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The Qur’ān ^[1] (Arabic: القرآن al-qur'ān, literally "the recitation"; also sometimes transliterated as Qur'an, Koran, or Al-Qur'an) is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind and consider the text in its original Arabic to be the real word of Allah,^[2][3] revealed to Muhammad by Gabriel over a period of 23 years^[2][4][5] and view the Qur'an as God's final revelation to humanity.^[6][7]

Muslims regard the Qur'ān as the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with those revealed to Adam — regarded, in Islam, as the first prophet — and including the Suhuf-i-Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham),^[8] the Tawrat (Torah),^[9][10] the Zabur (Psalms),^[11][12] and the Injil (Gospel).^[13][14][15] The aforementioned books are recognized in the Qur'ān,^[16][17] and the Qur'anic text assumes familiarity^[18] with many events from Jewish and Christian scriptures, retelling some of these events in distinctive ways, and referring obliquely to others. It rarely offers detailed accounts of historical events; the Qur'an's emphasis is typically on the moral significance of an event, rather than its narrative sequence. Details to historical events are contained within the Hadith of Muhammad and the narrations of Muhammad's Companions (Sahabah).

The Qur'anic text itself proclaims a divine protection of its message: Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian.^[19][20]

The Qur'anic verses were originally memorized by Muhammad's companions as Muhammad recited them, with some being written down by one or more companions on whatever was at hand, from stones to pieces of bark. In the Sunni tradition, the collection of the Qur'ān compilation took place under the Caliph Abu Bakr, this task being led by Zayd ibn Thabit Al-Ansari. "The manuscript on which the Qur'an was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with 'Umar till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa bint Umar (Umar's daughter)."^[21]An original copy of the Uthman's standard version of Qur'an from his time is on display at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.

Etymology and meaning

The original usage of the word qur`ān is in the Qur'an itself, where it occurs about 70 times assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun (maṣdar) of the Arabic verb qara`a (Arabic: قرأ), meaning "he read" or "he recited", and represents the Syriac equivalent qeryānā—which refers to "scripture reading" or "lesson". While most Western scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, the majority of Muslim authorities hold the origin of the word is qara`a itself.^[22] In any case, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammad's lifetime.^[2]

Among the earliest meanings of the word Qur'an is the "act of reciting", for example in a Qur'anic passage: "Ours is it to put it together and [Ours is] its qur`ān".<sup>[23]</sup> In other verses it refers to "an individual passage recited [by Muhammad]". In the large majority of contexts, usually with a definite article (al-), the word is referred to as the "revelation" (tanzīl), that which has been "sent down" at intervals.<sup>[24]</sup> Its liturgical context is seen in a number of passages, for example: "So when al-qur`ān is recited [by Muhammad], listen to it and keep silent".^[25] The word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel.^[26]

The term also has closely related synonyms which are employed throughout the Qur'an. Each of the synonyms possess their own distinct meaning, but their use may converge with that of qur`ān in certain contexts. Such terms include kitāb ("book"); āyah ("sign"); and sūrah ("scripture"). The latter two terms also denote units of revelation. Other related words are: dhikr, meaning "remembrance," used to refer to the Qur'an in the sense of a reminder and warning; and hikma, meaning "wisdom," sometimes referring to the revelation or part of it.^[22][27]

Qur'an has many other names. Among those found in the text itself are al-Furqan ("discernment"), Umm al-Kitab (the "mother book", or "archetypal book"), al-huda ("the guide"), Dhikrallah ("the remembrance of God"), al-Hikmah ("wisdom'), and Kalamallah ("the word of God"). Another term found in the Qur'an is al-Kitab ("the book"), though it is also used in both the Qur'an and the Arabic language for other scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospels. The term mushaf ("written work") is usually used to refer to particular manuscripts of the Qur'an but is also used in the Qur'an to identify earlier revealed books. ^[2]

Structure

Main articles: Sura and Ayah

Quran In The Book Form.

