Is Quran compilation complete?

Discussion on doctrinal issues
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agakhani_1
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Post by agakhani_1 »

Pir Tajuddin had no children ( ref. A brief History of Ismailism by Alwaiz Abu Ali). Only few ginans are available in his name. His piratin lasted 5 years.
His sons are called right now 'PIRAJ PUTRA" means Pir's sons!, they all still get together in Tando Bago once a year and takes their 'LAGO" from the pir's dargah.
kmaherali
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Post by kmaherali »

junglikhan4 wrote: Pir Tajuddin had no children ( ref. A brief History of Ismailism by Alwaiz Abu Ali). Only few ginans are available in his name. His piratin lasted 5 years.
Abu Aly's book says:

"His Pi'ra'tan lasted five years. As a result of a physical assault and insult caused by a group of his disciples108 the Holy Pi'r died on the ninth of Zil Hijja, 876 A.H. during the Ima'mat of Ima'm Mustansir Billah-II. He was one hundred and twenty years old. It is not known whether he had any children."

The scanned version of the book is at:

http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... ailism+abu
agakhani_1
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Post by agakhani_1 »

It is not known whether he had any children."
According a very famous History books of Pirs name
"Pir Padharya Aapne dwar 1-2" written by well known Ismaili missionary
Ali Bhai Nanji wrote in his this book that Pir Tajdin married to a "Sandha" women in Tharparkar area and from this women pir has sons too!! now a days they are recolonized as 'PIRJA PUTRA" a Sindhi words means sons of pir, according author his sons still comes in the Dargah Mubarak in Tando Bago of pir Tajdin and celebrate his USHR SHARIF there every year! and collect Their lago ( as a son of pir Tajdin) from the dargah. Author also gives the reference of Rai Piru Lakha and wrote that he visited his sons in a village name Diplo in Tharparkar district. it is not known that they are still Ismaili or not? but they still consider Pir Tajdin as their ancestor and claim their him as their pir!! Means pir Tajdin had sons whether they were an Ismaili or not!!
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Post by Admin »

Now that we have surveyed the info available on Pir Tajdin's progeny, can we please come back to the thread. Thanks!
nuseri
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Post by nuseri »

Ya Ali Madad.
I will not take questions.Take it as one way waez or a published statement.
Firstly if one observes that cosmology n astro insight of most religion is centered around
The figure 7 (seven).
I am very sure that the holy has to have 115 surahs 1+1+5=7.
The present compilation show 114 surahs.
The extract written in between surah 5:3 on swine meat eating is inserted from last surah there by ????.
The wording which show as final sign off ' this day I have perfected your religion ....Islam as you religion ' can be questioned even a high school student how come this lines come out of a hold in ayay of porky the pig eating message in so early part of Quran.
Why why why???
I am sure than this was last stand alone ayat of missing/omitted surah 115.
The Surah 115 would have contained alteast Not less than 6 or 13 ayats on Imam or ALI.
my presumptions are
1) if one closely observes that some ayats of surah does form a part of our present dua
2) if old manuscript if surah 5 are discovered, then a close look will be needed to see if this final ayat line are three,are they of same writing etc.
It will open up the search
This time may not be far.
ALI may open up fully only at the time at or nearer to zahurat.
his reply must be sought for missing ayat some how.
This world is ending as disaster where reading of the book is concerned.
The effect n punishment .unprecedented natural calamities has grown 5 fold in last 60 years.
It will much much more due to simple misunderstanding on the word IMAM E MUBEEN.
if I do write what can happen,it shivers me.
All the ayats said for unbelievers n wronging the words of God the punishment will be invoked on those segment with collateral damage.

