ONTENT The Qur’an Describing itself ~ 4 Returning to our dusty shelves ~ 5 Islam and the Orientalist Views ~ 6 Timeline: Preservation of the Qur’an ~ 8 In the pictures…. ~10 Poem: Having Doubts ~ 12 Seminar Gems ~ 13 Fun Stuff ~ 14 Helpful tips for memorization ~ 15 Interview with Hafidh ~ 16
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ã|à{Éâà àtyáxxÜ |á Ä|~x à{x ÉÇx ã{É Üxvx|äxá t ÄxààxÜ yÜÉÅ à{x ~|Çz? |Ç à{x wtÜ~Çxáá Éy à{x Ç|z{à? ã|à{Éâà {tä|Çz t ÄtÅÑ àÉ ux tuÄx àÉ Üxtw |àÊ ~ Iyaas ibn Mu’awiyah
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The Qur’an
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The Book
‘This is the Book (the Qur’an), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqoon. (Surah Al Baqarah 2:2)
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The Criterion
‘Blessed be He who sent down the criterion to His slave that he may be a warner to the 'Alameen.’ (Surah Al Furqan 25:1)
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The Reminder
‘Verily We: it is We who have sent down the Dhikr and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).’ (Surah Al Hijr 15:9)
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The Revelation
‘And truly, this is a Revelation from the Lord of the ‘Alameen which the trustworthy RooH (Gabriel)] has brought down; upon your heart (O Muhammad) that you may be (one) of the warners.’ (Surah Ash-Shu’araa’ 26:192-194)
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is described with many names, the foremost being the name
Qur’an itself which is mentioned
JE
times.
5
R
eturning to our dusty shelves — Sr. Amatullah
I n the summer of 2006, I had an amazing opportunity to perform umrah for the first time in my life, a 20 day seerah trip where we were visited by a different scholar each day to teach
us a section of the life of the Prophet . After performing our umrah during the most blessed part of the night, the last third, I was anxious to finally pray in jamaa'ah behind one of the famous Imaams of the Haram. While I was standing there in the most blessed house of Allah, in the most blessed city, hearing the most blessed of Speech, complete sadness overtook me. How is it that I am standing before my Rabb, hearing His words echo all around me, yet I cannot comprehend a word of it? I was utterly ashamed. After finishing my first prayer in the haram, I made the intention to begin learning this blessed language upon my return. Ask anyone who has taken the steps to learn Arabic, and they will tell you of similar moments when the urgency hit them to learn the language of the Qur'an. Unfortunately, the majority of this ummah does not understand their own book. As the generations of Islam progress, we move further and further away from the Qur'an. We have forgotten the fact that the Qur'an is speech; for if the Qur'an is speech, then we will agree that speech is to be understood. What is holding us back then, from understanding the book of Allah? The Qur'an has become a means to only seek barakah (blessings). It has become an unpractical mix of medieval ideas and stories of old that are, once in a while, taken off our dusty shelves; and once in a while that nice reciter makes for a good sleep aide. Many of us feel that we cannot approach the Qur'an or derive lessons and practical benefits from it and we have removed ourselves from using it as a guide in our lives. We turn to other sources before the Qur'an. We migrate from the Words of the Creator to the deficient and weak minds of the creation. How can we ever think that we will be successful if this is our state? As the
said, "Surely Allah raises some people by way of Prophet this Book and lowers others by it." (Saheeh Muslim) So, what is really holding you back? The answer is: You.