The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, each known as a sura. The title of each sura is derived from a name or quality discussed in the text or from the first letters or words of the sura. Muslims believe that Muhammad himself, on God's command, gave the suras their names.^[2] In general, the longer chapters appear earlier in the Qur'an, while the shorter ones appear later. As such, the arrangement is not connected to the sequence of revelation. Each chapter, with the exception of one, commences with the Basmala bismi-llahi ar-raḥmani ar-raḥimi,^[28][29]

Each Sura is formed from several Ayahs or verses which originally means a sign or portent sent by God. The number of the ayahs aren't the same in various Suras. An individual ayah may be just a few letters or several lines. The ayahs are unlike the highly refined poetry of the pre-Islamic Arabs in their content and distinctive rhymes and rhythms, being more akin to the prophetic utterances marked by inspired discontinuities found in the sacred scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. Since the beginning of Islam, the proper number of ayahs has been a controversial issue among Muslim scholars, some recognizing 6,000, some 6,204, some 6,219, and some 6,236, although the words in all cases are the same. The most popular edition of the Qur'an, which is based on the tradition of the school of Kufa, contains 6,236 ayahs.^[2]

There is a crosscutting division into 30 parts, juz's, each containing two units called hizbs, each of which in turn is divided into four parts (rub 'al-ahzabs). These divisions facilitate the reading of the Qur'an over periods of different lengths. The Qur'an is also divided into seven stations (manazils) for reciting the whole text during one week.^[2]

The text of the Qur'an seems outwardly to have no beginning, middle, or end; its nonlinear structure is akin to a web or a net.^[2] Some critics have also commented on the arrangement of the Qur'anic text with accusations of lack of continuity, absence of any chronological or thematic order, and presence of repetition.^[30][31]

Literary structure

The Qur'an's message is conveyed through the use of a variety of literary structures and devices. In its original Arabic idiom, the individual components of the text — surahs and ayat — employ phonetic and thematic structures that assist the audience's efforts to recall the message of the text. There is consensus amongst Arab scholars to use the Qur'an as a standard by which other Arabic literature should be measured. Muslims point out (in accordance with the Qur'an itself) that the Qur'anic content and style is inimitable.^[32]

Richard Gottheil and Siegmund Fränkel in the Jewish Encyclopedia write that the oldest portions of the Qur'an reflect significant excitement in their language, through short and abrupt sentences and sudden transitions. The Qur'an nonetheless carefully maintains the rhymed form, like the oracles. Some later portions also preserve this form but also in a style where the movement is calm and the style expository.^[33]

Michael Sells, citing the work of the critic Norman O. Brown, acknowledges Brown's observation that the seeming "disorganization" of Qur'anic literary expression — its "scattered or fragmented mode of composition," in Sells's phrase — is in fact a literary device capable of delivering "profound effects — as if the intensity of the prophetic message were shattering the vehicle of human language in which it was being communicated."^[34] Sells also addresses the much-discussed "repetitiveness" of the Qur'an, seeing this, too, as a literary device.

"The values presented in the very early Meccan revelations are repeated throughout the hymnic Suras. There is a sense of directness, of intimacy, as if the hearer were being asked repeatedly a simple question: what will be of value at the end of a human life?" ^[35]

Origin and development

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Main article: Origin and development of the Qur'an

9th century quran

According to Islam, Muhammad received the Qur'an as a series of revelations from God through the angel Gabriel (see ^{[Qur'an 10:37]}). Welch, a scholar of Islamic studies, states in the Encyclopedia of Islam that he believes the graphic descriptions of Muhammad's condition at these moments may be regarded as genuine, seeing as he was severely disturbed after these revelations. According to Welch, these seizures would have been seen as convincing evidence for the superhuman origin of Muhammad's inspirations by the people around him. Muhammad's enemies, however, accused him of being a man who was possessed, or of being a soothsayer or magician since his claimed experiences were similar to those made by those soothsayer figures well known in ancient Arabia. Additionally, Welch states that it remains uncertain whether these experiences occurred before or after Muhammad began to see himself as a prophet.^[36]

