Answer
There are three prevailing views concerning the compilation of the Qur`an:
1. It was compiled during the lifetime of the Prophet (ص). The compilation took place under his supervision—which is tantamount to divine inspiration—although he himself neither wrote the text of the Qur`an nor collected the verses directly.
2. The Qur`an that we have today was compiled by Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) after the Prophet’s death but before people finally accepted him as a caliph.
3. The Qur`an was compiled after the Prophet’s death by a handful of the Prophet’s companions (other than Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع)).
Most Shi’i scholars—especially contemporary scholars—accept the first view. Some Shi’i scholars have taken the second stance. However, many Sunni scholars have accepted the third view. Orientalists have also accepted this view and have added that the Qur`an written by Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) was virtually ignored by the companions.
Obviously, on the basis of the first two opinions, the compilation of the Qur`an, its division into surahs (chapters), and the order within and among the surahs can be attributed to the divine will. In particular, based on the verse that reads,
“He does not speak of his own will; he only speaks what is revealed to him,”[294]
whatever the Prophet utters (especially that which relates directly to religious matters) is divinely inspired. Additionally, Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع), though he was not a prophet, served in his capacity as an Imam, as the continuation of the mission of prophethood, and possessed the prophetic gifts of infallibility and divine knowledge. Therefore, any compilation undertaken by either the Prophet (ص) or Imam ‘Ali b. Abi Talib (ع) was necessarily divinely inspired.
Those who favour the third view cannot logically defend any claim that the division of the Qur`an into surahs or the order into which the surahs have been arranged is divinely inspired. In fact, the third view, in essence, rejects any Divine hand in these two matters. Rather, it attributes the division and arrangement of the surahs to the personal judgement of the Prophet’s companions.
Notes:
[294] Surat al-Najm (53), Verses 3-4:
The Miraculous Eloquence of The Qur'an
Q: If the literary fluency and eloquence of the Qur'an is beyond explanation in terms of ordinary reality, that is so only for Arab speaking people (non-Arabs are far removed from the language). Why do Muslims claim that the Qur'an is a miracle for all o f mankind?
A: The miraculous semblance of the Qur'an is not limited to its literary fluency and eloquence, rather the Qur'an is miraculous from every aspect. The following are some illustrations of the Qur'an's supernatural traits: 1. The Qur'an incompasses many sciences such as ethics, divine & judicial law, news of the unseen, and other detailed information, which are so deep-rooted that no man has the ability to compile such a work. 2. The carrier of the Qur'an was untaught; and just as it has been mentioned, this divine book, which contains every axiom needed for worldly and spiritual sucess - written in an unparalleled manner - can benefit the most intellectual of people. Accumu lating such knowledge and truth is beyond the competence of ordinary mortal ability, especially for someone who is untaught - And thou didst not recite any book before it (the Qur'an) and thou didst not transcribe one with that right hand of thine, for t hen would have doubted those who utter falsehood (29:48). 3. The Qur'an is harmonious and without contradiction. The Holy Qur'an is a book that over a period of twenty-three years, full of ups and downs and constantly changing times, it was revealed without its' miraculous harmony being effected - Do they no t think about the Qur'an? And if it had been from any other than God, they would surely have found in it much discrepancy (4:82). 4. The Qur'an displays literary fluency and eloquence. Fundamentally, (Allah's) divine wisdom necessitates that the miracle of each prophet coincides with the most prevalent skills and sciences of his time, in order that their miraculous contributions t o humanity could be clearly observed by the masses (just as Imam Haadi (AS) indicated in his reply to Ibn Sakeet). For everyone the esthetic and spiritual melody of the Qur'an is evident, however its' eloquent methodology is exclusively for those who are familiar with the Arabic language. Interperting the supernatural eloquence of the Qur'an can only be done by some one who has mastery over the various techniques of literary and poetic eloquence. The most renowned critics of their time (when the Qur'an was being revealed) - Waleed bin Mugayarah Makhzumi, U'tba bin Rabia', and Tufail bin Amr - testified that the Qu r'an was more eloquent and superior than all other works. One century later (after the Qur'an was revealed), unsucessfully, personalities like Ibn Abi Al-Au'jaai, Ibn Maqfa', Abu Shakir Desani, and Abdul Malik Basari tried (for a whole year) to refute an d oppose the Qur'an (its' eloquence). Sufficent proof of the Qur'an's eloquence has been written in the Qur'an itself - Say thou, `if men and the jinn united that they bring the like of this Qur'an, they would bring not the like of it, even though they m ay help each other' (17:88) - and history supports this notion. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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S: Insofar as a word denotes a meaning - it is a verbal indication coined by man - it is impossible that a word signifies an meaning that is beyond mortal comprehension. In other words, human beings due to social needs - because of social interaction - c oined words to convey the meaning of things and ideas that they have in their minds. Therefore, competence in disclosing the meaning of things is relevant to the word coined by humans; thus the eloquence of the Qur'an can not be beyond the ability of man kind to compose the likes of it (the Qur'an).
