Holy Quran as the Major Source of Enlightenment and Guidance for Muslims - Research Proposal Example

Research Proposal Introduction Since centuries, Holy Quran has been the major source of enlightenment and guidance for Muslims, as well as, a basis of research and historical authenticity of the religion Islam by Muslims and non-Muslims around the globe. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) presented this Holy Book to the Arab representation of humankind, which took a period of twenty-three years during his life. It is the belief of every Muslim that the Quran is the ‘Word of God’ presented in its true form to the believers by the Holy Prophet (PBUH), and is still in its unchanged and original form, as it was during the revelation. The Quran (Shakir, 1985) itself authenticates such belief in one of its verses, “We have without doubt, send down the message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption)." (15:9). However, in previous books of God, priests and rabbis were responsible for the preservation of holy books. In the case of Holy Quran (Ali, pp. 79-82), preservation of Quran has been the responsibility of God itself, which clears any doubts of believers. On the other hand, academic and research arena has always required documentary evidence and proof, in order to authenticate a historical document, either it is a drama by Shakespeare, meditative postures of Buddha, or revelations of God (Turner, pp. 30-38). Besides documentary proofs, various scholars attempted to authenticate the Holy Quran through Hadith (sayings) and Sunnah (actions) of the Holy Prophet. These two processes of Muslim Historiography provided the proofs of Muslim existence individually, and through generation to generation respectively. Aims and Objectives In specific, the proposed research will endeavor to identify and analyze material related to the Prophetic traditions and its different aspects during the Caliphate. For such purpose, it is very imperative to understand the basic perspective and background of scholars that worked on the Prophetic traditions, and thus, the proposed research will try to identify existence of traditional, jurisprudence, and modern scholars. Prophetic traditions play a significant role in every sect of Islam; however, a huge number of Muslims are unaware of the methodology used to report these traditions. Thus, reporting of Prophetic traditions will be a significant component of the proposed research. Secondly, it is a belief of every Muslim that Holy Quran and the Prophetic traditions provided the same teachings; however, this research will endeavor to prove it with the help of concrete evidence. Hadith is an imperative component in Islamic teachings, and so, the proposed research will attempt to trace the roots of written form of Hadith during the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). After the death of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Caliphate was responsible for taking care of the Muslim Ummah, and the research will identify material on its traditional approach of writing and reporting the Prophetic traditions, as well as role of companions that contributed in the compilation of Hadith during different Caliphs. In specific, the third Caliph Uthman bin Affan played a significant role in carrying out noteworthy steps for the compilation of Quran and Hadith, and thus, it will be an imperative part of this research along with analysis of the era of the fourth Caliph Ali Ibn Abi Talib and efforts made by Him. Lastly, the research will focus on the evidence that denies the Prophetic traditions and authenticity of reporting of Hadith. Moreover, the research will attempt to discuss the impact of efforts related to abovementioned aims and objectives on the contemporary Muslim society of present era. Purpose Statement In this regard, the proposed research will focus on the following purpose statement: "To identify the traces of the Prophetic Traditions and the Early Islamic conflict at the time of the Noble (orthodox) Caliphs in Islam" Literature Review The proposal will now briefly provide an illustration of literature identified for the proposed research that will allow a concise understanding of different aspects of the topic. Brief review of literature indicated that compilation and reporting of the Prophetic traditions was performed through the process of ‘Tawatur’ (generation to generation). One of the qualities of the process of Tawatur is that presence of any individual’s report (Khabar-e-Wahid) will not be able to contradict the fact acquired from Tawatur, and it is the case of Prophetic traditions as well (Daftary, pp. 29-37). However, this process of generation-to-generation has confronted the greatest criticism due to absence of authenticity of various reports in few generations that has resulted in the division of scholarship. For example, some accept the reports of Caliphs; whereas, some depend on the chain of companions through various generations, and some attempt to trace the evidence from the life of Holy Prophet to the last reporting of any Prophetic tradition. Historical evidence has noted that task of writing down revealed verses during the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was performed by appointed inscribes who used to write down said verses