The Qur'ān speaks well of the relationship it has with former books (the Torah and the Gospel) and attributes their similarities to their unique origin and saying all of them have been revealed by the one God.^[37]

The Quran states that Muhammad was ummi, interpreted as illiterate in Muslim tradition. According to Watt, the meaning of the qur'anic term ummi is unscriptured rather than illiterate as Muslim tradition has concluded. Watt argues that a certain amount of writing was necessary for Muhammad to perform his commercial duties though it seems certain that he had not read any scriptures.

The Qur'an did not exist in book form at the time of Muhammad's death in 632. According to Sahih al-Bukhari, written some 200 years after Muhammad's death, this task fell to the scribe Zayd ibn Thabit at the direction of the first Muslim caliph Abu Bakr. Ibn Thabit gathered the Qur'anic material "collecting it from parchments, scapula, leaf-stalks of date palms and from the memories of men who knew it by heart". (Bukhari 6:60:201).^[38]. Copies were made, and as Islam expanded beyond the Arabian peninsula into Persia, India, Russia, China, Turkey, and across North Africa, the third Caliph, Uthman ibn Affan, in about 650 ordered a standardized version to be prepared to preserve the sanctity of the text and to establish a definitive spelling for all time. This remains the authoritative text of the Qur'an to this day.^[39][40] However, the oldest extant Qur'an known comes from the Sana'a manuscripts found in 1972, and dated to the latter half of the 7th century. In it are minor textual variations from the standard Qur'an known today.

Muslims maintain that the wording of the present Qur'anic text corresponds exactly to that revealed to Muhammad himself: as the words of God, said to be delivered to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. The Qur'ān is not only considered by Muslims to be a guide but also as a sign of the prophethood of Muhammad and the truth of the religion. Muslims argue that it is not possible for a human to produce a book like the Qur'an, as the Qur'ān states:

"And if ye are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a Sura like thereunto; and call your witnesses or helpers (If there are any) besides God, if your (doubts) are true. But if ye cannot- and of a surety ye cannot- then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones,- which is prepared for those who reject Faith. ^[41]

Literary usage

11th Century North African Qur'an in the British Museum

In addition to and largely independent of the division into surahs, there are various ways of dividing the Qur'ān into parts of approximately equal length for convenience in reading, recitation and memorization. The Qur'ān is divided into thirty ajza' (parts). The thirty parts can be used to work through the entire Qur'an in a week or a month. Some of these parts are known by names and these names are the first few words by which the Juz starts. A juz' is sometimes further divided into two ahzab (groups), and each hizb is in turn subdivided into four quarters. A different structure is provided by the ruku'at (sing. Raka'ah), semantical units resembling paragraphs and comprising roughly ten ayat each. Some also divide the Qur'ān into seven manazil (stations).

Recitation

The very word Qur'ān means "recitation", though there is little instruction in the Qur'an itself as to how it is to be recited. The main principle it does outline is: rattil il-Qur'ana tartilan ("and recite the Qur'an in slow, measured rhythmic tones").^{[Qur'an 73:4] Yusuf Ali} Tajwid is the term for techniques of recitation, and assessed in terms of how accessible the recitation is to those intent on concentrating on the words.^[42]

To perform salat (prayer), a mandatory obligation in Islam, a Muslim is required to learn at least some suras of the Qur'ān (typically starting with the first sura, al-Fatiha, known as the "seven oft-repeated verses," and then moving on to the shorter ones at the end). Until one has learned al-Fatiha, a Muslim can only say phrases like "praise be to God" during the salat.

A person whose recital repertoire encompasses the whole Qur'ān is called a qari' (قَارٍئ), whereas a memoriser of the Qur'an is called a hafiz (fem. Hafaz) (which translate as "reciter" or "protector," respectively). Muhammad is regarded as the first qari' since he was the first to recite it. Recitation (tilawa تلاوة) of the Qur'ān is a fine art in the Muslim world.

