The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 398
Seal of the Prophets - Volume II 398 would be a weak and silly allegation. Firstly, a better part of the chronological order of the revelation of Qur’ānic verses have been safeguarded in the Aḥādīth and history, and with the slightest effort and attention, it can be ascertained as to when a certain verse or Sūrah was revealed. Therefore, in this case, it cannot at all be asserted that the historical value of the Qur’ān has been lost; rather, the truth is that it has been preserved in full, and friend and foe alike accept this verity. The only difference is that if the Qur’ān had been arranged according to its order of revelation, its historical background would have been more conspicuous and obvious, but now it must be derived with effort and attention. Secondly, it should be remembered that the actual fundamental purpose of the Holy Qur’ān is not the preservation of history. Quite the contrary, it is to provide a law in the best possible form, which is best suited for the social, moral and spiritual progress of mankind, and so that a servant may be led to God. Hence, in its arrangement as well, it was necessary to take into consideration such rules as best served these objectives. Furthermore, in its arrangement, if these rules had been forgone and the historical aspect had been given greater preference, this would have been an extremely unwise action. Prior to bringing this topic to a close, it is also necessary to mention that the current arrangement of the Holy Qur’ān is not one of such nature as is commonly found in books, whereby the subject is divided into chapters, sections, and paragraphs, etc. An arrangement of this type is at odds with the fundamental objective of the Qur’ān. The Qur’ān claims that it has brought a law for all nations and all eras, 1 and that there are concealed treasures of all kinds of knowledge hidden within it, which shall continue to reveal themselves as needed. 2 It is related in a Ḥadīth that scholars shall never become satiated in their study of the Qur’ān, nor shall its miracles ever be exhausted. 3 In another Ḥadīth it is related that the Qur’ānic verses are not only confined to apparent meanings. In fact, every verse conceals numerous hidden verities, each of which branches out into a multiplicity of meanings. 4 In other words, just as the 1 Al-Furq ān (25:2), Sabā’ (34:29), Al-An‘ām (6:91) 2 Banī Isrā’īl (17:90), Al-Ḥijr (15:22) 3 Sunanut-Tirmidhī, Kitābu Faḍā’ilil-Qur’ān, Bābu Mā Jā’a Fī Faḍlil-Qur’ān, Ḥadīth No. 2906 4 * Mishkātul-Maṣābīḥ, Part 1, pp. 65-66, Kitābul-‘Ilm, Al-Faṣluth-Thānī, Ḥadīth No. 238, Dārul- Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (2003) * Al-Jāmi‘uṣ-Ṣaghīr Fī Aḥādīthil-Bashīri Wan-Nadhīr, By Imām Jalāluddīn As-Suyūṭī, Volume 1, p. 163, Ḥarful-Hamzah, Ḥadīth No. 2727, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2004)