The Quran: a New Translation

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The Quran is believed by Muslims to be not simply divinely inspired, but the literal words of God, and provides a complete code of conduct that offers guidance in every walk of their life. This divine character attributed to the Quran led Muslim theologians to fiercely debate whether the Quran was either "created or uncreated." According to tradition, several of Muhammad's companions served as scribes, recording the revelations. Shortly after the prophet's death, the Quran was compiled by the companions, who had written down or memorized parts of it. Caliph Uthman established a standard version, now known as the Uthmanic codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today. There are, however, variant readings, with mostly minor differences in meaning. Controversy over the Quran's content integrity has rarely become an issue among Muslim history[iv] despite some hadiths stating that the textual integrity of the Quran was not preserved.

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Muhammad carried out military expeditions in the area. The first was the Nejd Caravan Raid against the Quraysh, which took place in 624. The Meccans led by Safwan ibn Umayyah, who lived on trade, left in summer for Syria for their seasonal trade business. After Muhammad received intelligence about the Caravan's route, he ordered Zayd ibn Haritha to go after the Caravan, and they successfully raided it and captured 100,000 dirhams worth of booty.



The Invasion of Nejd happened in Rabi‘ Ath-Thani or Jumada al-Awwal, 4 AH (October, 625 AD). Muhammad led his fighters to Nejd to scare off some tribes he believed had suspicious intentions. Some scholars say the expedition of Dhat al-Riqa took place in Nejd as part of this invasion.



The most authentic opinion according to "Saifur Rahman al Mubararakpuri", however, is that the Dhat Ar-Riqa' campaign took place after the fall of Khaibar (and not as part of the invasion of Nejd). This is supported by the fact that Abu Hurairah and Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari witnessed the battle. Abu Hurairah embraced Islam only some days before Khaibar, and Abu Musa Al-Ash'ari came back from Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia), and joined Muhammad at Khaibar. The rules relating to the prayer of fear, which Muhammad observed at the Dhat Ar-Riqa' campaign, were revealed at the Asfan invasion and, these scholars say, took place after Al-Khandaq.



The Expedition of Qatan also took place in Nejd. The Banu Asad ibn Khuzaymah tribe (not to be confused with the Banu Asad tribe) was a powerful tribe connected with the Quraysh. They resided near the hill of Katan, in the vicinity of Fayd, in Nejd. Muhammad received intelligence reports that they were planning a raid on Medina, so he dispatched a force of 150 men under the leadership of Abu Salama 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Asad to make a sudden attack on this tribe.