The Holy Quran is transmitted to us by hearing and receiving from one heart to another.

 

There are two ways to transmit the text from its owner to us or to any person in existence, and no third:

1- By recording and writing
2- By oral indoctrination and memorization in the chests.



The Holy Quran is the only book in the entire world that was unique in being transmitted orally from the tongue of its owner to the tongue of its companions and from him to this day, and thus the Holy Quran continues to be transmitted from one generation to another since it was revealed to us until this day, more than 1400 years in which the Quran is taken from one generation to another and the written has no importance to this day in transmitting the Quranic text or in receiving it. We received it by indoctrination, oral transmission and memorization in our hearts. We received it in the same manner of its delivery and recitation and in its many aspects, exactly as Gabriel recited it to Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace.


Receiving can only be done by listening and paying attention... Therefore, one of the most important acts of worship is worshipping by listening and paying attention to the Holy Quran {And when the Qur’an is recited, listen to it and be silent that you may receive mercy.} [1] Listening is done by listening and striving not to be distracted by anything, as indicated by the imperative form ( listen ). And paying attention is to completely refrain from speaking so that there is not the slightest thing that distracts from receiving.


Therefore, even if all the copies of the Qur’an were lost and disappeared, the Holy Qur’an would remain and would not be lost :

because it was transmitted orally and memorized in people’s hearts, and because what is relied upon is what is spoken and memorized in the heart, not what is written and memorized in books. And thus the Qur’an is transferred from the heart of the skilled memorizer to the skilled memorizers who succeed him. Imam Al-Allama Ibn Al-Jazari [2] may God have mercy on him says: “Relying in transmitting the Qur’an on memorization of hearts and chests, not on memorization of copies of the Qur’an and books, is the most honorable characteristic bestowed by God Almighty upon this nation. In the authentic hadith narrated by Muslim, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “My Lord said to me: ‘Rise from Quraysh and warn them. ’ I said to Him: ‘O Lord, then they will rip [3] my head apart until it calls for bread. ’ He said: ‘I am testing you and I am testing you, and I am sending down to you a book that cannot be washed away by water. You will read it while asleep and while awake . So send forth an army, and I will send forth the like of them, and fight with those who obey you against those who disobey you, and spend, and they will spend on you . ’” [4] [5]

So God Almighty informed us that the Qur’an does not need a page to be washed with water to memorize it, but rather they will read it in every situation, as came in the description of His nation : “Their Gospels are in their chests .” This is in contrast to the People of the Book who do not memorize it in books, nor do they read it all except by sight, not by heart. [6]

And when God Almighty singled out By memorizing it, whoever wanted from its people, he established for it trustworthy imams who devoted themselves to correcting it and devoted themselves to perfecting it and received it from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, letter by letter, not neglecting any movement or stillness, nor confirmation or deletion, and no doubt or illusion entered into them regarding anything of it. Some of them memorized all of it, some of them memorized most of it, and some of them memorized some of it, all of that during the time of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace [7].

So the Holy Quran moves from one chapter to another, not from one written text to another... and this is the first thing we must realize.

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The recited and received is the judge of the written, not the other way around:

Although the Holy Quran was written down from the moment of its revelation, it is once again unique among all the holy books in that it is the book that was written by mere revelation. However, despite this, its writing is not relied upon and its importance is not considered if compared to the importance of memorization in the chests and oral transmission from one chest to another .

Therefore, what is relied upon in the Holy Quran is memorization, recitation, reception, and taking from the chests of men, trustworthy from trustworthy, and from imam to imam, to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace. The copies of the Quran were not and will not be the mainstay in this regard. And with reception, ambiguity is removed from the script, whatever it may be.


The fear of losing what was memorized was the reason for writing and collecting the Qur’an, and the fear of losing what was written was not the reason for memorization:
more than seventy reciters of the Qur’an who were killed in the Battle of Yamamah were the reason for Abu Bakr and Umar’s fear of losing the Qur’an, and the reason for their order to collect the Qur’an in the pages [8] , and the opposite was not the case... that is, the fear of losing what was written was not the reason for memorization, but rather the fear of killing the memorizers and losing what was memorized was the reason for collecting what was written. Abu Al-Yaman narrated to us, Shu`ayb narrated to us, on the authority of Al-Zuhri, who said: Ibn Al-Sabbaq narrated to me that Zayd ibn Thabit Al-Ansari, may God be pleased with him , who was one of those who wrote down the revelation, said: Abu Bakr sent to me the news of the killing of the people of Al-Yamamah, and Umar was with him. Abu Bakr said: Umar came to me and said: The killing has become very intense among the people on the day of Al-Yamamah, and I [9] For this reason

, even when Uthman ibn Affan wrote the Qur’anic copies, he did not just send them to the regions, but rather he sent a reciter with them to read the Qur’an to them in the reading that was prevalent among them. Because reception is the basis of reading the Qur’an, not writing.


