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Methods of Teaching
Islamic Studies
The Holy Quran
Lecture 1
Geographical History of Mecca
• The Qur'an contains several verses regarding the origin of the Kaaba.
It states that the Kaaba was the first House of Worship for mankind,
and that it was built by Ibrahim and Ismail on Allah's instructions.
• Verily, the first House (of worship) appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah
(Makkah), full of blessing, and a guidance for mankind.
— Quran, Al Imran (3), Ayah 96
• Behold! We gave the site, to Ibrahim, of the (Sacred) House, (saying):
"Associate not anything (in worship) with Me; and sanctify My House for those
who compass it round, or stand up, or bow, or prostrate themselves (therein in
prayer).“
— Quran, Al-Hajj (22), Ayah 26
• And remember Ibrahim and Ismail raised the foundations of the House (With
this prayer): "Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us: For Thou art the AllHearing, the All-knowing.“
— Quran, Al-Baqarah (2), Ayah 127
• Kaaba was a place of worship for mala'ikah (angels) before the
creation of man.
• Later, a house of worship was built on the location and was lost
during the flood in Nuh (Noah)'s time.
• And finally rebuilt by Ibrahim and Ismail as mentioned later in the
Quran.
• It was the first Bayt Allah ("House of God"), dedicated solely to Him,
built by His instruction, and sanctified and blessed by Him, as stated
in Quran 22:26–29.
• A hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari states that the Kaaba was the first masjid
on Earth, and the second was the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
Miracles
• Miracles are supernatural phenomena that Allah The Almighty causes to
happen at the hands of His prophets and messengers, (e.g. turning the staff of
Moosa, may Allah exalt his mention, into a wriggling snake). Miracles are
proofs that are not liable to refutation and invalidation and prove the
truthfulness of the prophets.
Miracle
• The Quran is not only unique in the way in which it presents its
subject matter, but it is also unique in that it is a miracle itself. By the
term “miracle,” we mean the performance of a supernatural or
extraordinary event which cannot be duplicated by humans.
• It has been documented that Prophet Muhammad, (May the mercy
and blessings of God be upon him), challenged the Arabs to produce
a literary work of a similar caliber as the Quran, but they were unable
to do so despite their well-known eloquence and literary powers
and Arabic being rhetorical (‫ )فصیح و بلیغ‬language.
Miracle
• The challenge to reproduce the Quran was presented to the Arabs and
mankind in three stages:
• In the Quran, God commanded the Prophet to challenge all of creation to create a book
of the stature of the Quran.
“Say: ‘If all mankind and the jinn would come together to produce the like of
this Quran, they could not produce its like even though they exerted all their
strength in aiding one another.’” (Quran 17:88)
• Next, God made the challenge ostensibly easier by asking those who denied its divine
origin to imitate even ten chapters of the Quran.
“Or do they say that he has invented it? Say (to them), ‘Bring ten invented
chapters like it, and call (for help) on whomever you can besides God, if you are
truthful.” (Quran 11:13)
• This final challenge was to produce even a single chapter to match what is in the
Quran, whose shortest chapter, al-Kawthar, consists of only three verses.
“And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring
a single chapter like it, and call your witnesses besides God if you are truthful.”
(Quran 2:23)
Revelation
• First revelation in Hira cave
The Holy Quran Describe itself as:
• ١٩٢ ‫ین‬
َ ‫ب ْٱلعَ ٰـلَ ِم‬
ِ ‫نزی ُل َر‬
ِ َ ‫َو ِإنَّهُۥ لَت‬
• This is certainly a revelation from the Lord of all worlds,
ُ ‫ٱلرو ُح ْٱْل َ ِم‬
• ١٩٣ ‫ین‬
ُّ ‫نَزَ َل ِب ِه‬
• which the trustworthy spirit ˹Gabriel˺ brought down
• ١٩٤ ‫ین‬
َ ‫ون ِم َن ْٱل ُمن ِذ ِر‬
َ ‫علَ ٰى قَ ْل ِب َك ِلت َ ُك‬
َ
• into your heart ˹O Prophet˺—so that you may be one of
the warners—
• ١٩٦ ‫ین‬
َ ‫ َو ِإنَّهُۥ لَ ِفى ُزبُ ِر ْٱْل َ َّو ِل‬١٩٥ ‫ین‬
َ ‫ان‬
َ ‫ِب ِل‬
ٍ ٍّۢ ‫ع َر ِب ٍّۢ ٍى ُّم ِب‬
ٍ ‫س‬
• in a clear Arabic tongue. And it has indeed been
˹foretold˺ in the Scriptures of those before.
The Holy Quran Describe itself:
• The Qur'an introduces itself as the guidance for the worlds (3:96);
• and the manifest light (4:174)
• According to Quran, Allah has laid down solution of every human
problem in the Quran very clearly. Quran says: “and We have
revealed the Book to you explaining clearly everything” (16:89)
The Holy Quran Describe itself:
• Again, Allah says: “And (as for) those who strive hard for Us, We will
most certainly guide them onto Our ways”. (29:69).
Which striving is greater than the endeavor to understand His Book? And
which way is straighter than the Qur'an?
• “Lo! this Quran guides to that which is most upright”. (17:9)
• The Qur'an describes its other function as the presentation of the
Prophetic mission, which is aimed at guidance of humanity, by
delivering it from darkness and leading it towards light:
“A Book We have sent down to you so that you may bring forth mankind
from the darkness into the light......”. (14:1)
Essentiality For the Study Of Quran:
• The study and knowledge of the Qur'an is essential not only for Scholars
and Philosophers, but for everyone: an ordinary person, a student, a
worker, a trader, a learned person as well as for all faithful believers
• The study of the Qur'an is essential for every committed Muslim, since it is
the main source and foundation of the religious thought and faith.