Schools of recitation

Main article: Qira'at

Page of a 13th century Qur'an, showing Sura 33: 73

There are several schools of Qur'anic recitation, all of which are possible pronunciations of the Uthmanic rasm: Seven reliable, three permissible and (at least) four uncanonical - in 8 sub-traditions each - making for 80 recitation variants altogether.^[43] For a recitation to be canonical it must conform to three conditions:

1. It must match the rasm, letter for letter.
2. It must conform with the syntactic rules of the Arabic language.
3. It must have a continuous isnad to Muhammad through tawatur, meaning that it has to be related by a large group of people to another down the isnad chain.

These recitations differ in the vocalization (tashkil تشكيل) of a few words, which in turn gives a complementary meaning to the word in question according to the rules of Arabic grammar. For example, the vocalization of a verb can change its active and passive voice. It can also change its stem formation, implying intensity for example. Vowels may be elongated or shortened, and glottal stops (hamzas) may be added or dropped, according to the respective rules of the particular recitation. For example, the name of archangel Gabriel is pronounced differently in different recitations: Jibrīl, Jabrīl, Jibra'īl, and Jibra'il. The name "Qur'ān" is pronounced without the glottal stop (as "Qurān") in one recitation, and prophet Abraham's name is pronounced Ibrāhām in another.^{[citation needed]} The more widely used narrations are those of Hafs (حفص عن عاصم), Warsh (ورش عن نافع), Qaloon (قالون عن نافع) and Al-Duri according to Abu `Amr (الدوري عن أبي عمرو). Muslims firmly believe that all canonical recitations were recited by Muhammad himself, citing the respective isnad chain of narration, and accept them as valid for worshipping and as a reference for rules of Sharia. The uncanonical recitations are called "explanatory" for their role in giving a different perspective for a given verse or ayah. Today several dozen persons hold the title "Memorizer of the Ten Recitations." This is considered to be a great accomplishment among the followers of Islam.^{[citation needed]}

The presence of these different recitations is attributed to many hadith. Malik Ibn Anas has reported:^[44]

Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abd al-Qari narrated: "Umar Ibn Khattab said before me: I heard Hisham Ibn Hakim Ibn Hizam reading Surah Furqan in a different way from the one I used to read it, and the Prophet (sws) himself had read out this surah to me. Consequently, as soon as I heard him, I wanted to get hold of him. However, I gave him respite until he had finished the prayer. Then I got hold of his cloak and dragged him to the Prophet (sws). I said to him: "I have heard this person [Hisham Ibn Hakim Ibn Hizam] reading Surah Furqan in a different way from the one you had read it out to me." The Prophet (sws) said: "Leave him alone [O 'Umar]." Then he said to Hisham: "Read [it]." [Umar said:] "He read it out in the same way as he had done before me." [At this,] the Prophet (sws) said: "It was revealed thus." Then the Prophet (sws) asked me to read it out. So I read it out. [At this], he said: "It was revealed thus; this Qur'ān has been revealed in Seven Ahruf. You can read it in any of them you find easy from among them.

Suyuti, a famous 15th century Islamic theologian, writes after interpreting above hadith in 40 different ways:^[45]

Many reports contradict presence of variant readings:^[46]

• Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami reports, "the reading of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Zayd ibn Thabit and that of all the Muhajirun and the Ansar was the same. They would read the Qur'an according to the Qira'at al-'ammah. This is the same reading which was read out twice by the Prophet (sws) to Gabriel in the year of his death. Zayd ibn Thabit was also present in this reading [called] the 'Ardah-i akhirah. It was this very reading that he taught the Qur'an to people till his death".^[47]
• Ibn Sirin writes, "the reading on which the Qur'an was read out to the prophet in the year of his death is the same according to which people are reading the Qur'an today".^[48]

