Lesson video

Hi there, my young scholars of religion.

My name is Ms. Marx, and I'm going to be your religious education teacher today.

Today we're going to be doing all about the revelation authority of the Qur'an as the ultimate authority for Muslim beliefs and practises.

And we're going to be very theological with a little bit of social science in our approach.

So when you're ready, let's go.

So by the end of this lesson today, you'll be able to explain the importance of the Qur'an as a source of authority for Muslims. So let's start with our key terms then.

Corrupted: altered from its original divine form.

Jibril: angel who delivered revelations to the Prophet Muhammad.

Muhammad: the final prophet of Islam.

Night of Power: the night the Qur'an was first revealed.

And surah: a chapter of the Qur'an.

So look out for those in today's lesson.

So today's lesson is going to have three sections: How the Qur'an was revealed, the authority of the Qur'an, and the importance of the Qur'an.

Let's start with our first section: How the Qur'an was revealed.

So this fragment of a manuscript of the Qur'an held at Birmingham University, sometimes it's called the "Birmingham manuscript." You can see here it is written in Arabic script.

And it's dated to around the time of the Prophet Muhammad, about 600 CE.

And it's very similar to copies of the Qur'an that are around today.

So after 1400 years, the Qur'an that we have today is still very similar to the words that are used in this manuscript.

Why might that be important that the Qur'an hasn't changed since the time of the Prophet Muhammad? Pause the video and have a think.

You can talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, we'll see in today's lesson why that's very important that it hasn't changed over time since the time of the Prophet Muhammad.

Well, the word "Qur'an" is from Arabic, and we can look to the root letters of Arabic words to understand the meaning more.

And the word "Qur'an" has these root letters, Q, R, and A, and that's used in words, for example, like iqra, which means to read or recite.

So we can see from this that the Qur'an is about speaking, something's being spoken aloud.

And at first the Qur'an was a spoken revelation with the Prophet Muhammad reciting and speaking aloud the revelations.

And this was then memorised by himself and his companions, those who heard when he read and recited the Qur'an.

So when the Prophet Muhammad was 40 years old, he was meditating and reflecting in the cave of Hira, on a nearby mountain in Makkah during the month of Ramadan.

Whilst he was in there, an angel appeared to him, the angel Jibril, and he instructed him to iqra, which is often translated as read or recite.

And the Prophet Muhammad told Jibril that he couldn't read.

And the Prophet Muhammad told Jibril he couldn't read, and he felt angel Jibril squeeze him tightly.

Jibril then instructed him again to iqra.

A second time, Muhammad said he couldn't, and Jibril squeezed him again.

For a third time, Jibril instructed him, and Muhammad was able to recite the first words of the Qur'an, which are the words of Surah 96, the first line being, "Read in the name of your Lord." The Prophet Muhammad returned to his wife, Khadija, concerned about this experience.

She reassured him it was from God, and she's thought to be the first convert to Islam from this moment.

The revelations continued over a period of 23 years whilst Muhammad lived in Makkah, and when the Muslim community had migrated to Madinah.

The revelations were recited, and memorised at first by the Prophet Muhammad and the companions, but later codified into a book by the instruction of Abu Bakr, who was the leader at the time.

The Qur'an is recited to this day by Muslims and there are many who learn to recite the Qur'an by heart known as hafiz, just as Muhammad and the companions did.

So what do Muslims believe about the Qur'an then? One, it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, revealed over 23 years through the angel Jibril, revealed in Arabic, arranged in sections known as surahs, memorised, recited, and then codified, so put into a book, and then was first revealed on the Night of Power.

So these are all things that Muslims believe about the Qur'an.

Let's do a quick check.

What term is used for the different sections or chapters of the Qur'an? Pause the video and have a think, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

That's right, it's surah.

So we know that the first revelations of the Qur'an came on the Night of Power to Prophet Muhammad when he was meditating in that cave.

And now let's look at this passage in the Qur'an to understand it a little bit more what this means.

"We sent it down on the Night of Decree, Power.

But what will convey to you what the Night of Decree is? The Night of Decree, Power, is better than a thousand months.

In it descend the angels and the Spirit." And this is in Surah 95.

What does this tell the reader about the Night of Power? So that's the night that the Prophet Muhammad first starts to have the revelations of the Qur'an.

Pause the video and have a reread of that passage and see what you can find.

We've got here that "We sent it down." So this is the Qur'an that is sent down, and then also that it is better than a thousand months.

So it's seen as being a very, very special night worth a thousand months.

And it's when the Qur'an was first sent down as in descended to humans, by the revelation to Muhammad with the angel Jibril, well done.

So the Night of Power celebrates these first revelations of the Qur'an to Muhammad.