Rather, the writing of what was written in these Uthmanic copies differed in some of its writing between one copy and another of the Uthmanic copies that Uthman sent to the regions, in a manner that was consistent with the reading that was prevalent in each of these regions. It was narrated that Uthman, may God be pleased with him, ordered Zaid bin Thabit to recite in the Madani style, and he sent Abdullah bin Sa’ib with the Makki, Al-Mughirah bin Shihab with the Shami, Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami with the Kufi, and Aamer bin Abd al-Qais with the Basri.

Then the followers transmitted these recitations from the Companions, so the people of each country recited what was in their Mushaf, receiving it from the Companions who received it from the mouth of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and they took the place of the Companions who received it from the mouth of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace. Then a group of people devoted themselves to reading, taking, and memorizing until they became imams in this regard, to whom people traveled and from whom people learned, and the people of their country agreed to receive their recitation and rely on their narration. [10]


And here is Abu Amr al-Dani [11] in the introduction to his book “Nuqt al-Masahif” saying:(This is a book on the science of dotting the Qur’an and how to do so according to the forms of recitation and the schools of reading) [12] ... So we know from this that the dots and writing were formulated to be compatible with reading and recitation and not the opposite.


The prevalence and superiority of memorization over writing is evident when some people asked the noble companion Abu Saeed Al-Khudri to write for them what he heard from the Messenger of God because they complained of poor memorization, so he said to them: “We will not write for you nor make them into Qur’ans. The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to speak to us and we would memorize, so memorize from us as we used to memorize from your Prophet . ” [13]


Indeed, the scholars of hadith from the Companions of the Messenger of God distinguished memorization from reception. Ibn Mas`ud, may God be pleased with him, said: “By God, I took from the mouth of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, seventy-odd surahs.” [14] He explained from whom he took the rest, saying in another narration: “And I took the rest of the Qur’an from his Companions.” [15] And if he, may God be pleased with him, was asked about a surah that he had not taken from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, he would state that explicitly and guide to whom he had taken it orally. [16]


Indeed, scholars have criminalized a person receiving knowledge from what is written in newspapers, and that it is obligatory to take it from the tongue of the memorizer who is proficient. They said: One of the greatest calamities is the aging of the newspaper [17].


The imams and followers forbade taking the Holy Qur’an from those who read the Qur’an: On the authority of Sulayman ibn Musa [18], he said: “It was said: Do not read the Qur’an to those who read the Qur’an, and do not take knowledge from those who read the Qur’an” [19] . Sa’id ibn Abd al-Aziz [20] used to say: “Do not take knowledge from a newspaper [21], nor the Qur’an from one who reads the Qur’an [22] ” [23] .


Thus, even in the transmission of the Holy Quran since its revelation until today, we follow the Sunnah of the Chosen Messenger Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace: What the scholars of hadith have said was not innovated, but rather they took it from the Sunnah of the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. He, may God bless him and grant him peace, learned the Quran from Gabriel, may God bless him and grant him peace, orally, and he would review the Quran with him every year in the month of Ramadan, and he would review it with the Quran twice in the year of his death.


Finally, if the original Quran was written and not recited, the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, would have dispensed with the written version instead of sending reciters to those who had recently converted to Islam. He, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to send reciters to teach them how to recite, and he could have written for them. The Rightly-Guided Caliphs who came after him followed his Sunnah, so they sent reciters to the people of the conquered countries to teach them the Quran, and Uthman sent a reciter with every copy of the Quran to teach the people. [24]


Thus, the Qur’ans are a comprehensive reference for Muslims on the Book of their Lord, but within the limits of what they indicate and specify, not what they do not indicate or specify. The Qur’ans were not punctuated or vocalized, and the form of the word in them was for all possible aspects of the different readings. If it did not bear them, the word was written in one of the ways in one Qur’an, then written in another Qur’an in another way, and so on. It is no wonder that reliance on narration and reception was the mainstay in the chapter on reading and the Qur’an. [25]


Thus, one of the manifestations of the care taken by this nation for the Noble Qur’an was that it was necessary in it toReceiving it orally , the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, received it orally from Gabriel, peace be upon him, and the trustworthy and just Companions received it from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, then the righteous followers among the Companions received it in the same way, then the followers of the followers among the followers received it in the same way, until it reached us fresh and tender as it was revealed. So reading is a followed Sunnah in which there is no room for analogy, and reliance in it is on receiving and continuous transmission . [26]


