The Qur'an ( When Was It Complied )

Publisher's Foreword

{Verily this Qur'an guides to that which is most upright.} 1

The Holy Qur'an is the eternal celestial message revealed by Allah to His prophet Muhammad (Blessings and Peace be upon him and his family) so that he might rescue a confused humanity from the darkness of doubt and ignorance to the light of certainty and knowledge, for the Qur'an delineates the road of guidance and righteousness in both religious and worldly affairs.

The Qur'an represents the foundation stone of Islam, which Allah has promised to keep free from corruption:

{We have sent down the Reminder and We shall be its protectors.}2

Therefore the hand of corruption has not touched it like it has the other divine books. The Qur'an remains the eternal divine message that has come for humanity in its entirety. The enemies of Islam despite their efforts to the contrary, have not been able to fault the integrity of the Holy Qur'an after the challenge posed by Allah for them to bring forth even one chapter of its ilk. Human intellect has not been able to meet this challenge.

Allah Almighty says in the Qur'an:

{If you are in doubt as to that which We have sent down upon Our servant, then bring forward a chapter of its ilk and call upon your witnesses other than Allah if you speak the truth.}3

One of the most important reasons for the preservation of the Qur'an in addition to it being the will of Allah is the fact that the Messenger of Allah concerned himself with collating the Qur'an during his life and insisted upon it. Hence, from then until now, the Qur'an has remained the same without any change.

1 The Qur'an: The Night Journey (17):9. 2 The Qur'an: The Rocky Tract (15):9. 3 The Qur'an: The Heifer (2):23.

This book, 'When was the Qur'an Compiled' by the esteemed writer and source of religious knowledge Imam Muhammad Shirazi, deals with the subject of the collation of the Qur'an. It provides firm evidence that the Holy Qur'an was compiled at the time of and at the command of the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the form in which it exists today dispelling the view of those who imagine that the Qur'an was compiled after the time of the Messenger of Allah.

The writer also tackles the question of the non-corruption of the Qur'an, which Shi'a scholars have stated throughout history refuting the notion that there has been any addition to or subtraction from the verses of the Qur'an. Imam al-Shirazi then touches upon the inauthenticity of the different 'readings' except that which is present in the holy text itself.

Finally he presents a number of traditions regarding many aspects of the Holy Qur'an. This is seen as further evidence that the Holy Qur'an was compiled in the form we have it today, and 'in use' by the Muslims during the lifetime of the holy Prophet of Islam, Muhammad peace be upon him and his infallible descendants.