Brief History of Compilation of the Holy Quran

The Holy Quran is the last of the holy scriptures that was revealed by the Allah Almighty to complete His commandments to the mankind. The Holy Quran, however, was not revealed in one go. It took 23 years to complete the Divine commandments on to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) through Angel Jibraeel (Gabriel). Generally speaking, one to two verses used to be revealed so that the Prophet of Allah could understand the Divine message correctly and then remember it. Also the Divine verses were revealed owing to the requirement of time and did not follow a set pattern. That is why after the first verses of Surah Al Alaq, the next verses that followed were that of Surah Al Muddaththir. Sometimes it so happened that a part of a particular chapter / surah was revealed in Makkah and the other in Medina after Prophet's migration to Medina.

During the time of Prophet of Allah, the Divine verses were either written down on goat or camel skin or memorized by heart by the selected companions of the Prophet to whom the Prophet of Allah would recite the verses no sooner were those revealed so that the divine message was saved in the hearts  of the companions of the Prophet of Allah.

The responsibility of the safety of this Holy Book is taken by Almighty Allah by Himself, as mentioned in the Holy Quran:

However, after the death of the Prophet of Allah and in the times of the first caliph of Islam Abu Bakar (R A), a large number of companions of Allah,  who had memorized the verses of the Holy Qur'an in a sequence as told to them by the Prophet of Allah, were martyred in the Battle of  Yamama. This gave a rise to fear among the Muslims of the time that if such waste continued, a day may come that no one would be there to know the complete Qur'an. So there arose a need to compile the Holy Qur'an in the form of book.

Therefore Hazrat Umar (R.A) suggested to the Caliph that the Quran should be collected and compiled into a single book in order to ensure its preservation.  Hazrat Abu Bakar (R.A) liked the idea but showed his hesitancy to do so as the Prophet of Allah (SAW) himself had never taken this step and He (R.A) feared that this action might be considered a discrepancy. However, upon persuasion by the others, he had a change of heart and assigned the task of compiling the verses memorized by the remaining selected companions to Hazrat Zain bin Saabit (R.A) in the form of a book. 

Hazrat Zain and his team called all those who had earlier memorized the various verses of the Divine messages and commandments. The team also collected all the written portions on goat or camel skins and started compiling the Divine verse. The team would listen to each memorizer while all other memorizers listened and through cross questioning,  a book was formed.  Once the whole text was collected and compiled, the the team under Hazrat Zain carefully proofread it and certified that it was correct and present in its entirety. It was then presented to Hazrat Abu Bakar (R.A). 

However, during the time of the third caliph Usman (R A), a problem arose that of the recitation of the Holy Quran. although the there was no dispute on text, but its reading by different tribes who had a dialect of their own, it was feared that the meaning of the Quranic verses may change. The problem further compounded when every tribe or people of one dialect supported their dialect to be the superior to other and wanted their form of reading be approved. Had this been allowed to continued, there would have been a different Quran for each tribe and place which would have resulted into disparity in meaning. 

Thus caliph Usman ( R A) decided to approve one form of reading for its universal application so as not to created disparities. He thus requested Hazrat Hafsah (R.A), who was the daughter of the second caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab and who had the originally compiled book of the Holy Quran given to her by her father who had inherited from the first caliph Abu Bakar,  to provide the earlier compilation of Quran. 

He then formed a committee consisting of Hazrat Zain bin Haris (R.A) and a few other companions to make sure that they agree on the pronunciation of the original copy and produce more versions of that copy in the very same way. The commission prepared the text accordingly and then several copies were made and sent to different parts of the Islamic state with the instructions that only this should be considered the official and authentic text of Quran. Since that day the Holy Quran has remained in its original intact form and will remain as such in the future by the Grace and Blessings of Allah Almighty.

The world's oldest dot-less Qur'an - Uzbek capital, Tashkent [Photo]

However, there still remained one problem: The text was in the form of Arabic text that could only be read by those whose native language was Arabic. This form of writing was known as "Rasm" which was often used in the early centuries of Arabic literature (7th century - early 11th century AD). Essentially it is the same as today's Arabic script except for the big difference that dots and dashes (the i‘jām pointing) are omitted. In Rasm, the five distinct letters ـبـ ـتـ ـثـ ـنـ ـيـ are indistinguishable because all the dots are omitted. It is also known as Arabic skeleton script. [1]

The Kufic Samarkand Qurʾan that was from 1869 to 1917 in St. Petersburg shows almost only Rasm: Surah 7 (Al-Aʿaraf), verses 86 & 87 [Photo: Wikipedia]

But as Islam spread and the written Qur'an reached people on non Arabic dialects, it became difficult for them to read with the dots and the  diacritical marks. Thus a need was felt that dots and diacritical marks (fathah, kasrah, and dammah) should be included so that people could recite the text easily. Thus the dots and diacritical marks were added to the written text. 

The following details have been inserted as these have been given in "The Preservation of the Quran" by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani as published in IlmGate. However, any variations which are found would be based on difference of opinion by various schools of thoughts, for which one may consult own school for clarification and details. This scribe will in no case be held responsible for the information shared herein under.

Diacritical marks

It is however not clear as to who was the first to place dots on the Quranic manuscript.  Some claim they were first utilized by Abu ’l-Aswad al-Du’ali. Others give credit to Hajjaj ibn Yusuf who they say had appointed the task to Yahya bin Ya‘mur and Nasr bin ‘Asim al-Laythi (Tafsir al-Qurtubi 1:63). Keeping in view all the reports in this connection, it appears that: [2]

Diacritical marks were first invented by Abu ’l-Aswad al-Du’ali but these diacritical marks were different from how they exist today. Instead of the short vowel “a” (fathah), he would place a dot over the letter. For the short vowel “i” (kasrah) he would place a dot under the letter, and for the short vowel “u” (dammah) he would place a dot in front of the letter. To represent nunnation (tanwin) he would use two dots (Subh al-A‘sha 3:160). Later on, Khalil ibn Ahmad founded signs for the glottal stop (hamzah) and doubling (tashdid) (al-Itqan 2:171, Subh al-A‘sha 3:161). 

