The Qur'an 5:69 debated on face book .

 This verse of Qur'an Surah Maidah (Qur'an 5:69) I had quoted in my write up that when Muhammad alQasim conquered Sindh then he had encountered with new environment where people had temple s and idols. He wrote back to Hujjaj ben Yousuf and he put his question before Caliph in Damascus that in Sindh people had temple and they worship idols. What to do? Caliph after consulting with jurists of the time told al-Qasim that as the Qur'an guide us about Sabian along with Jewish and Christian. In the same context the Zoroastrian of Iran and Hindu of India do have long history of their scripture. Therefore they are people of the book. It is debated on face book but many of contributors don't understand the basic rules of the Qur'an. Islam was an inclusive and secular religion from day one but when Caliph Mutwaakil took over he had promoted Hanbili school to drive Islam as counter part of Judah-Christian sectarian outlook rather new aspect of socio-cultural life. The progressive and rational part of Qur'an was suppressed by fabricating hadess literature. I had contributed in response to some of the questions which I am posting bellow for people are interested in the subject.  

Qur'an 5:69

Qur'an 5:69 urdu 

Qur'an 5:69 English  

My 1st reply in relation to language:

Raja Sab my urdu word processing is not very good. I hope you will not mind it in English. Your comments with reference to “" ان الذین آمَنُو" is linguistic aspect. The early Qur’anic interpretation based on two direction a) tafsir bi-ma’tar (exegesis strictly based on texts) b) tafsir bi-maqul wa bi-dirayah (exegesis through intellectual reasoning). The later categories include such as tafsir al-lughawi (linguistic exegesis), tafsir ayat al-ahkam, tawil (esoteric exegesis), Isra’ilyat (exegesis on Jewish subjects), tafsir bi-ra’y (exegesis based on opinion) and tafsir al-riwayah wa al-dirayah (exegesis through narration and proof). First proper tafsir was written by Abu Ja’far Muhammad al-Tabari.
When interpreting Qur’an based on tafsir al-lughawi, then you need to solve a minefield in the path of the origin, evolution and development of Arabic language itself. Qur’an itself mentioned that it is an Arabic Qur’an, but the subject Arabic was not a written language. It was dialect in western Arabia. The written language in this area at that time was Greek, Aramaic and Nabataean. The inscription on rocks and stones mostly are in Greek and two in Aramaic. That is why it is contesting question between Arabists to settle that which language was available for Prophet and his scribes of the revelation never settle down as we speak. 

Just recently one of the researcher is of the view in her work that the subject language was available at the time of the revelation. She based her thesis on some inscription found in Al-Jawf area of Saudi Arabia. More over whither the meaning which we understand today was the same 1400 years ago? For example, term “Qur’an” and “Kitab” repeated in Qur’an but does it mean “book”. The first ever book in this language which all we now know was Qur’an compiled, edited by Zaid ben Zabit upon suggestion of Hazrt Umar to Abu Bakr and he asked Zaid take-up the task. The reason we told that Hafiz-e-Qur’an were killed in war of Motta so the fear that we might lost the Qur’an. The first ever manuscript was known as “Mushaf”. Till to date there is debate on the origin of this word. Some are suggesting that it is Abbasiyan others are saying it is Aramaic. If the meaning of term Kitab and Qur’an was book then first ever manuscript must not be called Mushaf. It should be Kitab Allah or Qur’an. We know the meaning of Qur’an is recitation and meaning of kitab is to write at that time but today it is holly book.

 What we understand today ان الذین آمَنُو may not be the same 1400 years ago. The simple reason is that Prophet was attacking existing faith of the community and came under attack of blasphemy. So keeping in time of historical context of contesting parties – it mean “those who trust”. Same for term kafir which mean to hide. If you read the subject verse then you will find ان الذین آمَنُو is separate standing along with Christian, Jewish and Sabian. So, ان الذین آمَنُو not for others in the verse but for Muslims along with them.

 I am not suggesting that above subject verse is providing basis for secular thought process. Term secular is not very old, but, it too had originated in the domain of religion. The Churchman known to provide Church service as well as to work to make his bread and butter in opposition to one who just provide Church service was known as secular. What I am suggesting is more than this was never highlighted. In fact, the subject part of the Qur’an been suppressed when Hanbilited movement took over with the help of Caliph Mutwakil. 