Allah says to us, Ů? ‍ن Ů? Ů‘Ů? ْآ‏ ŮŽ Ů’ Ů? Ů’ ‍ Ů’ ŮŽ ا‏ ŮŽ Ů’ ŮŽ ŮŽâ€ŤŮŽŮˆâ€Ź We have certainly facilitated the Qur'an for remembrance. (54:17) ŮŽ Ů’ ŮŽ is from ya-seen-ra , (‍ )ŮŠ Řł ع‏yusr, and tayseer is to make
something right, appropriate and fit for the purpose. It is to remove everything that is unsuitable, so that the purpose it was made for can be achieved. It is said, yassaral farasa lir rukoob, the horse has been made ready for the rider. If you know anything about horses, you know that a rider cannot go to any horse and jump on its back to ride. Rather, the horse has to be trained, it has to be fed well, it needs proper shoes, the saddle has to be fitted, the stirrups need to be straightened, and then the horse is ready for riding. Yassara means that the horse is ready and prepared, and all that it's waiting for is the rider to come ride. Yassarna does not mean the Qur'an has been made very simple, rather it means it is fit and has been made easy for its purpose: Dhikr, to understand it, to take a lesson from it, and to remind yourself and others with it. The Qur'an is ready and prepared for the purpose of remembrance. For us to take a reminder, we need to come to the Book of Allah with the proper attitude and understanding. What do we need to ensure? Intentions: Intentions: We cannot come to the book of Allah with different intentions thinking we will be successful. There is only ONE direction here, and that is to seek guidance. We use the Qur'an for everything but guidance. When you seek guidance from this Book, then you will receive protection, love and respect. Be humble in front of Allah and acknowledge that you are in need of guidance. Purity: Purity: The Qur'an is a blessed book, and can only be
carried in a pure container. Allah does not give the knowledge of His book to sinners. We need to constantly purify our hearts and seek forgiveness for our sins so that we can be containers for this Book. Priority: The amount of effort we put into something shows how important it is to us. Make an assessment of your relationship with the Qur'an. Ask yourself: would Allah see me as those who give the Qur'an priority? Is it a priority? What we get out of the Qur'an is what we put into it. We need to be confident that this Book is universal truth. ‌‌..‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌. cont’d on page 18
Islam
& the OÜ|xÇàtÄ|áà i|xãá
Br. Abdul Rahman Mirza
7 ll Praises and thanks are to Allah We thank him and seek refuge in him from our evil sins and shortcomings. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide. I testify that Allah has the right to be worshipped and Muhammad is His Messenger.
scripture. Our Lord, Allah tells us about the Jews: “Do you (faithful believers) covet that they
The topic of Islam and what the Orientalists say about the faith is a rather lengthy topic. What is hoped by this article is to give a basic introduction of this topic to every Muslim. It was obvious in the class “Uloom ul Qur’an” taught by Shaikh Yasir Qadhi that this topic was added to the class because, on an academic level, attacks on the Qur’an have risen to an unprecedented level. Our focus is on the two main claims of the Orientalists, namely, the backwardness of following Islam and the Qur’an not being the word of Allah. While some of the Orientalists may be Muslims, the majority of them are not.
change their religion but they knew the details of what they were changing. About the Christians, Allah says: “Exceed not in your religion, and do
A
Of the proponents of the view that Islam needs to evolve to our time and place is a famous journalist by the name of Thomas Friedman. Friedman talks in a way that makes one thinks that he is looking down on Muslims and Islam. He claims that the problem with Muslims is that they are backwards; they protest and burn places when cartoons are published but they say nothing when Muslims kill each other in Iraq and Kashmir. Furthermore, like other intellectuals, he feels that this behavior is due to us following an old book; a 1400 year old book that tells us to chop hands off and tells women to wear head scarves. We need to change and get with the times. We are still at version 1.1 of the Qur’an. We need to do like the Jews and Christians. The Jews and Christians changed the words of their religions or stopped following them and now it is time for us, Muslims, to do the same. In order for the Jews and Christians to change their religions, it was obvious that they had to do something to their books. You can’t change your religion without changing some parts of your holy
will believe in your religion in spite of the fact that a party of them (Jewish rabbis) used to hear the Word of Allah [the Taurat (Torah)], then they used to change it knowingly after they understood it?” (2:75). Allah tells us that not only did the Jews
not say of Allah anything but truth. The Messiah, Isa son of Maryam, is only the Messenger of Allah and His Word that was sent to Mary and a spirit from Him.” (4:171). So the Christians changed their books by adding things about Prophets that were unknown and untrue. The people accepted these changes to make their religions, in general, easier to follow and to fit in with the disbelievers. The claim of Mr. Friedman and the Orientalists that the Qur’an is not the word of Allah is very inaccurate. The fact is that the preservation of the Qur’an was done by the heart and the ink. It was memorized and then transmitted to generations, one after the other. Any discrepancies in it were waived by Allah Himself, who promised us that He would protect the Qur’an. When one reads the academic dissertations on the Qur’anic language and precise recitation and preservation, one really realizes how well this book was protected. But is the Qur’an the literal word of Allah? The truth is that if the answer to this question is no, then you take away the sacredness of the Qur’an. As Muslims, we know that other people want us to stop clinging so stubbornly to what this book says; but, we accept Allah’s words in Surat at-Tawbah: “If one
amongst the Pagans ask thee for asylum, grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of God…” (9:6) So no matter what any Orientalist says, we have God on our side. No matter what any modernists say, they have to prove to us that this ayah is wrong and has not been preserved and any such proof would not be very academic indeed.