Is surah 5 found in old manuscripts of in England n Germany?
the omitted Ayat of surah 115. will surface dramatically when ALI desires.
I hope n pray that ALI have mercy on earth.
nuseri
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Post by nuseri »

Ya ALI Madad.
The cosmology of number will stand true if ten Surahs are missing then 114+10=124=7.
This makes it almost 8 % of the book.it we take 8% off of 1600 year ,it comes to almost 1472 years from compleatation.
HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE ON ALI HATERS N SUSPETETORS .NO MERCY WILL WILL BE THERE.
the sampling and experiment has begun by Allah.
All ayat on those who do mischief n wrongs the words of god will see that on EARTH not elsewhere.
MHI is speech in UK used the word Distorted.It hint at physical act
This word is mainly used in legal parlance at physical tampering, ommision,editing,etc.
The words mis reprensantation ,mis qoute,fabricate comes later after existence of real or distorted document.
The dictionary meaning also hint to physical acts like twist out of shape.
Status of Imam as jamali or jalali will mean more or less severe punishment,duration,etc.
I feel standing amongst them can bring a Panoti to a person.
This world n humanity n world is at mercy of ALI not vice versa.
mazharshah
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Post by mazharshah »

nuseri wrote:Ya ALI Madad.
The cosmology of number will stand true if ten Surahs are missing then 114+10=124=7.
This makes it almost 8 % of the book.it we take 8% off of 1600 year ,it comes to almost 1472 years from compleatation.
HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE ON ALI HATERS N SUSPETETORS .NO MERCY WILL WILL BE THERE.
the sampling and experiment has begun by Allah.
All ayat on those who do mischief n wrongs the words of god will see that on EARTH not elsewhere.
MHI is speech in UK used the word Distorted.It hint at physical act
This word is mainly used in legal parlance at physical tampering, ommision,editing,etc.
The words mis reprensantation ,mis qoute,fabricate comes later after existence of real or distorted document.
The dictionary meaning also hint to physical acts like twist out of shape.
Status of Imam as jamali or jalali will mean more or less severe punishment,duration,etc.
I feel standing amongst them can bring a Panoti to a person.
This world n humanity n world is at mercy of ALI not vice versa.

Couple of times you wrote in your previous posts that Quran is 1400 years old out dated book, so why heart attack about numbers, your equation is going no where 114+10=124=7.
nuseri
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Post by nuseri »

Ya Ali madad.
Maybe in some context.please repost the extract of MY POST n not of others
where I have written is few straight line words that HB is outdated.
I pick n choose my words carefully.
In constitution just the word is mentioned,has anybody asked which Quran he means in the constution.
That answer from his lips would only convince me.
For Ismailis HE is the Bolta Quran ,that is their IMAAN,so placing of word of a static printed book has very low value against his farmans said in recent times
It won't be just heart attack for disbelievers, that even a Sufi do with his power from his eyes n hypnotism's.
It will all system failure and paralysis for non believers.
MHI has also used the word mis interpretation / representation in his Speech.
The simple two words from distorted stuff like IMAM EMUBEEN is said as register.
What a grand scale of wronging the words of ALI+Lah=Allah.
Bhari Saaza air koi MAAFI nahi.
Aagee aage dekho hota hai kya.
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Post by zznoor »

nuseri wrote:Ya Ali madad.
Maybe in some context.please repost the extract of MY POST n not of others
where I have written is few straight line words that HB is outdated.
no need to say Ishara is kaafi
I pick n choose my wordfully.
you R not that bright
In constitution just the word is mentioned,has anybody asked which Quran he means in the constution.
did he ever claim he is Bolta Quran?
That answer from his lips would only convince me.
Din't he kiss Quran with his lips?
For Ismailis HE is the Bolta Quran ,that is their IMAAN,so placing of word of a static printed book has very low value against his farmans said in recent times
can he even recite one chapter of Quran?
It won't be just heart attack for disbelievers, that even a Sufi do with his power from his eyes n hypnotism's.
It will all system failure and paralysis for non believers.
MHI has also used the word mis interpretation / representation in his Speech.
The simple two words from distorted stuff like IMAM EMUBEEN is said as register.
What a grand scale of wronging the words of ALI+Lah=Allah.
Bhari Saaza air koi MAAFI nahi.
Aagee aage dekho hota hai kya.
nuseri
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Post by nuseri »

