The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 10
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 10 is the genuine and unaltered composition of Mahomet himself. ” 1 Nöldeke, a famous German-Christian orientalist of the past is accepted as an expert in his field. With regards to the Holy Qur’ān he states: “The Qur’ān present today is exactly the same as in the time of the companions of the Prophet. ” “ All efforts of European scholars to prove the existence of later interpolation in the Koran have failed ” 2 In addition to the salient feature that since its revelation, the Holy Qur’ān has remained fully preserved and safeguarded until today, there exists another distinction also. Due to the fact that it was revealed gradually throughout the course of the 23-year prophethood of the Holy Prophet sa , there remains not a single aspect of his life upon which the Holy Qur’ān does not directly shed light. A practical commentary of this statement is provided by Ḥaḍrat ‘ Ā’ishah ra as she states, ُ كَان َ خُلُقُه ُ الْقُرْآن , in other words the entirety of the Sīrat 3 of the Holy Prophet sa is encompassed in the Holy Qur’ān. 4 Therefore, the Holy Qur’ān is a book which comprises the character and practices of the Holy Prophet sa and a record of his state of affairs was documented on a daily basis. Most definitely, there is not a single person found in the history of the world whose personality is recorded with such solidity and authenticity. Undoubtedly, there had always been such (and are still found today) whose biographies are published either in their lifetime or shortly after their demise. However, the distinction of Muḥammad sa , the Messenger of Allāh (may peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) in conjunction with the Holy Qur’ān, due to the constant documentation of his daily affairs, till this day, has not been received by any other individual. Western research scholars have also openly acknowledged this distinctive feature of the Holy Qur’ān. Hence, Sir William Muir writes: 1 Life of ‘Mahomet’, Sir William Muir, p. 562, Reprint of the 1894 Ed. , Published by Voice of India New Delhi 2 Encyclopedia Britannica, Under the word ‘Koran’, p. 905, Edition 11 3 The Life and Character of the Holy Prophet sa (Publishers) 4 Tafsīrul-Qur’ānil-‘Aẓīm, By Abul-Fidā’ ‘Imād-ud-Dīn ibni Kathīr, Volume 8, pp. 206-207, Tafsīru Sūratin-Nūn (Al-Qalam), Under the verse “Innaka l‘alā Khuluqin ‘Aẓīm” , Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1998)