Introduction

Probably the most basic tenet of any sacred religious scripture is that it is God's word ad verbatim, at least in its original language of revelation and whatever definition of the "God" might be in each case. By maintaining this tenet, the immediate consequences are that the scripture should be flawless in every possible aspect and it should also be perpetually relevant to human conditions or problems. The qur'an, being one of the books that is held to be sacred by more than a billion people on Earth as Allah's words ad verbatim, inevitably share these characteristics as well. But should it? Should the qur'an be flawless in every possible aspect? And should the qur'an be perpetually relevant to human conditions or problems? This article tries to anwer those questions in one of the multitude of possible answers that could be given.

But before continuing on, some additional background might be useful, especially to those who are not yet really familiar with the usual question revolving this ad verbatim concept of the qur'an. It might be useful to mention the existence of qudsi hadiths or the sacred hadiths. Qudsi hadiths are generally defined as the sayings of the Muhammad¹ as revealed to him by God, and their authority is traced back not to Muhammad but directly to God. The main differences of these hadiths and the qur'an is that while the qur'an is God's words ad verbatim, qudsi hadiths are not. Their wording is that of Muhammad's although the meaning is from God. Another notable difference is that the qur'an is revealed through the angel Jibril or Gabriel, while the qudsi hadiths are spoken in a different manner -- through some sort of inspiration. There are other notable differences² still but these two should suffice for the discussion of this article.

The Sacred Problem

The main problem in accepting qudsi hadiths besides the qur'an is implicitly mentioned in the qur'an³:

And it is not for any human being that God would speak to him, except through inspiration <<wahyoo>>, or from behind a barrier, or by sending a messenger to inspire <<fayoohiya>> whom He wills by His leave. He is the Most High, Most Wise. (QS 42:51) ⁴

 

Say: "Which is the greatest testimony?" Say: "God is witness between me and you, and He has inspired <<oohiya>> to me this qur'an that I may warn you with it and whomever it reaches, that you bear witness that along with God are other gods!"; Say: "I do not bear witness!", Say: "He is only One god, and I am innocent of what you set up!" (QS 6:19)

 

And when Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who do not wish to meet Us said: "Bring a qur'an other than this, or change it!" Say: "It is not for me to change it from my own accord, I merely follow what is inspired <<yooha>> to me. I fear if I disobey my Lord the retribution of a great day!" (QS 10:15)

These three verses implicitly tell us that:

1. No one except Moses (if taking into account QS 4:164 to be understood as a direct conversation) can converse directly with God
2. Based on QS 42:51 and 6:19, God's messages will be ultimately revealed or inspired to the receiver in whatever form or norm
3. Based on QS 10:15, the only thing that is being followed by Muhammad is whatever was inspired or revealed to him

The first point challenges the notion of God's wordings of the qur'an (more on this later). The second point renders the difference between the qur'an and the qudsi hadiths to be non-existent. The third point iterates the problem and at the same time provides an answer: If qudsi hadiths were actually inspired by God then they must be included in the qur'an; but if they are not part of the qur'an, then they must not have been relevations or inspirations from God and thus, they could not have been followed by Muhammad based on QS 10:15 -- which means that qudsi hadiths are not required at all.

What Does the Qur'an Say?

The reason for the above short discussion regarding qudsi hadiths and contrasting it with the qur'an is to make us aware that, if we are reading it from the qur'an's point of view, it will be clear that the qur'an admits itself that it is not God's words ad verbatim. And this automatically throws the myth of qudsi hadiths coming ultimately from God out the window. The qur'an is a revelation or an inspiration given to a fellow human being. This does not mean to belittle the qur'an. In fact, it means exactly the opposite. I am simply rephrasing what the qur'an has to say about the theory of it being God's words ad verbatim.