Afterwards, Hajjaj bin Yusuf requested Yahya bin Ya‘mur, Nasr bin ‘Asim al-Laythi, and Hasan al-Basri to place both the dots and diacritical marks on the Quranic letters. On this occasion the present forms of diacritical marks were chosen rather than the use of dots so that they would not be confused with the intrinsic dots of the letters. And Allah knows best.

Ahzab and Manazil
It was customary amongst the Companions and Successors to complete the recital of the entire Quran in one week. For this purpose they had fixed portions for their daily recitation. Each such portion is known as hizb or manzil (stages). In this way, the Quran was divided into seven stages, or manzils, of recitation. Sayyiduna Aws ibn Hudhayfah states that he once asked the Companions as to how the manzils of recital had been divided. They replied that the first hizb consisted of three surahs, the second of five, the third of seven, the fourth of nine, the fifth of eleven, the sixth of thirteen, and the final hizb from Surah Qaf to the end of the Quran. (al-Burhan 1:250)

Ajza’ or Parts
Today, the Quran is divided into thirty parts, or ajza’ (plural of juz’). This division in parts has no relationship with the meaning of the Quran. Rather, the division into thirty equal parts was meant to serve as a teaching aid for children. We may notice, therefore, that there are places where a juz’ ends with an unfinished statement. It is difficult to say with certainty as to who first introduced this division. Some people believe that during the second transcription of the Quran, ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) had it written into thirty folios and, therefore, the division dates back to his time. I have not been able to find any proof for this theory in the works of earlier scholars, however. Still, ‘Allamah Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi notes that the thirty parts of the Quran have been in popular use for a long time and that they have customarily appeared in Quranic manuscripts used in schools. It would appear that the division was introduced after the era of the Companions in order to facilitate teaching. (al-Burhan 1:250, Manahil al-‘Irfan 1:402)

Akhmas and A‘shar (Sets of Fives and Tens)
Another sign used in Quranic transcriptions during the early centuries was the placing of the sign خ or خمس after every five verses and the sign ع or عشر after every ten versesin the margins of the manuscript. The former category of signs were called akhmas and the latter a‘shar. Holding divergent views, some of the early scholars considered these signs permissible while others held them to be reprehensible. It is difficult to say with any degree of certainty as to who introduced these signs. According to one view, Hajjaj ibn Yusuf was its inventor. Another report claims that the ‘Abbasi Khalifah Ma‘mun first ordered that they be marked (al-Burhan 1:251). Neither of these views seem to be sound, however, since the idea of a‘shar appears to have been present in the days of the Companions as well. Ibn Abi Shaybah narrates in his Musannaf that Masruq said that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud considered the placing of a‘shar signs in the Quranic script to be detestable. (Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 2:497)

Ruku‘ or Section
Another sign that came into use later on and is still prevalent today is the sign of the ruku‘. It is identified by the sign ع which is placed in the margin at the conclusion of a verse. Despite all my efforts, I have not been able to locate anything authentic to help identify the originator of the ruku‘ nor what period it was invented in. Some people believe that the ruku‘s were fixed during the era of Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), yet no authentic proof to this claim can be found in the traditions.

It can be said for certain, however, that the purpose of the ruku‘ is to determine the average number of verses which should be recited in one unit (rak‘ah) of salat. This is why it is termed a ruku‘ (lit. to bow), since it indicates the time that one should bow from the standing position during salat. In al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah (1:94) it is mentioned:

The scholars have divided the Quran into 540 ruku‘ (sections) and placed its signs on manuscripts so that the Quran can be completed on the 27th night of Ramadan in the tarawih prayer.

Rumuz al-Awqaf or Stop Signs
Another useful step taken to facilitate recitation and phonetically correct pronunciation (tilawah and tajwid) was to provide verses with signs to indicate pauses. These signs are known as the rumuz (signs) or ‘alamat (symbols) of awqaf (stops). Their purpose is to help a person who does not know Arabic to stop at the correct spot during recitation and thus avoid incorrectly changing the meaning of the verse. Most of these signs were first invented by ‘Allamah Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Tayfur al-Sajawandi (al-Nashr fi ’l-Qira’at al-‘Ashr 1:225). The details of these signs are as follows:

ط : An abbreviation of the word waqf mutlaq (universal stop). It implies that the statement stands completed at this point. Therefore, it is better to stop here.

ج : An abbreviation of the word waqf ja’iz (permissible stop) and it implies that it is permissible to stop here.

ز : An abbreviation of waqf mujawwaz (permitted stop), which implies that stopping here is permissible but that it is better not to.

ص : An abbreviation of waqf murakhkhas (dispensation stop), which implies that the statement has not yet been completed but that, because the sentence has become long, this is the place to breathe and stop rather than elsewhere. (al-Minh al-Fikriyyah 63)

م: An abbreviation of waqf lazim (mandatory stop), which means that if a stop is not made an outrageous distortion in the meaning of the verse is possible. Some phoneticians of the Quran have also called this type of stop a waqf wajib (obligatory stop). Note that wajib here is not a legal term and therefore does not entail sin if it is abandoned. The purpose of the term is to stress that stopping here is the most preferable of all stops. (al-Nashr 1:231)

لا: An abbreviation of la taqif (lit. do not stop). It indicates that one should not stop at this sign but does not imply that stopping is completely impermissible, since there are certain places bearing this sign where stopping entails no harm and resuming from the following word is also permissible. Therefore, the correct meaning of this sign is: “If a stop is made here, it is better to go back and read over again. Initiation from the next word is not preferred. (al-Nashr 1:233)

As far as the origin of these signs is concerned, it stands proven beyond doubt that they were invented by ‘Allamah Sajawandi. In addition to these, however, there are also other signs that appear in Quranic manuscripts. For instance:

مع: An abbreviation of the word mu‘anaqah. This symbol is inserted at a place where a single verse has two possible explanations. According to one explanation, the stop will be made at one given place while according to another explanation the stop will be made at another place. Therefore, a stop can be made at either one of the two places, but once a stop has been made at one place it is not correct to stop at the other. However, if a stop is not made at both places it will be correct. This is also known as muqabalah. It was first pointed out by Imam Abu ’l-Fadl al-Razi. (al-Nashr, 1:237, al-Itqan 1:88)

سكتة : This is a symbol for saktah (pause), which means that one should stop here by breaking the sound but not the breath. This is generally inserted at a place where assimilated reading is likely to cause an erroneous projection of meaning.