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi also purports that there is only one recitation of Qur'ān, which is called Qira'at of Hafs or in classical scholarship, it is called Qira'at al-'ammah. The Qur'ān has also specified that it was revealed in the language of the prophet's tribe: the Quraysh (^{[Qur'an 19:97]}, ^{[Qur'an 44:58]}).^[46]

However, the identification of the recitation of Hafs as the Qira'at al-'ammah is somewhat problematic when that was the recitation of the people of Kufa in Iraq, and there is better reason to identify the recitation of the reciters of Madinah as the dominant recitation. The reciter of Madinah was Nafi' and Imam Malik remarked "The recitation of Nafi' is Sunnah." Moreover, the dialect of Arabic spoken by Quraysh and the Arabs of the Hijaz was known to have less use of the letter hamzah, as is the case in the recitation of Nafi', whereas in the Hafs recitation the hamzah is one of the very dominant features.^{[citation needed]}

AZ [however] says that the people of El-Hijaz and Hudhayl, and the people of Makkah and Al-Madinah, to not pronounce hamzah [at all]: and 'Isa Ibn-'Omar says, Tamim pronounce hamzah, and the people of Al-Hijaz, in cases of necessity, [in poetry,] do so.^[49]

So the hamzah is of the dialect of the Najd whose people came to comprise the dominant Arabic element in Kufa giving some features of their dialect to their recitation, whereas the recitation of Nafi' and the people of Madinah maintained some features of the dialect of Hijaz and the Quraysh.^{[citation needed]}

However, the discussion of the priority of one or the other recitation is unnecessary since it is a consensus of knowledgable people that all of the seven recitations of the Qur'an are acceptable and valid for recitation in the prayer.^{[citation needed]}

Moreover, the so-called "un-canonical" recitations such as are narrated from some of the Companions and which do not conform to the Uthmani copy of the Qur'an are not legitimate for recitation in the prayer, but knowledge of them can legitimately be used in the tafsir of the Qur'an, not as a proof but as a valid argument for an explanation of an ayah.^{[citation needed]}

Writing and printing

Page from a Qur'ān ('Umar-i Aqta'). Iran, present-day Afghanistan, Timurid dynasty, circa 1400. Opaque watercolor, ink and gold on paper Muqaqqaq script. 170 x 109cm (66 15/16 x 42 15/16in.)Historical Region: Uzbekistan.

Most Muslims today use printed editions of the Qur'ān. There are many editions, large and small, elaborate or plain, expensive or inexpensive. Bilingual forms with the Arabic on one side and a gloss into a more familiar language on the other are very popular.

Qur'āns are produced in many different sizes. Most are of a reasonable book size, but there exist extremely large Qur'āns (usually for display purposes)^{[citation needed]} and very small Qur'āns (sometimes given as gifts).^{[citation needed]}

Qur'āns were first printed from carved wooden blocks, one block per page. There are existing specimen of pages and blocks dating from the 10th century AD. Mass-produced less expensive versions of the Qur'an were later produced by lithography, a technique for printing illustrations. Qur'ans so printed could reproduce the fine calligraphy of hand-made versions.^{[citations needed]}

The oldest surviving Qur'ān for which movable type was used was printed in Venice in 1537/1538. It seems to have been prepared for sale in the Ottoman empire. Catherine the Great of Russia sponsored a printing of the Qur'ān in 1787. This was followed by editions from Kazan (1828), Persia (1833) and Istanbul (1877). ^[50]

It is extremely difficult to render the full Qur'ān, with all the points, in computer code, such as Unicode. The Internet Sacred Text Archive makes computer files of the Qur'ān freely available both as images^[51] and in a temporary Unicode version.^[52] Various designers and software firms have attempted to develop computer fonts that can adequately render the Qur'ān.^[53]

Before printing was widely adopted, the Qur'ān was transmitted by copyists and calligraphers.^{[verification needed]} Since Muslim tradition felt that directly portraying sacred figures and events might lead to idolatry, it was considered wrong to decorate the Qur'ān with pictures (as was often done for Christian texts, for example). Muslims instead lavished love and care upon the sacred text itself. Arabic is written in many scripts, some of which are both complex and beautiful. Arabic calligraphy is a highly honored art, much like Chinese calligraphy. Muslims also decorated their Qur'āns with abstract figures (arabesques), colored inks, and gold leaf. Pages from some of these antique Qur'āns are displayed throughout this article.

