The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume II — Page 393
IX - Repeated Treachery of the Jews, Compilation and Sequence of the Holy Qur ’ā n, Marriage of Ḥaḍrat Zainab ra , the Great Calumny and Mischief of the Hypocrites 393 Qur’ān compiled by the Holy Prophet sa could be safeguarded in one place. It is ascertained from narrations that afterwards, Ḥaḍrat ‘Uthmān ra , the third Caliph, used this very same manuscript to produce authenticated copies and sent them to the various regions of the Islāmic world at the time. Then, further publication continued on the basis of these authentic copies. 1 Moreover, in every era, thousands, rather, hundreds and thousands of Ḥuffāẓ have always preserved the Holy Qur’ān in their hearts and provided an additional apparent means for its preservation. In order to determine how eagerly Muslims have always memorized the Holy Qur’ān, the sole narration is sufficient, that on one occasion, for some reason, when Ḥaḍrat ‘Umar ra felt a need to survey the number of Ḥuffāẓ , it was ascertained that at the time, there were more than 300 Ḥuffāẓ present in only a single contingent of the Muslim army. 2 Even in the current age, when the inclination towards religion has greatly declined, in the Islāmic world, the number of Ḥuffāẓ definitely runs into the hundreds of thousands. Sequence of the Holy Qur’ān The question as to whether the current sequence of the Holy Qur’ān is founded on the basis of any principle or not, and if so, then what, does not relate to history, and nor can a question of this nature be elaborately answered in a historical work. However, at this instance, a brief indication would perhaps not be without benefit. It should be known, therefore, that it is accepted by friend and foe alike, and history and the Aḥādīth are replete with references which substantiate that the current arrangement of the Holy Qur’ān is not according to its order of revelation. Rather, it is a varying order which was arranged by the Holy Prophet sa himself under divine inspiration. As such, Allāh states in the Holy Qur’ān: 1 * Ṣaḥīḥul-Bukhārī, Kitābu Faḍā’ilil-Qur’ān, Bābu Jam‘il-Qur’ān, Ḥadīth No. 4986, 4987 * Fatḥul-Bārī Sharḥu Ṣaḥīḥil-Bukhārī, By Al-Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥajar Al-‘Asqalānī, Volume 9, pp. 14/16/24, Kitābu Faḍā’ilil-Qur’ān, Bābu Jam‘il-Qur’ān, Qadīmī Kutub Khānah, Ārām Bāgh, Karachi 2 Kanzul-‘Ummāl Fī Sunanil-Aqwāli Wal-Af‘āl, By Imām ‘Alā’uddīn ‘Alī Al-Muttaqī bin Ḥusāmid- Dīn Al-Hindi, Volume 2, p. 124, Kitābul-Adhkār. . . . . , Bābun Fil-Qur’āni Faṣlun Fī Faḍa’ilil-Qur’āni Muṭlaqan, Ḥadīth No. 4016, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon (2004)