let’s take a little bit about learning Quran
The Muslims started out weak and powerless in Makkah, and yet within a few decades they managed to unite all the tribes of Arabia in the worship of Allaah.
The turning point in this period was the liijnih of the Prophet from Makkah to Madeenah. It was after the hijrah that the Muslims finally had a state in which they could practice their religion without any fear.
Therefore, it is not surprising to find that the Quran catered to the specific needs of the Muslims in Madeenah in a different way than it had done in Makkah.
There is a marked difference in the verse content, style and syntax of these two periods, reflecting the different circumstances that the Muslims were in. It is this topic that is the subject of the malice and madanee verses.
The Qur’aan has been preserved to an extent that is unrivalled by any other book.
This is no surprise to a Muslim, for Allaah I Iimsell has promised to safeguard it. The
Qur’aan says.
( إِنَّا نَحْنُ نـزلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ )
Verily, it is We who have sent clown the Rememhrance. and of a surety. We will guard it (from corruption.
The Quran has been preserved so carefully that not only has the actual text been
safeguarded, but also all related knowledge that is needed to understand it.
Among these aspects is the science of categorising those verses and soorahs which are mal^ee
and those which are madanee.
The Prophet (^g) did not specifically remark whether a verse was malice or madanee, but the Companions understood the importance of this topic and carefully preserved this knowledge, as it is essential in understanding the Quran. Ibn Mas’ood
said: “I swear by Allaah, besides whom there is no other god, there is no soorah in the Quran except that I know where it was revealed.
And there is not a single verse in the Quran except that I know the reason behind its revelation. And if there were any person that knew more about the Quran than I did, and it was possible for me to
reach him. I would ride (on my camel) towards him (to get this knowledge).” 1 :
The Knowledge of Makkee and Madanee Verses:
There are two ways of knowing whether a verse or soorah is malice or madanee.
The first way is by relying upon reports from the Companions; in other words, a Companion specifically states the place and/or time ol revelation, or gives some external information from which the time of revelation can be inferred. The second way is by personal reasoning, or ijtihaad. In this method, a scholar will take the verses’ meaning and style into account ami try to ‘presume’ whether the verse is malice or madanee.
These two methods are not equivalent in acceptability.
The Definition of Makkee and Madanee
There are three methodologies by which the mal{l{ec and madanee revelations are defined.
The first definition relies upon the time of revelation, taking the Prophet’s hijrak as the division factor.
According to this definition, if a verse was revealed before the hijrah, it is considered mace, and if revealed after the hijral), it is considered madanee.
This definition ignores the actual place of revelation. Therefore, those verses revealed at the Farewell Pilgrimage (8 A.H.), or the Conquest of Makkah (10 A.H.), would be considered madanee by this definition, even though the actual place ofrevelation was Makkah.
The criterion according to this definition, once again, is the time of revelation, not place. This is the strongest of the three definitions, since it is the most beneficial, and is therefore the one primarily utilised by the scholars of Islaam.