The ‘Return’ of the Qur’aan
by Shaykh Abû Ammâr Yasir al-Qadhî
The statement of’Amr ibn Deenar (d. 126 A.H.) was quoted earlier in which he said, “I have met the Companions of the Prophet (saws) and those that came after them for seventy years, all of them said, Allaah is the Creator and everything besides Him is created, and the Qur’aan is the kalaam of Allaah, from Him it came, and to Him it will return.”’ [1]
This statement, which was used in the section concerning the kalaam of Allaah, mentions the fact that the Qur’aan will ‘return’ to Allaah. What is the meaning of this phrase which was said by so many Companions and Successors?
Among the signs of the Day of Judgement is the increase of ignorance, and the disappearance of knowledge. The Prophet (saws) said, “Before the Day of Judgement, there will be a time (or ‘days’) in which Ignorance will be sent down, and Knowledge will be raised up.” [2]
The ‘raising up of Knowledge’ has been interpreted by the Prophet (saws) himself to mean the death of scholars. The Prophet (saws) said, ‘Allaah does not snatch away knowledge from the chests of His servants, but He takes away knowledge by the death of scholars, until, when there are no more scholars remaining, the people take ignorant leaders (i.e., as scholars). And these leaders will be asked (by the people), and they will respond without any knowledge, and they will be misguided, and misguide others.” [3]
And as the Day of Judgement comes closer, more and more ignorance will appear, and knowledge will lessen, until, in the very last of time, the Qur’aan itself will be taken away, and raised up from amongst mankind. This will occur after the time of ‘Eesaa, when the only people remaining will be the worst of all of mankind; the generation upon whom the Trumpet of the Day of Judgement will be blown while they are still alive.
The Prophet (saws) said, “Islaam will disappear just like the colours of a dress fade away, until people will not even know what fasting, prayer, the rites (of Hajj and charity are. And the Book of Allaah will be lifted up one night, so that not even one verse will remain. And a group of old people will remain, who will say, ‘We found our forefathers on this kalimah: Laa ilaaha ila Allaah, so we too say it.”’ [4]
Ibn Mas’ood said, “Indeed, the Qur’aan will be taken away from your midst; one night it will be raised up, and it will leave from the chests of men, and nothing will remain of it on the earth.” [5]
‘Abdullaah ibn ‘Amr stated, “The Day of Judgement will not come until the Qur’aan returns from whence it was revealed. It will have a sound like the buzzing of bees and it will say, ‘O my Lord! From you I came and to you I am returning. I am recited, but not acted upon; I am recited, but not acted upon.”’ [6]
Shaykh al-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 A.H.) stated, in explanation of these narrations, “It will be raised up one night, towards the very end of time, from the mus-haf and the chests of men, so not a single word will remain in the hearts, nor will a single letter remain in the mus-haf” [7]
It appears, therefore, that although knowledge in general will not be taken away from the chests of men, the Quraan, towards the end of time, will, and Allaah knows best.
In any case, the hadeeth are explicit that the Qur’aan will be raised up from the earth, and this is the meaning of the phrase of the salaf: ‘...and to Him it will return’. The time when this ‘raising up’ occurs will be the end of time, the time in which the Qur’aan has been abandoned by the people; when they leave the Qur’aan, it is only befitting that the Qur’aan is taken away from them.
An Appeal
The present work has been an attempt to present to the reader a glimpse of the power and beauty of the Qur’aan. There can be no doubt that the Qur’aan is the greatest miracle of the Prophet (saws) - a miracle that can be appreciated by all of mankind. Yet, despite the power and status of the Qur’aan, many Muslims are heedless of it.