وقفة : At this sign, called a waqfah, one must stop a little longer than at a saktah (pause) but ones breath should not break here as well.

ق : An abbreviation of qīla ‘alayhi ’l-waqf. It means that some phoneticians of the Quran identify a stop here while others do not.

قف : This symbol is the word qif which means “stop” (the imperative word-form) and is inserted where the reader may possibly think that a stop was not correct.

صلى : This is an abbreviation of al-waslu awla, which means that “it is better to recite here in assimilated continuity”.

صل  : This is an abbreviation of qad yusalu which means that “some stop here” while others like to recite on in assimilated continuity.


وقف النبي : This is marked at places where a hadith proves that the Holy Prophet (upon him blessings and peace) stopped here while reciting.

An effort has been made to compile the history of compilation of the Holy Qur'an from as many references as possible. However, there may be more details available, but the basics have been covered in as short as possible for easy reading. Details may be read from the references given below or can be searched o Internet. May Allah forgive me for quoting any wrong information. Aameen

Photo | References: | 1 | | 2 | 3 | 4 |

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Muslims in Non Muslim Countries: Portugal

In the series of posts of Muslims in Non Muslim countries, I have so far covered Ukraine and Spain. While writing a rather detailed account of Muslim conquest of Spain by the Ummayad in early 8th century, I did not mention Portugal which was also partly under the Muslim rule for almost five hundred years. Today I exclusively focus on Portugal as both Spain and Portugal saw the rise of Muslim rulers in their countries, benefited from the rich cultural heritage, and then forced them out as part of after the Reconquista.  

The Iberian Peninsula, also known as Iberia, is located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula is principally divided between Spain and Portugal. So when the Ummayad invaded Spain and their rule expanded, parts of Portugal also came under their fold. Thus from 711 to 1249, much of the territory of what is now Portugal (namely south of the Mondego river, but particularly in the Alentejo and the Algarve) was under Muslim control, and was called Garb Al-Andalus (the west of Al-Andalus). Whilst first Seville and then Cordoba came to be known as the capital of the Muslim Kingdom of Spain, the city of Silves was the capital of the medieval Muslim Kingdom of Portugal. [1]

Like Spain, the fall of Muslim rule was torturous and cruel as the Muslims were either forced to convert to Christianity or forced to leave the country to neighbouring African states. The end fate could not be better explained by Robert Fisk in his article "There's a reason why anti-Muslim ideology hasn't found a home in Portugal"as under: [2]

The ramparts of the Portuguese Castle of the Moors – “Castelo dos Mouros” – fell to the Christians of the Second Crusade in 1147, a bunch of thieves and drunkards, according to local reports, which included a fair number of Brits. There’s a story that a huge fortune in gold and coins still lies beneath the castle’s broken and much-restored walls, hidden there by the Moors when Afonso Henriques’ thugs were climbing the hills above Sintra. My guess is there’s none. Our relations with the Muslims have always revolved, it seems to me, around money and jealousy. Besides, the Crusaders looted their way across Lisbon – after a solemn agreement with the King that they could do so – and then massacred and raped their way through the panic-stricken Muslim population.

I came across a reference from a textbook of Portugal (1930-1974) which said: "For Portugal to be born, it was necessary to fight and expel Moors. who were not only the foreign enemies of our motherland, but enemies also to our Christian faith." Which implies that the making of Portugal, in other words, is literally the erasure of Islam; in such a narrative, by definition, there was no place for Muslims in national history. [3]

However, unlike Spain, where the Arabic text and all Arabic books were burnt, the Portuguese inherited a lot form the Arabs and are still regarded as as exotic and educated peoples and whose own culture was never erased from the streets of Portugal’s cities. Nowhere can present day connections between the Muslim and European past be more perfectly illustrated than in Lisbon’s Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in the northern suburbs of Lisbon. Old Gulbenkian, the richest Armenian of his time, the original “Mr Five Per Cent” of oil earnings, was an extraordinary philanthropist of his time, his foundation even trying to bridge the insurmountable gap between the Armenian peoples and their genocider Turkish fellow citizens after 1915. This may be why the short biography of the man available at the Lisbon institution refers to the Armenian genocide – disgracefully – as merely “the tragic events”.[2]

As of today, according to the Islamic Community of Lisbon, there are about 40,000 Muslims living in Portugal (according to 2011 estimates). The majority of Muslims in the country are Sunnis, followed by approximately 5,000 to 7,000 Sevener Ismā'īlī Shīʻa Muslims. Most of the Muslim population originates from the former Portuguese overseas provinces of Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique, most of the latter having their origin in South Asia. Although very small percentage of the population, the existing community is respected and problems with it are unheard of. Portugal has a floating Muslim community in Porto, they come and go and don’t stay long. However, Lisbon has a sizable Muslim community. In Lisbon and Odivelas they are mostly originally from India, Pakistan and moved to Portugal via Mozambique after the independence of this country. They are Portuguese and are today well integrated members of society.

I personally know a friend of my son whose parents moved to Portugal years ago and are not Portuguese citizens. There is another community in Palmela, where they have one of the best schools in the country and own businesses.

