As we all know , the Qu'ran was revealed in sections to Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him) from the beginning of his prophethood until shortly before his death ( 23 years ).
The Qu'ran came down continuously . Many of the sections of The Qu'ran were generally revealed to solve the problems which existed among the Muslim communities in both Makkah and Madeenah. Since the problems and needs of Makkah were totally different from those of Madeenah , obviously , the revelations of Makkah and Madeenah have special characteristics. The question you may wonder is , why is it important to know the difference between the revelations of Makkah and Madeenah? Well , firstly , it is for the Qu'ran to be clearly understood. Secondly , let's learn about it below. THE FEATURES OF MAKKAN REVELATIONS Makkan revelations are all the verses and chapters of the Qu'ran revealed before the Hijrah ( emigration of the Prophet to Madinah). This includes verses which were revealed in other areas of Makkah. To shorten , these revelations represent the first stage of the Islamic movement in which its fundamentals were established. Futhermore , Makkan Revelations mostly speak about : 1. Tawheed When Islam was first introduced to the Makkan , they were in a state of disbelief , but most of them clearly believed in Allah therefore they put between themselves and Allah many intermediaries. (We have to understand that people who worship idols along or instead Allah are considered kuffar ( disbelievers) for Allah.) , They made idols to represent these intermediaries and worshipped them instead of Allah. Thus , the first Makkan revelations taught the people about Allah's unity ( Tawheed) , about His power over all things. Consequently , they told people that Allah was without partners , offsprings or parents... These revelations taught also about that idols could not bring any good or evil and questionned the logic of worshipping things which could not even see or hear. 2. Salaah ( Prayer ) After the first verses of revelation came informing the Prophet that he has been chosen for Prophethood , Allah sent Jibreel to teach the Prophet the best method of prayer. This was necessary because the correct method could not be logically reasonned. Early verses called upon the Prophet and his early band of followers to make their Salaah regularly and they were also aimed at clarifying the misconception of worshipping idols in the belief that these home-made gods would carry their prayers to Allah for them. ( Makkan habits). So generally , the verses taught that Salaah should only be made for and to Allah , as He is the only one who can answer them. Why Salaah ? because of its relationship to Tawheed and correct Salaah directed to Allah alone is the most basic way of putting Tawheed into practice ! 3. The Unseen Since there was no way that human beings could possibly come to know about the unseen world , earlier verses taught them about its wonders , its mysteries and its horrors. The verses describing Paradise and its pleasure in order to encourage the believers to continue to do good deeds and to assure them of a reward. They also described the Hell-Fire and its torments in order to encourage the belivers to strive to avoid evil deeds. Descriptions of the fire and its inhabitants also reassured the believers that those who do wrong in this life will not escape Allah's punishment. Such description also aimed at scaring the disbelievers into reconsidering their position before it becomes too late. Some of the verses also reasoned with those who could not accept the resurrection by giving examples from nature such as rain falling on dead earth bringing it back to life. Allah proved in the Qu'ran " And it is Allah who sends the winds sturring the clouds and We drive them to the earth after its death.Likewise (will be) the Resurrection" ( Soorah Faatir (35:9) This is why is it really important to relfect and medidate on every verses we read. Others pointed out logically that the recreation of life would be easier than its creation , although is it all the same to Allah. " And it is He who originates the creation , then recreates it ( after it has perised ) which is easier for Him" ( Soorah ar Room (30:27)) 4. Allah's Existence Among Makkans , there were some individuals who aere in doubt about Allah's very existence. Some of the early verses presented logical arguments proving Allah's existence , some proofs were taken from nature and the creatures common to the society , Allah asked the Makkans : " Why didn't they look at the camels and how there were created , and the sky and how it was raised , and the mountains and how they are firmly fixed and the earth and how it was spread out ?" ( Soorah al Ghaashiyah (88:17-20) ) Allah also asked them if they were created from nothing or by themselves : " Were they created of nothing , or were they themselves the creators " ( Soorah at Toor (52:35) ) If you are agree with this statement , The answer had to be one or another , since they knew they had not created themselves , the had to realize that they were created . Even if theyr said that they came from their parents and their parents came from their parents and so on. The numbers eventually decrease to one who came from nothing , right? Thus Allah , the Creator , has to be accepted for our existence to make sense. 5. Challenges In order to prove to the Qu'raish ( Members of the tribe that reigned Makkah ) that the Qu'ran was from Allah and that Muhammad was a Prophet , some of the Makkan verses challenged the Arabs to imitate the Qu'ran. Many of the chapters began with individual letters like " Alif , Laam , and Meem" , "Saad or "Noon" * in order to tease the Makkans with the same letters of the alphabet that they made their flowery speeches and poetry with. Allah made the Qu'ran with the same letters , but they just could not imitate it. Since the Arabs were unable to produce even a chapter resembling the smallest chapter of the Qu'ran , the miraculous nature of this Book and its divine orign were clearly proven to the people at the time. However , many of them preferred to look at the Qu'ran as a magical spell and the Prophet as a master magician. *Note : do not try to understand the letters " Alim , Laam , Meem , Saad" at the beginning of some verses , it has no meaning for us , only Allah knows the significance of these words. Trying to understand their meaning is an unreachable goal 6. The People of Old Makkan verses often mentioned historical examples of earlier civilizations like the 'Ad and the Thamood. They were mentioned in order to warn those who had rejected the message of Islaam.. The verses spoke about the wonders of the ancient civilizations. They listed the many blessings which Allah had bestowed on the people of those civilizations. Then they recounted how the people disobeyed Allah and denied Hid blessings and how Allah's punishment caught them when they were totally unaware of what could become of them if Allah so willed. These examples were quite familar to the Arabs because the ruins of such civilizations could still be seen. For example , the stone tombs of Madaa' in Saalih were directly on the trade route to Syria. 7. Emaan ( faith ) Very fews laws were revealed in the Makkan verses. Instead the verses concentrated on principles which would build the Eamaan of the early Muslims. These verses spoke of the importance of fearing Allah and being aware of His presence and knowledge of all things. They were often filled with advice about being patient , perseverant, truthful and trustworthy , in order to build the moral spiritual character of the ealry Muslims who were in a minority and under a lot of pressure from Makkan society. 8. Short verses The Makkan Soorahs usually had short verses , catchy rhymes and a very strong rhythm. You must wonder why most of Makkan surats were short ? here's the answer . Short verses were meant to catch the attention of listeners who were basically opposed to the message of Islam. The verses had to be short because the audience would not be willing to listen to long , drawn-out statements. As soon as they heard any of the Qu'ran they would stick their fingers in their ears and turn away. Thus , the verses often had to strike home immediately. Let's the the story about Madeenan Revelations on the next article !!!
1 Comment
Kira
8/8/2023 09:08:27 pm
This detail are superb
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