Your question for 124 lakh Prophets and Tawheed? This question doesn’t have any historical evidence. Allah was very much worshiped before Islam in Mecca. The negotiation between Abrah and Prophet Grand Father Hazrt Abdul Mutlab is an important point to understand. When Prophet grandfather asked Abrah – why you took my 200 camels? Abrah replied: I am here to demolish your Ka’ba, but you are worried about your camels not Ka’ba. Prophets Grand Father replied: The camels are mine that is why I am asking for them. The Ka’ba belong to Allah and Allah would protect it. When the negotiation failed, prophet grand-father returned to Ka’ba, stand on Hateem and pray “Allah this is your house and you can protect it. After praying he led the Quraysh into mountain to resist. So, Allah was before Islam. It is very lengthy subject need lengthy work. I hope I will send my work if published but that would be in English.

My 2nd reply in relation to language

Muhammad Aqib Qadri sab it is not so simple.

The term Arabs as we speak from historical point of view is still contested and never settled down among philologists, philosophers and historians. The question is how we trace origin of written language is not the question of faith, perception or polemic point securing but knowing facts which demand a scientific method is agreed across the world. This is not my argument but the facts available for any student of philology or philologists. I mentioned that there is only one work of very recently carried out by Lailla to prove that this language whose words open from right to left based on some discovery of inscription in north west of Saudi Arabia. I had gone through it, but many basic questions need to be resolved. The fundamental question which philologists and Qur’an experts are trying to ignore or to avoid is - Qur'an itself. Qur’an tell people to write contracts in front of witness; prophet himself dictated Qur'an to scribes to write it down. Do we have any handwritten evidence of such text written down on bones, stones or leathers? The answer is no. Every student of philology would look for scientific evidence not speculation or just claims written in later day text on papers. So, there is none. If we got our hand on written material - question would be settled.

 Sir, I know modern Muslims are more under the influence of sectarian polemic culture rather fact finders to know things as early Muslims were.

 There is no written evidence of new Arabic which was spoken in Mecca and Medina. No archaeological evidence. The first ever written book in this language is Qur'an. This is not my point of view the volumes of work both by Arab, Muslim and non-Muslim writers is saying so. Even the early writer such as Tabari failed to explain many words in Qur'an by saying "walla-o-alim". Even word khamar used both for al-cohol and woman hijab never understood properly. 

There are many works suggesting that these words in Qur'an are Aramaic. So, it is not me it is the record and Qur'an itself. I had raised my question 12 years ago when I was busy in searching the old manuscripts of Qur’an that where is the first manuscript of the Qur'an? 

All Muslim scholars are agreed that the first manuscript was prepared at the time of Caliph Abu Bakr, in 2 volumes on leather. After his death it went to Umar and Umar handed it over to his daughter and wife of the Prophet Hafza. We can trace the evidence till Hzrt Uthman asking her to hand it over to him. She had refused to handover but later she agreed. Hzrt Uthman formed the committee under Zaid ben Zabit. He was Ansar. When Prophet had arrived in Medina, he was only 10. In Committee Uthman added members of Quraysh to rewrite the subject Mushaf.

Questions came to my mind after very hard research was:

a)  where is the original manuscript of Qur'an, make no mistake there was no paper at that time? 

b)  why hazrt Uthman formed committee to rewrite it?

c) why hazrt Uthman burn the old record specially handwritten evidence of scribes was very important?

d)  why the manuscript was with Caliph and not kept one copy inside Ka'ba and one copy with the grave of the Prophet in Masjid-e-Nabvi?

e)  why Ibn Masood had refused to accept Hazrt Uthman copy and Kofiyan kept his copy? 

The fact is that I am still waiting the answers to these questions from the presentday theologians of Mecca, Medina, Cairo, Najaf al-Ashraf or Tehran. Facts demand evidence not polemic speculation and propaganda literature.

What you are suggesting about language is the development after Qur'an. The pre-Islamic poetry written down after Islam. I myself born and brought-up in an environment where my mother tongue is not written but oral. In our dialect, there is full aspect of a proper communication in a social set-up. The poetry which created by unlettered ladies never been to school and sing on occasion of marriage party. It is full language with grammar. Its verbs, adjectives, noun change as the distance increased. For example, we say: kahan julnaiya (where are you going) but at 20 miles distance people says: kahan gonnaiya (where are you going), here julnaiya change into gonnaiya. So, when a language transformed from oral to written, the changes, integration, some words die other survive to expand would be of a sea change. The fact that all languages were dialect in beginning. The first ever language in written form or those who first introduced writing to human civilization were Sumerians, the Akkadian language in present day Iraq. 

I am aware that Qur'anic language is more poetic than prose and same goes with what scholars called it new Arabic. This Arabic is not southern which do have different alphabet and very old. As Qur'an is more poetic same goes with its language. Historically in the 2nd century of Islam there were only 8% Muslims of its empire population, but non-Muslim had started adopting Arabic rather converting to religion. They become Muslim later and Arab first.