A Commentary on The Holy Qur'an

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A Commentary on The Holy Qur'an

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

Author: S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
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A Commentary on The Holy Qur'an

A Commentary on The Holy Qur'an

Author:
Publisher: www.alhassanain.org/english
English

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

A Commentary on the Holy Qur'an

Author: S.V. Mir Ahmad Ali

This book is corrected and edited by Al-Hassanain (p) Institue for Islamic Heritage and Thought

www.alhassanain.org/english

Table of Contents

Foreword 4

Introduction 5

The Age of Rapid Change5

Translations of the Holy Qur'an into English 7

Misinterpretation 13

The Originality and Genuineness Of The Holy Qur'an in Its Text and Its Arrangement16

The Qur'an: What Does it Mean?16

The Causes of Doubt22

Traditions on the Collection of the Holy Qur'an 27

Shia Traditions Shia Traditions43

The Various Recitations of the Holy Qur'an 59

WHAT IS ISLAM?59

The Meaning of Deen and Maz'hab 60

SHIAISM: THE ORIGINAL ISLAM 62

The Most Misrepresented and Misunderstood School, the School of the Islam-Original63

The Classification of Religious Knowledge63

Usool-e-Deen 65

(2) ADL: THE DIVINE JUSTICE 65

The Divine Justice is tempered with Mercy 65

(3) RISALAT: THE APOSTLESHIP 66

Why Prophethood ended with the Holy Prophet69

(5) QIAMAT: THE LAST DAY OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT 70

Jannat: Paradise:74

The Faith in the Angels:75

Some Truths Of Islam 76

1 The Whole Humanity is One Family 76

2 The Mystery of the Individual Differences and the Unity of Purpose76

3 From God alone can come Guidance76

4 All Man-made distinctions annihilated 77

9 Good and Evil promised to be Individually 77

Rewarded and Punished 77

10 No Physical Eye can ever see God 78

11 The Word of the Holy Prophet is Final78

12 Speaking ill of the Holy Prophet78

13 The importance of the Choice of a Leader78

14 The Identification of a Genuine Heavenly Guide78

15 Blind Following 79

16 Man charged with Personal Responsibility for being Guided Aright79

17 The Individual Liberty or Freedom of Choice announced 80

18 The Individual and Personal Responsibility of every man and woman 80

19 The Qur'anic Formula for Following the Right80

20 The Decree of the Holy Imam 80

21 Taqleed 81

23 Mere Verbal Profession of the Faith is not Sufficient82

24 The Real Islamic Piety Explained 83

25 Man Should Always be with the Truthful Ones83

26 Taqiah 83

27 Intercession Available83

28 Killing of Even One Believer84

29 The Dead in the Way of the Lord are Alive84

30 Reverence and Respect for the Signs of God 84

31 Mourning for the Martyrs84

32 Breast-Beating for the Martyrs85

33 Reverential Prostrations85

34 Every Muslim is not a Mo'min ie. a Genuine Believer86

35 Respite Given to Disbelievers86

36 Hoarding of Wealth 86

37 A Goodly Loan to God has a Multiple Return 86

38 Self-Defence Prescribed 86

39 A Believer Described 87

40 Sex Segregation or Purdah for Women 87

41 The Veil for the Believing Woman 87

43 Marriage: Man told to Marry 88

44 "Muta": Temporary Marriage88

45 Polygamy and Islam 88

46 Birth Control89

48 Intoxicants and Gambling 48 Intoxicants and Gambling 89

49 Niggardliness89

50 Behaviour Towards Parents89

51 Usury or Charging Interest on any Lending 90

52 Life of This World 90

53 No One Knows where He will Breathe His Last90

54 Khatan: Circumcision 90

55 Following the crowd blindly 90

56 Misappropriating the Property of Orphans91

57 Repel Evil with What is Best91

58 Mischief is Graver than Murder91

59 Merciful Pardon in response to Sincere91

Repentance Promised 91

60 Every One's Actions are Being Watched 91

REVOLUTIONARY CHANGES RESULTING FROM THE Qur'anIC TEACHINGS92

ONE OF THE MYSTERIES 93

The Abbasid Caliphs94

Foreword

by Hojjatol-Islam Maulana Syed Shamin-us- Sibtain Rizvi

This short treatise is a brief introduction, by two eminent scholars, to the Shia interpretation of Islam. The theme running through the book is that the Holy Prophet Muhammad named the Holy Family, the Ahlul Bait (consisting of the Lady Fatema and the Twelve Imams - of whom Ali is the first) as the true guardians of the Book and of the Faith, and identified them closely with the Holy Qur'an.

