Fascinating!

Qur'aanic Verses 52:2 & 52:3:

Transliterations:

2. Wakitabin mastoorin

3. Fee raqqin manshoorin


Translations:

2. And by Record inscribed

3. On a writing material widely published.³

^{Study Note:}

3. And Verses 2 & 3 above together may as well refer to the Qur’aan! The modern publishing industry had got a boost with the invention of paper. Although paper had been invented in China around the time Prophet Jesus was born, it got world-wide attention during the time the Qur’aan was being revealed. So, along with revelation of His last Book of Guidance for mankind, Allah Almighty was preparing the ground, in another part of the world, for its wide publicity. Readers may like to go through the fascinating History of Paper. In the middle of the eighth century A.D., the Muslims defeated the Chinese and learnt the art of paper-making from the prisoners of war. The Muslims in turn taught the art to the then Wild West. And then we have this amazing facility of internet now! The Qur’aan can be accessed easily and cheaply in any nook and corner of the world!! It’s indeed now ‘on a writing material widely published.’ This could not have been known to the Arabs when the Qur’aan was revealed to them. But this was known even then to Allah Almighty, its Author. Here is yet another proof that the Qur’aan is divine. The prophecy indicated in these two Verses has been fulfilled!

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The above is an extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VII.

Mohammad Shafi

Treaty of Hudaibiah

Qur'aanic Verse 48:1:

Transliteration:

1. Inna fatahna laka fathan mubeenan

Translation:

1. We have indeed granted you a clear victory.¹

^{Study Note:}

1. Verses occurring later in this Chapter indicate that the victory mentioned here is neither that at the battle of Badr nor the conquest of Mecca. In between those two events, Prophet Muhammad [peace on him] had set off from Medina, with some of his companions, to perform Umrah at Mecca which was still in the hands of the polytheists. On their way, the party was stopped at a place called Hudaibiah and not allowed to proceed further. Negotiations between the party and the Meccans followed, wherein, the Muslims agreed to return to Medina that year, and the Meccans agree to allow them to come for the pilgrimage next year. Although the treaty enabled peace for the future propagation of Islam, certain terms therein were apparently humiliating for the Musims. Therefore, most of the Muslims could not then understand why it was being called a victory. They nevertheless reiterated there their oath of allegiance to the Prophet. Only later on did they realize that the extended period of peace they gained was the real victory; for, Islam spread rapidly therein.

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The above is an extract from yet-to-be-published Qur'aanic Studies Manzil VI.

Mohammad Shafi