To zznoor: Ya Ali Madad.
Nice to see you around.
Kissing xyz a book,did anybody See
what content was inside the outside cover ?
Kissing is not admission or acceptance but an acknowledgement.
A child is shown kissing his new mother on his father remarriage, he dislikes his step mother but forced to kiss the bride as a custom.that kissing foto does not tell the truth.
In this site non Ismailis n dissident one challenge many thing on Imam, tariqa,etc.
Do you have guts go on Shariati site and ask on what reasoning and ground that if Imam is interpreted as Person and when same words Imame mubeen comes it is seen as register.
This is historical blunder.
This one blunder has many stuck to 1400 years of antiq and one sect looking forward to forward to future n possibly evovlement in religious act ( not faith).
You are on a time pass and mark your attendance here.
mazharshah
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Post by mazharshah »

nuseri wrote:To zznoor: Ya Ali Madad.
Nice to see you around.
Kissing xyz a book,did anybody See
what content was inside the outside cover ?
Kissing is not admission or acceptance but an acknowledgement.
A child is shown kissing his new mother on his father remarriage, he dislikes his step mother but forced to kiss the bride as a custom.that kissing foto does not tell the truth.
In this site non Ismailis n dissident one challenge many thing on Imam, tariqa,etc.
Do you have guts go on Shariati site and ask on what reasoning and ground that if Imam is interpreted as Person and when same words Imame mubeen comes it is seen as register.
This is historical blunder.
This one blunder has many stuck to 1400 years of antiq and one sect looking forward to forward to future n possibly evovlement in religious act ( not faith).
You are on a time pass and mark your attendance here.

PAHLI MANO SHARIYAT TARIQAT OUUR HAQIQAT
MA'RIFAT KO MON ME MAAR

Pahli mano Shariyat, oh! but you do not believe in Ginans you consider them as poems of past.
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Post by kmaherali »

Esoteric Interpretations of the Qur’an: The Foundations of Shia Ismaili Ta’wil

http://ismailignosis.com/2015/12/28/eso ... ili-tawil/

Excerpt:

There is little evidence that the Prophet intended for the Qur’an to become a canonized text with multiple copies distributed among his community so they could interpret the Qur’anic text for themselves. In fact, the Qur’an [17:106] says that the Prophet recited only portions of the Qur’an to people at specific times with God’s permission and sanction. This is what Sayyidna Nasir-i Khusraw, the eleventh century Ismaili Muslim philosopher, explains below:

If they reply that the Book of God, may He be exalted, guides the people, we would tell them that the Book cannot speak without a speaker. If they claim that the Book is sufficient without an expounder, they belie the speech of God, may He be exalted, Who says: “We have sent down to you [O Muhammad!] the Remembrance (the Qur’an), so that you may explain clearly to people whatever We have sent down for them – perhaps they may reflect upon it” (16:44). Thus, we say that God commanded people to reflect so that they would know that just as the Prophet, peace be upon him, was the expounder of the Book in his time, in the same way, there has to be an expounder of the Book today. Further, God, may He be exalted, commanded the Prophet to recite the Book to the people at intervals, that is, according to the time, and not to give the Book to them so that they may read it. He has said: “And a Qur’an, which We have divided (into parts) in order that you may recite it to people at intervals” (17:106).

Sayyidna Nasir-i Khusraw, (The Face of Religion, Discourse 2)

The third Caliph, Uthman, published an official copy of the Qur’an based on the variant versions circulating among some of the companions. However, two prominent scribes of the Qur’an whom the Prophet Muhammad had trusted – Ibn Ma‘sud and Ubayy ibn Ka‘b – opposed Uthman’s codification project. Ever since, Muslims have disagreed over the meaning and interpretation of the Qur’an in numerous respects. The most popular genre of Qur’an commentary is called tafsir which consists of legal, ethical, historical, contextual and religious explanations of the outward and literal meanings of the Qur’an. One area of disagreement for Muslim interpreters and exegetes of the Qur’an is whether the Qur’an has an esoteric, hidden or spiritual meaning that goes beyond the literal and surface meaning of the Arabic words. In pre-modern times, most Qur’anic exegetes from the Mu‘tazilis, Ash‘aris, Twelver Shi‘as, Sufis, Philosophers and Isma‘ili Shi‘as maintained that the Qur’an does indeed have hidden (batini) spiritual meanings and esoteric interpretations (ta’wil). Only the literalists and the Hanbalis disagreed with this. Today, however, many interpretations of the Qur’an, including those of the fundamentalists, literalists and even mainstream translations are impoverished because they remain at the literal and surface meaning of the Qur’an. Such a state of affairs was predicted by the Prophet Muhammad himself when he said:

There will come a time for my people when there will remain nothing of the Qur’an except its outward form and nothing of Islam except its name and they will call themselves by this name even though they are the people furthest from it. Their mosques will be full of people but they will be empty of right guidance.

