Could you please clarify whether it is true that Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, also has 99 names. To my knowledge, this is true of God only. Please comment.
The Prophet is called by several names, but the name he was given at birth was Muhammad. His mother reports that she heard a voice telling her that she was carrying a boy who would be the best of mankind, and that she should call him Muhammad. His grandfather wanted to call him Ahmad. Both these names, Muhammad & Ahmad, which are mentioned in the Qur’an, are derived from a root that signifies praise. Muhammad in particular means ‘one who is often praised’. From the same root a further name is derived, which is Mahmood. The Prophet, peace be upon him, is also called by other names, but these are mostly attributes or qualities which he is known to have had. An example of these is Mustafa, which means ‘chosen’. Furthermore, he is described in the Qur’an by certain qualities, and some people claim that these are also names of his. This is not true, because some of these are attributes of God, such as Rauf and Raheem, which mean kind and compassionate respectively. When these are used on their own, they refer to God, not to the Prophet.
To find 99 names and qualities by which to call the Prophet will require some arbitrary usage of such qualities. Besides, there is nothing to be gained by such an exercise. We know that the Prophet, peace be upon him, combined the best qualities that could be found in the best of people. To give him a name for each such quality is a totally unnecessary exercise. People, however, think that by doing so they demonstrate their great love of the Prophet. The fact is that such love is best demonstrated by following the Prophet’s example, not by singing his praises, much worthy of praise as he certainly is.
We know that the first verses to be revealed of the Qur’an were the opening of Surah 96, entitled “Blood Clots” [Al-Alaq]. Could you then please tell me why this Surah is not placed at the beginning of the Qur'an, and why it begins with Surah “Al-Fatihah” or “The Opening”? Could you please let me know when was the compilation of the Qur’an completed and whether it was done during the life of the Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him.
It is true that the first revelation that the Prophet, peace be upon him, received from on high consisted of the first five verses of the Surah you have mentioned. These may be translated into English as follows:
“Read in the name of your Lord Who created man from clots of blood. Read! Your Lord is the most bounteous Who has taught the use of the pen, has taught man what he did not know.” [Al-Alaq — “Blood Clots” 96: 1-5]
If you examine carefully these few verses, you will find that they are an announcement made to the Prophet, peace be upon him, of his forthcoming mission. They tell him about his Lord who is the Creator of man and His word and Who has given man the ability to read and learn. That announcement was highly significant because it inaugurated an era of direct contact between God and man through the Prophet, peace be upon him. It was an era in which the constitution that ensures man’s happiness in this life and in the life to come was to be given in detail. The rest of the Surah was revealed at a later date.
This announcement was of the highest importance to the Prophet, peace be upon him, so that he knew what was expected of him as a messenger from God. The revelations he received in the following period also stressed his role as a messenger. They defined for him how to proceed with calling people to Islam and whom he should approach for that purpose. Later on, revelations dealt with events that took place in the Muslim community and provided legislation for social problems. They also identified the way ahead for the Prophet, peace be upon him, and what strategy he should adopt in conveying His message to mankind. We read, for example, in Surah 15, Al-Hijr, which occurs close to the middle of the Qur’an, God’s order to the Prophet, peace be upon him, to declare his message in public. That took place about three years after the start of Qur’anic revelations during which the Prophet, peace be upon him, preached his new faith in secret. In other words, twenty years of revelation followed. This suggests that a much larger part of the Qur'an, was revealed after this order was issued to the Prophet, peace be upon him. Nevertheless, it occurs about midway in the Qur’an. Certain Surahs or verses comment on events that took place during the lifetime of the Prophet. A larger part of Surah “Al-Anfa’al”, or the “Spoils of War”, comments on the battle of Badr, while a long passage in Surah “Aale Imran” comments on the battle of Uhud, which took place a year later than Badr. In the arrangement of the Qur'an, four very long Surahs separate the two with the one commenting on the second battle occurring first. What this shows is that there is a great difference between the chronological revelation of the Qur'an, and its arrangement.
