AFTER THE LIFETIME OF THE PROPHET (r) Flashcards
How was the Quran initially preserved and spread among the early Muslims?
Answer: Through memorization and oral recitation by the Companions.
What event prompted the compilation of the Quran into a written form?
Answer: The Battle of Yamama, where many Companions who had memorized the Quran were martyred.
Who was tasked with leading the committee for compiling the Quran?
Answer: Zaid ibn Thabit.
Who were the initial custodians of the compiled Quran?
Answer: Caliph Abu Bakr, then Caliph Umar, and finally Umar’s daughter Hafsah.
What was the purpose of producing multiple copies of the Quran during Uthman’s caliphate?
Answer: To unify the Quranic text and prevent divisions among Muslims due to differing recitations.
How did Uthman handle existing copies of the Quran that differed from the official version?
Answer: He ordered the destruction of other copies to ensure the Quran’s purity and consistency.
What was the primary language in which the Quran was initially revealed?
Answer: The Quraysh dialect of Arabic.
How were different dialects of Arabic accommodated in the Quran?
Answer: Some verses were revealed in seven different linguistic variants to aid the understanding of non-Quraysh tribes.
What was the concern that led to the standardization of the Quran’s text?
Answer: The growing differences in recitations among Muslims in various regions, which threatened to cause disunity.
What role did memorization play in preserving the Quran?
Answer: Memorization was the primary method of preserving and spreading the Quran among the early Muslims.
How did the tradition of Quran memorization evolve over time?
Answer: It became a continuous tradition with the establishment of memorization centers across the Muslim world.
How did the tradition of Quran memorization evolve over time?
Answer: It became a continuous tradition with the establishment of memorization centers across the Muslim world.
What is the significance of the term “huffaz”?
Answer: It refers to those who have memorized the entire Quran.
According to Kenneth Cragg, what impact has the memorization of the Quran had on its preservation?
Answer: It has kept the Quran a living and dynamic text throughout history, preventing its relegation to a mere historical document.
How does the phenomenon of Quran memorization compare to other books?
Answer: The Quran is unique in the number of people who have memorized it completely.
What methods were used by early Muslim scholars to verify the authenticity of hadith?
Answer: Rigorous criteria including chain of narrators, memory skills, conduct, knowledge, and consistency with other sources.
How do critics argue against the reliability of hadith collections?
Answer: They claim that hadith were fabricated in later centuries to serve partisan interests.
What evidence supports the claim that the Quran was widely copied and circulated in the early Islamic period?
Answer: The existence of professional Quran copyists in Madinah and the use of Quranic quotations on coins and public monuments.
How do Muslim scholars respond to the claim that the Quranic text was manipulated by Uthman?
Answer: They argue that the number of huffaz and the unanimous approval of the Companions support the authenticity of the Quran.
What is the significance of the term “mutawaatir” in relation to the Quran’s preservation?
Answer: It refers to hadiths narrated by a large number of people, making it highly unlikely that they could have conspired to fabricate the story.
What is the general orientalist perspective on the preservation of the Quran?
Answer: Many orientalists have questioned the authenticity of the Quranic text and hadith collections.
How do orientalists explain the variations in Quranic readings?
Answer: They often attribute these variations to later corruptions of the text.
What criticisms have orientalists leveled against the hadith collections?
Answer: They argue that hadith were forged to support legal and theological doctrines.
How does Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism relate to the study of the Quran?
Answer: Said argued that Western scholarship on the Quran was often biased and based on preconceived notions.
What counterarguments have Muslim scholars offered to orientalist criticisms?
Answer: Muslim scholars have presented evidence and arguments to defend the authenticity and preservation of the Quran.
What is the significance of the Battle of Yamama in the context of Quranic preservation?
Answer: The martyrdom of many memorizers at this battle prompted the compilation of the Quran into written form.
Explain the concept of “suhuf” as it relates to the early Quranic manuscripts.
Answer: Suhuf refer to the loose sheets on which the Quranic verses were initially written.
What role did the companions of the Prophet play in preserving the Quran?