This book examines and discusses the many traditions about the its present arrangement was completed during the lifetime of the Holy Propht.

The authors provide a very useful guide to the meaning of Islam, placing it in the context of the other world relingions. This is followed by an introduction to the beliefs of Shia Islam and a short account of some of the principal truths of the Faith.

This revision was commissioned by Haj Mirza Mohammad taqui Ansariyan of Ansariyan Publications, Qum, Islamic Republic of Iran. His concern for the propagation of the faith is highly appreciated and honoured.

S.S.S.R.

19 May 1996 1 Muharram 1417 30th Urdi Bahesht 1375

Introduction

The Age of Rapid Change

This is the age of the conquest of time and space. Faster means of communication have brought changes to the movement of men and materials far beyond the imagination of former generations. Such ease of communication has brought revolutionary changes in ideology and mode of living and a new economic interdependence of nations. No nation in the world can remain in isolation if it hopes to advance in its economic and social life. Problems have ceased to be local, and the problems of one nation very soon have an impact upon the international community.

Such rapid change has affected not only the economic structure of the world; it has brought a more vital change in the exchange of thought and religious ideology. Economic and cultural forces always go hand in hand. However, while exchange in goods is a two-way traffic, in the cultural sphere this may not be the case. The conveyance of men and materials is visible, but the exchange in ideology is latent, visible only in its effects.

In this respect, there is no give and take. The groups with the greater political and economic power are bound to wield a stronger' and a more compelling influence upon the weaker and poorer groups, leading to a revolution in the latter's intellectual and social life which is irresistible and which defies all reason. The West, with its economic superiority and its political position, has gained sway over most of the Eastern countries.

Muslim communities have been constantly and strongly influenced by materialist thought and lifestyle, to the extent that some have become not only irreligious, but anti-religious. A knowledge of the English language, which is seen to be necessary for the welfare and improvement of economic and political life, has led many Muslims to neglect to learn their own mother tongue and the languages of the Holy Qur'an, Arabic and Persian.

Such Muslims whose education comes through the medium of English can read and understand material presented in the English language better than in their mother tongue, and even books on the Holy Qur'an and on their faith have an appeal for them only if they are In English. Such people care more for the beauty of the language than for the correctness of the material expressed.

Many Western translators of the Holy Qur'an and most of those who produce literature on Islam In the English language are, in fact, the anti-Muslim elements whose aim is to distort the facts about the faith and cause confusion about Islamic belief These hostile elements continue to blacken the name of the Holy Prophet and of Islam through their intentional mistranslations, misinterpretations, misrepresentations and distortions of the facts.

Such distortions are framed in English of such linguistic excellence and delusive argument that the blind admirers of the English language, being ignorant of the truths of their faith, are easily conditioned to accept what they read, and thus serve the purpose of the hostile producers of these publications.

in so doing, they become agents of the enemy. Had it not been for these writers against Islam and its Holy Founder, God alone knows how many people throughout the world might have embraced the truth. in this way western writers have not only misrepresented Muslim ideology, but have obstructed sincere seekers of the truth from discovering the real Islam.

While these hostile elements continue to distort our religious belief and social traditions, it is our duty to God and His Word, and to the faith of Islam, to present the truth and make it clear to every true seeker and to dispel any doubts created by hostile forces.

Translations of the Holy Qur'an into English

The Holy Qur'an has been translated into the English language by many scholars of repute, and some of these have provided detailed notes of commentary. They include: George Sale, J.N. Rodwell, E.H. Palmer, M. Pickthal, Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar, N.i Dawood and M.H. Shakir.