As you are probably aware, the revelation of the Qur’an took 23 years to complete, with a long or a short passage revealed each time, according to what was determined suitable at the particular time of each revelation. Certain verses provided legislation, which is to be implemented in certain cases, such as punishments for crimes, or dealings with other communities. These verses were not revealed until the need arose or until God deemed it appropriate to reveal them. For example, the Prophet, peace be upon him, signed a peace treaty with the polytheists in Makkah which stipulated that he would return to Makkah any individual who came to him, declaring that he was a Muslim, if he did not have the permission of his tribe to emigrate. Subsequent to the signing of this agreement, a verse was revealed, which made it absolutely clear that the Muslim community was not allowed to return any woman believer who might have come to them from Makkah. This was so done since it was not permissible for a Muslim woman to be married to a non-believer. In other words, the Qur’anic verse, made a qualification of a condition which was included in a peace treaty concluded by the Prophet, peace be upon him.
This however, meant that two or more longer Surahs were being revealed concurrently. The question arises here: how were they arranged and who gave instructions in connection with their arrangement? The answer is that instructions came from God. Every time the Angel Gabriel came to the Prophet, peace be upon him, with a new revelation, he told him to include it at its specific position in the Surah to which it belonged. Thus, the arrangement of any particular Surah was not left to the Prophet, peace be upon him, God ordered it.
Nor was the arrangement of Surahs left to the discretion of anyone. Some people, especially among Orientalists, may suggest otherwise, but the correct opinion is that the arrangement of Surahs of the Qur'an, was given to the Prophet, peace be upon him, by God through Gabriel, the angel. We have a highly authentic Hadith which tells us that the Prophet, peace be upon him, recited the Qur’an in the presence of Gabriel during the nights of the months of Ramadhan each year. In the last year of the Prophet’s life, they recited the Qur’an in full twice. It goes without saying that the ordering of the Surahs was part of the purpose for which these recitations were made. Had there been any instructions with regard to the arrangements of the Surah, those would have been given to the Prophet, peace be upon him, through Gabriel. On the other hand the Prophet, peace be upon him, recited the Qur’an in his prayers when he prayed with his followers according to its proper arrangement. Some of his companions report that they heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, reciting every Surah of the Qur’an in his prayer. It is probably well known that to recite in the second Raka’ah a Surah that precedes the one that has been recited in the first Raka’ah is discouraged. We have other reports which tell us that the Prophet, peace be upon him, recited a number of Surahs in the same Raka’ah as they are arranged in the copies of the Qur'an, which we have in our hands. This could not have come by coincidence.
The first full compilation of the Qur’an was done by Abu Bakr, who was the first ruler of the Islamic state to succeed the Prophet, peace be upon him. Abu Bakr ruled for a brief period, lasting a little over two years. He formed a committee of the most competent and suitable persons among the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him. He himself supervised the work of that committee. The copy thus compiled was kept in the home of Hafsah, a wife of the Prophet. When more copies of the Qur'an were written, during the reign of Osman, some twelve years later, that copy served as a reference. One copy was sent to each province of the Islamic State to be easily accessible as a reference for any new copies. The work that was undertaken at the time of Abu Bakr and the time of Osman was highly publicized. No one among the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, objected to any part of the work. This in itself is a clear indication that the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, realized that the compiled copy followed the same arrangement indicated by the Prophet, peace be upon him, in his recitations of the Qur’an.
Moreover the present arrangement is the proper one. When you read at the beginning Surah “Al-Fatihah” or ‘The Opening”, it gives you in a few short verses the most essential elements of Islamic faith. It stresses the Oneness of God, the only Lord in the universe, His compassion to all His creation, the Day of Accountability, and Judgement, and that people should offer their worship to Him, pray Him for help and guidance. The second Surah is very long one, starting with a discussion of the three types of men: believers, disbelievers and hypocrites. These are the three attitudes that any human being can take toward Islam. It moves on to speak of the creation of man and his need of God’s guidance before it gives a long discussion of the history of the Israelites, the nation which was entrusted with divine guidance in the past and did not discharge its trust properly and fully. This serves as a warning to the Muslim community, which has succeeded the Israelites in the position of trustees of divine message. This is followed by detailed legislation of different aspects of the life of a good Muslim community.