Prophet Muhammad
(Moojan Momen, An Introduction to Shi‘i Islam, 168)
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Post by Admin »

nuseri wrote:To Admin:Ya Ali Madad.
You have distorted my posting twisting it out of shape.
From where have learnt this trick ???
I have removed insults from your post. There is nothing added. Do respect the rules of postings else next time instead of removing only the insults that you write, I will remove all your post.
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Post by kmaherali »

“The Speaking Qur’an: Revelation in Sunni & Shia Islam” – Academic Lecture by Khalil Andani at UT Austin – Friday April 7

Date/Time: Friday, April 7, 2:00 PM

Location: College of Liberal Arts Building 0.102

Host: Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas – Austin: https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/mes/

Summary of Lecture:

What is the Qur’an and how was it revealed to Prophet Muhammad? Throughout history, Muslims of different communities of interpretation, including Sunni, Shia, and Sufi affiliations, have interpreted the Qur’an in a diversity of ways. However, it is little known that there are different Muslim views about the actual process of the Revelation of the Qur’an. This presentation discusses two different viewpoints about Revelation in Islam: the Sunni view and the Shia Ismaili view.

To begin, the presentation examines what the Qur’an actually says about itself and the process of revelation, arguing that “kitab” in the Qur’anic context does not mean “book”, but rather, “divinely-prescribed guidance” and that the Qur’anic idea of “wahy” means “divine inspiration” instead of the verbatim “dictation” of Arabic verses to the Prophet. In the lifetime of the early community of believers, the Qur’anic revelation was a dynamic process in history, that was also inseparable from the Prophet Muhammad since divine inspiration extended to the Prophet’s verbal guidance as well. Accordingly, the Qur’an presents itself as a verbal, historical and situational “rendering” (tanzil, tafsil) in Arabic of a transcendent divine repository of knowledge called “al-Kitab.”

Following the Prophet’s death, the Qur’an was compiled and came to be re-defined among proto-Sunni exegetes as a “book” pre-existing in a heavenly tablet before being “dictated” to the Prophet, thus demarcating the Qur’an’s status from that of Prophet Muhammad. This evolved into the standard Sunni doctrine of “verbal revelation” where the Angel Gabriel dictates the Arabic Qur’an to the Prophet who then recites it to his community. This proto-Sunni view of the Qur’an was further sublimated during the 9th century debates over whether the Qur’an was created or uncreated, leading to the consolidation of the doctrine of the Qur’an as God’s Uncreated Speech (kalam) in the 11th century.

The presentation then discusses how Shia Ismaili Muslim thinkers conceived the revelation of the Qur’an, looking at the views of the 14th Ismaili Imam al-Mu‘izz (d. 975) and several Ismaili philosophers including Abu Yaqub al-Sijistani (d. ca. 971), Jafar b. Mansur al-Yaman (d. ca. 960), and Nasir-i Khusraw (d. ca. 1088). According to these Shia Ismaili thinkers, the Prophet Muhammad was a divinely-inspired human being who possessed a superior spiritual faculty called the Holy Spirit. Accordingly, the Prophet received divine inspiration (wahy, ta’yid) from a transcendent celestial “Pre-Text” in a spiritual and luminous form and was then responsible for composing the Arabic Qur’an as a symbolic revelatory expression (tanzil) of divine inspiration in the form of miraculous speech.

Khalil Andani is a SSHRC Fellow and doctoral (Ph.D) candidate in Islamic studies at Harvard University focusing on Islamic theology, philosophy, and intellectual history and holds a Master of Theological Studies degree (MTS 2014) from Harvard Divinity School. His publications include a forthcoming article about the Ismaili influence on al-Ghazali’s cosmology in the Oxford Journal of Islamic Studies, two peer reviewed articles on the Survey of Ismaili Studies in Religion Compass, a chapter on Nasir-i Khusraw’s Ismaili philosophy in the The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Philosophy, and two articles comparing Ismaili cosmology and the Christian metaphysics of Meister Eckhart in Sacred Web. Khalil is also a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA-CPA) and has completed Bachelor of Mathematics (BMath) and Master of Accounting degrees at the University of Waterloo (2008).