As for the Muslim women attire, niqābs are almost unheard of and even hijabs are not that common. Halal meat is very rare to find. More liberal Muslims should have no problem living in Portugal. Conservative Muslims might have a harder time since the country is not well catered for a religion with such a small representation and culturally so different from the Portuguese way of life. As of now islamophobia has not found its inroads in Portugal and the locals are very friendly to foreigners and people of other faiths.[5]

The Muslim introduction of new agricultural technology and plain hard work made Portugal prosper. To this day, the common Portuguese verb “mourejar” means “to work like a Moor (Muslim),” and it implies unusual diligence and tenacity. Indeed, Portuguese is saturated with thousands of words with Arabic origin.

While the full extent of Portugal’s Muslim heritage has long been forgotten or ignored, while converting the 16th-century Convento da Graça into a luxury hotel in Trivira in 2010, developers uncovered a cobbled street and foundations of a dozen homes built more than 700 years ago by the Arab Muslims who then ruled much of Portugal. In order to conserve the heritage, instead of the pool, there’s now a small museum under the hotel bar. Walkways allow visitors to wander above what remains of the medieval Moorish neighborhood. [6]

Although, the Spaniards did not leave a single trace of the Arabic language, they could not remove the traces of great Moorish architecture from Spain. It seems the Muslims concentrated more on Spain and less in Portugal as far architecture is concerned. Today, the town of Mértola, in the Alentejo, possesses the only partial remains of a mosque, converted to a Catholic Church after the Reconquista. The waterwheel in Algarve today is a descendant of the Muslim waterwheel that helped revolutionize agriculture in Portugal as in Spain. [4]

The Portuguese language is however peppered with words of Arabic origin, often those relating to food, farming and manual work. One commonly used is “oxalá” – a direct descendant of “in sha Allah”, the term meaning “God willing.” The city we know of as Lisbon, originates from the city once known as Al-Ishbun. The famous city of Algarve, takes its name directly from al-Gharb al-Andalus. These are not the only places to inherit a Muslim name, hundreds of place names in Portugal start with “Al”, the Arabic for ‘The’. The Alfama district in Lisbon is one such example. In fact, all across the Mediterranean this is the case, from Alghero in Sardinia to Algeciras in Southern Spain. The Portuguese language continues to borrow many words from Arabic, such as azeitona (olives) and garrafa (bottle). Others include azenha (water mill), from the Arabic al-saniyah and nora (water wheel), from the Arabic na’urah. [4]

Commenting on the footprints the Muslims left in Portugal, Adalberto Alves, the country’s best-known expert in the field writes: [6]

“If by magic it was possible to wipe out all the remnants of the Arab legacy from today’s Portugal, our ethnic, cultural, physical and human landscape would be completely different.” 

“We might be blond instead of dark, we’d stop speaking the Arabized-Latin that we call Portuguese and we’d loose over a thousand words from our dictionaries. So many of our villages and towns would no longer exist or have to change their names. We wouldn't know how to name the things we grow and eat. What would we call Jasmin, oranges, dates and pomegranates?”

As for masjids, Lisbon has a big mosque and some places in the suburbs have them as well, but it's not the easiest thing to find in Portugal. Watch this short video clip of Muslims celebrating the Muslim festival of Eid in Lisbon:

Islam is Europe’s second religion. As for Portugal, we pray that Islam will flourish in these lands once again and make it prosper as it once did. "Oxalá."

Photo: Central Mosque of Lisbon | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |

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Muslims in Non Muslim Countries: Spain - Once the Mighty Al-Andalus

The story of rise and fall of Muslim dominance of Spain is both of glory and heart wrenching sorrows for the rise to glory was attributed to the glory of Muslims and the Ummayad Empire of the time, but their end after almost 800 years of rule was a treacherous exodus, the details of which are known but to few today.

I would here not go into the details of how Muslims came to Spain, rose to glory and many battles and the famous Spanish Inquisition that finally led to the downfall of the once thriving mighty Al Andalus empire of Spain, but would dwell more on the imprints left behind the Muslims in everything from gastronomy to music, language and architecture, which can still be felt and seen even after the 17th century brutal exodus of the Muslims, called Moriscos or simply the Moors, by the then Spanish royalties as detested aliens. 

The Arabic names distorted into Spanish and English can still be felt of their Arabic heritage like Gibraltar from Jabal al Tariq (the present Rock of Gibraltar named after the Muslim commander Tariq bin Zayyad who brought his army on ships which was a cue to Muslim occupation of Hispania), Cordoba from Qurtaba and Grenada from Gharnata. The world famous architecture of Alhambra in Grenada continues till today with its original name which the Spanish present to the world as a prideful part of their culture.

The Muslim period in Spain is often described as a 'golden age' of learning where libraries, colleges, public baths were established and literature, poetry and architecture flourished. Both Muslims and non-Muslims made major contributions to this flowering of culture.  Islamic Spain is sometimes described as a 'golden age' of religious and ethnic tolerance and interfaith harmony between Muslims, Christians and Jews. Many Christians in Spain assimilated parts of the Muslim culture. Some learned Arabic, some adopted the same clothes as their rulers (some Christian women even started wearing the veil); some took Arabic names. Christians who did this were known as Mozarabs. Although, Muslims did not explicitly hate or persecute the non-Muslims, some writers of the view that the natives lived a like of second class citizens and that the Muslim attitude toward non-Muslims is one not of hate or fear or envy but simply of contempt. [3]

Although a significant proportion of Moriscos returned to Spain or avoided expulsion through various means, and the decree never affected the country's large enslaved Muslim population, the indigenous practice of Islam had faded into obscurity by the 19th century. Nevertheless, throughout modern history there has always been a constant presence of Muslims in Spain, many of which were former slaves (known as 'moros cortados') freed in the early 18th century. Furthermore, Spain's proximity to North Africa and its small land border with the Kingdom of Morocco (as well as a colonial presence in North Africa lasting between 1912 and 1975) made Muslim presence in Spain possible. [1]

Now a few words about the rise and fall of the Muslims in Spain, though the history books are required to know the over 800 years rule of the then Umayyad Muslim Empire and their conquest of Hispania. Hispania was the Latin name given to the whole Iberian Peninsula (covering the territories of present-day Spain and Portugal). Herein under is a brief history of Muslim conquest of Hispania and their final exodus: [1]

On April 30, 711, Muslim General Tariq ibn-Ziyad landed at Gibraltar and by the end of the campaign most of the Iberian Peninsula were brought under Islamic rule. This campaign's turning point was the battle of Guadalete, where the last Visigothic king, Roderick, was defeated and killed on the battlefield.