No matter what is the particular subject, any Surah of the Qur'an, which addresses it is always intertwined with a discussion of the most essential elements of faith. This gives us a feeling that whatever we do and whatever situation we find ourselves in, we must never lose sight of our beliefs in the Oneness of God and in the Day of Judgement. ~
In the Qur’an, human beings are divided into three groups: believers, hypocrites and non-believers. However, we find in writings about Islam further groupings under such headings as good Muslims, true believers, Sunnis, Shiites, etc. Please comment on this method of classification.
What you have said about the classification of mankind in the Qur’an, is certainly true. The second and longest Surah in the Qur’an, entitled “The Cow” or “Al-Baqarah”, opens with a description of three groups of people which include all mankind. Anyone who reads this account cannot fail to note that the first five describe the main features of the believers in a few short verses. Similarly, two verses outlining the main features of non-believers. A much longer account is needed to describe the characteristics of hypocrites. This is due to the fact that a hypocrite puts on a false appearance. The hidden reality needs to be discovered in order to recognize what sort of person he is. Indeed, a hypocrite is a non-believer who tries to appear as a believer. He alleges that he belongs to the first group while he lacks its most essential quality, faith. He belongs to the second group, i.e. the non-believers, but he tries hard to hide this fact. How is his reality to be discovered? To help believers recognize those who falsely claim to belong to their community, the Qur’an outlines certain features, which all hypocrites share in common. There are certain subtleties which must be recognized if hypocrites are to be known.
It is useful to mention here that Muslims are not required to determine whether any particular person is a hypocrite or not. Their keen insight should help them determine who is making a false claim. When they doubt the sincerity of a particular person, they must not pronounce a final judgement on him. They should beware of any damage, which may be caused by him. But that is as far as they should go. They accept his claim and leave it to God to judge him as He knows his true status.
Writers on Islam often use such descriptions as good Muslims and true believers. This is however, not a sub-classification of the people whom Qur’an has included in the group of believers. It is simply a matter of style. It is just as a writer who says that if a Muslim wants to give credence to his claim to belong to the group of believers, then he should behave in a certain fashion. To a writer in Islam, the phrase, “a good Muslim”, refers to a person who translates his belief in Islam into practical deeds. We must not read these descriptions as adding another quality, which distinguishes groups of Muslims as such. Otherwise, we would have to recognize another group, which may be described as false “Muslims”. This is obviously a contradiction in terms. If a person is false, he cannot be a Muslim. If he is a Muslim then he belongs to the group of believers that God has described at the outset of the second Surah Al-Baqarah of the Qur’an. If we want to use the phrase “false Muslims” we can only use it as synonymous with a “hypocrite”. This is not what the writers on Islam intend when they add descriptions of good and true to the class of believers. Their qualifying adjectives are simply meant for emphasis.
The division of Muslims into Sunnis and Shiites is a different matter altogether. The origin of this division dates back to the early days of Islam, when a split took place between Ali, the fourth ruler of the Muslim state after the Prophet, peace be upon him, and Mu’aweya, the governor of Syria. Subsequent events meant that this division continued into the following generations and later acquired an intellectual basis and led to the formulation of the Imamah concept among the Shiites.
It is possible to describe the Shiites as a sect of Islam, while the Sunnis represent the mainstream. As you realize, the division between Sunnis and Shiites is totally different from the classification of mankind into believers, non-believers and hypocrites. In the Qur’anic classification, the operative criterion is that of attitude to the very basic concepts of the Oneness of God and the message of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. In the second grouping, we are saying that Muslims can either belong to the mainstream of Islam whose adherents are known as Sunnis or belong to the Shiite sect.