11 November 2012

Seerah: Delegation of Musailima (the Liar)
Lots of leaders and tribes became Muslim
Many from Bani Haneefa became Muslim
Musailima al-Khathhab (the Liar) wanted to lead the Muslims after the death of the Prophet and asked for this right but the Prophet refused
The Prophet refused to kill the messengers of Musailima
Musailima then launched a war against the Muslims after the Prophet died but he was killed by the spear of Wahshi – who had killed Hamzah

Compilation of the Qur’an:
The Prophet* himself supervised and authenticated the written texts of the Qur’an after receiving a revelation by memorising then having it written down.
Order and sequence of Qur’an is divinely inspired as instructed to the Prophet* through Jibreel. The Prophet would revise the revealed Qur’an every Ramadhan.
Later the Qur’an was copied on to one common material/sheets after many Sahabae died in battle against Musailima after the death of The Prophet* by Abu Bakr.
Uthman made copies of the Qur’an (led by Zaid bin Thabit) from the original manuscript and sent these to various cities.
The original fragments of written Qur’an and the original manuscript were destroyed to protect the Qur’an.
Diacritical marks were added for non-Arabs.
Allah Himself has promised to guard the Qur’an

Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the peace blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

The Delegation of Musailima (the Liar)
Bani Haneefa Delegation: They arrived in Medina in the ninth year of Al-Hijra. They were 17 in number and included the Master of Liars, Musailima bin Thumamah bin Kabeer bin Habeeb bin Harith of Bani Haneefa. The group of delegates were housed in a Helper’s house. They came to the Prophet* and declared their Islamization. As for Musailima the liar, versions vary concerning his embracing Islam. Contemplation of all these versions shows clearly that Musailima expressed disapproval and revealed haughtiness, boastful spirit and expectations to be a prince.
At first the Prophet* attempted going on well with him. He* dealt with him nicely and charitably but that did not do with him. The Prophet* perceived evil in his soul and recognized that he was one of those three evils he dreamt of while asleep. The Prophet* had already dreamt that he had been granted the treasures of earth. His hand fell upon two golden bracelets, which distressed and worried him a lot. He was taught by inspiration to blow them off, so he did that and they were gone off. They were interpreted to be two liars who would turn up after the death of Muhammad*. So when Musailima acted that way and showed disapproval, he realized that he would be one of the two liars. However Musailima used to say, "If Muhammad appointed me a successor of his, I would be a Muslim. Later on the Prophet* came to him, with a piece of palm leaf in his hand, and in the company of his orator, Thabit bin Qais bin Shammas. He was among some of his friends. The Prophet* talked to him but Musailima addressed him saying: "If you agree to transfer the whole thing to me after your death, I will not stand in your way." The Prophet* replied: "If you asked me to give you this (i.e. a piece of a palm leaf), I would not grant it to you. You are doomed. Even if you repented and stopped what you were doing, Allah appointed that you would be slain. By Allah, I swear, that I see you now in the very state that has been revealed to me. Here is Thabit! You will hear my answer (from him)." Then he went away.
Finally, the Prophet’s predictions of Musailima came true; for when Musailima returned to Yamama, he kept on thinking about the Prophet* and how he would be his partner. His dreams and thoughts went so far as to claim that he himself was a prophet. To confirm his prophecy he started uttering rhymed statements. He said that it was lawful to drink wine and commit adultery. He, however, bore witness that the Prophet* was a real Prophet. His people, who were fascinated by what he allowed them to do, followed him and made bargains with him. He grew so prominent among them that they called him the beneficent of Al-Yamama. He wrote to the Prophet* saying: "I have been appointed an associate with you, so I will have a half and Quraish will have the other half of the people’s affairs." The Prophet’s reply was a letter saying that: "Verily, the earth is Allah’s. He gives it as a heritage to whom He will of His slaves, and the (blessed) end is for the Muttaqoon (pious)." [TMQ 7:128]
On the authority of Ibn Mas‘ud, he says: When the two messengers of Musailima — Ibn An-Nawaha and Ibn Athal — came to the Prophet*, he asked them: "Do you bear witness that I am the Prophet?" Their reply was "We testify that Musailima is the Prophet." "I believe in Allah and in His Messenger," said the Prophet*, "If I had ever thought of killing a messenger I would have killed you both." Musailima’s pretence to Prophethood was in the tenth year of Al- Hijra. But he was killed in Al-Yamama war during Abu Bakr As- Siddeeq era, in Rabi‘ Al- Awwal, in the twelfth year of Al- Hijra. He was killed by Wahshi, the killer of Hamzah.
The second person who claimed to be a prophet was Al-Aswad Al- ‘Ansi who was in Yemen. He was killed by Fairuz. His head was cut off a day and a night before the Prophet’s death. So when the delegates came he told them the news that reached him through Divine Revelation. News about his death reached Abu Bakr from Yemen.