Translation of the text alone is not sufficient unless each revelation is put into its true context. The most recent translation, by M.H. Shakir, contains some brief and useful notes on selected verses, but these are too few and too brief Had he lived longer, he might have provided a fuller commentary.

Earlier, Badhsa Husain of Lucknow attempted a detailed work which was published in two volumes. But he too died before completing his work However, he used the translation of J.N. Rodwell, not his own, and his notes are based on the sermons of some maulvi and lack any reference to modern-day problems and do not attempt to answer anti-Islamic criticism. This fact the author openly acknowledged in his introduction.

The translations by Christian scholars such as Rodwell, Sale and Palmer, etc. are clearly prejudiced. Any Islamic scholar can easily see that these translators betray either a faulty knowledge of Arabic or an intention to distort the truths of the Holy Qur'an to serve their own purposes. Their purpose seems, clearly, to prejudice the reader against the Qur'an rather than help him to understand it. To expose these translations, particularly those by Christian scholars, would require more time and space than this work can provide.

The following quotations offer the opinions of some who were impartial in their attitude to the Holy Qur'an. The great Christian scholar, Sir E. Dennison Ross, in referring to the translation by Mr Sale, shows the full extent of the ingenuity and the lies that those prejudiced against Islam have resorted to.

It must, however be borne in mind that the Koran plays a far greater role among the Muhammadans than does the Bible in Christianity, in that it provides not only the canon of their faith, but also the text-book of their ritual and the principles of their civil law.

For many centuries the acquaintance which the majority of Europeans possessed of Muhammadanism was based almost entirely on distorted reports of fanatical Christians which led to the dissemination of a multitude of gross calumnies. what was good in Muhammadanism was entirely ignored, and what was not good, in the eyes of Europe, was exaggerated or misinterpreted.

It must not, however, be forgotten that the central doctrine preached by Muhammad to his contemporaries in Arabia, who worshipped the star; to the Persians, who acknowledged Ormuz and Ahriman; to the Indians who worshipped idols; and to the Turks, who had no particular worship, was the unity of God, and that the simplicity of his creed was probably a more potent factor in the spread of Islam than the sword of the Ghazis.

It is difficult to decide to what extent Mr sale's citations in the notes represent first-hand use of Arabic commentators, but I fear that the result of a close inquiry only points to very little original research on his part. His refutations, which swell the work to a large volume, are of little (use) or none at all, being often unsatisfactory, and sometimes impertinent.

I do not wish to imply that Sale did not know Arabic, but I do maintain that his work as it stands gives a misleading estimate of his original researches, and that his tribute to Marracci falls far short of his actual indebtedness.

(from Introduction to Sale's Qur'an,by E. Dennison Ross, Frederick Warne,London)

The translation of tile Holy Qur'an by Mr sale is claimed by its publishers to be the best and the most accurate. Such a claim is regarded as false by another great Christian scholar, E.H. Palmer:

From the large amount of exegetical matter which has been incorporated in his (Sale's) text, and from the style of language employed, which differs widely from the nervous energy and the rugged simplicity of the original. his (Sale's) work can scarcely by regarded as a fair representation of the Qur'an.

In spite of his endeavour to distort the meaning of the Holy Qur'an in order to help the missionaries and to divert the attention of the world from the Holy Book, George Sale could not help confessing its glorious and miraculous nature:

The Koran is universally allowed to be written with utmost elegance and purity of language. It is confessedly the standard of the Arabic tongue, inimitable by any human pen and therefore insisted on as a permanent miracle.

(George sale, in the preliminary discourse to his translation) Every seeker of the truth will want to hear what the great Western scholar Goethe says of the Holy Qur'an: However often we turn to the Qur'an, it soon attracts, astounds and In the end reinforces reverence. Thus this Book will go on exercising through all ages its most potent Influence.

Sarojini Naidu a great scholar and famous poetess in India, aid in her lecture on The Ideals of Islam in Madras in 1918's As I read the Qur'an, I find those dynamic principles of life not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world Dr A. Bertherand declared to the intellectuals of the world: To seek knowledge is the duty of every Muslim man and woman.

Seek knowledge even though it be in China The Savants are the heirs of the Prophet These profound words of the Great Reformer are indisputable contradiction to those who seek and exert themselves In putting the responsibility of the intellectual degradation of Muslims upon the spirit of the Qur'an.

