Ramadan Daily Quran Study, July-August 2013
"O you who are unaware and indifferent, gird up your loins to serve the Quran
before the call is sounded that your turn has come (to depart from the world)."
— From poem by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.
This year's Quran studies will be on the topic of the how the Quran presents itself and its qualities:
- Guidance on significance of Ramadan and some prayers for Ramadan (advised by Maulana Muhammad Ali)
- Ramadan Message from Head of Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, Dr A.K. Saeed, dated 19 July 2012
- Prayers based on Surah Fatihah for Ramadan (advised by Maulana Muhammad Ali)
- Original Urdu text of the prayers in the above two links
- Fast 1 — How the Quran introduces itself
- Fast 2 — The Quran's challenge
- Fast 3 — The doctrine of abrogation in the Quran
- Fast 4 — The Quran as guidance and as the Criterion
- Fast 5 — The Quran describes itself
- Fast 6 — The Quran is a revelation from God
- Fast 7 — Rule of interpreting the Quran, as taught in the Quran
- Fast 8 — Quran revealed in portions
- Fast 9 — Jinn and the Quran
- Fast 10 — The Quran "verifying" previous scriptures
- Fast 11 — Taking a "small price" for messages of God
- Fast 12 — Pondering over the Quran
- Fast 13 — The Quran guarded and perfected the light and guidance which had come with previous scriptures.
- Fast 14 — The extraordinary prophecy in the Quran that it shall be forever guarded against corruption
- Fast 15 — The Quran is a mercy, guidance and healing for those who follow it.
- Fast 16 — The Quran calls itself "good news" for those who follow its teachings in practice.
- Fast 17 — The Quran provides a full explanation of all the principles that it requires us to accept.
- Fast 18 — The Quran calls itself the "light" which brings people out of darkness.
- Fast 19 — The Quran calls itself the truth and says that truth can only be established through knowledge, while false beliefs are based on conjecture.
- Fast 20 — The Quran gives proofs and arguments to support its teachings.
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Fast 21 — The recitation of the Quran, as mentioned in the Quran.
- Fast 22 — The Quran on how to recite it, and how not to.
- Fast 23 — The Quran is a revelation from God because the Holy Prophet himself did not possess the knowledge to teach those grand truths and principles which are found in the Quran.
- Fast 24 — The Quran, as "guardian" of previous scriptures, has corrected certain stories as given in the Bible. An example is the story of Adam and Eve and their temptation by the devil.
- Fast 25 — We continue to contrast the account of Adam and Eve in the Quran with the story in the Bible.
- Fast 26 — The Quran has established the sinlessness of the earlier prophets. We look at how it has cleared the prophets Noah, Lot and Solomon of the stains on their character in the Bible.
- Fast 27 — Lailat-ul-Qadr, the night in Ramadan when the revelation of the Quran commenced.
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Fast 28 — The Quran cleared Jacob of the various allegations of deception and lying made against him in the Bible. Jacob is also known as Israel and was the forefather of the Israelites (i.e. the Jews), and he is the one whom the Quran honoured as a true, righteous prophet.
- Fast 29 — The Quran calls itself a "reminder". Among various aspects of it being a reminder, it calls itself a "reminder for all the nations".
- Fast 30 — The Quran will open the hearts of even its most stubborn opponents and bring them to spiritual life, thus clearing away the obstacles that stand in its way like mountains. But for that to happen, followers of the Quran must strive hard to spread its message in the world.
I thank Allah for enabling me, once again, to complete the Ramadan Quran studies for another year. I thank all those who appreciated these studies and encouraged me.
May all of you have a blessed and very happy Eid-ul-Fitr!
Zahid Aziz
From Dil Sooz:
Please add link-page number from MMA book of Khutbat, as I want to read in Urdu. Original has its own flavor.
From Zahid Aziz:
I have extracted the relevant four pages from Mujahid-i Kabir (Urdu biography of Maulana Muhammad Ali), containing both sets of prayers, and given the link above. The first page has a red arrow marked on it to indicated the starting point.
From ikram:
Dear Dr. Zahid Aziz, I want to thank you for your excellent and focused excerpts from Quran about Quran itself. Every day it is an ecstatic read of a new aspect of Quran that you expound so simply which one misses in casual reading of the Book. May Allah bless you for the yearly Ramadan tracts from Quran.
From ikram:
While on the tract – “The Book” this Ramadan and are essentially drawing from the translation by Maulana Muhammad Ali, I came across the following verse with regards to Allah imparting knowledge to Jesus (PBUH):
3:48. And He will teach him the Book [Arabic: Kitab] and the Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel,
On the surface, the use of the word “Book” besides Torah and the Gospel seems quite innocuous, but the proponents of physical return of Jesus son of Mary interpret “Book” as Quran and then use it as an argument that when ibn-e-Maryam returns, he will follow Quran that will be taught to him. They conclude that since there were only Torah and Gospel and no Quran during the first advent of Jesus, this verse only proves his second actual return.