Main Topic: Compilation of the Qur’an
Compilation of the Qur’an
It has been proven by decisive and definite evidence that when the Prophet* died the whole Qur’an had been written and all of it was preserved in the hearts of the Sahabah. An verse or verses would be revealed and so he* used to order that they be written down before him at once. He* did not prevent the Muslims from writing the Qur’an other than what he used to dictate to the scribes who wrote down the revelation.
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri narrated that the Prophet* said:  “Do not write down anything from me, whosoever writes anything I have said other than the Qur’an let him erase it.” (Muslim) What the scribes used to write of the revelation was collected on sheets (Suhuf). He said:  “A Messenger from Allah, reciting purified pages (Suhuf) (of the Qur’an).” (TMQ Al-Bayyinah: 2)
 “Nay, indeed it (verses of the Qur’an) are an admonition. So whoever wills, let him pay attention to it. (It is) in Records held (greatly) in honour. Exalted (in dignity), purified. In the hands of scribes, Honourable and obedient.” (TMQ Al-Abbasa: 11-16)
An Ijma' (consensus) has taken place on the fact that all of the verses of the Qur’an in their respective chapters  had been written down directly in front of the Prophet* when the revelation was revealed to him, and that they were written on sheets (Suhuf). The greatest of Messengers died content about the Qur’an, his greatest miracle which established the proof for the Arabs and the world. He did not fear for the verses of the Qur’an that they would be lost because Allah has preserved the Qur’an with an explicit text: “Verily We: It is We Who have sent down the Zikr (the Qur’an) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption).” (TMQ Al-Hajj: 9)
Due to the preservation of the Qur’an in its written form and in the memory of the Sahabah after the death of the Messenger the Sahabah initially did not feel the need to compile the Qur’an in one book. This was the case until many of the Huffaz (memorisers of the Qur’an) had been killed in the Riddah (apostasy) wars. Due to this Umer feared for the loss of certain sheets and death of the Qurra' (Those who had committed the whole of the Qur’an to memory), thereby causing some verse to be lost. So he thought about bringing the written sheets together (in one compilation). He presented his idea to Abu Bakr who eventually accepted this and ordered for the compilation of the Qur’an.
It has been narrated by 'Ubayd b. al-Sibaq that Zayd b al-Thabit Al-Ansari said: “Abu Bakr sent for me after the (heavy) casualties among the warriors (of the battle) of Yamama (where a great number of Qurra' were killed). Umer was present with Abu Bakr who said, “Umer has come to me and said, ‘The people have suffered heavy casualties on the day of (the battle of) Yamama, and I am afraid that there will be more casualties among the Qurra' at other battle-fields, whereby a large part of the Qur’an may be lost, unless you collect it. And I am of the opinion that you should collect the Qur’an.’” Abu Bakr added, “I said to Umer, 'How can I do something which Allah's Apostle has not done?' Umer said (to me), 'By Allah, it is (really) a good thing.' So Umer kept on pressing, trying to persuade me to accept his proposal, till Allah opened my bosom for it and I had the same opinion as Umer.” Zayd b al-Thabit added: “Umer was sitting with him (Abu Bakr) and was not speaking to me. “You are a wise young man and we do not suspect you (of telling lies or of forgetfulness) and you used to write the revelation (Wahy) for Allah's Apostle. Therefore, look for the Qur’an and collect it (in one manuscript).” “By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains (from its place) it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Qur’an. I said to both of them, ‘How dare you do a thing which the Prophet has not done?' Abu Bakr said, 'By Allah, it is (really) a good thing. So I kept on arguing with him about it till Allah opened my bosom for that which He had opened the bosoms of Abu Bakr and Umer. So I started locating Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leaf-stalks of date palms and from the memories of men (who knew it by heart). I found with Khuzaima two Verses of Surah Al-Tawbah which I had not found with anybody else (in terms of the written form), (and they were): “Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty.” (TMQ At-Tawbah: 128) until the end of Bara’ah.”