The Islamic rulers called the Iberian peninsula "Al-Andalus". For a time, the area that is today Spain and Portugal was one of the great Muslim civilizations, reaching its summit with the Umayyad Caliphate in the 10th century. 

The three major monotheistic religious traditions certainly did borrow from one another in Muslim-ruled Spain, benefiting especially by the blooming of philosophy and the medieval sciences in the Muslim Middle East.

However, after almost 800 years of rule, the Islamic control of Spain gradually eroded by the Christian Reconquista (The Reconquista is a name used in English to describe the period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula of about 780 years between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the expanding Christian kingdoms in 1491.).

The final conquest of Spain culminated by the Treaty of Granada signed by Emir Muhammad XII of Granada, allowing the Spanish crown's new Muslim subjects a large measure of religious toleration. However 1492 started the monarchy's reversal of freedoms beginning with the Alhambra Decree. This continued when Archbishop Talavera was replaced by the intolerant Cardinal Cisneros, who immediately organized a drive for mass forced conversions and burned publicly thousands of Arabic books (manuscripts). In fact almost all books in Arabic, barring the valuable medical manuscripts which are still preserved in the Escorial library.

Beginning in Valencia in 1502, Muslims were offered the choice of baptism or exile. Nowhere to go, the majority therefore were forced to accept conversion, becoming known as "New Christians" or the "Moriscos" - them being  outwardly Catholic, continued to adhere to their old beliefs in private as crypto-Muslims. Responding to a plea from his co-religionists in Spain, in 1504 Ahmad ibn Abi Jum'ah, an Islamic scholar in North Africa, issued a fatwa, commonly named the "Oran fatwa", saying that Muslims may outwardly practice Christianity.

The clandestine practice of Islam continued till 1567 when  King Philip II finally made the use of the Arabic language illegal, and forbade the Islamic religion, dress, and customs, a step which led to the Rebellion of Alpujarras, involving acts of brutality. In one incident, troops commanded by Don John of Austria destroyed the town of Galera east of Granada, after slaughtering the entire population. 

'Edicts of Expulsion' for the expulsion of the Moriscos were finally issued by Philip III in 1609 against the remaining Muslims in Spain. The last mass prosecution against Moriscos for crypto-Islamic practices occurred in Granada in 1727, with most of those convicted receiving relatively light sentences. By this stage, the indigenous Islam is considered to have been effectively extinguished in Spain.

The 17th century exodus was most brutal exodus of a people in the annuls of history. Read more below.

Matthew Carr, the author of Blood and Faith, explains the harrowing details of the plight of the Moriscos, driven from their home country as detested aliens.

La Expulsión en el Puerto de Denia, painted by Vicente Mostre in 1613. 

Photograph: Public Domain

Matthew Carr in his book writes: [2]

I first heard about the expulsion of the 17th-century Spanish Muslims known as Moriscos back in 1992. I was familiar with the expulsion of the Jews by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492, but I knew nothing of the tragedy of the Moriscos – known as “little Moors” – that took place more than a century later.

I was moved by the tragic fate of these forced converts to Christianity. They were marginalized and persecuted before the Spanish state decided they were incapable of becoming “good and faithful” Christians.

I read the key primary documents pertaining to the expulsion, and the often genocidal texts written by 17th-century anti-Morisco writers, like the sinister Dominican monk Jaime Bleda. I went to the imposing castle of Simancas, where the Spanish state archives are kept, where I was shown a file of letters to Philip II written by local mayors and magistrates during the brutal transportation of Morisco rebels from Granada to Castile in the winter of 1570. Most of these short messages described the appalling physical condition of the sick and starving men, women and children who passed before their eyes that harsh winter, and the impossibility of feeding or even clothing them. 

I visited with the local historian Miguel Aparici Navarro, who showed me the ruins of Morisco villages, and the great ridge known as the muella – where Morisco women had thrown themselves to their deaths with their children, rather than leave the country they considered their homeland.

The battles at Cortes de Pallás were celebrated in one of the triumphal paintings commissioned by Philip III to mark the occasion; today these paintings are kept in a bank in Valencia and not open to the public. These paintings were intended to glorify what many statesmen even then regarded as a crime. Like most documents pertaining to the expulsion.

Writing specifically on the events of actual exodus of the Muslims from Spain, here is how he paints the events of the grim days:

Poignant and often tragic scenes unfolded as the Moriscos were brought to the waiting ships. One old man arrived in Valencia declaring his wish to be buried on Muslim soil but dropped dead while boarding his ship. Other Moriscos died of hunger and exhaustion before leaving the shore. Some parents became separated from their children in the confusion; others left their children behind with local Christians. 

There were many such farewells as the exodus continued. Even as the Moriscos were boarding their ships, priests, monks, and zealous Christians pleaded with them to leave their children behind so that they could be brought up as Catholics … Doña Isabel de Velasco, personally persuaded many parents to leave their children behind – or had them kidnapped – for their spiritual salvation. Some Moriscos gave in to these opportunities because they felt unable to care for their children, but others defiantly refused, such as the Morisca who gave birth on the docks and then “embarked with the infant in her arms on a harsh, windy and very cold day,” according to a report by the Valencia Inquisition, and ignored the Christians who begged her to leave her baby with them.

This then is the very brief tail of the rise and tragic fall of the Muslims in the once mighty Al Andalus. You may read from the reference given below of Wikipedia which speaks volumes of the Muslims rule of Spain and Portugal and the gory details of their forced convictions and conversions.