The Prophet said, “The Qur’an is either an evidence for you, or against you” [Muslim]
P
reservation of the
Q u r ‘a n
_______________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
>> T I M E L I N E << 13 BH to 11 H: 50, 000 before Creation: Qur’aan was recorded in Al LawH AlMahfoodh
~ 65 - 86 H: Nuqat (dots on letters) introduced by Yahya ibn Ya’mar & Nasr ibn ‘Aasim
Qur’aan revealed to the prophet and recorded mostly on parchments.
24-25 H: Standardization. Multiple copies of the original MusHaf created and sent out to major cities.
12-13 H: Compilation of the Qur’aan in one MusHaf during the time of Abu Bakr 13 Before Hirjah: Qur’aan brought down to Bayt al-Izzah in laylat alQadr in Ramadaan
Before 69 H: Tashkeel introduced by Abu al-Aswad alDu’aaly
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• •
50,000 yrs before creation: Qur’an was recorded in al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh 13 before Hirjah: Brought down to Bayt al-Izzah in laylatul Qadr in Ramadaan
•
13 Before Hijri to 11 Hijri : Qur’an revealed to the Prophet gradually and recorded on parchments, animal shoulder blades, and date-palm leaves. Jibreel reviewed the Qur’an with the prophet every Ramadaan and in the last year, he reviewed it twice. Zayd ibn Thaabit
•
was present for the last review.
12-13 Hijri : Compilation of the Qur’an in one Mushaf during the time of Abu Bakr by a committee led by Zayd. Parchments written in front of the prophet were brought forth along with 2 witnesses for every ayah.
•
•
24-25 Hijri: Consolidation and Standardization: Multiple copies of the original Musaf were created and sent out to the Ummah’s major cities. Along with the standard Mushaf, Qur’anic reciters were also sent to the major cities to teach the Muslims the proper pronunciation and recitation.
Tashkeel by Abu al-Aswad al-Du’aaly (D. 69H) by the request of Ali ibn Abi-Taalib’s (t) to make the mushaf easier for the people to recite. His method was to put a dot above the letter for an “a” vowel, after the letter for a “u” vowel, and below the letter for an “i” vowel. These dots were added in red. Tashkeel as we know it today was introduced by alFaraheedy (d. 174H). • Nuqat (dots distinguishing similar letters) The students of Abu al-Aswad, Yahya ibn Ya’mar (D 100H) and Nasr ibn ‘Aasim (D 89H), during the reign of ‘Abdul Malik ibn Marwaan (65 - 86H), added dots to the script of the MusHaf to distinguish similar letters.
All these major events happened less than 75 years after the death of the beloved prophet pbuh. While some companions were still alive, the Qur’an had been written down with a rudimentary version of tashkeel and nuqat. The Arabs natively knew how to read the Qur’an without any diacritical marks. As the Islaamic empire expanded however, there was a need to facilitate for non-Arabs a way to be able to read and memorize the Qur’an Easily.
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In the pictures . . .
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W
Having
OUBTS
Br. Abdul Rahman Mirza
A silent whisper, of Islam not being true, A religion with a preserved heavenly scripture, but still the residue, From the thoughts of mankind that have claimed me, I can’t subdue, They say there is no way my faith is true, I am so confused, Reward and punishment for my deeds, they say how dare he, They challenge the creator of his plan, from whom none can flee, When his mercy grips you, no one wants to leave, Only when he strikes you with calamities do we dare to speak, The truth is though the majority of people have faith, They see the beautiful creation and the dancing river’s gaze, They see the majestic organization of our body, wondering in amaze, And the ultimate reward for those who follow God is seeing God’s face, In a heaven that is worth giving up the whole world for, Philosophy can’t even be understood, so how can it settle the score, Humanism cannot even remove our sadness and boredom, And they claim that they will make humans happy, as if life’s a world tour, The belief in God is so easy because every creation needs a creator, And we all turn to God whenever the earthquake shakes us, We claim we are independent, but we were frozen in our mother’s womb, in the blink of an eye, you step out of a cradle, and into a tomb And you wonder how this could all happen so soon? Weren’t you told that those who chased after their pleasures were doomed? Now desires and arrogance in our hearts have led us to a faith stop, Because instead of following faith, we have made ourselves… God.
GEMSGEMS GEMSGEMSGEM GEMSGEM
All that is required from du’a is that it be from the heart, even if it’s not a du’a from the sunnah.
Even before there was creation, Allah was always Al-Khaliq (the Creator).
They more you study, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more humbled you become. This humbleness comes about because the person realizes how much he doesn’t know.
There are three steps of acquiring knowledge: 1.When you start, you think you know a lot. 2. Soon, you realize you don’t know a lot. 3. Finally, you realize you don’t know anything.
No science of Islam exists, except that it was started by the Prophet
In order to solve a problem, you should go back to the Qur’an. 90% of misunderstandings about the Qur’an can be solved by the Qur’an itself.