on available materials, such as cloth, leather, bones, stones, etc. (Nadvi, pp. 23-25). Whenever the Prophet received a revelation, same companions used to perform the task of noting down verses and reading them to the Prophet, in order to avoid any mistakes or errors in the scriptures. All such events specify that the Holy Quran used to exist in the written form during the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as well, not in organized and bookish form, rather in the form of parchments. However, writing was not the major methodology of recording the Holy Quran and Hadith, and it is believed that major preservation was done through the process of memorization. According to sources, hundreds of companions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) became ‘huffaz’ (memorizers) in his lifetime, as Prophet himself used to encourage the memorization and learning of Holy Quran. In early period of caliphate of Abu Bakr, Battle of Yamamah resulted in an urgent need of compilation of Quran, as a number of memorizers were martyred during the battle. Such a need for the perseveration of Prophetic traditions was recommended by Umar ibn al-Khattab as well. Abu Bakr dithered for some instances due to something being urged that was not performed by Holy Prophet in his life. (Nadvi, pp. 49-51) However, after frequent insists, the task of compiling Prophetic traditions began. During the life of Prophet Mohammad, Muslims used to record the guidance at their homes, and it was common to have individual pieces of compiled literature. However, some of the historians refer to the fact that Prophet Mohammad prohibited the documentation of His Hadith. It is believed that verification of every verse was done in presence of two testifiers who swear witnessing of written verse in the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). (Nadvi, pp. 56-67) In this way, compilation of Prophetic traditions was performed in an authentic and effective manner. During the caliphate of Uthman, boundaries of the caliphate had already crossed the Arab society, and now non-Arabs were Muslims as well. Companions of Prophet were teaching Quran to the non-Arabs in parts of Iran and Byzantine. However, the caliphate confronted confusion when although correct but different methodologies of recitation were taught by companions in different parts of the region. (Khan, pp. 40-44) During this period, a number of disputes were tackled, as the correct mode of recitation of Holy Quran became the cause of such conflicts. In this regard, it became essential to standardize the mode of recitation in every region, and thus, a number of steps were taken to compile the Prophetic traditions in a standardized version. In specific to the reporting of Hadith, following chart will facilitate in better understanding of the chain of companions (Burton, pp. 19-21). In this regard, the compilation of Hadith went through a long process of generations that has become a major notion of criticism for various scholars (Musa, pp. 84, 102). (Dickinson, pp. 8-11) Methodology Islamic literature (Schulze, pp. 49-57) has documented a huge number of studies and researches related to the Prophetic Traditions of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) (PBUH), its compilation, and early conflict at the time of Noble Caliphs in Islam. In this regard, the proposed research study will focus on previously carried out researches to acquire concrete evidence on the selected topic. Secondary research methodology will enable the present study to analyze different aspects of the Prophetic Traditions, in order to understand their influence on other aspects of contemporary human society at that time. Lastly, methodology of present study will involve interpretation of personal understanding of the research related to the identified purpose statement. Conclusion In conclusion, brief literature review indicated that Prophetic traditions play a significant role in the Muslim society, and it is very imperative to discuss different aspects of the topic, as it is crucial and fundamental for the basis of Islamic teachings. In this regard, the proposed research will acquire more comprehensive and critical understanding of the Prophetic Traditions and will attempt to discuss the early Islamic conflict at the time of the Noble (orthodox) Caliphs after the death of Holy Prophet (PBUH). It is anticipation that the proposed research will be beneficial for students, teachers, and professionals in better understanding of the topic. Works Cited Ali, Abdullah Yusuf. The Holy Quran. Wordsworth Editions, 2000. Burton, John. An Introduction to the Hadith. Edinburgh University Press, 1994. Daftary, Farhad. Intellectual Traditions in Islam. I. B. Tauris, 2000. Dickinson, Eerik. An Introduction to the Science of the Hadith. Garnet, 2005. Khan, Muhammad Zafrulla. Islam: Its Meaning for Modern Man. Taylor & Francis, 1962. Musa, Aisha Y. Hadith as Scripture. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008. Nadvi, Shah Mu’inuddin Ahmad. Hazrat Abu Bakar Siddique. The University of Michigan Press, 2005. Schulze, Reinhard. A Modern History of the Islamic World. I. B. Tauris, 2002. Shakir, M. H. Holy Qur’an. Muhammadi Trust of Great Britain and Ireland, 1985. Turner, Colin. Islam: the basics. Routledge, 2006. Read More