Today, nearly two million Muslims in Spain make up over 4% of the population. The majority are from Morocco; other sizable Muslim communities include Pakistanis, Algerians, Senegalese and Nigerians. The Autonomous Communities with a higher Muslim population are Catalonia, Andalusia, Madrid and the Valencian Community. As per a survey, 59% of Muslims claimed that there is no particular hostility to their community within the country.

However, there are problems too to live life as per Islamic laws. As per a report published in 2016, it read that Spanish authorities were considering Islamic funerals incompatible with local laws that prohibit corpses being buried in direct contact with the soil. This issue and the allocation of more cemeteries for the community has become imperative for the almost two million Muslims living in Spain. “The only places in Spain where we are allowed to bury our dead according to our rituals are the regions of Andalucia and the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla (in North Africa),” said Riay Tatary, head of the Union of Islamic Communities in Spain. When progressive Madrid Mayor Manuela Carmona recently requested 10,000 square meters allocated to Muslims in a cemetery in the Spanish capital, the answer from the central government was “No.” The reason was that bureaucrats considered Islamic burial rituals as illegitimate. [6]

As per one report published in 2003 in The Telegraph, the Spanish Muslims after a wait of more than 500 years, have finally succeeded in building a mosque of their own in the shadow of the Alhambra, once the symbol of Islamic power in Europe. Though, many Spaniards are quietly unhappy. "Everybody is opposed to it, but they know it's politically impossible to voice their objections," said one local journalist. However it is resulted in graffiti such as "Moros fuera" ("Moors out!"). "Ignoring their promises to tolerate the Muslim faith, the Spaniards indulged in a wave of forced conversions, expulsions and killings. Mosques were demolished and churches built, often on the same spot," the report adds. 

Christians still convert to Islam despite Islam not being a welcome religion in Spain anymore. Looking out across the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Alhambra, Abdul Haqq, 42, a Basque who converted to Islam 12 years ago, said: "Granada has historically been the capital of European Islam. Some people convert because of their search for their roots - others like me joined as a matter of faith."

Recently there was a heart wrenching video of Adan that went viral, but later removed, on YouTube in the Alhambra palace, Grenada by a vising Syrian young man Mouaz Al-Nass which went viral on social media. When asked why he did so, he replied beautifully: "I felt that ‘the walls had missed hearing the call to Allah‘. And this sentiment is especially touching when you consider the tragic history of Islam in Spain." It may be added that the Alhambra palace, which was built by Muslim rulers in the 1330s, had not witnessed the Islamic call to prayer in nearly five centuries.

Recently there has been an emerging trend of Sufism among the Muslims of Spain. There are around 1,200 Spanish converts to this mystical form of Islam The biggest communities are in Granada and Cáceres. Most Spanish Sufis belong to the Naqshbandi order, which traces its spiritual lineage back to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, the first Caliph and a companion of the prophet Muhammad. One Sufi convert has been quoted as saying: We converts are seen as strange. Islam isn't what people think it is. Islam is peace.”  Mansur, formerly José Carlos Sánchez, explains that Sufis live in the world without necessarily being of this world. “Every day I ask Allah to help me convert my ego into my prayer mat,” says the 41-year-old university graduate. “There is an undoubted rejection of Muslims in our society.” [7]

Recently there has been a UAE funded programme to help arrange and bear the expenses for Hajj from Spain to Saudi Arabia. The UAE embassy in Spain announces the offer of such grants at mosques, and each year it receives around 500 applications. And from this a slelected number of pilgrims are chosen this year - picked randomly. The main requirements for application are being a convert to Islam, over 40 years old and a low-income earner. The travel package of around 4,000 euros includes food, guides and even the sacrifice of a lamb, which every Muslim must partake in after the month of pilgrimage. [8]

You may now like to watch a very informative video titled "In the search of spirit of Al Andalus" which recounts the glory of Islam in Spain:

                                                                                             
And before I end this rather long history of Islam in Spain, allow me to share a historical photo of Dr Sir Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the national poet and dreamer of a separate homeland for Muslims of British Indian subcontinent. This photo was taken in 1933 when Dr Iqbal visited Cordoba and offered prayer in one of the Ummayad's time masjid in Cordoba. He then wrote a beautiful poetic work on this spiritual experience in the form a poem "Masjid-e-Qartaba (The Masjid of Cordoba)."

O’ sacred place of Cordoba, you exist because of Ishq

Ishq that’s wholly eternal, which does not come and go

Read the poem "Masjid-e-Qartaba (The Masjid of Cordoba)"with its English translation here.

Photo | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

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Life of Muslims in Non Muslim Countries: Ukraine

While scanning through the sources of places from where people see my blog, I was surprised to see a sizable number from Ukraine. Thinking them to be Muslims, I decided to find out about Islam in Ukraine and share with my readers.

In a country dominated by the Orthodox and Uniate Christians, Islam is the fourth largest religion in Ukraine, representing almost 1% of the total population of the country. Among the Muslims, the Sunni Islam of the Hanafi schools dominates the other branches / schools of thought of Islam, and and their mufti is regarded as the highest religious figure. The majority of the Muslims are the Crimean Tartars. In 2012 an estimated 500,000 Muslims lived in Ukraine, including 300,000 Crimean Tatars. However, Said Ismagilov, the mufti of Ummah, boats one million Muslims in Ukraine.

Historically, Crimea was the center of the spread of Islam in Ukraine. The presence of Islam in Ukraine is associated with the Crimean Tatars, the Turkic speaking descendants of Turkic and non-Turkic peoples who had settled in Eastern Europe as early as the 7th century. In the 15th century, a Crimean Khanate was established in southern Ukraine. However, after the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the Khanate lost its sovereignty and fell under the influence of the Ottoman Empire. 