Let them read and meditate upon this great Book and they will find it, at every passage, a constant attack upon idolatry and materialism; they will read that the Prophet incessantly called the attention and the meditation of his people to the splendid marvels, to the mysterious phenomenon of creation.

The incredulous, sceptical and unbelieving may convince themselves that the importance of this Book and its doctrine was not to throw back, eventually, the intellectual and moral faculties of a whole people. On the contrary, those who have followed its counsels have been, as we have described in the course of this study, the creators of a civilisation which is abounding unto this day.

The claim that Islam was spread by the sword is a distortion of the truth. What aggression could the lonely one, the Holy Prophet, commit? What sword was in the hand of one who was himself persecuted and whose followers were tortured and killed? This vicious fabrication has been exposed by many great scholars Of the West One of these, De Lacy O'Leary, writes:

History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastic and absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.

(De Lacy O'Leary: Islam at the Crossroads, 1923) About the perfection of Islamic law, the great British politician, Edmund Burke, wrote: The Muhammadan law, which is binding on all from the crowned head to the meanest subject, is a law interwoven with a system of the wises4 the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world.

(Edmund Burke in his "Impeachment of Warren Hastings")

The Muslim scholars Maulvi Muhammad Ali of the Ahmedia school and Allama Yousuf Ah have shown clear bias towards their own school in their translations and commentaries.

Both have consistently avoided reference to the source of the Ahlul-Bait, and even seem to object to making reference to the holy ones when they are the direct concern of the revelations. Also, when one compares Muhammad Ali's work with the great commentary Majma'ul Byan of the Shia authority Shaikh-e- Tabarsi, it is obvious that there has been a great deal of borrowing without acknowledgement. Besides this, basic Shia sources have been deliberately avoided.

Yousuf Ali's work, likewise, omits reference to the Ahlul- Bait. This suggests that, either, this scholar has wilfully avoided using this most accredited and authentic source of Qur'anic knowledge, or was totally ignorant of the holy ones and their position in Islam. The Holy Prophet openly declared that the Qur'an is with the Ahlul-Bait and that, in order to avoid going astray, Muslims should attach themselves to these two (See the Hadeethuth Thaqualain).

The interpretations offered by these scholars clearly suit the bias of their own respective schools and, intentionally or unintentionally, provide a faulty view of the Qur'an and of the holy ones. The sources they have used reveal a bias against the Holy Ahlul-Bait.

One conspicuous feature of the writings of the Ahmadi scholar is the practical denial of the miraculous, by presenting the miracles of the Apostles of God as non-spiritual events and thus denying the special spiritual powers with which the Holy Apostles were endowed.Translations of the Holy Qur'an into English The Holy Qur'an has been translated into the English language by many scholars of repute, and some of these have provided detailed notes of commentary. They include: George Sale, J.N. Rodwell, E.H. Palmer, M. Pickthal, Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar, N.i Dawood and M.H. Shakir.

Translation of the text alone is not sufficient unless each revelation is put into its true context. The most recent translation, by M.H. Shakir, contains some brief and useful notes on selected verses, but these are too few and too brief Had he lived longer, he might have provided a fuller commentary.

Earlier, Badhsa Husain of Lucknow attempted a detailed work which was published in two volumes. But he too died before completing his work However, he used the translation of J.N. Rodwell, not his own, and his notes are based on the sermons of some maulvi and lack any reference to modern-day problems and do not attempt to answer anti-Islamic criticism. This fact the author openly acknowledged in his introduction The translations by Christian scholars such as Rodwell, Sale and Palmer, etc. are clearly prejudiced. Any Islamic scholar can easily see that these translators betray either a faulty knowledge of Arabic or an intention to distort the truths of the Holy Qur'an to serve their own purposes. Their purpose seems,

clearly, to prejudice the reader against the Qur'an rather than help him to understand it. To expose these translations, particularly those by Christian scholars, would require more time and space than this work can provide. The following quotations offer the opinions of some who were impartial in their attitude to the Holy Qur'an. The great Christian scholar, Sir E. Dennison Ross, in referring to the translation by Mr Sale, shows the full extent of the ingenuity and the lies that those prejudiced against Islam have resorted to.