I swear by what you see. And what you do not see. Indeed, this is surely the utterance <<qawloo>> of an honourable messenger. It is not the utterance of a poet; rarely do you believe. Nor the utterance of a soothsayer; rarely do you take heed. Something that is sent down <<tanzeelun>> from the Lord of the worlds. (QS 69:38-43)

Note: The word tanzeelun comes from the root nun-zal-lam. This root basically conveys the idea of something that is sent down but it also has the meaning to settle or lodge. The form nuzulun for example, means that which is prepared for a guest. Usually, the word tanzeelun in QS 69:40 is translated to "revelation" due to its nature of being sent down from God, and its nature to lodge in a human's heart or mind, and its nature as a certain kind of "digestable food."

To understand what "this" refers to in QS 69:40, we have to read all the way from QS 69:1. It is a usual exposition of the qur'an where it is contrasting the examples of those who are fortunate with the ones who are not. In other words, "this" refers to the qur'anic exposition or message. In a somewhat localized context, "this" can refer only to the previous exposition of the chapter. But if we accept the idea that whatever is being written as the qur'an is a revelation or an inspiration from God, then "this" consequently refers to the whole qur'an. Thus, the qur'an is not God's words ad verbatim, rather it is a saying of an honourable messenger. Please note that this is consistent with QS 42:51, 6:19, and 10:15.

One possible question might arise from QS 4:82.

Do they not reflect on the qur'an? If it was from any other than God they would have found it very different. (QS 4:82)

This verse, read on its own, might suggest that the qur'an is God's words ad verbatim. However, it must be understood that this verse does not say that the qur'an is God's words ad verbatim, it is merely saying that the qur'an is from God. To insist ad verbatim is to insist the God speaks Arabic like a mere human or to insist that Arabic is a holier human language.

And had We made it a non-Arabic qur'an, they would have said: "If only its verses were made clear!" Non-Arabic and Arabic, Say: "For those who believe, it is a guide and healing. As for those who disbelieve, there is a deafness in their ears, and they are blind to it. These will be called from a place far away." (QS 41:44)

   
According to QS 41:44, no language is holier than another because it does not even matter what the language of the qur'an is. The point or bottom line of the qur'an is not its claim that it is God's words (a claim never made by the way). The bottom line of the qur'an is guidance. This is exactly why a verse such as QS 42:51 is needed in the first place. An inspiration or revelation to an Arab would no doubt be understood in Arabic and later on written down in Arabic. Likewise, an inspiration or revelation to an Italian would be understood in Italian and later on written down in Italian. It can also be thought like this: God's perfect revelation must, inevitably, passed on and written down using an imperfect means, i.e. means of human nature.

Regarding Qur'anic Sayings

One more thing to be understood is what the qur'an means by a "saying" (from the root qaf-waw-lam) when it is using the word. First, let's take an example.

And when Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who do not wish to meet Us said: "Bring a qur'an other than this, or change it!" <<i'tee biqoor'anin ghayree hadza aw baddeelhoo>> Say: "It is not for me to change it from my own accord, I merely follow what is inspired to me. I fear if I disobey my Lord the retribution of a great day!" <<yakoonoo lee an oobaddilahu min tilqa 'eenafsee in attabi'oo ila ma yooha ilayya innee akhafu in 'aSaytu rabbee 'adzabayawmin 'azheem>> (QS 10:15)

In this case, it is acceptable that the conversation between the two parties was carried out exactly as written. In other words, ad verbatim -- totally in Arabic word for word. However, it must be noted that it is also very possible that the verse only gives us the gist of the exchange. In other words, the verse merely gives us a summarized account of what was being said. This suggests that "sayings" in the qur'anic sense may not have to be an actual word-for-word recollection of what was being said. Let's take another example.

On that Day, the hypocrite men and the hypocrite women will say to those who believed: "Wait for us! Let us absorb some of your light." <<oonZooroona naqtabis min noorikum>> It will be said: "Go back behind you, and seek light." So a barrier will be set up between them, whose gate separates mercy on the inner side, from retribution on the outer side. (QS 57:13)

The case is a bit different now. Sure, it can be insisted that what is being said above (word-for-word Arabic) will be spoken during that situation by Arabs. But what about people who don't even know Arabic or those who lived before the Arabic language even existed? Sure, it can be argued that during the day as mentioned in the above verse everyone can automatically start speaking Arabic fluently, but this argument is magical at best. Verses such as QS 57:13 demonstrates that "saying" should not always be taken as an actual word-for-word recollection. One more example:

And Moses said to his people: "Surely God orders you to slaughter a heifer." <<inna-allaha ya'moorookum an tadz bahoo baqaratan>> They said: "Do you mock us?" <<atattakhidzoona huzuwan>> He said: "I seek refuge with God that I not be of the ignorant ones." <(QS 2:67)

Did Moses actually speak Arabic to his audience? And did the audience retort in Arabic as well? Obviously, it is very hard for us to insist that line of argument. Hence, it is now clear that whenever the qur'an uses its saying-style exposition, it does not mean that the sayings are reported ad verbatim. In some cases, it might be. In some other cases, it might just be a summarized or illustrated account. Yet in some other cases, it is downright translation and, consequently, rewording.

A Different Treatment

At this point, we should already be in a better condition to treat the qur'anic message truly as a work of a human being who was inspired. Thus to accept its message, it is not of utmost important to establish that the qur'an is God's words ad verbatim or even whose-ever words ad verbatim. The point of the qur'anic message is for humans to put an effort in understanding it rather than paroting it. A sincere effort in understanding a message by our fellow human who was inspired means a lot more than merely chanting the qur'an like some sort of miraculous mantra, even though the chanter may be oblivious to what is being chanted.

Now we can try to answer the questions first put forth in this article. Let us start with the first: Should the qur'an be flawless in every possible aspect? By accepting that it is a work created using imperfect means of a human language, it is not God's words ad verbatim, and even the stories contained would have been a rewording of the original account, then the answer is: No, it is not required that the qur'an should be flawless in every possible aspect, although it must satisfy the condition it puts for itself (such as QS 4:82, but this will need a separate discussion altogether). In other words, the one thing that the qur'an must satisfy is the coherence of its message. It is therefore my opinion that reported errors contained in the qur'an such as typos or grammatical errors do not make the qur'an worthless. They only make it "human" -- which is exactly the point of this article.

The second question: And should the qur'an be perpetually relevant to human conditions or problems? The short answer is: Yes, it should. The whole idea of the qur'an being a guidance (QS 2:2, 3:4, 16:64, 16:102, etc.) means that is should always be relevant to human conditions or problems. Especially when it says something like these:

And the Day We send to every nation a witness against them from themselves, and We have brought you as a witness against these. And We have sent down to you the Scripture as a clarification for all things, and a guide and mercy and good tidings to those who have surrendered. (QS 16:89)

And We have cited to mankind in this qur'an of every example, but most of mankind refuse to be anything but a rejecter! (QS 17:89)

And We have cited in this qur'an every example for the people. But man was always most argumentative. (QS 18:54)

It is my goal that gradually, we can together better answer the second question in the next articles to come. But for now, I think the basic idea of my qur'anic point of view has been sufficiently established -- and this is the point of view I will be using in dealing with qur'anic message.

Notes

1. For the sake of simplicity, I will be using "Muhammad" to refer to the popular messenger figure of the qur'an. I do realize that using "Muhammad" entails a yet separate explanation or justification, but for the purpose of this article, those concerns are intentionally ignored.
2. If you would like more information regarding the qudsi hadiths, please consult the first two entries in the Reference section.
3. It is my current understanding that the word "qur'an" is not a proper name but a common noun. This means that there is no such thing as a book entitled Al-Qur'an or The Qur'an or something along those lines. The usage of the terminology "qur'an" therefore is purely for the sake of ease of reference to the  book popularly known as The Qur'an.
4. I usually use Free-Minds' literal translation of the qur'an, albeit I do edit some of the wording as I see necessary for the purpose of explanation.

References

1. Forty Hadith Qudsi. http://islamworld.net/docs/40.html
2. Hadith Qudsi, Husband and Wife Praying Together. http://www.pakistanlink.com/religion/97/re07-25-97.html
3. Omar, Abdul Manan. Dictionary of The Holy Qur'an.Noor Foundation-International Inc., January 2005.
4. Lane, Edward William. An Arabic-English Lexicon. Librairie du Liban, Beirut, 1968.