A: It is correct that words are coined to indicate upon the meaning of things and that the coiner is mankind. However, this disposition is correct only for individual words, not for the composition of the various types of sentences, which have their own particular style and beauty. Assembling individual words to create various compound sentences that convey different meanings depends upon one's knowledge of literary eloquence and fluency. Scholars of literary eloquence clearly state that the amount of k nowledge and information about the affairs, psychological states, and emotions of human beings have a great affect upon (eloquent) expression; insofar as the more one knows about these things, the more eloquent his expression will be. In conclusion, it is clear that attributing the coinage of words to mankind is no proof for the absence of a text that is beyond ordinary human comprehension. Such an argument (previously stated), is like saying that the inventor if chess must be the mos t skillful player and the inventor of the tambourine must be the best at playing it. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 pg. 69 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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S: Basically, the proof that mankind cannot or until now has not been able to bring the likes of the Qur'an, is that Allah - whose eternal will governs the will of human beings - does not allow the notion of such a thought (to bring the likes of the Qur' an) to come to mankind; and if someone thinks of such a thing then Allah prevents him from fulfilling this thought. Thereupon, the reason for the Qur'an being a miracle is not because of its eloquence.
A: This disposition, by contrast, opposes the strict tone of the Qur'an in the 13th and 14th verses of the chapter Hud - Say, `Bring ye then ten chapters like unto it forged, and call ye (to your aid) whomsoever ye can besides God, if ye be truthful; The n if they answer ye not, then know ye that this (Qur'an) is revealed (only) by God's knowledge...' (11:13-14). As it is apparent that the last sentence of this verse clearly indicates that the strict tone is based on the fact that the Qur'an was revealed by and with Allah's divine knowledge; and it is not the words of the Prophet (PBUH). On the account that man's knowledge is very limited he is not able to bring the likes of Qur'an. Another testiment on behalf of this disposition is the 82nd verse of th e chapter The Women (An-Nisa) - Do they not think (carefully) in Qur'an? And if it had been from any other than Allah, they would surely have found in it much discrepancy (4:82) - that indicates that the reason for mankind's inability to bring the likes of Qur'an is the absence of verbal and lexical contradiction in its' text; and mankind is not able to compose a work (like it) without contradicting themselves. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 pg. 70 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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Quran
Q: If the literary fluency and eloquence of the Qur'an is beyond explanation in terms of ordinary reality, that is so only for Arab speaking people (non-Arabs are far removed from the language). Why do Muslims claim that the Qur'an is a miracle for all o f mankind?
A: The miraculous semblance of the Qur'an is not limited to its literary fluency and eloquence, rather the Qur'an is miraculous from every aspect. The following are some illustrations of the Qur'an's supernatural traits: 1. The Qur'an incompasses many sciences such as ethics, divine & judicial law, news of the unseen, and other detailed information, which are so deep-rooted that no man has the ability to compile such a work. 2. The carrier of the Qur'an was untaught; and just as it has been mentioned, this divine book, which contains every axiom needed for worldly and spiritual sucess - written in an unparalleled manner - can benefit the most intellectual of people. Accumu lating such knowledge and truth is beyond the competence of ordinary mortal ability, especially for someone who is untaught - And thou didst not recite any book before it (the Qur'an) and thou didst not transcribe one with that right hand of thine, for t hen would have doubted those who utter falsehood (29:48). 3. The Qur'an is harmonious and without contradiction. The Holy Qur'an is a book that over a period of twenty-three years, full of ups and downs and constantly changing times, it was revealed without its' miraculous harmony being effected - Do they no t think about the Qur'an? And if it had been from any other than God, they would surely have found in it much discrepancy (4:82). 4. The Qur'an displays literary fluency and eloquence. Fundamentally, (Allah's) divine wisdom necessitates that the miracle of each prophet coincides with the most prevalent skills and sciences of his time, in order that their miraculous contributions t o humanity could be clearly observed by the masses (just as Imam Haadi (AS) indicated in his reply to Ibn Sakeet). For everyone the esthetic and spiritual melody of the Qur'an is evident, however its' eloquent methodology is exclusively for those who are familiar with the Arabic language. Interperting the supernatural eloquence of the Qur'an can only be done by some one who has mastery over the various techniques of literary and poetic eloquence. The most renowned critics of their time (when the Qur'an was being revealed) - Waleed bin Mugayarah Makhzumi, U'tba bin Rabia', and Tufail bin Amr - testified that the Qu r'an was more eloquent and superior than all other works. One century later (after the Qur'an was revealed), unsucessfully, personalities like Ibn Abi Al-Au'jaai, Ibn Maqfa', Abu Shakir Desani, and Abdul Malik Basari tried (for a whole year) to refute an d oppose the Qur'an (its' eloquence). Sufficent proof of the Qur'an's eloquence has been written in the Qur'an itself - Say thou, `if men and the jinn united that they bring the like of this Qur'an, they would bring not the like of it, even though they m ay help each other' (17:88) - and history supports this notion. book :Tafsir Al-Mizan Vol. 1 Author :Tba'tabai, Muhammad Husayn
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