Finally, we conclude with what Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may God have mercy on him, issued a fatwa on, and upon which all reciters and scholars of recitation agree , saying: “Reliance in transmitting the Qur’an is on memorization of the hearts, not on copies of the Qur’an…” [27] We will suffice with quoting what the distinguished scholar Sheikh Abu al-Akif Muhammad Amin, known as Abdullah Effendi Zadeh, the Sheikh of Recitation at his time in Istanbul, said in his book “Umdat al-Khulan” Sharh Zubdat al-Irfan fi al-Qira’at al-‘Ashr, which states: “It is not permissible for anyone to recite the Qur’an without taking it completely from the mouths of the men who recite with the chain of transmission. It is forbidden to teach the science of recitation by deducing issues from the books of the people based on absolute opinion without receiving it in the usual order, because the pillars of the Qur’an are the continuous chain of transmission to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, without interruption, so recitation without a continuous chain of transmission to him, may God bless him and grant him peace, is rejected and forbidden to take and follow.” [28]


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[1] Al-A'raf 204

[2] Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Muhammad, Shams al-Din al-Din Abu al-Khair, known as Ibn al-Jazari, al-Dimashqi, a prominent reciter, was born and raised in Damascus in the year: 751 AH. Among his most famous works are: Al-Nashr fi al-Qira'at al-'Ashr, Ghayat al-Nihaya fi Tabaqat al-Qurra, Manzuma al-Tiba fi al-Qira'at al-'Ashr, and al-Durra al-Mudhi'ah fi al-Qira'at al-Thalatha, Al-Muqaddimah al-Jazariyyah fi al-Tajweed, and Munjid al-Muqri'in. He died in Shiraz, one of the cities of present-day Iran, in the year 833 AH. Ghayat al-Nihaya: 2/247, al-A'lam: 7/45.

[3] That is, they split and slit him as bread is split, i.e. broken, al-Nawawi's commentary on Muslim 17/198, and al-Nihaya fi Gharib al-Hadith 1/220.

[4] Sahih Muslim, Book of Paradise, Chapter on the attributes by which the people of Paradise and Hell are known in this world, 4/1741.

[5] Al-Nashr fi al-Qira’at al-‘Ashr, by Ibn al-Jazari 1/6

. [6] Majmu’ al-Fatawa by Ibn Taymiyyah 13/400, 4/421, Al-Nashr 1/6.

[7] Al-Nashr fi al-Qira’at al-‘Ashr, by Ibn al-Jazari 1/6.

[8] Abu Bakr collected the Qur’an in scrolls from palm stalks, leather bags, and the chests of men, and Uthman collected the scrolls in one Mushaf and copied it into Mushafs and sent it to the provinces, and with each Mushaf a Companion would recite it to each province by oral transmission, reciting it as they heard it from the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace.

[9] Sahih al-Bukhari (4679)

[10] Manahil al-Irfan by al-Zarqani, 1/403-404.

[11] Imam al-Hafiz Abu Amr al-Dani, may God have mercy on him, died in the year 444 AH. His works exceeded one hundred and twenty works, including (Al-Taysir fi al-Qira’at al-Sab’), (Jami’ al-Bayan fi al-Qira’at al-Sab’ al-Mashhurah), (Al-Tahdid fi al-Itqan wa al-Tajweed), (Al-Muqni’ fi Rasm Masahif al-Amsar), (Al-Muhkam fi Nuqtat al-Masahif), and many others.

[12] Al-Muhkam fi Nuqtat al-Masahif 1/1.

[13]“The Restriction of Knowledge” by Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi.

[14] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 6, p. 102 and Muslim, Vol. 4, p. 1912.

[15] Fath Al-Bari: Ibn Hajar, Vol. 9, p. 48.

[16] Collection of the Holy Qur’an by Fahd bin Abdul Rahman Al-Rumi.

[17] Tadhkirat Al-Sami’ wal-Mutakallim: Ibn Jama’ah, p. 87.