It is distressing to see that the Muslims of today have turned away from this great treasure that has been revealed to them - the very Speech of Allaah. They have made the Qur’aan a sacred family heirloom; to be treasured in exotic and expensive covers, yet to be uninhabited by the best of all covers - their hearts; to be recited and listened to in the best and most melodious of voices, yet to ignore its meanings; to be placed high above all other objects in any room, yet to occupy the lowest station in their daily lives; to be read when a death has occurred, yet to be ignored by the living; to be written in the fanciest of scripts and on the most expensive of papers, yet to be heedless of its commandments and prohibitions. 'What is the matter with them, that they have turned away from the Remembrance?' [74:49]
'O Mankind! What has made you careless concerning your Lord, the Most Generous?' [82:6]
O Muslims! O Believers of the Qur’aan! Beware that you do not fall into those whom the Prophet (saws) will complain about to his Lord on the Day of Judgement: 'And the Messenger (will) say: ‘O My Lord, indeed my people took this Qur’aan as something worthy of being abandoned!’' [25:30]
The scholar Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (d. 758 A.H.) said, There are various types of ‘abandonment’ of the Qur’aan:
1) To abandon listening to it and believing in it.
2) To abandon acting upon it, and ignoring its lawful and prohibited ordinances (Halaal and haraam), even if one believes in it and recites it.
3) To abandon judging by it, and resorting to it as a judge when there are differences in the essence of the religion or other matters.
4) To abandon pondering over it, and understanding it, and seeking the explanation of it.
5) To abandon using it as a cure in all types of diseases of the heart, and instead to seek to cure these diseases by other means.
And all of these categories are included in the statement of Allaah,
'And the Messenger (will) say: “0 My Lord, indeed my people took this Qur’aan as something worthy of being abandoned!’' [25:30]
even though some of these types of abandonment are worse than others. [8]
How many of these types of abandonments are we guilty of?
O Muslims! Have you not read the outcome of the one who turns away from the Qur’aan? 'And whoever turns away from My Remembrance (the Qur’aan), for him is a life of hardship, and We shall raise him up, on the Day of Judgement, blind. He will say, ‘O My Lord! Why have you resurrected me blind, when I used to see (in this world)?’ (Allaah) will respond, ‘Likewise (in this manner), Our verses came to you, but you ignored them. And, likewise, today you shall be ignored’' [20:124-126].
The one who was blessed with sight, but turned away from the light and guidance of the Qur’aan, deserves that his sight to be snatched away from him, for of what use was it? If his sight was blind to the light of the Qur’aan, then, on the Day of Judgement , it shall be blind to all else. 'And whoever is blind in this world (to the Qur’aan), then he will be blind on the Day of Judgement, and even more astray!' [17:72]
The Prophet (saws) said, “Indeed, Allaah will honour people (i.e., in this world and the Hereafter) by this Book, and He will debase others by it.” [9]
There are only two categories of people when it comes to the Qur’aan; those that will be honoured because of it, and those that will be humiliated because of it. The Prophet (saws) also said, “Whoever puts (the Qur’aan) ahead of him, it will lead him to Paradise; and whoever throws it behind him, it will drag him into Hell.” [10]
Which of these two categories do you wish to be in?
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Taken from the Book 'An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qur'aan' Publushed by al-Hidaayah Publications Ltd.
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Footnotes
1 Reported by al-Bayhaqee in his Sunan.
2 Reported by al-Bukhaaree.
3 Reported by al-Bukhaaree.
4 Reported by Ibn Maajah; authenticated in Saheeh al-Jaami’.
5 Reported by at-Tabaraanee.
6 ad-Darimee, ar- Radd, p. 189.
7 Majmoo’ al-Fatawaa, v. 3, p. 198. Also see Waabil, p. 135.
8 Ibn al-Qayyim, p. 113. The five categories have been translated in meaning, not verbatim.
9 Reported by Muslim.
10 Reported by at-Tabaraani.
The ‘Return’ of the Qur’aan
and those that came after them for seventy years, all of them said, Allaah is the Creator and everything besides Him is created, and the Qur’aan is the kalaam of Allaah, from Him it came, and to Him it will return.”’ [1]
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