https://www.facebook.com/events/970725616398276/
kmaherali
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Post by kmaherali »

Muslim Neoplatonic theories of the Qur’anic revelation are most intriguing: Ismaili & Sufi thinkers in the Ibn Arabi & Persian Sufi tradition perceived the Intellect as Pen, the Soul as Tablet, & world as God’s Book. The “spoken Quran” is the manifestion of the “Cosmic Quran”

https://twitter.com/KhalilAndani/status ... 0991959041
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Post by swamidada_1 »

DAWN.COM

In pictures: Dubai's Quranic Park uses landscaping to tell stories of Islam to visitors
The park features 12 gardens, a Cave of Miracles, and a split lake symbolising Prophet Musa's parting of the Red Sea.
Reuters Apr 09, 2019 07:56pm
A new park that uses gardens and landscaping to tell stories from Islam's holy text has opened in Dubai, offering locals and tourists a day out with a religious twist.

Quranic Park attracted some 100,000 people in its first week, officials say, feeding demand for religious attractions in the United Arab Emirates where Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a top destination for visitors.

The educational park, which seeks to attract Muslims and non-Muslims alike, features 12 gardens, a Cave of Miracles, and a split lake symbolizing Prophet Musa's parting of the Red Sea.

Trees bearing grapes, figs, pomegranates, and olives dot the park's 64 hectares, highlighting the medical and scientific uses of plants mentioned in the Holy Quran and Sunnah, the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

A variety of trees have been included in the landscape to educate tourists of their many advantages. — Reuters
“My children had learned about these plants, and they had some questions about the Quran and the miracles,” said Emirati visitor Omar al-Kaabi.

“Praise God we got some answers,” he said, standing inside the greenhouse that holds some of the plants.

Visitors are seen inside The Glass House, at Dubai's Quranic Park. — Reuters
Visitors to the cave can learn about the story of Prophet Isa making a bird from clay and six other prophetic miracles mentioned in the Quran, using 3D map and hologram displays.

“It's a nice idea, right at the heart of our Islamic religion,” said Anan al-Hourani, another visitor who brought his daughters to the park on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

“At the same time, it's recreational, with the lovely gardens, greenery, and trees,” he said.

://www.dawn.com/news/1474965/in-pictures-d ... o-visitors
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Post by swamidada_1 »

DAWN.COM
TODAY'S PAPER | JULY 02, 2019
Nikhat Sattar June 28, 2019

BEAUTI OF THE QURAN

ALLOWING our senses to open up to the majesty of the universe, we are struck with its beauty and grandeur.

The activity of humankind in pursuit of livelihoods during the day and its coexistence with other species, the silence and comfort of the night as darkness engulfs the world; the companionable sounds of birds with the change of seasons and the rustling of leaves as they swing in the wind; the rows of farms and the color of fruit, cereal and vegetables that have been sown; the water bodies that provide the lifeline for all living beings; the hills and mountain peaks covered in snow in winter that melts and runs down as fresh water, are but a few signs of the inherent beauty of this world.

In the galaxies, the Quran mentions seven skies, each with its own earth and the lowest sky has been graced with “lamps”: the sun, moon and stars. Each is set in its orbit and revolves within it according to a set of principles. While almost all surahs depict the beauty of God’s creation, it is perhaps Surah Rahman that provides a magnificent picture of the favours of the Most Merciful.

Immersing oneself in Quranic verses brings a sense of peace and tranquility.

According to a hadith, “God is beautiful and loves beauty” (Al-Mujam Al Ausat, 6902). As per the contemporary scholar Khaled Abu El Fadl, what is a temporary sign of God’s beauty shall perish, but His perennial beauty is eternal (Quran 55:26-27).

What can be a more beautiful manifestation of God’s beauty than the book, revealed to the Prophet (PBUH) to show the people of Makkah and to others the path to beauty, ie the path to God? A miracle in itself, it is beauty encapsulated in the highest of books, revealed to God’s beloved Prophet.

The creation of humans is upon a basic nature or fitra: an instinctive, intuitive understanding of the differences between right and wrong and a desire for justice. When this is developed and man’s arrogance and Satan’s temptations are controlled, humans demonstrate higher and higher levels of beauty.

