Themes of the Quran (P/B)

This book guides readers to pronunciate the Arabic alphabet from their correct point of articulations. It also guides them to recite the Holy Qur’an according to the laws and principles of the art of recitation and intonation.

The correct pronunciation of the Arabic words and alphabet was difficult to some extent for the people living in the West as compared to those of East. So they need some more efforts to solve this problem and to make it easy for them.

By the grace of Allah, this book will do the job successfully and in a very convenient way.

The Qur’an and Sunnah are the two primary sources of Muslim faith, life, law and morality. The Qur’an is for Muslims the foundation of their faith and the Sunnah is the framework of their morality. Together they constitute the two sources of the law (Shari ah) of God, a guide to prosperity and happiness in this life and to the bliss of the hereafter. Although the Qur’an and Sunnah are materially and formally two independent sources, they are inextricably bound in a dynamic relationship. The rulings and precepts (ahkam) of the Qur’an constitute the law (shar ) of God. They are supplemented by the precepts of the authentic Sunnah, which possess authority second only to the precepts of the Qur’an. The Qur’an commands Muslims, Whatever the Messenger gives you, that you must take, and whatever he forbids you, you must desist therefrom…. (59:7).

This fascinating and important book attempts to investigate the nature of the seven Ahruf in which the Qur’an has been revealed and the reason for the variations in readings among the Qurraa of the Quran. It studies, examines, and discusses:

• The revelation of the Qur’an in the seven ahruf concluding that they represent seven linguistical ways of recitation
• The compilation of the Quran during the lifetime of the Prophet and the preservation of the Quran in the memories of the Companions as well as in written form, the compilation during the time of Abu Bakr, and the further compilation during the time of Uthman
• The problem of naskh to demonstrate the completeness and trustworthiness of the Quran and that no verses are missing or were read and abrogated by naskh al-tilawah either with or without hukm
• The Uthmanic masahif and their relation to the seven ahruf
• The language of the Quran and whether it includes one, several, or all the dialects of the Arabs
• The origin of the qiraat and conditions governing accepted readings
• Ikhtiyar (i.e., the selection of one reading rather than another) and the rules governing the Qurraa’ who selected a reading.

“Who is the author of the Qur’an?” On this subject scholars have flagrantly contradicted each other. This work attempts to make a critical review of the major ‘authorship’ theories by pressing into service logical arguments, historical evidence, textual analysis and scientific data. Probably, the only point of agreement about the Qur’an is that it was uttered for the first time by a man who was born in Makkah (Mecca), a city of Arabia, in the sixth century—a man by the name of Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him). As to the source of the Qur’an, scholars are divided into three main groups: those who believe that Muhammad (blessings and peace be upon him) himself was the author; those who believe that he was not the author himself but learned it from another human author or authors; and those who believe that the Qur’an has no human author but is rather a word-for-word revelation from God. Hamza Njozi examines the three theories and comes to a firm and logical conclusion.