And here we've got a group of Muslims who've gone to a mosque on the Night of Power to reflect on this and pray and worship on this night together.

It's also known as Laylat al Qadr.

So Qadr meaning power, and al Qadr means that God is all powerful.

It's during the last 10 nights of the month of Ramadan.

So Ramadan is the month of fasting that Muslims observe.

Towards the end of that month, the last 10 days, is when the Night of Power is celebrated.

Muslims may attend the mosque to read the Qur'an at night, and it's believed that Surah 96 was revealed at this time.

So let's see what Surah 96 says.

Sometimes this is called "The Clot," and it goes like this, "Read: in the name of your Lord who created.

Created man from a clot.

Read: And your Lord is the Most Generous.

He who taught by the pen.

Taught man what he never knew." And that's Surah 96 of the Qur'an.

And there's lots of different beliefs in here that you could link this to, to do with Muslim beliefs, to do with creation and power, but also some ideas here about the Qur'an itself.

What beliefs about the Qur'an can this text support? Pause the video and have a think.

Well, this suggests that it's to do with reading.

So the Prophet Muhammad was instructed to iqra, read or recite, and that the written word would help humans to know more about God as the creator, and that Allah is the creator of humankind.

At the beginning, we said that the "Birmingham manuscript" could show how little the Qur'an has changed over time.

And for Muslims, it's a very important belief that the Qur'an is the direct, unaltered and unchanged words of Allah.

And the Qur'an itself tells Muslims of this fact.

It says "It is an invincible book.

Falsehood cannot approach it, from before it or behind it.

It's a revelation from One Wise and Praiseworthy." So how does this link to the idea of the Qur'an being the perfect and complete revelation of Allah? What does this text show Muslims about the Qur'an? Pause the video and have a think, and we'll see what you've come up with in a moment.

It uses the phrase, "falsehood and invincible," which means it's without errors, it will not become corrupt, so won't be changed and distorted, and it's a direct revelation of Allah.

So you can see here that the idea is this is the words that were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, and they are there in the Qur'an today for Muslims to read them exactly as they were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

Let's do another check.

What term is often used for when the first revelations came to the Prophet Muhammad in the cave of Hira? What term is often used? Pause the video and have a think, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

That's right, the Night of Power, and that's celebrated and remembered in the last 10 days of Ramadan.

So let's do a practise task to see what we've learned.

You're going to explain two Muslim beliefs about the Qur'an and refer to sacred writings or another source of Muslim teaching in your answer.

For both parts of your answer, you're going to give a point and develop it, and you might say "One Muslim belief about the Qur'an is" and develop it with "because".

And so for one part, you're going to name a Muslim source of authority, for example the Qur'an or the hadith, and then you're going to say what it teaches and how that applies to your point.

Remember, you are answering two Muslim beliefs about the Qur'an.

So pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, some great thinking there.

So I asked you to explain two Muslim beliefs about the Qur'an.

And you might have said, "One Muslim belief about the Qur'an is it's the words of Allah without error.

The source of authority is that the Qur'an says falsehood shall will enter it.

Apply to the belief: This shows the Qur'an is a direct revelation from Allah and without corruptions or errors, and can be taken as a revelation of Allah." And the second point is, "A second Muslim belief about the Qur'an is that it was first revealed on the Night of Power to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Jibril.

This shows that Allah used Jibril to communicate the revelation to Muhammad." And so I chose to put my source of authority in the first part of my answer, and I stated that it was the Qur'an, and applied it to the belief.

So onto our second section then, the authority of the Qur'an.

So there are many reasons why the Qur'an has authority for Muslims and these include: The fact that it's seen as a miracle.

It was miraculously revealed as the words of Allah to the Prophet Muhammad.

And one reason why Muslims might believe this is because the Prophet Muhammad was illiterate, so he couldn't read and write, he wouldn't have been able to read and know these different stories and everything that's in the Qur'an without it being the direct revelation from Allah.

It's also a complete revelation for humankind.

Muslims believe the Qur'an corrects corruptions of revelations before.

So whilst there have been other holy books revealed to other prophets previous to the Prophet Muhammad, Muslims believe that they have been changed over time, and the Qur'an is the one that corrects those changes.

It corrects those corruptions of the revelations before.

Also it's remained unchanged since that revelation.

And we've got that example of the "Birmingham manuscript" that shows this, that actually it's very similar, if not identical to the Qur'an that is used today.

So therefore it has that authority as being the direct words of Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

Which of these do you think might be the most important for a Muslim as to why the Qur'an has authority for them? Pause the video and have a think, and you could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well, Mustafa is a Muslim, and he's gonna explain to us why the Qur'an has authority for him.

And he says, "The Qur'an has authority for me because I believe it was miraculous that the Prophet Muhammad could recite such language.