The manuscript of the Quran which was collected, remained with Abu Bakr until Allah took him, and then with Umer during his lifetime, and finally it remained with Hafsa, Umer's daughter. Zayd's compilation of the Qur’an did not consist of what he wrote down from the Huffaz. Rather his compilation brought together what he had written himself in front of the Prophet*.
He did not place one sheet with another sheet in order to compile them unless two witnesses testified for that sheet that it was written in the presence of the Prophet*. Furthermore, he did not accept a sheet unless it met two conditions. Firstly, that it was present in written form with one of the Sahabah. Secondly, that it has been memorised by one of the Sahabah. When the written and memorised forms concurred with the sheet that was intended to be compiled, he took it, otherwise he did not accept it. That is why he refrained from taking the end of Surah al-Bara'ah until he found it in written form with Abu Khuzayma even though Zayd could himself recall and remember it. It has been narrated via Yahya b 'Abd al-Rahman b. Hatib that he said: “Umer stood up and said; whosoever has received anything of the Qur’an from the Prophet*, let him bring it forth. They used to write that on sheets, tablets and palm risp.” Ibn Hatib said: “He (Zayd) did not accept anything from anyone until two witnesses had given testimony. This shows that Zayd was not satisfied by merely finding something in a written form until the one who received it testified that he had heard it from the Prophet, despite the fact that Zayd already had it memorised. He did this due to his extreme caution.”
Thus, the process of compilation was nothing other than the bringing together of sheets that had already been written in the presence of the Prophet* into one book between two covers. The Qur’an used to be written down on sheets but they were separately kept. So Abu Bakr assembled them in one place. That is why Abu Bakr's order to compile the Qur’an was not an order to write it down in one Mushaf, rather it was an order to bring the sheets that had been written in the Messenger's presence together in one place. This was an order to make certain that they are in the same original form by supporting them with the testimonies of two witnesses that they had been written in front of the Prophet*, also that they were in the possession of the Sahabah in written form and they had memorised them. These sheets remained preserved in the possession of Abu Bakr during his life and then with Umer during his lifetime and them with Hafsa the daughter of Umer, the mother of the believers in accordance with Umer's bequest. From this it becomes clear that Abu Bakr's compilation of the Qur’an constituted only the bringing together of sheets that had been written in the presence of Allah's Messenger and it was not an actual compilation of the Qur’an.
This was regarding the compilation of Abu Bakr. As for the compilation of Uthman, in the third or some say the second year of his Khilafah, in the year 25 AH, Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman approached Uthman in Madinah at the time when the people of al-Sham and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Armenia and Azerbijan. Hudhayfa was afraid of the people of al-Sham and Iraq’s differences in the recitation of the Qur’an. He saw that the people of al-Sham reading according to the recitation of Ubay b. Ka'b, and they were coming with readings the people of Iraq had not heard of. Also he saw the people of Iraq reading according to the recitation of Abdullah b. Mas'ud and so they had certain readings that the people of al-Sham had not heard of. Thus, they began to charge each other of Kufr (disbelief). They both disagreed about a verse in Surah al-Baqarah.
One read: “And perform properly the hajj and 'Umra for Allah (wa atimmul hajja wal 'umrata lillah).” (TMQ Al-Baqarah: 196)
The other read: “And perform properly the hajj and 'Umra to the House (of Allah) (wa atimmul hajja wal 'umrata lil bayt).”
