Hyderabad House Series No. (I)

•In

Fac-simile Reproduction of the Manuscript of the Caliph Sayidina 'Uthman

Dzu'n-Nurain

Publisher: Ayesha Begum, Hyderabad House. Inc. 3437 Germantown Ave.. Philadelphia. PA 19140-USA Telephone: (215) 225-1955

First Edition 1408-1988

Bismillah!

FOREWORD

(By Dr. Muhammad Hamidullah) Praise be to God, and'His blessIngs and inclination to the Prophet! It is an honour and g<Jod luck to us {{l be able to publish the

Sura Ya-Sin of the Holy Qur'an, the fac-simlle reproduction of the oldest extant MS existing in the world, the one prepared for the 3rd Caliph the Doubly illustreous Sayidina 'Uthnmn (Osman) Dw'n-Nurain, thanks to whose efforts we possess a Qur'anic text which has no variants. and whIch has remained so since fourteen hundred years. For his services to Islam, the Holy Prophet loved him so much that he gave him one after the other two of his daughters, and when the second also dIed, he exclaimed: Had I now a daughter, I would give him. The Holy Prophet appreciated his actions so much that one day he went as far as saymg: From now on. you can do anything ynu like, God has pardoned your sms and you wIll go to Paradise.

Ya-Sin is the title of the 36th sura of the Holy QUr"an. In fOCI, along with Ta-Ha, thIS is a "pet name" with which God calls His beloved Prophet.

As to the importance of this Sura, the Holy Prophet has said that "the Sura Ya-Sin is the heart of the Quran." The late Maulana Maududi understands thereby that a throbbing heart is a sign of life And in this most important Sura, there are the principal teachings oflslam: unicity of God and the Resurrection and Last Judgement, These unknowable realities are laught there, and those who mock it are reminded thai there will be a terrible punishment to them in the Hereafter. The menace concerns also those pagans who persecute thc Prophet who eommunlcates this dIvinely inspired teaching.

Although unknowable to man, the unicJty orGod and the LIfe after death are things which are a necessity. and will hecome cvident to any persons who meditates on what exists around hIm of the creation of the Almighty. The truthfulness of the Prophet will also be evident by the simple fact that hIS work IS seltless, and he is acceptmg even the hardesl persecution for the g()(xl of the others, seeking absolulely nothing for himself thereby.

There is a son of encouragement to the Prophet when it is menlioned that there have been mher prophets also before him, and they mo were persecuted by stupId pagans, and never failed in their mission.

Rare scientiflc knowledge is also there, such as the fire from the green trees (not dried wood). By research, man learns daily new things, 'in what God has created, and profits thereby.

The Holy Prophet has also recommended that this Sura should be read before a man on his death-hed. That means, reminding him the basic teachings of Islam; and nothing is too late to rectify him the basic teachings of Islam; and nothing is too late to rectify the mIschief one has committed m one's life.

As to the MS whieh we are reproducing, it is from the Tashkent copy. it has suffered much during the lasl centuries. Already al the time when the Czarls regime of Russia made its fac-simile edition. many pages were lacking, induding the Sura Ya-Sin. Fortunately it was photographed before gettlllg lost. and published in India. This helps us to remedy partially in the edition we are making of the Tashkent fac-simile edition. Praise be 10 the Almighty.

Paris Ramazan 27. 1408

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