It shows it was not from him, but from Allah through the revelations.

The Qur'an often refers to him as the 'unlettered Prophet,' which I believe means he was not able to read.

He would not have known all the things that are in the Qur'an, it must have been a revelation from Allah." And now Meryem, who's also Muslim, is going to explain why the Qur'an has authority for her.

"The Qur'an has authority for me because the complete revelation for all of humankind.

The Qur'an corrects how the revelations from previous prophets were corrupted over time.

The Qur'an house me to understand what it means to worship one God and what I can hope for in the afterlife.

The Qur'an covers so many different ideas about life and eternity that it tells me everything I need to know." And finally, Fatemeh who's a Muslim, is going to explain why the Qur'an has authority for her.

She says, "The Qur'an has authority for me because I believe it hasn't been changed or corrupted over time.

It's been kept to the original Arabic language, which means words haven't been changed through translation.

Also, the 'Birmingham manuscript' shows me that there are hardly any changes to the text itself in over 1,400 years.

This means I'm reading the words that were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad from Allah." Let's do a quick check.

Most Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad was illiterate and couldn't read.

Is that true or false? Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

That is true, but why? Well, because the Prophet Muhammad is often referred to as the 'unlettered prophet' in the Qur'an, and many Muslims believe this means he couldn't read, and therefore the Qur'an was a miraculous revelation from Allah.

Now, many Muslims may argue the Qur'an is the most important authority for their religion, and Nadia is going to explain to us.

She says, "The Qur'an is the ultimate authority for my religion because it's the direct words of Allah.

Other sources are important like the hadith, the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, but not all Muslims agree on every hadith's authenticity.

Other holy books are important that were revealed to our prophets before Muhammad, but they've been corrupted over time.

The Qur'an is the authority that corrects those mistakes, so it is the most important." What passages from the Qur'an could Nadia used to support this view that she's given then? Pause a video and have a think.

And you can think back to what we've covered so far in today's lesson.

You could talk to the person next to you or talk to me.

Well done, you could have used that phrase that it is an invincible book.

So Mustafa, Meryem, Fatemeh, and Nadia have all shown us that there's many reasons why the Qur'an has authority for Muslims. So if we were to give one reason together why the Qur'an has authority for Muslims, we could say "It was miraculously revealed to the Prophet Muhammad." So now over to you then.

Give one reason why the Qur'an has authority for Muslims. Pause a video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

I've put here, "It corrects the corruptions of previous holy books," well done.

So let's do another practise task to see what we've learned then.

Here's a full evaluation question.

Jun has started writing a paragraph in support of the statement, continue with a Muslim teaching and reasons in support.

So the evaluation statement is, "The Qur'an is the most important religious authority for a Muslim." And in your answer you should refer to Muslim teaching and give reasoned arguments to support this statement.

So here is the beginning of Jun's paragraph, "Some Muslims would agree that Qur'an is the most important religious authority for a Muslim because," and remember you are going to refer to some Muslim teachings when you give some recent arguments in support of the statement.

So pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, some great thinking there.

So Jun had started his paragraph in support of the statement, and you could have developed it like this, "Some Muslims would agree that Qur'an is the most important religious authority for a Muslim because they believe it's the direct words of Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

Many Muslims believe he was illiterate because the Qur'an calls him the 'unlettered prophet,' which means the revelation was a miracle from Allah.

Also, the revelations of the past prophets have been corrupted over time, but the Qur'an has not, as it says in the Qur'an, it's an invincible book.

Therefore, it's the most important religious authority for a Muslim," well done.

So onto our third section then, the importance of the Qur'an.

So as social scientists, we can see the importance of the Qur'an through looking at important Islamic sites.

So here we've got the Ka'aba in Makkah, which is the direction that all Muslims pray every day, and then also is a very important site as part of the Hajj pilgrimage.

And we can see on the Ka'aba, the material that covers it, we've got here, Arabic script, with passages of the Qur'an, and this is on the door to the Ka'aba.

And we can zoom in on this, we have got the passage from Surah 112 which says, "He's God, the One, the Absolute.

He begets not, nor was He begotten.

And there's none comparable to Him." And that's a really important surah that helps us understand the idea of Tawheed or the oneness of God, as a really super central message of Islam.

And there it is written on the material that's in front of the door to the Ka'aba.

And the Qur'an is also an important part of many mosque buildings and Muslim communities.

So Muslims might choose to read and reflect the Qur'an at home, but also in mosques.

So often in mosques, there'll be bookshelves with many books of the Qur'an, but also books about the Qur'an and Muslim teachings.

So the idea of reading and reflecting is really important.