It must, however be borne in mind that the Koran plays a far greater role among the Muhammadans than does the Bible in Christianity, in that it provides not only the canon of their faith, but also the text-book of their ritual and the principles of their civil law.

For many centuries the acquaintance which the majority of Europeans possessed of Muhammadanism was based almost entirely on distorted reports of fanatical Christians which led to the dissemination of a multitude of gross calumnies. what was good in Muhammadanism was entirely ignored, and what was not good, in the eyes of Europe, was exaggerated or misinterpreted.

It must not, however, be forgotten that the central doctrine preached by Muhammad to his contemporaries in Arabia, who worshipped the star; to the Persians, who acknowledged Ormuz and Ahriman; to the Indians who worshipped idols; and to the Turks, who had no particular worship, was the unity of God, and that the simplicity of his creed was probably a more potent factor in the spread of Islam than the sword of the Ghazis.

It is difficult to decide to what extent Mr sale's citations in the notes represent first-hand use of Arabic commentators, but I fear that the result of a close inquiry only points to very little original research on his part. His refutations, which swell the work to a large volume, are of little (use) or none at all, being often unsatisfactory, and sometimes impertinent I do not wish to imply that Sale did not know Arabic, but I do maintain that his work as it stands gives a misleading estimate of his original researches, and that his tribute to Marracci falls far short of his actual indebtedness.

(from Introduction to Sale's Qur'an,by E. Dennison Ross, Frederick Warne,London)

The translation of tile Holy Qur'an by Mr sale is claimed by its publishers to be the best and the most accurate. Such a claim is regarded as false by another great Christian scholar, E.H. Palmer:

From the large amount of exegetical matter which has been incorporated in his (Sale's) text, and from the style of language employed, which differs widely from the nervous energy and the rugged simplicity of the original. his (Sale's) work can scarcely by regarded as a fair representation of the Qur'an.

In spite of his endeavour to distort the meaning of the Holy Qur'an in order to help the missionaries and to divert the attention of the world from the Holy Book, George Sale could not help confessing its glorious and miraculous nature:

The Koran is universally allowed to be written with utmost elegance and purity of language. It is confessedly the standard of the Arabic tongue, inimitable by any human pen and therefore insisted on as a permanent miracle.

(George sale, in the preliminary discourse to his translation) Every seeker of the truth will want to hear what the great Western scholar Goethe says of the Holy Qur'an: However often we turn to the Qur'an, it soon attracts, astounds and In the end reinforces reverence. Thus this Book will go on exercising through all ages its most potent Influence.

Sarojini Naidu a great scholar and famous poetess in India, aid in her lecture on The Ideals of Islam in Madras in 1918's As I read the Qur'an, I find those dynamic principles of life not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world Dr A. Bertherand declared to the intellectuals of the world: To seek knowledge is the duty of every Muslim man and woman.

Seek knowledge even though it be in China The Savants are the heirs of the Prophet These profound words of the Great Reformer are indisputable contradiction to those who seek and exert themselves In putting the responsibility of the intellectual degradation of Muslims upon the spirit of the Qur'an. Let them read and meditate upon this great Book and they will find it, at every passage,

a constant attack upon idolatry and materialism; they will read that the Prophet incessantly called the attention and the meditation of his people to the splendid marvels, to the mysterious phenomenon of creation. The incredulous, sceptical and unbelieving may convince themselves that the importance of this Book and its doctrine was not to throw back, eventually, the intellectual and moral faculties of a whole people. On the contrary, those who have followed its counsels have been, as we have described in the course of this study, the creators of a civilisation which is abounding unto this day.

The claim that Islam was spread by the sword is a distortion of the truth. What aggression could the lonely one, the Holy Prophet, commit? What sword was in the hand of one who was himself persecuted and whose followers were tortured and killed? This vicious fabrication has been exposed by many great scholars Of the West One of these, De Lacy O'Leary, writes:

History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastic and absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.

