Introduction to the Study of The Holy Quran — Page 261
261 (3) The whole of the Law, doctrine, philosophy, moral precepts and other teachings of Islam are contained in the Quran. The building up and the fostering of a nation require the aid of all these. The Holy Prophet used to train Muslims for the discharge of the multifarious duties and functions involved in the building up and direction of a civilised and cultured community. For instance, there were needed judges, jurists, expounders of doctrine and those who explained the legal and moral injunctions of Islam and these people could not adequately discharge their functions unless they had learnt the Quran by heart. All such people, therefore, were under the necessity of committing the entire Quran to memory. (4) The Holy Prophet used always to stress the meritoriousness of committing the Quran to memory, so much so that he is reported as having said that if a person commits the Quran to memory he would be saved from the torment of Hell. God had blessed the Holy Prophet with Companions who were always eager to acquire merit in every way so that when he made this announcement very large numbers from among them began to commit the Quran to memory, including those whose enunciation was not very clear and who were not men of any learning at all. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal has related on the authority of ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar that a man came to the Holy Prophet and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! I memorize the Quran but my mind does not grasp its full meaning. " This shows that not only men of learning but even the common people were in the habit of committing the Quran to memory. Another tradition, related by Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal on the same authority, states that a man brought his son to the Holy Prophet and said: "O Messenger of Allah! this son of mine goes on reciting the Quran the whole day and spends his night in sleep. " The Holy Prophet observed: "Then where is the occasion for you to worry? Your son spends the day in the remembrance of God and instead of committing any transgression at night spends it in restful sleep. " This shows that even the common people living at a distance from the Holy Prophet had started the practice of committing the Quran to memory. Instructors of the Quran (5) As the eagerness of the people for memorizing the Quran increased, the Holy Prophet appointed four principal teachers of the Quran who used to memorize it under the supervision of the Holy Prophet and then taught other people to commit it to memory. These four in turn trained a number of other people who became competent to teach the Quran. These four were: 1. ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud. 2. Salim Maula Abi Hudhayfah. 3. Mu‘adh bin Jabal. 4. Ubayy bin Ka‘b. The first two of these were Meccans who had migrated to Medina and the last two were Ansaris. ‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud used to occupy himself as a labourer, Salim