The Quran entails us to do ihsan (the best in morality), command the ma’ruf (that which is right) and forbid the munkar (wrong deeds). In each of these commands, the Quran instils the spirit of beauty of our souls. It asks us to be on the side of justice and speak the truth, even if it goes against us and our families.

One of the most beautiful gifts of God to humans only is that of rationality and intellect. By using these qualities and honing them constantly, we gradually become conscious of the beauty of the Quran. Strange as it may sound in an era when intellectual reasoning is anathema to Muslims, this is what God has enjoined humans to exercise. “He has taught him speech (and intelligence)” (55:4).

Even for Muslims who do not understand Arabic, the rhythm of the words is evident as they flow into each other, as waves of the sea, or as springs meeting at a point and then expanding into a larger spring. There is a melody, even without the qirah, that strikes at the chords of the heart. Immersing oneself in the verses brings a sense of peace and tranquility, not to be found anywhere else.

As one begins to understand the structure of its surahs, its coherence, its links to the stages of the Prophet’s life, how some verses are contextual and refer only to those times, and how some are universal and need to be understood with reference to each other, one begins to decipher the meaning of the Sharia being the righteous and beauteous way. Every word of the book holds deeper meanings which are revealed to the discerning heart and mind, again and again.

How beautiful is the verse describing wives and husbands as garments for each other; having being created for love and companionship!

In one single word, protection, confidence, care, warmth and strength have been combined to produce the raison d’être for marriage. Yet, how many people would quote this, instead of insisting upon the juristic interpretation of husbands being managers of wives?

Islamic jurists sought to interpret the verses of the Quran through existing communal and cultural practices. Once these laws were established, they seemed to be set in stone.

Muslims no longer think, seek the truth or deliberate upon the words of the Quran. Fadl suggests that in our rituals of worship, we often use the political, legal and cultural aspects of religion, while ignoring the ethical, the moral and, by extension, the beautiful.

Weighed down by our biases, arrogance, hatred, we forget mercy and compassion. We forget our search for the beautiful; we forget our search for God.

The writer is a freelance contributor with an interest in religion.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2019

www.dawn.com/beauti of the quran
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Post by kmaherali »

“Fire Cannot Harm It: Mediation, Temptation, and the Charismatic Power of the Qurʾan,” Journal of Qurʾanic Studies, 10.2 (2008): 50–72.

This paper examines debates concerning the theological status of the material Qur'anic codex, by focusing on a range of interpretations of a widely circulated ḥadīth which states ‘if the Qur'an were written on a hide, fire would not harm it’. This particular saying appears as a flashpoint in a series of on-going debates, which begin during the third/ninth century, concerning the otherworldly status of the Qur'an. By exploring the broader implications of these debates, as they inflect Ḥanbalī, Muʿtazilī, Imāmī, Ashʿarī and Māturīdī theological positions, this paper demonstrates how broad disputes over the eternality and inimitability of the Qur'an impacted on the status of scripture as a material object. Thus, while the physical Qur'anic codex became a sanctified object of veneration, the exact nature of its charismatic power remained contested.

The paper can be accessed at:

https://www.academia.edu/27570358/_Fire ... view-paper
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Post by swamidada »

Nourin Mohamed Siddig: The African art of reciting the Koran
BBC Mon, February 8, 2021, 6:28 PM
Nourin Mohamed Siddig

Social media has enabled a revival in unique African styles of Koranic recitation, which were once dominated by Middle Eastern traditions and as Isma'il Kushkush reports a voice from Sudan has come to exemplify what the continent has to offer.

When Nourin Mohamed Siddig recited the Koran, people around the world described his tone as sad, soulful and bluesy.

His unique sound made him one of the Muslim world's most popular reciters.

As a consequence, his death at the age of 38 in a car accident in Sudan in November was mourned from Pakistan to the United States.

"The world has lost one of the most beautiful [voices] of our time," tweeted Imam Omar Suleiman of Texas.

Hind Makki, a Sudanese-American interfaith educator, said it had a hard-to-describe quality.

"There is an African authenticity that people point to even if they are not able to articulate exactly what it is and they like it," she said.

According to historian Sylviane Diouf the chants, prayers and recitation of enslaved West African Muslims, which can sound similar to that of Muslims across the Sahel region to Sudan and Somalia, may have contributed to the creation of "the distinctive African American music of the South that evolved into the holler and finally the Blues".