No book in human history has been recited as much as the Qur’an.
GEMSGEMSGEM
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How much do you
Know?
Across
Down
2. The sahabi chosen to compile the Quraan 8. The meanings of these are from Allah but the wording is of the Rasul (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa salam) 9. The ten authentic Qira'ah are called this 11. “The believer is never ______.”-Sh. Yasir Qadhi 12. The “interrupted” surahs 14. The predominant Qira’ah of Northwest Africa 15. The dreams of the Prophets were all ______ 16. The Quraan is the _______ of Allah 17. One of the recitors the Sheikh spoke of.
1. Any surah that mentions Ahlul Kitaab is this 3. The 7 Qira’as are attributed to this man 4. He said, "The example of the one who reads the Quraan without tafseer is like the example of the one who recieves a letter from his king in the middle of the night without a lamp to read it" 5. He was the greatest Mufassir of the sahabah 6. In relation to the Quraan it means “abrogated” 7. It means “To inspire or communicate in a manner that is not obvious or apparent to others” 9. One of its meanings is “protector” 10. Over 20 ahadith mention these but there is no mention in the Quraan of them 11. A name of the Qur’an that means “Evidence that cannot be refuted” 13. The benefits of _____ Uloomul Qur’an include increasing one's iman and realizing the greatness of the
Helpful Tips
15
on memorizing the Qur’an Compiled by Sr. Lusana Ahsan
fÑ|Ü|àâtÄ cÜÉvxáá Intention: Renew your intention over and over to make this memorization for the sake of Allah alone. Surely, if you intend good, Allah will give you good. Abandon sins: The more religious you are, the easier it will be to the take in the Qur’an. Use your memorization as a reminder to stay away from sin. Knowledge is light and sinfulness is darkness and the two cannot exist in the same body. Say the a’udhu billah and bismillah with meaning: Shaytan is always trying to get between us and our recitation. Seek refuge in Allah with sincerity before beginning.
c{çá|vtÄ cÜÉvxáá Memorize early in the morning. Choose an area that is quiet and memorize in the same place everyday Read the translation of what you’re memorizing. Listen to the recitation of a Qari of ayahs you plan to memorize. Imitate the Qari’s tajweed but be original; find your own voice. Use the same mushaf for all memorization. Recite to someone on a regular basis. Don’t randomly pick and choose surahs. Memorize in the order of the Qur’an Memorize out loud and at a slow pace. There is no special technique, just read an ayah and repeat over . The more you memorize, the faster you’ll become.
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Down 1. Any surah that mentions Ahlul Kitaab is this 3. The 7 Qira’as are attributed to this man 4. He said, "The example of the one who reads the Quraan without tafseer is like the example of the one who recieves a letter from his king in the middle of the night without a lamp to read it" 5. He was the greatest Mufassir of the sahabah 6. In relation to the Quraan it means “abrogated” 7. It means “To inspire or communicate in a manner that is not obvious or apparent to others” 9. One of its meanings is “protector” 10. Over 20 ahadith mention these but there is no mention in the Quraan of them 11. A name of the Qur’an that means “Evidence that cannot be refuted” 13. The benefits of _____ Uloomul Qur’an include increasing one's iman and realizing the greatness of the Qur’an
with
Hafidh
Sa’ad Yahya Rabbani Tayybah Times: When did u start memorizing the Qur'an? Hafidh Sa’ad Yahya Rabbani: I started an Islamic school (madressa) at the age of 6 and so I started memorizing there as well. Tayybah Times: If I am correct you've had to do your memorization twice? Hafidh Sa’ad Yahya Rabbani: Yes Tayybah Times: What inspired you to go back and complete your memorization? Hafidh Sa’ad Yahya Rabbani: i felt awful and weak knowing that I was losing what I had gained, i realized the punishment of forgetting the Qur'an. So, I went back to it and refreshed my memory Tayybah Times: How long did it take you to memorize the section you had completed the first time around and how much time did it take you to complete the Qur'an the second time around? Hafidh Sa’ad Yahya Rabbani: It took me about 4 years to memorize for the first time. My family and I were moving around from Saudi Arabia to Pakistan. Therefore, I was learning under different teachers which made it longer. The second time it took me about 1 year only. Alhamdulilah.