Whatsoever gives meaning, essence and sanctity to his existence lies in the
Holy Qur’an
• The Qur'an discusses and formulates all the ideas and views that are
essential for a man’s life, beside communicating the tenets of faith. Since
the Quran is book of life, it also lays down all the principles of life
including that of moral and ethical values for the purpose of individual,
social and familial existence.
Quran is Easy to understand
• ‫آن ِلل ِذ ْك ِر فَ َه ْل ِمن ُّم َّد ِك ٍر‬
َ ‫س ْرنَا ْالقُ ْر‬
َّ َ‫َولَقَ ْد ی‬
And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to
understand and remember; then is there any one who
will remember (or receive admonition)? Surat AlQamar (55:17)
Quran
• The Quran is divided into Surahs (chapters) and further divided
into Ayahs (verses).
• The real translation of the word Ayah is actually "Sign [of Allah]“.
• Each surah except the ninth (At-Tawba) is preceded by the
phrase bismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm ("In the name of Allah, the
Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.")
• Twenty-nine surahs are preceded by Muqatta'at (lit. abbreviated
or shortened), unique letter combinations whose meanings are
unknown.
Quran
• The Holy Quran contains 114 Surahs.
• 28 of the 114 Surahs are Madni Surahs.
• The Holy Qur’an contains 86 Makki Surahs.
• The Makki Surahs include topics like belief in Allah, the Day of
Judgment, rewards, and recognition, and paradise and hell. They provide
a call to virtue and are sensitive to ethical character. Mostly deal with
beliefs, disputation with unbelievers and their invitation to Islam.
• However, Madani Surahs concentrated on creating Islamic laws, money
dealings, morality, ethics, and the connection between Islam and
Muslims and other world religions. The leading indicator of a Madani
Surah is whether it grants authorization for “jihad” or explains its
prohibitions. Mostly deal with legal rules regarding family, society, politics,
economics, etc.
• Large part of the Quranic legislation have been given in broad
outlines.
• We are dependent on Sunnah and Ijtihad to fill up the gaps or
for explanations.
Quran
• There are 77439 Words in the Quran
• There are 114 Surahs in the Quran
• There are 30 Juzu’s in the Quran
• Number of the Ayahs of the Quran are 6236 Ayahs.
Quran
• Non repeated words in the Quran are 17,000
• If we know (sarf) then the number will be reduced to 4,500
words
• If you learn Surat Al-Fatiha and the last 12 Surahs of the
Quran plus what you say in the Salah, then you will
understand 50% of the words of the Quran
The Most Frequent Words in Quran
• Almost 200 verbs and 20 prepositions and pronouns
are mentioned 30,000 in the Quran.
• This means , these words are 36% of the Quran words
Most Frequent Verbs in Quran
entered
provided
Hit
oppressed
forgive
َ‫َد َخ َل‬
َ‫َرزَ ق‬
did
opened
َ‫فَعَ َل‬
‫فَت َ َح‬
‫ب‬
َ
َ ‫ض َر‬
َ
‫ظلَ َم‬
made
aided
‫َجعَ َل‬
‫ص َر‬
َ َ‫ن‬
َ
‫غفَ َر‬
created
َ‫َخلَق‬
Most Frequent Verbs in Quran
patient
Begot
Said
Was
Stood
repented
Day
َ‫صبَ َر‬
َ
‫َولَ َد‬
‫قَا َل‬
‫ان‬
َ ‫َك‬
‫ام‬
َ َ‫ق‬
‫اب‬
َ َ‫ت‬
‫یَ ْوم‬
misbelieved
Heard
Knew
did
Mercy
Promised
Found
َ‫َكفَ َر‬
‫س ِم َع‬
َ
‫ع ِل َم‬
َ
‫ع ِم َل‬
َ
‫َر ِح َم‬
‫ع َد‬
َ ‫َو‬
‫َو َج َد‬
Prepositions Used in The Quran
with
In, at
on
to
َ‫َم َع‬
‫في‬
‫على‬
َ
‫الى‬
to
With, in
from
about
‫َل‬
‫ب‬
ِ
‫ِمن‬
‫عن‬
َ
Demonstrative Nouns in Quran
These
Those
‫َه ُؤالء‬
‫أُولئِ َك‬
This
That
‫َهذا‬
‫ذ ِل َك‬
Detached Pronouns in Arabic
We
You (P,M)
You (P,F)
They (P,M)
They (P,F)
َ‫نَ ْح ُن‬
‫أ َ ْنت ُ ْم‬
‫أ َ ْنت ُ َّن‬
‫ُه ْم‬
‫ُه َّن‬
I
You (M)
You (F)
He
She
‫أَنَا‬
‫ت‬
َ ‫أ َ ْن‬
‫ت‬
ِ ‫أ َ ْن‬
‫ُه َو‬
‫ي‬
َ ‫ِه‬
Attached Pronouns in Arabic
‫َربََنَا‬
‫َربُّ ُك ْم‬
My Lord
Your Lord (P,F)
‫َربُّ ُك َّن‬
Your Lord
‫َربُّ ِك‬
Their Lord(M)
‫َربُّ ُه ْم‬
His Lord
ُ‫َربُّه‬
Their Lord(F)
‫َربُّ ُه َّن‬
Her Lord
‫َربُّ َها‬
Our Lord
Your Lord (P,M)
Your Lord
‫َربَي‬
‫َربُّ َك‬
THANKS