(De Lacy O'Leary: Islam at the Crossroads, 1923) About the perfection of Islamic law, the great British politician, Edmund Burke, wrote: The Muhammadan law, which is binding on all from the crowned head to the meanest subject, is a law interwoven with a system of the wises4 the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world.

(Edmund Burke in his "Impeachment of Warren Hastings") The Muslim scholars Maulvi Muhammad Ali of the Ahmedia school and Allama Yousuf Ah have shown clear bias towards their own school in their translations and commentaries.

Both have consistently avoided reference to the source of the Ahlul-Bait, and even seem to object to making reference to the holy ones when they are the direct concern of the revelations. Also, when one compares Muhammad Ali's work with the great commentary Majma'ul Byan of the Shia authority Shaikh-e- Tabarsi, it is obvious that there has been a great deal of borrowing without acknowledgement. Besides this, basic Shia sources have been deliberately avoided.

Yousuf Ali's work, likewise, omits reference to the Ahlul- Bait. This suggests that, either, this scholar has wilfully avoided using this most accredited and authentic source of Qur'anic knowledge, or was totally ignorant of the holy ones and their position in Islam. The Holy Prophet openly declared that the Qur'an is with the Ahlul-Bait and that, in order to avoid going astray, Muslims should attach themselves to these two (See the Hadeethuth Thaqualain).

The interpretations offered by these scholars clearly suit the bias of their own respective schools and, intentionally or unintentionally, provide a faulty view of the Qur'an and of the holy ones. The sources they have used reveal a bias against the Holy Ahlul-Bait.

One conspicuous feature of the writings of the Ahmadi scholar is the practical denial of the miraculous, by presenting the miracles of the Apostles of God as non-spiritual events and thus denying the special spiritual powers with which the Holy Apostles were endowed.

Misinterpretation

The question is: from whence comes the venom which is used against Islam and its Holy Founder? How is it that some non- Muslim scholars misunderstand Islam, while others understand and appreciate it? This is the question for which we must find an answer. This misunderstandiug exists not only in the minds of the anti-Islam element, but also in the minds of some Muslims whose only available source of knowledge is literature in the Engstsh language which provides faulty information about Islam and its Founder. However sincere these Muslims are in seeliing to know the tr'ith of Islam, the literature available to them makes them doubt the claims of Islam to be God's revealed religion and its Holy Founder the Apostle of God.

Consider, for insance, the following:

1 The labricated story of the Holy Prophet being frightened by the heavenly Messenger, being comforted by Lady Khadija, and being advised of the apostleship conferred on him by Waraqa bin Nawfil.

2 The fiLise stories of sexual lust indulged in by the Holy Prophet.

3 Descriptions of the defensive resistance which Islam was forced to exercise, such as wielding the sword for territorial ambition.

4 The fabricated story of the Holy Prophet seating one of his wives on his shoulders to show her the slave dance.

5 The denial of the miracles of the apostles of God and the Holy Prophet.

6 The false story of the Virgin Mary having contact with Joseph in the Sanctuary, assigning a huruan father to the Holy Prophet Jesus and thus denying his miraculous birth.

7 Creating doubts upon the bodily Ascension (Me'raj) of the Holy Prophet.

8 Aligning the sinful ones with those purified by God Himself.

9 Misinterpreting the Qur'anic laws of heritage relating to the Apostles of God.

10 Inventing false traditions in the name of the Holy Prophet.

11 Hiding the defects, drawbacks and the natural deficiencies of some pet heroes, and praising them in spite of their known errors, and presenting even tyrants as leaders of the faith.

12 Lowering the position of the holy ones in favour of those who can never be their equal.

13 Misinterpreting verses of the Holy Qur'an to suit a particular theory.

14 Misinterpreting the significance of the most important historic event of Ghadeer-e-Khum.

15 Denying that the Holy Prophet appointed his succor, claiming that he left this world without doing so.

16 Presenting as legal and warranted the acts of some political leaders after the departure of the Holy Prophet, and presenting them as heroic deeds for the faith Such falsehoods and misrepresentations appear in the translations and works of many non-Muslim writers. And those who take guidance from the Holy Ahlul-Bait have a responsibility to present the truth to the world and correct the lies against Islam which are misleading many men and women who are searching for the truth. Besides the above falsehoods,

there is also mischievous propaganda against the genuineness of the Holy Qur'an, which throws doubt about the completeness of the Holy Book and the arrangement of the material in it In reply to this hostile material which is misleading its readers, the only source of correct information about the faith and its truths is the verdict of the Ahlul-Bait, the authorities divinely set up by the Lord through the Holy Prophet. The pity is that this panacea for all evils has not been made available by us for the information and guidance of seekers of the truth and as an answer to the hostile forces.