The Khanate finally ended after growing Russian influence led to its annexation into the Russian Empire after the Russo-Turkish Wars in the late 18th century. At the time of annexation of the Khanate, its capital of Bakhchysarai had at least 18 mosques. However, the Russian Empire began persecuting the Muslim population, and nearly 160,000 Tatars were forced to leave Crimea.

The oldest masque in Ukraine is the The Tahtali-Jami Mosque located in Bakhchisaray, Crimea.  It was built in 1707 by by Khan Sultan Beck. Since the it was originally constructed with wooden planks which were later closed in by stone blocks and masonry walls. The roof of the mosque is covered with clay tiles, it is called Tahtalı Cami means "wooden mosque" in Crimean Tatar. [3]

At the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Muslims constituted one-third of Crimea's population and nearly all major cities in Crimea had significant Muslim population. However, under the Soviet rule, Crimean Muslims were subjected to mass deportation and in 1944 Joseph Stalin accused them of collaborating with Nazi Germany and more than 200,000 Crimean Tatars were deported to Central Asia, primarily the Uzbek SSR. It is estimated that more than 100,000 deportees died of starvation or disease due to the deportation. Although a 1967 Soviet decree removed the wartime collaboration charges against Crimean Tatars, the Soviet government did nothing to facilitate their resettlement in Crimea, and the repatriation of Crimean Tatars to their homeland only began in 1989. 

With the independence of Ukraine from the USSR in 1991, not only the majority Orthodox Christians took a sigh of relief from a Communist domination, the Muslims too felt relieved too, and the return of Crimean Tatars to Crimea has increased compared to the Soviet era. There has also been a proportionally small settlement of Muslim Chechen refugees in Crimea and other parts of Ukraine.

However, due to the 2014 Russia`s annexation of Crimea and the hostilities in eastern Ukraine have kept some 750,000 of Muslims, including a half-million Crimean Tatars, trapped in the occupied territories and unable to maintain ties with others who share their faith in Ukraine. [1]

Comparing the life of Muslims under USSR and present day free Ukraine, Said (mufti of Religious Administration of Muslims of Ukraine "Ummah") Ismagilov says:

“In Russia there is no freedom of speech and thought – every religious community, including Muslims, is controlled by the state and serves Kremlin’s policy. In Ukraine, Crimean Tatars had freedom. They were not told which books to read. They were in charge of choosing their own religious leaders. Everything was democratic.” 

While breathing in a rather free air and  not confronted with problems in their daily lives, and that Muslims have started from the beginning to learn about their religion, Said adds: [2]

"Muslims in smaller cities with smaller communities face more problems as they do not even have places of worship or access to halal food," and "that there are not enough cemeteries for Muslims and that Muslim women had to remove their hijab for their passport pictures." Calling on international Muslim organizations for support in building mosques and Islamic centers in the country, Ismagilov said that it would be essential "for the future of Islam in Ukraine".

Muslim women of Ukraine [Photo]

Speaking as a newly reverted Muslim, Olga Fryndak, presently Deputy head of the Ukrainian Muslimahs League and chief editor in the Information Department of the Islamic Center of Ukraine, describes Ukrainians as “tolerant”, and that she had not faced “big problems” in Ukraine as a Muslim. as for her embracing Islam, she says: [2]

“Islam I knew from my elder sister. At the time she was studying at the university in Kiev and had some Muslim friends. She was the first who gave me the basic information about Islam as a religion. At the time there weren't any Islamic books in Russian.”

Commenting on life as a Muslim Olga Fryndak says::

“Ukrainian people are tolerant in general. We have mosques and Islamic cultural centers in big cities, we have halal meat and products, we can work and pray, we have Muslim organizations and volunteers.” 

"there are also Islamic grammar schools in Kiev and Kharkov, adding that Islamic literature can be published in Ukrainian and Russian."

Said Ismagilov [Photo]

The 37 years old Ismagilov is also a supporter of the idea that Muslims should integrate in the society they live in, and he criticizes Muslims who come to Europe to live in closed communities. Such behavior limits social ambitions, and as a result some young people are easy targets for various terrorist groups, who lure them by promising money and better social prospects, Ismagilov says. They could have had that if they had been well integrated in the societies of their host countries, the mufti says.[1]

As of today, Muslims on Ukrainian territory enjoy all freedoms, as Islamic cultural centers are being opened around Ukraine. The newest one opened its doors in Dnipropetrovsk recently.

Now watch a video clip of Muslims in Ukraine celebrating the Islamic festival of Eid ul Adha (and I was glad to see some Pakistanis, wearing shalwar kameez, the traditional dress of Pakistan men, in Ukraine celebrating Eid with their Ukrainian Muslims)

Are you a Ukranian Muslim reading this post? Do give your feedback on life of Muslims in Ukraine in our comment box.

Photo | Source: Wikipedia | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 |

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

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Surah Al Jumuah (The Friday Congregation): Summary of 62nd Chapter of the Holy Quran

Friday assumes a special importance in the lives of the Muslims all over the world, for it is the day when the noon prayers is offered in the form of a congregation and this prayer has to be offered in the masjids compulsorily. In fact the word Jumuah (Friday) means congregation in Arabic. 

Thus it is the day of assembly, when the Muslim community abandons trade, transactions and other diversions in favor of assembling to seek the all-encompassing truth and most beneficent and seek the "bounty of God" exclusively. [1]

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) has been quoted as saying, 

"The best day during which the sun have risen is Friday. It is the Day Adam was created. It is the day when Adam entered paradise and also when he was taken out from it. It is also the day on which the Day of Judgment takes place." [Imam Muslim, Abu-Dawood, Al-Nasai, and Al-Tirmizi]

“When the Friday comes, at every door of the Masjid there stands Angels who write down (the names of) those who come First, and then who comes next. When the Imam sits down, the records are closed and they come to listen to the reminder, i.e. the Khutba….”  (Muslim) 

Let us now understand the surah in segmented portions for better understanding:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

This surah is a Al-Musabbihat* surah because it begins with the glorification of Allah as can be seen in the translation of the first below:

[1] Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth glorifies Allah-the Sovereign, the Holy, the All-Mighty and the All-Wise!