So Hudhayfah became angry and his eyes went red with rage. It has been narrated about Hudhayfah that he said: “The people of Kufah adhere to the recitation of Ibn Mas'ud and the people of Basra adhere to the recitation of Abu Musa. By Allah! If I go to the Leader of the Believers I will order him to make it a single recitation.” So he travelled to Uthman. It has been reported by Ibn Shihab that Anas b. Malik narrated: Hudhaifa bin al-Yaman came to Uthman at the time when the people of Sham and the people of Iraq were waging war to conquer Armenia and Azerbijan. Hudhayfa was afraid of their (the people of Sham and Iraq) differences in the recitation of the Qur’an, so he said to Uthman, “O chief of the Believers! Save this nation before they differ about the Book (Qur’an) as Jews and the Christians did before.” So Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, “Send us the manuscripts of the Qur’an so that we may compile the Qur’anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you.” Hafsa sent it to Uthman. Uthman then ordered Zayd bin Thabit, 'Abd Allah b. al-Zubair, Said b. al-'As and 'Abd al-Rahman b. Harith b. Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, “In case you disagree with Zayd b. al-Thabit on any point in the Qur’an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur’an was revealed in their tongue.” They did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur’anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt. The number of copies made was seven. The seven Mushafs were sent to Mecca, al-Sham (Syria), Yemen, Bahrayn, Basra, Kufa, and one copy was kept in Madina.
Therefore, Uthman's action was not the compilation of the Qur’an. Rather it constituted in only the copying and transcription of the same thing transcribed from the Prophet* as it was. He did not do anything other than make seven copies from the preserved copy in the possession of Hafsa, mother of the believers and unite the people on this single script and forbade any other script or dictation other than it. The matter became settled on this copy as a script and dictation. It is the same script and dictation in which the sheets were written in the presence of Allah's Messenger* when the revelation was sent down, and it is the same copy which Abu Bakr had compiled. Then the Muslims began to make copies from this copy and not any other copy. Nothing remained except the Mushaf of Uthman in its script. When printers came about the Mushaf was printed from this copy with the same script and dictation.
The difference between the compilation of Abu Bakr and that of Uthman is that the compilation of Abu Bakr took place due to the fear that something would be lost from the Qur’an if any of its memorisers died out.
As even though it was written on sheets it had not been collected in one place in a single book, thus it was compiled. The compilation of Uthman took place because differences increased regarding aspects of the Qur’an when they read it due to the expansion of the language. This led some to accuse others of making an error. It was feared that the matter would escalate and become seriously worse. So the original compilation was copied seven times and sent to the different Muslim provinces. The Mushaf that we now have before us is the same Mushaf revealed to the Prophet*. It is the same Mushaf that Abu Bakr brought together when the sheets were compiled in one place. And it is the same one from which Uthman transcribed the seven copies and ordered for the rest to be burned. It is the same noble Qur’an in its verse arrangement in relation to each other and their arrangement in their respective Surahs, script and dictation.
As for the original copy dictated by the Prophet* from the revelation, those sheets were compiled together and then copied. It remained protected in the possession of Hafsa, mother of the believers until Marwan became the Wali (governor) of Medina and he tore it up. Since it was not considered binding because copies of the Mushaf had spread everywhere. Ibn Shihab narrated that Salim b. 'Abdullah b. Umer informed him: That Marwan used to send for Hafsa – i.e. when he was the Amir of Medina via Mu'awiyya - asking her for the sheets from which the Qur’an was written. She refused to give him it. Salim said: When Hafsa died, while we were returning from her burial Marwan communicated his firm decision to 'Abdullah b. Umer that he send him that mushaf. So 'Abdullah b. Umer sent it to him. Marwan ordered it to be destroyed. He said: “I did this because I feared that if it remained with people for a long time then people will have doubts regarding these sheets.”