And then also on buildings where Muslims may worship and pray, there will be bits of the Qur'an that are written within and on the outside, even as you walk in, for example here you've got the Cambridge eco-Mosque.

As you walk in here, there's a section of the Qur'an that speaks about the importance of mosques and worshipping together.

Not only can we see from the architecture of different buildings as an example of the importance of the Qur'an, but also how copies of the Qur'an are actually physically treated by Muslims. So the Qur'an will be placed on the highest shelf of a room, so nothing else is placed on top of it.

And it sort of shows the status and importance that it has.

And before touching the Qur'an, a Muslim will take part in ritual washing, or wudu in preparation, to make sure that they are ritually clean.

And wudu involves washing their hands, mouth, nostrils, arms, face, ears, hair, and feet, and is performed before praying and also touching the Qur'an.

So this again highlights the importance of the Qur'an, because other books don't have wudu do performed before they're touched.

Let's do a quick check.

What's the ritual washing that Muslims would do before touching the Qur'an called? Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, it's wudu.

So beliefs about the revelation and authority of the Qur'an have importance for a Muslim, and will influence their beliefs, thoughts, and actions.

And some examples are here.

So the revelation of the Qur'an might influence a Muslim to believe that it was a miracle because of how it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, the "unlettered Prophet." That could then also lead to the thoughts that this is the words of Allah.

if it's miraculously revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, it's not Prophet Muhammad's words, it's the words of God.

And that can lead to the action of wanting to read it in Arabic, learning Arabic, to read it in the original form.

So a Muslim is reading the direct words of Allah as they were spoken by the Prophet Muhammad when he recited them, rather than a translation which always has room for someone to make slight changes, doesn't it, when you translate something.

But what about the authority of the Qur'an then? Well, that could influence the Muslim to believe that it's without error.

If the Qur'an is the highest authority and it says it's invincible and falsehood shall not enter it, unless they might believe that there's no errors in the Qur'an.

That could then lead to a thought that the Qur'an should be read in a literal way.

So if there's no errors, then I need to read it as it literally is on the page, and I can sort of literally apply that to my life.

So that might then lead to following those instructions in the Qur'an, because that's what's written there to do, and it's that literal reading that it's not without an error.

Sarah, Iqbal, and Fatemeh are gonna discuss now how beliefs about the revelation authority of the Qur'an influence them, and this shows the importance of the Qur'an in their lives.

So Sarah says "They influence me to believe the Qur'an is the direct words of Allah, and I can take them literally." Iqbal says, "They influence me to think the Qur'an is very important to guide me in my religion and my choices.

And Fatemeh says "They influence me to complete certain actions like learn Arabic so that I can understand it better." Sarah, Iqbal, and Fatemeh have shown us then there's often more than one way that beliefs can influence individuals.

Let's together give one way, beliefs about the Qur'an can influence Muslims. Mm, I think it could influence a Muslim to want to learn Arabic, read it in the original form, rather than a translation which is going to have someone else's influence on it.

So over to you then.

Give one way that beliefs about the Qur'an can influence Muslims. Pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

"To follow its teachings and instructions." That would show us the way that the Qur'an is influencing in Muslim, but also the importance of it, well done.

So let's do another practise task to see what we've learned then.

You're going to explain two ways that beliefs about the Qur'an can influence Muslims today.

You're going to give a point and then explain it, and give a second point and then explain it.

And it all needs to link to how the Qur'an influences Muslims and why is it going to be impacting them.

So pause the video and have a go, and we'll see what you've done in a moment.

Well done, some great work there.

So I asked you to explain two ways that beliefs about the Qur'an can influence Muslims today.

And your response might be similar to this: Beliefs about the Qur'an can influence Muslims by encouraging them to read the text in Arabic rather than translation.

This means by reading the language the Qur'an was revealed in, a Muslim is not reading what someone else has translated the text into, but the original words themselves.

Beliefs about the Qur'an can influence Muslims by them worshipping on the Night of Power together at the mosque.

This is where Muslims may read the Qur'an through the night and pray together.

This is because it was the night the Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the cave of Hira." And so here I've got the influence of reading the Qur'an Arabic rather than a translation, and the influence of going to the mosque to worship together on the Night of Power, well done.

So let's summarise everything we've learned today then.

Revelation and authority of the Qur'an.

The Qur'an is the ultimate source of authority for Muslims. The Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over many years, starting on the Night of Power.

The Qur'an is the complete revelation for all humanity, and the direct words of Allah with no error or corruptions.

The Qur'an is written in Arabic and is divided into chapters known as surahs.

Before touching a Qur'an, Muslims will perform ritual washing known as wudu, and the Qur'an has a great importance within Islam, influences the lives of Muslims greatly.

So we're done for your hard work today, and I'll see you again soon, bye-bye.