According to tradition, the Koran, Islam's holy book, is typically recited in a singing manner, encouraged by the Prophet Muhammad, who said that people should "beautify the Koran with your voices".

Different places, different approaches
It is especially appreciated when large numbers come together for religious occasions such as evening prayers in the month of Ramadan, taraweeh.

Overlooked at times, however, is the fact that there are many approaches to reciting the Koran.

These may differ in tone and articulation according to geography, culture and historical experiences in the vast Muslim world beyond its heartland in the Middle East.

Siddig's recitations and untimely death brought greater attention to a traditional African style. He picked up the tone studying in a traditional Koranic school in his village of al-Farajab, west of the capital, Khartoum, in the mid-1990s.

When he later moved to Khartoum, he led prayers in a number of the city's main mosques and caught people's attention. His fame spread once videos of him were uploaded to YouTube.

sounds described as reflective of a seven-note heptatonic scale are popular in the Middle East, Siddig's recitation mirrored the five-note or pentatonic scale that is common in Muslim-majority regions of the Sahel and the Horn of Africa.

"This is the tone of the environment I grew up in, the desert; it sounds like [Sudanese folk-music genre] dobeit", said Al-Zain Muhammad Ahmad, another popular Sudanese reciter.

"The reciters in the Levant recite according to the melodies they know, as do the ones in Egypt, the Hijaz, North Africa and elsewhere."

This view is backed up by musicologists such as Michael Frishkoph, music professor at the University of Alberta in Canada.

While he cautions about lumping sub-Saharan Africa into one sonic tradition, he does confirm that the pentatonic scale is widely present in the region.

"Broadly speaking you won't find pentatonic or hexatonic [six-note] recitation in Egypt, whereas you do find it in Niger and Sudan, Ghana and The Gambia."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=deskt ... lP9M&t=38s

Imam Omar Jabbie of Olympia, Washington state, is a graduate of the prestigious Islamic University in Medina, Saudi Arabia. He was born in Sierra Leone and first learned to recite the Koran with teachers in Senegal and The Gambia.

"That's where I learned many Koranic tones," he explained.

In recent decades, Middle Eastern styles of reciting the Koran began to dominate in many regions in Africa and worldwide, especially in urban areas. Listeners of the Koran had access to recordings through vinyl records, shortwave radio broadcasts, audio cassette tapes and CDs, produced and distributed or sold by organisations largely from Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Returning students from Egypt's Al-Azhar University and the Islamic University in Medina, and the impact of Gulf-funded charities, also helped spread and popularise these Middle Eastern styles among many reciters globally, including those from sub-Saharan Africa, with some even excelling in this approach.

Some saw, and propagated it, as more authentic, which at times was at the expense of local traditions.

Someone studying the Koran
Siddig would have studied the Koran on boards like this one where the verses are handwritten
But the internet and social media in particular has brought renewed attention, especially from a younger generation, to traditional voices.

"The democratising forces of the social media and modern technology has mitigating effects on these historical forces," explained Professor Mbaye Lo, who researches the sociology of Islam.

Elebead Elshaifa of Naqa Studio, a Khartoum-based media production company established in 2016 elaborated.

"Social media doesn't need the same requirements of a satellite television station," he said, pointing to lower costs and fewer legal restrictions.

"The most popular video recording is the African style supplication [du'a] with over two million views," he said. "Most of the people watching were from France, where many West African Muslims live, followed by the United States."

These online recordings have also brought attention to different schools of verbalizing the Koran, qira'at.

The Koran, for Muslims, is believed to have been transmitted according to seven schools of verbalization that vary slightly in how some words are read.

The most well-known of these schools today is Hafs, mandated by the Ottoman Turks in the lands they conquered and later widely taught in institutions of learning and distributed through printed copies of the Koran made in Cairo and Mecca.

But in some parts of the Muslim world, especially in rural areas of the African continent, other schools of verbalisation continued to be used such as al-Duri in Sudan, which Siddig often followed in his recitations.

His recitation style was a reminder of both the universal and diverse traditions among Muslims and for many followers and observers there is a clear lesson here.

While the content and letter of the Koran is largely agreed upon, different recitation styles provide a universal message expressed through a "beautiful combination of local sound and global semantics," explains Prof Frishkoph.

"This is the key point."

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