[18] Sulayman bin Musa bin Al-Ashdaq Abu Ayoub Al-Dimashqi narrated on the authority of Ata’ and Amr bin Shu’ayb. Al-Awza’i, Saeed bin Abdul Aziz, Ibn Jaber, Al-Nu’man bin Al-Mundhir, and Al-Mut’am bin Al-Muqaddam narrated on his authority. Abdul Rahman told us, I heard my father say that. Abdul Rahman told us, my father told me, he said, I heard Duhaym say: The most trustworthy of Makhul’s companions is Sulayman bin Musa. Abdul Rahman told us, my father told us, Mahmoud Ibn Khalid [Dimashqi - 2] told us, Marwan [meaning - 2] Ibn Muhammad al-Tatari said, Saeed Ibn Abdul Aziz (3) said, Whenever Sulayman Ibn Musa came to Ata (126 m 3), he would say to the people, “Stop asking questions, for someone has come to relieve you of asking questions.” Abdul Rahman told us, my father told me - 4], Muhammad Ibn al-Musaffa told us, Baqiya told us, Shu’ayb Ibn Abi Hamza said, al-Zuhri said: Makhul comes to us and Sulayman Ibn Musa, and by God, Sulayman is the more knowledgeable of the two men. Abdul Rahman told us, it was read to al-Abbas Ibn Muhammad al-Duri, Yahya Ibn Ma’in told us, Mu’tamir Ibn Sulayman told us, I heard Bard (5) say: The people used to gather around Ata, and the one who was in charge of asking questions for them was Sulayman Ibn Musa. Abdul Rahman told us, I heard my father say: After al-Zuhri and Makhul, he chose Sulayman Ibn Musa for jurisprudence. Abdul Rahman told us that Yaqub bin Ishaq [Al-Harawi - 2] wrote to us, saying that Uthman bin Saeed [Al-Darimi - 2] told us that he said to Yahya bin Ma’in: What is the status of Sulayman bin Musa in (427 K) Al-Zuhri? He said: Trustworthy. (Al-Jarh wa Al-Ta’dil 4/141).

[19] Al-Had Al-Fasil 1/211.

[20] Imam Saeed bin Abdul Aziz bin Abi Yahya Abu Muhammad, and it is said Abu Abdul Aziz Al-Tanukhi Al-Shami, the Mufti of Damascus, a great, trustworthy, great Imam. He was born in the year 90 AH, and he presented the Qur’an to Yahya bin Al-Harith Al-Dhamari, and he met Abdullah bin Aamer and took the recitation from him, and from Yazid bin Malik, Abdul Ala bin Masaher and Al-Walid bin Muslim narrated the recitation from him, and he is one of the good, working scholars. He died at the age of one hundred and sixty-seven.. Ghayat Al-Nihaya 1/135.

[21] “The origin of the name ‘mushafi’ is that some people had taken knowledge from newspapers and books, and not from the mouths of scholars. You are well aware that Arabic writing was written for a long time without diacritics or attention to distinguishing between ambiguous letters. For this reason, these people made mistakes when reading, so they called them ‘journalists’, meaning those who read newspapers. Then this usage became widespread until they derived a verb from it, so they said ‘sahifafa’, meaning he read newspapers. Then this became common on their tongues, so they said to the one who made a mistake, ‘qad sahif’, meaning he did what newspaper readers do.” Tawdih al-Afkar 2/419-420.

[22] The mushafi is the one who teaches people and looks at the script of the mushaf.

[23] Al-Jarh wa al-Ta’dil by Ibn Abi Hatim 2/31, Al-Tamhid 1/46, and Fath al-Mughith 2/232.

[24] The collection of the Holy Qur’an by Fahd ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Rumi with rewording.

[25] Manahil al-Irfan 1/413.

[26] The Revelation of the Holy Qur’an, Its History and What is Related to It, by Dr. Muhammad Umar Hawiyah

[27] Collection of Fatwas 13/400

[28] Guidance for the Reader to the Recitation of the Words of the Creator

 a simple addition, which is that the Holy Quran is the only book revealed by God orally with its words, pronunciation, arrangement of its words and division of its verses.
The Torah (the tablets) was revealed primarily as a written text on tablets and not as an oral text.
The books of the prophets of the Children of Israel, including the Gospel of the Kingdom, were inspired to the prophets as a meaning only, then the prophet wrote the meaning in his personal style or spoke it to the people in his personal style or some of the followers of that prophet wrote what the prophet said and also wrote it in their personal style
. The Quran is truly the only book that can be described as the word of God in truth and not metaphorically or in meaning only, but it is the word of God in truth, spoken word, and there is no book before or after that has this unique characteristic other than the Holy Quran.
And with this unique characteristic, that the Qur’an will be revealed from God orally with His wording and pronunciation from God, there is a statement in three places in the Holy Book of prophecies about the Qur’an and God’s uniqueness to it with this unique characteristic,
so the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, would preserve what was recited to him from God’s revelation with His wording and words as they were and would convey it to the people exactly as he heard it in the name of God, and this is the fulfillment of (And I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them whatever I command him. And whoever does not obey his word which he speaks in My name, I will be the avenger of that) in the dual, and it is also the fulfillment of what came in the prophecy of Jeremiah (Behold, I put My words in your mouth) and also the fulfillment of what came in the Gospel of the Kingdom from the words of the Prophet of God, Jesus, son of Mary (For he shall not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he shall speak, and he shall tell you of things to come),
and all of these prophecies were fulfilled by the Messenger of God Muhammad and by the Qur’an revealed to him verbally and uttered by God so that he may convey it to the people as he heard it with its wording, pronunciation, and method of recitation.