In summary:
1. The Prophet* himself supervised and authenticated the written texts of the Qur’an that whenever the Prophet* received a revelation, he would first memorize it himself and later declare the revelation and instruct his Companions. The Prophet* would immediately ask the scribes to write down the revelation he had received, and he would reconfirm and recheck it himself. The Prophet* was an Ummi who could not read and write. Therefore, after receiving each revelation, he would repeat it to his Companions. They would write down the revelation, and he would recheck by asking them to read what they had written. Similarly he would even recheck and authenticate the portions of the Qur’an memorized by the Companions. In this way, the Qur’an was written down under the personal supervision of The Prophet*.
2. Order and sequence of Qur’an is divinely inspired. The complete Qur’an was revealed over a period of nearly 23 years portion by portion, as and when it was required. The Qur’an was not compiled by the Prophet in the chronological order of revelation. The order and sequence of the Qur’an too was Divinely inspired and was instructed to the Prophet by Allah* through archangel Jibreel. Whenever a revelation was conveyed to his companions, the Prophet* would also mention in which surah (chapter) and after which ayat (verse) this new revelation should fit.
Every Ramadhan all the portions of the Qur’an that had been revealed, including the order of the verses, were revised and reconfirmed by the Prophet with archangel Jibraeel. During the last Ramadhan, before the death of the Prophet*, the Qur’an was rechecked and reconfirmed twice. Hence, the Qur’an was compiled and authenticated by the Prophet* himself during his lifetime, both in the written form as well as in the memory of several of his Companions.
3. Later the Qur’an was copied on one common material. The complete Qur’an, along with the correct sequence of the verses, was present during the time of The Prophet*. After the death of The Prophet*, Abu Bakr ordered that the Qur’an be copied from the various different materials on to a common material and place, which was in the shape of sheets. These were tied with strings so that nothing of the compilation was lost.
4. Uthman made copies of the Qur’an from the original manuscript and sent these to various cities. Many Companions of the Prophet used to write down the revelation of the Qur’an on their own whenever they heard it from the lips of The Prophet*. However what they wrote was not personally verified by the Prophet and thus could contain mistakes. All the verses revealed to The Prophet* may not have been heard personally by all the Companions. This gave rise to disputes among Muslims regarding the different contents of the Qur’an during the period of the third Caliph Uthman. Hence, Uthman borrowed the original manuscript of the Qur’an from Hafsa and ordered four Companions who were among the scribes who wrote the Qur’an when the Prophet* dictated it, led by Zaid bin Thabit to rewrite the script in several perfect copies and these were sent to the main centres of Muslims. Two such copies of the copied text of the original Qur’an authenticated by the Prophet are present to this day, one at the museum in Tashkent in erstwhile Soviet Union and the other at the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul, Turkey.
5. Diacritical marks were added for non-Arabs. The original manuscript of the Qur’an does not have the signs indicating the vowels in Arabic script. These vowels are known as tashkil, zabar, zair, paish in Urdu and as fatah, damma and qasra in Arabic. The Arabs did not require the vowel signs and diacritical marks for correct pronunciation of the Qur’an since it was their mother tongue. For Muslims of non-Arab origin, however, it was difficult to recite the Qur’an correctly without the vowels. These marks were introduced into the Qur’anic script during the time of the fifth ‘Umayyad’ Caliph, Malik-ar-Marwan (66-86 Hijri/685-705 C.E.) and during the governorship of Al-Hajaj in Iraq.
6. Allah Himself has promised to guard the Qur’an: "We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly Guard it (from corruption)." [TMQ 15:9]

Children’s Feedback & News Topic:
Nil

Bank of Akhirah:
Parents and Children were asked to think about anything they have done over the past week purely for the sake of Allah, with Ihsaan and sincerity. Thus seeking the pleasure of Allah alone. Then put these on a piece of paper and put it in the cardboard Kaaba at the start of the next Study Circle.
Please write them anonymously.

This week some people shared the following ~ Smile at a fellow Muslim Stranger, read Qur'an, read Qaa'ida

Homework
Seerah ~ Nil
Belief ~ Name some Miracles that occurred which were not performed by Prophets or Messengers?