Question:
What is the belief of the Salaf regarding the Holy Qur’aan?

Answer :
The belief of the Salaf as regards the Holy Qur’aan is the same as that related to Allah’s Most Beautiful Names and Attributes. This belief is based o­n the Qur’aan and the Prophets’ (sallallahu alaihi wa salaam) Sunnah. It is known that Allah, the Exalted and Glorified, described the Qur’aan as His Words, and that it was revealed by Him. Allah the Almighty said:

وَإِنْ أَحَدٌ مِّنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ اسْتَجَارَكَ فَأَجِرْهُ حَتَّى يَسْمَعَ كَلاَمَ اللّهِ ثُمَّ أَبْلِغْهُ مَأْمَنَهُ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَوْمٌ لاَّ يَعْلَمُونَ
“And if anyone of the Mushrikûn (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the o­neness of Allâh) seeks your protection then grant him protection, so that he may hear the Word of Allâh (the Qur’ân), and then escort him to where he can be secure, that is because they are men who know not.” [9:6]

No doubt, what is meant by “the Word of Allah” is the Holy Qur’aan. Allah also said:

قُلْ نَزَّلَهُ رُوحُ الْقُدُسِ مِن رَّبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيُثَبِّتَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَى لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ
“Say (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) Ruh-ul-Qudus [Jibrael (Gabriel)] has brought it (the Qur’ân) down from your Lord.” [16:102]

Allah further said:

إِنَّ هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ يَقُصُّ عَلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَكْثَرَ الَّذِي هُمْ فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ
“Verily, this Qur’ân narrates to the Children of Israel most of that about which they differ.” [27:76]

Thus, the Qur’aan is the Word of Allah, as far as terms and meanings are concerned. He spoke it in a real way and taught it to Angel Jibril, who, in his turn, descended therewith o­n the heart of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa salaam), that he may be (one) of the warners, in the plain Arabic language. The Salaf believe that the Qur’aan was revealed to Muhammad in parts, throughout a period of twenty-three years, as Allah’s Wisdom dictated. Some portions of the Qur’aan were revealed for certain reasons, while others were revealed without a definite reason. Some were revealed as narratives of the events that happened in the life of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa salaam) and his Companions, while other portions were revealed to elucidate legal rulings. This is what the scholars held with respect to this issue. The Salaf held that the Qur’aan came from Allah and that it will return to Him at the end of time. Needless to say, Allah the Almighty described the Qur’aan with great characteristics and attributes, such as the Wise, the Noble, the Grand and the Glorious. Such attributes of the Holy Qur’aan are applicable to whoever abides by this Book and applies its rules in public or in private. Allah the Almighty grants the merits of glory, grandeur, wisdom, dignity and authority, and the like, which those who renounce the Holy Qur’aan could never attain. Thus, I invite all Muslims, rulers and civilians, scholars and commons, to hold fast to the Book of Allah, so that they might attain power, happiness, glory and victory all over the world. I ask Allah to help us achieve this aim.

Translation provided by The King Fahd Quran complex.