Therefore, instead of attempting to answer each mischievous publication and each mischief-maker who may appear on the scene each day in a different garb, the foremost concern of the advocates of Islam and its Holy Founder is to put a stop to these poisonous publications and bring Out an authentic version of the Holy Qur'an in the English language so that there will be no misunderstandings of the Qur'anic truth either by uninformed friends or misinformed foes. With such an authentic source,

we can quell all antagonistic movements against the teachings of Islam and the Holy Prophet by making available to the misguided ones an authentic source of the faith. Until this is done, errors and misunderstandings will continue to occur. And to do the task, the responsibility rests with whose who call themselves the devotees of the Ahlul-Bait, the Shias.

I considered it my first concern to clarify the actual position of the Holy Qur'an, which is the greatest and ever-current miracle of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, the last Apostle of God until the Day of Final Judgement. Because of the importance of this subject and its direct concern with the faith, I have taken detailed notes from Hujjatul Islam Ayatullah A1haj Allama Agha Mirza Mahdi Pooya Yazdi, one of the well-known authorities on the Holy Qur'an and Islam. These notes were prepared with special care and effort, using authentic sources, and are presented with maximum brevity.

There is clear evidence of the following:

1. The Qur'an, as a whole and complete Book, was revealed to the Holy Prophet on the Night of Qadr (2:185,44:3,97:1). 2. In the course of its Tanzeel, or gradual revelation, as and when the verses were revealed, the Holy Prophet put them in their respective places as he was divinely directed to do. 3. The Holy Qur'an was recorded in writing at least by the following:

(a) Ameerul Momineen Ali ibne Abi Taleb, whose collection contained not only the text, but also the notes - both ordinary and special - from the Holy Prophet. (b) Abdullah ibne Mas'ood (c) Ma'aaz ibne Jabal (d) Obai ibne Kaab 4. The Holy Prophet, before his departure from the world, made the well-known historic announcement, universally acknowledged by the Muslim world, that he was leaving behind for the people (not one particular person, for the words are clear, Feekom, "among you") the Saqalain (or Thaqalain),

the two weighty or important things, the Kitaaballah, the Book of God and the Ahlul-Bait. This shows that by that time the Qur'an had been collected and formed a complete Book. 5. If the Qur'anic verses had not been collected into a complete Book, what was the Book to which Omar referred when he said in reply to the demand of the Holy Prophet for pen and paper, Hasbona Kitaaballah, "Sufficient for us is the Book of God."

With all this unchallenged evidence of history, any one who suggests that the verses of the Qur'an were collected by some one else, or who suggests its Tahreef is either betraying a determination not to know the truth, or an inability to understand it Readers may refer to the notes by Ayatullah Pooya Yazdi on Tahreef where they will find the truth about the compilation of the Qur'an and the genuineness of the version in our possession.

In addition to the detailed notes from Ayatullah Pooya Yazdi, I wrote to the great scholar-divines, the Mujtahids in Iran and Iraq, and have obtained their respective verdicts on Tahreef in the Qur'an, providing a decisive verdict for the Shia world. (See the Fatwas).

Thus, any talk denying the genuineness, completeness, originality and correctness in the arrangement of the material in the Qur'an is anti-Shia and anti-Islamic.

With regard to the other doctrines of Islam, about which many slanderous allegations have been made aimed at poisoning the mind of the general public, I have given short explanatory notes under each topic, and have quoted one or two of the many verses of the Qur'an on which the doctrine and its practice are based. This has been offered to the seekers of the truth, and that the general public may know what is meant by the original Islam which, in order to distinguish it from other sects, is termed Shiaism.