Some Muslims^[who?] believe that it is not only acceptable, but commendable to decorate everyday objects with Qur'anic verses, as daily reminders. Other Muslims^[who?] feel that this is a misuse of Qur'anic verses, because those who handle these objects will not have cleansed themselves properly and may use them without respect.

Translations

Main article: Translation of the Qur'an

Translation of the Qur'an has always been a problematic and difficult issue. Since Muslims revere the Qur'an as miraculous and inimitable (i'jaz al-Qur'an),^{[citation needed]} they argue that the Qur'anic text can not be reproduced in another language or form. Furthermore, an Arabic word may have a range of meanings depending on the context, making an accurate translation even more difficult.^[54]

Nevertheless, the Qur'ān has been translated into most African, Asian and European languages.^[54] The first translator of the Qur'ān was Salman the Persian, who translated Fatihah into Persian during the 7th century.^[55] Islamic tradition holds that translations were made for Emperor Negus of Abyssinia and Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, as both received letters by Muhammad containing verses from the Qur'an.^[54] In early centuries, the permissibility of translations was not an issue, but whether one could use translations in prayer.

In 1936, translations in 102 languages were known.^[54]

Robert of Ketton was the first person to translate the Qur'ān into a Western language, Latin, in 1143.^[56] Alexander Ross offered the first English version in 1649. In 1734, George Sale produced the first scholarly translation of the Qur'ān into English; another was produced by Richard Bell in 1937, and yet another by Arthur John Arberry in 1955. All these translators were non-Muslims. There have been numerous translations by Muslims; the most popular of these are by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan and Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al Hilali, Maulana Muhammad Ali, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, M. H. Shakir, Muhammad Asad and Marmaduke Pickthall.^{[citation needed]}

The English translators have sometimes favored archaic English words and constructions over their more modern or conventional equivalents; for example, two widely-read translators, A. Yusuf Ali and M. Marmaduke Pickthall, use the plural and singular "ye" and "thou" instead of the more common "you." Another common stylistic decision has been to refrain from translating "Allah" — in Arabic, literally, "The God" — into the common English word "God." These choices may differ in more recent translations.^{[citation needed]}

Interpretation

Main article: Tafsir

The Qur'ān has sparked a huge body of commentary and explication, known as Tafsir. This commentary is aimed at explaining the "meanings of the Qur'anic verses, clarifying their import and finding out their significance."^[57]

Tafsir is one of the earliest academic activities of Muslims. According to the Qur'an, Muhammad was the first person who described the meanings of verses for early Muslims.^[58] Other early exegetes included a few Companions of Muhammad, like Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar and Ubayy ibn Kab. Exegesis in those days was confined to the explanation of literary aspects of the verse, the background of its revelation and, occasionally, interpretation of one verse with the help of the other. If the verse was about a historical event, then sometimes a few traditions (hadith) of Muhammad were narrated to make its meaning clear. ^[59]