Answer: They played a crucial role in memorizing, reciting, and transmitting the Quran.
Discuss the importance of the Quraysh dialect in the standardization of the Quranic text.
Answer: It was chosen as the standard language for the Quran due to its being the Prophet’s dialect and the most widely understood.
How has the Quran’s preservation influenced Islamic culture and society?
Answer: The Quran’s preservation has been central to Islamic identity, shaping beliefs, practices, and laws.
What did the Companions take with them to various provinces to instruct others?
Answer: Their memorization and recitation of the Qur’an.
What tradition emerged across the centuries concerning the Qur’an?
Answer: The tradition of memorization (hifz).
Which religious or secular book has been memorized completely by millions of people?
Answer: The Qur’an.
Who reflects on the phenomenon of Qur’anic recital as an unbroken living sequence of devotion?
Answer: Kenneth Cragg.
When was the Qur’an compiled into a book form?
A: Soon after the Battle of Yamama (11A.H./633C.E.), during the Caliphate of Abu Bakr.
Why was there a need to compile the Qur’an after the Battle of Yamama?
It was feared that large parts of the Qur’an might be lost with the death of those who had memorized it.
Who suggested the compilation of the Qur’an into written form?
Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Who headed the committee responsible for compiling the Qur’an?
Zaid ibn Thabit.
What condition was attached to the material accepted for the Qur’an compilation?
It had to be written in the presence of the Prophet and verified by at least two reliable witnesses.
With whom were the compiled sheets of the Qur’an initially kept?
The Caliph Abu Bakr, then Caliph Umar, and later Umar’s daughter Hafsah.
In which dialect was the Qur’an originally revealed?
The Qurayshi dialect of Arabic.
How many different linguistic variants of the Qur’an were later revealed?
Seven different linguistic variants.
What was the reason for revealing the Qur’an in different linguistic variants?
To aid the understanding of non-Quraysh tribes.
According to a hadith, how many different ways did Gabriel recite the Qur’an to the Prophet?
Seven different ways.
Who became concerned about the differing recitations of the Qur’an during Uthman’s Caliphate?
Hudhayfah ibn Al-Yaman.
Why did Caliph Uthman decide to produce several bounded copies of the Qur’an?
To prevent disunity and confusion over differing recitations.
Who was requested to send the manuscript of the Qur’an for the production of copies during Uthman’s time?
Hafsah.
What was the additional condition for producing the copies during Uthman’s codification?
Any passage with potential for dispute should be substituted with the corresponding revelation in the Quraysh dialect.
What was done to other extracts or copies of the Qur’an that differed from the official version during Uthman’s Caliphate?
They were burned.
How did the Companions react to the burning of the differing copies?
They unanimously approved it and were satisfied with Uthman’s actions.
What do some orientalists claim about the narrations in hadith collections?
That they cannot be trusted as they were recorded by Muslim sources with possible ulterior motives.
What criteria did early Muslim scholars develop to scrutinize reports for authenticity?
Criteria included verifying a continuous chain of reporters, their memory skills, adherence to righteous conduct, and textual consistency with the Qur’an.
What does the term “mutawaatir” refer to in the context of hadith reports?
Reports verified by many different narrators independently verifying the same account.
What do some critics allege about the authenticity of Muslim scholarship?
They allege that much of it is based on forgery.
What does Estelle Whelan mention about the Qur’an copyists in Madinah?
There was a group of professional Qur’an copyists in Madinah since the middle of the first century A.H.
What conclusion does Whelan draw from the evidence of Qur’an copyists?
The Muslim tradition of the Qur’an’s codification is reliable in broad outline.
Which Caliph made sophisticated use of Qur’anic quotations on coinage and public monuments?
Abd al-Malik.
What major event led to the codification of the Qur’an during Uthman’s time?
The potential for disunity over differing recitations of the Qur’an.
Which document records Uthman’s action of producing a standardized Qur’an?
Sahih al-Bukhari.
Who was responsible for overseeing the final approval of the Mushaf produced during Uthman’s Caliphate?
The Companions of the Prophet.
