Back to Home Page  

Khutba # 24

The Quran: the Everlasting Miracle of the Prophet

Let us all practice Taq’wa (piety and righteousness), and revere Allah and obey His divine commands.  Be aware of our final destination, our eventuality and departure into the everlasting life.  May Allah provide us all with the spirit of righteousness by way of His divine obedience as best assets for all.  We ask Allah to protect us from evilness and falsehood and help us lay a foundation with moral values according to the rules of our Lord. 

Allah describes the Holy Quran in an impressive manner, saying in Surah 17 (al-Israa), Ayah 9:

إِنَّ هَـذَا الْقُرْآنَ يِهْدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقْوَمُ وَيُبَشِّرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَبِيرًا

“Verily, this Quran guides to all that is most upright, and gives believers who do good deeds the glad tidings that theirs will be a great reward.”

Let us discuss the people’s weak hold of faith nowadays and the Divine religion in a real sense. Today, despite great strides in science and technology, we are faced with frequently committed atrocities, oppression, and corruption all over the world.  We believe that Islam and the Quran hold the solution, for the Quran and Islam present a treasure of priceless teachings —that by acting according to their teachings would offer a marvelous solution for these problems.

The Holy Quran is an everlasting miracle revealed to the last Prophet, Muhammad (pbuh).  We cannot regard it as fit only for the time it was revealed (1400 years ago), for the Quran is fit for all ages, at all times.  The Holy Quran is an eternal book needed by all people, constantly, at all times, and in every place.

Be it in group-sessions or in private, the Prophet (pbuh) used to refer to the Quran constantly and teach its Directives.  The Quran’s magnetic power was legendary, it drew many a man to Islam, for such incidents are innumerable in Islamic history.

Throughout the ages, from the early days of Islam till these days Muslims continue to take unprecedented interest in the Quran.  Directly or indirectly, this also shows the Muslim’s devotion to it.

During the lifetime of the Prophet (pbuh) the Quran was well preserved in writing by a number of persons called scribes.  Besides, most of the Muslims of the time, irrespective of their sex or age, were very keen to commit the Quran in whole or in part to memory.  They recited it in their prayers, in their meetings, and in their discourses.  They considered this devotion of the greatest merit.  They enjoyed reciting it often, for such was its influence and magnetic pull.

Out of love for the Quran the Muslims in every age, locality, and nationality, rendered their services to it, according to their intellectual capacities and their potential.  They not only memorized it but tried hard to understand its meaning and build a life based upon it.

▪    At first the early Muslims developed remarkable skills in reading and reciting the Quran; with rules dealing with pronunciation of its words, structure of its verses, and manner of joining some words, (called Qira’ah) among other points.

▪    Soon they wrote commentaries about it, quite often comprehensive, (called Tafseer) to include its many meanings, connecting it with various historical events, and the guidance the Almighty meant for us. 

▪    In addition, the early Muslims compiled special books explaining the sciences of the Quran called (Uloom al-Quran) from numerous aspects. 

Thus the Quran was the Central Pillar around which everything revolved and from which everything evolved.  As Muslims explored the meaning of the Quran they applied it to their a) legal, b) moral, c) social, d) philosophical, e) Gnostic, and f) scientific questions. They taught the Holy Quran to their children before giving them any other education.  They compiled Arabic grammar and Arabic dictionaries mainly to facilitate understanding the Quran.  Through the Quran Muslims developed the Art of Rhetoric.

Such was the devotion to the Quran that a number of sciences were born from its source: Sciences like a) Jurisprudence, b) Islamic philosophy, c) Theology, d) Irfan, and e) Literary Arts, to say the least.

The Quran is a revelation of permanence.  It started in Mecca with short but exceptionally powerful Surahs.  Armed with it, the Prophet (pbuh) formally threw this formidable challenge to the infidels, the idolaters.  Muhammad (pbuh) stated repeatedly that the Holy Quran was the Word of God, that it was not his work.  And being the works of Allah, neither Muhammad nor any person could produce the likes of it.   In Surah 17 (al-Israa), Ayah 88 the Quran challenges humanity throughout the ages by saying:

قُل لَّئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَن يَأْتُواْ بِمِثْلِ هَـذَا الْقُرْآنِ لاَ يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا

 “Say: If the whole of mankind and Jinn were to join forces to produce the like of this Quran, they will not produce its like even though they were to support each other [in the effort]”.

The infidels or disbelievers who opposed the Holy Prophet could never ever meet this challenge, neither during the Prophet’s time nor in the subsequent periods of the past 1400 years.  Such was the Quran’s formidable power, be it:

▪    in the exceptionally high literary style,

▪    the amazingly deep and multifaceted meanings,

▪    its unparalleled guidance of mankind to the good,

▪    or its high eloquence of expression.