17 Tayybah Times: Can you share with us your experience during this time? Hafidh Sa’ad Yahya Rabbani: I think revising the Qur'an is much harder than memorizing for the first time. the second time sometimes i studied more than 12 hours a day reviewing what I had memorized. Tayybah Times: What advice do you have for someone like myself who has the desire to memorize the Qur'an? Hafidh Sa’ad Yahya Rabbani: Spend more time in revising what you know first. Tayybah Times: : What was your style for memorization, what methods did you use? Hafidh Sa’ad Yahya Rabbani: I always used to divide my lesson into smaller parts and put them together when I'm done. Tayybah Times: Now that your memorization is complete, and I must say I've enjoyed watching your growth as a hafidh and seeing you develop your voice, do you have plans to further your studies and understanding of the Qur'an, and if so what efforts have you made? Hafidh Sa’ad Yahya Rabbani: Yes, I actually plan to learn more about the deen by learning from all around the world, not just learning from one perspective. After all this effort for memorizing, whenever I don’t study for one day, I feel apart from the Qur’an.
No Qur’an
in your life
18
CROSSWORD ANSWERS Across 2. Zayd Bin Thaabit 8. Hadeeth Qudsi 9. Saheeh 11. Bored 12. Mufassal 14. Warsh 16. Kalam 15. True 17. Husari
Down 1. Madanee 3. Ibn Mujahid 4. Al Zuhri 5. Ibn Abbas 6. Mansookh 7. Wahy 9. Surah
11. Burhaan 10. Ahruf 13. Studying
. . . . Cont’d from page 5 Be afraid that we don't represent the Book of Allah. Learn: We will never understand the Qur'an without studying Arabic, period. You will never be a proper student of knowledge Learn without Arabic, period. Learning Arabic, contrary to popular belief, is required of us. Allah chose this language for the last revelation to mankind, and if the Companions themselves stressed the knowledge of this language amongst themselves, who are we? Umar said, "Learn Arabic for it is a part of your deen." A science that has been lost with the language is the science of tafseer. Many Muslims think tafseer is extra, while in fact tafseer is included in understanding the Qur'an. Tafseer keeps us from interpreting the Qur'an to fit our own ideas, and allows us to understand the interpretation of the verses based upon other verses and narrations of the Prophet , Companions and righteous predecessors. One of the salaf gave an amazing parable on the importance of tafseer, Iyaas ibn Mu'aawiyah said: "The example of a people who recite the Qur'an and do not know its explanation is like a group of people who have a written message from their king that comes to them during the night, and they do not have a lamp. Therefore, they do not know what is in the message." The most important aspect of learning the Qur'an is memorizing it. The beauty lies in the relationship: while you memorize Qur'an it builds Arabic, and while you learn Arabic, it builds your understanding of the Qur'an. Act: The Qur'an was sent down to be acted upon but we have taken just reciting it as enough of a deed. Knowledge of the Act Qur'an is not enough, rather this knowledge needs to be beautified with deeds. Umar said, "Do not be fooled by one who recites the Qur'an. His recitation is but speech – but look to those who act according to it." How does one act upon the Qur'an? Qaadhi Iyyadh said, "They should treat as halaal what it makes halaal and treat as haraam what it makes haraam, they should take on its commandments and stay away from what it forbids, and they should stop to ponder its amazing knowledge and wisdom." Ponder on the verses of Allah, use the intellect He gave you, and you will begin to taste the sweetness of reflecting on the Qur'an and acting upon it. Allah then presents a challenge to each and every one of us after declaring the facilitation of this Book:
ٍ َ"!ْ ِ ِآ#َ Then is there anyone who will put in the effort to remember? (54:17) The Qur'an has been prepared, it has been made easy, it has been facilitated. All that it's waiting for is the Muddakir: the one to come and take heed of the remembrance.
The Qur'an is ready brothers and sisters. The question is…are you? The Qur'an is ready brothers and sisters. The question is…are you?
`xxà à{x vÜxã Editors in-chief Br. Malek & Sr. Asma Editors Sr. Su’aad
Writers Br. Abdul Rahman Sr. Hala Sr. Saira Sr. Lusana Sr. Amatullah PPN Team
Layout & Design TayybahNewz Crew
jtÇà àÉ }É|Ç ÉâÜ ÇxãáÄxààxÜ vÜxã‹A f{ÉÉà âá tÇ xÅt|Ä tà
Tayybahnewz@gmail.com
ﻒ ﺍﹾﻟﺄﹸﻭﻟﹶﻰ ﺤ ﺼ ﻲ ﺍﻟﻫﺬﹶﺍ ﹶﻟﻔ ﹺﺇ ﱠﻥ Verily! This is in the former Scriptures,
ﻰﻮﺳﻭﻣ ﻢ ﻴﺍﻫﺑﺮﻒ ﹺﺇ ﺤ ﺻ The Scriptures of Ibrahim (Abraham) and Musa (Moses). (Surah Al’Aala :18 –19)