*Al-Musabbihat are those surahs of the Quran that begin with Allah's glorification 'Subhana', 'Sabbaha', and 'Yusabbihu'. According to Islamic scholar Mufti Muhammad Shafi (1897–1976) the collective name of the series Al-Musabbihat refers to the following five or seven Surahs:

• Al-Hadid
• Al-Hashr
• As-Saff
• Al-Jumua and
• At-Taghabun

The surah can be divided into two distinct segments as these were sent down in two different periods. That is why their themes as well as their audiences are different. Although there is a kind of harmony between them on account of which they have been put together in one Surah, yet we should understand their themes separately before we consider the question of their harmony. [2]

The first section that comprises verses 2-8 was sent down at a time when all Jewish efforts to obstruct the message of Islam during the past six years had failed: [2]

• First. in Madinah as many as three of their powerful tribes had done whatever they could to frustrate the mission of the Holy Prophet, with the result that one of the tribes was completely exterminated and the other two were exiled. 
• Then by intrigue and conspiracy they brought many of the Arab tribes together to advance on Madinah, but in the Battle of the Trench they were all repulsed. 
• After this, Khyber had become their stronghold, where a large number of the Jews expelled from Madinah also had taken refuge. At the time these verses were revealed, that too was taken without any extraordinary effort, and the Jews at their own request agreed to live there as tenants of the Muslims. 

After this final defeat the Jewish power in Arabia came to an end. Then, Wad-il-Qura, Fadak, Taima', Tabuk, all surrendered one after the other, so much so that all Arabian Jews became subdued to the same Islam which they were not prepared to tolerate before. This was the occasion when Allah Almighty once again addressed them in this Surah, and probably this was the last and final address that was directed to them in the Qur'an. In this they have been reminded of three things:

[2-4] He it is Who has raised a Messenger among the gentiles from among themselves, who recites to them His Revelations, purifies them and teaches them the Book and the Wisdom, whereas before this they were indeed lost in manifest error. And (the advent or the Messenger) is also for those others who have not yet joined them. Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise. This is Allah's bounty; He bestows it on whomever He wills, and Allah is the Owner of supreme bounty.

Here the word ummi (gentile) has been used as a Jewish term and there is a subtlety in it. The verse means: "The All-Mighty and All-Wise Allah has raised a Messenger among the Arabs whom the Jews contemptuously consider the gentiles and much below themselves, The Messenger has not risen of his own wish and will, but has been raised by Him Who is the Sovereign of the universe, Who is All-Mighty and All-Wise, Whose power can be resisted and opposed only to one's own loss and peril.

[5] The example of those who were entrusted with the burden of the Torah, and yet they failed to bear its burden, is of a donkey laden with books. Even worse is the example of those who have treated Allah's Revelations as false. Allah does not guide such wrongdoers.

[6-8] Say to them, "O you who have become Jews. If you claim that you alone are Allah's favorites, apart from all other people, then you should long for death if you be truthful. But they will never wish for it because of the misdeeds they have committed, and Allah knows full well these wrongdoers. Say to them, "The death from which you flee will certainly overtake you. Then you will be presented before Him, Who is the Knower of the hidden and the open, and He will tell you what you had been doing."

The verses 9-10 were revealed many years after the first eight verses. In these verses Allah has bestowed Friday on the Muslims as against the Sabbath of the Jews, and Allah wanted to warn the Muslims not to treat their Friday as the Jews had treated their Sabbath.

The verses thus clearly show the importance of the Friday congregation and it is made very clear that when the call for noon prayers on Friday is made, every Muslim must hasten towards the masjids to offer  as part of the congregation. And during this time, one must defer all wordily needs, desires and business commitments for "This better for you only if you knew." And then after the prayers one must disperse in the land and seek Allah's blessings and bounties.

[9-10] O you who have believed, when the call is made to the Prayer on Friday, hasten to the remembrance of Allah and leave off your trading. This is better for you only if you knew. Then, when the Prayer is over, disperse in the land and seek Allah's bounty, and remember Allah much. Perhaps you may achieve success.

Verse 11 below was revealed after an incident while it was time for the Friday congregation and the Prophet of Allah was in the masjid delivering the Friday sermon. The time was very hard due to drought and non availability of food grain and other household essentials. And it so happened that a vendor came along and started calling people for the sale of his merchandise. Hearing his call, all but twelve Muslims left the masjid and ran to buy their needs. And the Prophet of Allah was left alone with a handful of his companions.

[11] And when they saw some merchandise and sport they broke off to it and left you standing. Say to them, "That which is with Allah is far better than sport and business, and Allah is the best of all providers."

Thus the verse 11 was revealed admonishing those who abandoned the Jumuah congregation. However, this sentence by itself shows what was the nature of the error committed by the Companions. God forbid, if it had been due to any weakness of the faith, or due to giving the world preference over the Hereafter, Allah's wrath and displeasure and reprimand would have been much severer. But since there was no such weakness, and whatever happened was only due to insufficient training, Allah first taught the people the coquette of the Friday Service, then, after pointing out the error, promised them that the reward they would get with Allah for listening to the Sermon and performing the Prayer would be much greater than worldly gains and amusements.  And that Allah has better rewards and provisions for those who have firm faith in Allah and His messenger, for Allah is the best of all providers. [2]

This incident clearly shows the importance of the Jumuah congregation and its attendance no matter what hurry a person may have to attend to his business or needs.

You may now like to listen to Arabic recitation of Surah Al Jumuah with English subtitles:

You may refer to our post "114 Chapters (Sūrahs) of the Holy Qur'an" for translation, meaning and summary of other chapters (Though not complete but building up from 30th Part backwards for chapters in 30th Part are shorter and easier to understand)

Photo | References:  |  1 | 2 | 3 |

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook
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Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

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