Muhammad Asad translates it differently, which eliminates this argument:
3:48. And he will impart unto thy son revelation [Arabic: Kitab], and wisdom, and the Torah, and the Gospel
However, the advocates of physical return of Jesus fail to read the next verse which limits ibn-e-Maryam to Israelites only and by implication he has no role for the umma of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):
3:49. and (make him) a messenger to the Children of Israel (saying)… [Maulana Muhammad Ali]
Any thoughts on v. 3:48?
From Zahid Aziz:
I believe this "interpretation", that Book here means Quran, is a recent perversion, later than the time of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Traditionally, "book" in this verse has been taken to mean "writing", i.e. that Jesus had received education. Ibn Kathir says this, and the Urdu translation and commentary given free to pilgrims in Makkah also says this.
From Zahid Aziz:
See also this incident from 1977 when an anti-Ahmadiyya maulvi put before me this verse.
Verses 3:48-49 are the prophecies revealed to Mary by the angels (see 3:45-47) before the birth of Jesus, as to what the mission of Jesus will be. It would be quite absurd to begin those prophecies by saying, as the very first thing, that Allah will teach him the Quran, and then go on to mention that he will be taught the Torah and the Gospel and made a messenger and conduct his mission among his people. Jesus isn't born yet, Mary knows nothing about what he will do, and the first thing she is allegedly told is what he will do in his second coming after the Holy Prophet Muhammad has come and gone!
The prophecies conveyed here are repeated as matters of the past in 5:110 which describes what Allah will say to Jesus on the Day of Judgment:
"When Allah will say: O Jesus, son of Mary, remember My favour to you and to your mother, … and when I taught you the Book and the Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel, …".
But when relating the past here, Allah does not mention that after being taught the "book" Jesus then conducted a mission among Muslims! Tafsir Ibn Kathir (a famous classical commentary) says under this verse:
"(And when I taught you the Book and the Hikmah,) the power of writing and understanding,"
According to the Gospel of Luke, ch. 2, Jesus at the age of 12 was found by his parents sitting in the temple answering questions from rabbis: "And all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers" (Luke 2:47).
From Zahid Aziz:
The English translation of the Quran by Al-Hilali and Muhsin Khan, i.e. the officially approved one by Saudi Arabia, has the following for 5:110:
"and when I taught you writing, Al-Hikmah (the power of understanding), the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel);"
So they translate "book" here as "writing". Their translation for 3:48 says "book" though.
The so-called "Saheeh International" translation translates "book" in both 3:48 and 5:110 as "writing". It has a footnote in 3:48 at "writing and wisdom", saying: "The teachings of the prophets". So "the book and the wisdom" according to this translation means the teachings of the prophets.
From ikram:
As Dr. Zahid Aziz pointed out that the following is a set of prophecies to Mary about her yet to be born son. Essentially these verses are anterograde in nature, similar to an opening parenthesis “(” or bracket “[” of life and mission of Jesus:
3: 45. When the angels said: O Mary, surely Allah gives you good news with a word from Him (of one) whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, worthy of regard in this world and the Hereafter, and one of those who are drawn near (to Allah),
3:46. and he will speak to the people when in the cradle and when of old age, and (he will be) one of the good ones.
3:47. She said: My Lord, how can I have a son and man has not yet touched me? He said: Even so; Allah creates what He pleases. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, Be, and it is.
3:48. And He will teach him the Book and the Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel,
3:49. and (make him) a messenger to the Children of Israel…
Similarly, the following verse is fulfillment of the above prophecies, similar to closing parenthesis “)” or bracket “]” of life and mission of Jesus:
5:110. When Allah will say: O Jesus, son of Mary, remember My favour to you and to your mother, when I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit; you spoke to people in the cradle and in old age, and when I taught you the Book and the Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel, and when you determined out of clay a thing like the form of a bird by My permission, then you breathed into it and it became a bird by My permission; and you healed the blind and the leprous by My permission; and when you raised the dead by My permission; and when I withheld the Children of Israel from you when you came to them with clear arguments — but those of them who disbelieved said: This is nothing but clear enchantment.
On a time line the proponents of second coming of Jesus interpose “two” lives of Jesus son of Mary between the above sets of verses i.e. [Prophecy to Mary v.3:45-49 – Jesus in Palestine till crucifixion attempt – Jesus goes to heavens alive – Jesus returns to earth the 2nd time – Jesus is taught Quran – Jesus converting Christians to Islam – Completion of prophecies about Jesus v. 5:110 – Day of Judgment]
Even if for the sake of their conjecture the “Book” in verses 3:48 and 5:110 is accepted to be Quran, then how in the world can they reconcile the following preceding verse:
5:109. On the day when Allah will gather together the messengers and say: What was the response you received? They will say: We have no knowledge. Surely You are the great Knower of the unseen.
The above verse clearly point to one life of Jesus, because if he came the second time, he must have the answer in affirmative, as by then he would had lived among Christian and seen thousands of years of history of his followers. If Jesus answered – We have no knowledge, then that would be, for a lack of a better word, a lie.
This above is a classic example where some ignorant pick extra-Quranic ideas and then use Quran to prove their point with out of context conjectures. It is people like these who justify wife beating, limb cutting, killing of apostates, blasphemy etc. into Quran, not from Quran. They read their minds into Quran, rather than Quran into their minds.
From dr hasan:
eid mubarik