We should ask what kind of a book is the Holy Quran?  Is it a philosophical book?  Or is it a book of science, literature, or art?  The answer is that the Quran is none of these.  The Prophets themselves are a distinct type of men. The Prophets are neither philosophers, nor scientists, and neither men of letters, nor historians; they are neither politicians nor military men, and they are neither artists not craftsmen. Still the Prophets were blessed with all these good points, with many more extra.

The Quran is a revealed book of God.  It is intended for guiding mankind.  The Quran may be called the Book of Man –a man who has been created by Allah and for whose guidance and salvation the Prophets were selected by God to teach this man how to know himself.

As it is the book of man, the Quran is also the Book of Allah.  From the viewpoint of the Holy Quran the knowledge of Allah and the knowledge of man are interrelated.  Man cannot know his Creator correctly unless he knows himself, nor can man have the knowledge of his reality unless he knows Allah (God).

Man as described by science exists only between two pivotal points: from his birth to his death, and darkness (or the unknown) surrounds all what is before and after these two points.  But the Man of the Quran is not so limited as that described by science.  Man of the Quran has come from a certain world and his future lies in that world.  The Quran says in Surah 2 (al-Baqarah), Ayah 156:

الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُواْ إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ

“…who say, when afflicted with calamity?

“Verily to Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.”

In this world man has to perfect himself.  Man’s future for the next world depends on the nature of his deeds, faith, and activity in this earthly life and whether or not he makes the right choice for his effort.

The Man of the Quran must know:

1. From where has he come?

2. Where he is headed?

3. Where is he at the present?

4. How should he be?

5. What should he do?

The Quran is not directed towards any particular nation such as the Arabs, nor to a particular sect of Muslims, but it is directed to all humanity be they non-Islamic societies or the Muslim nation at large.

There are numerous references to non-believers, infidels, idol worshippers, as well as to the People of the Book (namely, the Jews and the Christians).  The Quran invites each group to Islam by way of providing proofs.  Surah 3 (Aali Imran), Ayah 64 calls upon the Jews and Christians in the following manner:

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْاْ إِلَى كَلَمَةٍ سَوَاء بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلاَّ نَعْبُدَ إِلاَّ اللّهَ وَلاَ نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَلاَ يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضاً أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَقُولُواْ اشْهَدُواْ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ

“Say: Oh people of the Book! Come unto that tenet which we and you hold in common:  that we shall worship none but Allah [God], and that we shall not ascribe divinity to none beside Him,

and that we shall not take humans for our Lords beside Allah.  And if they turn away, then say: “Bear witness that we are Muslims”

The Quran addresses itself to mankind as well, for example, in Surah 6 (Al-Anaam), Ayah 19 we read:

قُلْ أَيُّ شَيْءٍ أَكْبَرُ شَهَادةً قُلِ اللّهِ شَهِيدٌ بِيْنِي وَبَيْنَكُمْ وَأُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ هَذَا الْقُرْآنُ لأُنذِرَكُم بِهِ وَمَن بَلَغَ َ

“…Say Allah is witness between me and you; This Quran has been Revealed to me. 

That I may warn you and all whom it reaches…”

And in Surah 68 (Al-Qalam), Ayah 52  Allah says:

وَمَا هُوَ إِلا ذِكْرٌ لِّلْعَالَمِينَ

“But surely it [the Quran] is a Message to all the world”.

The Quran teaches man (in all ages but especially now) to realize his goal on earth.  It describes this path in the most complete terms.  It is a way of correctly viewing the reality of things, a vision —personal, social, and cosmic— all based on a correct manner of behavior and a precise method of interaction between men.  In Surah 46 (Al-Ah’qaaf), Ayah 30 we read:

قَالُوا يَا قَوْمَنَا إِنَّا سَمِعْنَا كِتَابًا أُنزِلَ مِن بَعْدِ مُوسَى مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ يَهْدِي إِلَى الْحَقِّ وَإِلَى طَرِيقٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ

 “… We heard a Book revealed after Moses,

Confirming what came before it: it [the Quran] Guides to the Truth and to a straight Path”.

In the end, we ask Allah to guide us to the truth and to the right path, to illuminate our hearts with the light of faith, fill them with love, grant our sick ones a speedy recovery, our dead ones salvations.

For the end of the 1^st part of the Khutba, read Surah Al-Asr, take a short intermission, then start the 2^nd part of the Khutba with a short Du’aa.

Imam Ali refers to the Holy Quran in such a remarkable eloquence:[1]