of the individual with a view to persuading and convincing him of the truth and divine origin of its message, it is often combined with an allusion to the benefit that may accrue by the observance of its commands or the harm that is prevented by its prohibitions. This is a feature of the Qur’anic legislation which is closely associated with ratiocination (ta’lil) and provides the mujtahid with a basis on which to conduct further enquiry into ta’lil. However, of all the characteristic features of Qur’anic legislation, its division into qat’i and zanni is perhaps the most significant and far-reaching, as it relates to almost any aspect of inquiry into the Qur’anic legislation. I shall therefore take up this subject first.
by M. H. Kamali
Comments
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
John Doe
23/3/2019Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.