Because Qur'ān is spoken in the classical form of Arabic, many of the later converts to Islam, who happened to be mostly non-Arabs, did not always understand the Qur'ānic Arabic, they did not catch allusions that were clear to early Muslims fluent in Arabic and they were concerned with reconciling apparent conflict of themes in the Qur'an. Commentators erudite in Arabic explained the allusions, and perhaps most importantly, explained which Qur'anic verses had been revealed early in Muhammad's prophetic career, as being appropriate to the very earliest Muslim community, and which had been revealed later, canceling out or "abrogating" (nāsikh) the earlier text. Memories of the occasions of revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), the circumstances under which Muhammad had spoken as he did, were also collected, as they were believed to explain some apparent obscurities. Although the concept of abrogation does exist in the Qur'ān, Muslims differ in their interpretations of the word "Abrogation". Some believe that there are abrogations in the text of the Qur'ān and some insist that there are no contradictions or unclear passages to explain.^{[citation needed]}

Relationship with other literature

The Torah and the Bible

The Qur'ān retells stories of many of the people and events recounted in Jewish and Christian sacred books (Tanakh, Bible) and devotional literature (Apocrypha, Midrash), although it differs in many details. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Heber, Shelah, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Jethro, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Aaron, Moses, Ezra, Zechariah, Jesus, and John the Baptist are mentioned in the Qur'an as prophets of God (see Prophets of Islam). Muslims believe the common elements or resemblances between the Bible and other Jewish and Christian writings and Islamic dispensations is due to their common divine source, and that the original Christian or Jewish texts were authentic divine revelations given to prophets. According to the Qur'ān^{[Qur'an 3:3] Yusuf Ali}

Muslims believe that those texts were neglected, corrupted (tahrif) or altered in time by the Jews and Christians and have been replaced by God's final and perfect revelation, which is the Qur'ān.^[60] However, many Jews and Christians^[who?] believe that the historical biblical archaeological record refutes this assertion, because the Dead Sea Scrolls (the Tanakh and other Jewish writings which predate the origin of the Qur'an) have been fully translated,^[61] validating the authenticity of the Greek Septuagint.^[62]

Influence of Christian apocrypha‎

The Diatessaron, Protoevangelium of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Arabic Infancy Gospel are all alleged to have been sources that the author/authors drew on when creating the Qur'ān.^{[dubious – discuss][citations needed]} The Diatessaron especially may have led to the misconception in the Koran that the Christian Gospel is one text.^[63] However this is strongly refuted by Muslim scholars, who maintain that Qur'an is the divine word of God without any interpolation, and the similarities exist only due to the one source.

Arab writing

After the Qur'an, and the general rise of Islam, the Arabic alphabet developed rapidly into a beautiful and complex form of art.^[64]

Wadad Kadi, Professor of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at University of Chicago and Mustansir Mir, Professor of Islamic studies at Youngstown State University state that: ^[65]

Although Arabic, as a language and a literary tradition, was quite well developed by the time of Muhammad's prophetic activity, it was only after the emergence of Islam, with its founding scripture in Arabic, that the language reached its utmost capacity of expression, and the literature its highest point of complexity and sophistication. Indeed, it probably is no exaggeration to say that the Qur'an was one of the most conspicuous forces in the making of classical and post-classical Arabic literature.

The main areas in which the Qur'an exerted noticeable influence on Arabic literature are diction and themes; other areas are related to the literary aspects of the Qur'an particularly oaths (q.v.), metaphors, motifs, and symbols. As far as diction is concerned, one could say that Qur'anic words, idioms, and expressions, especially "loaded" and formulaic phrases, appear in practically all genres of literature and in such abundance that it is simply impossible to compile a full record of them. For not only did the Qur'an create an entirely new linguistic corpus to express its message, it also endowed old, pre-Islamic words with new meanings and it is these meanings that took root in the language and subsequently in the literature...

Qur'an miracles

Main article: Qur'an miracles

Islamic scholars believe that the Qur'an is miraculous in its nature, and that nothing like it can ever be written by human endeavor. Many claimed miracles have been presented, whether those miracles are related to the Qur'anic inimitable literary style, scientific miracles, or prophecies.^{[66] [67] [68] [69]} The Qur'an itself gives an open challenge for anyone who denies its claimed divine origin to produce a text like it. ^{[Qur'an 17:88][Qur'an 2:23][Qur'an 10:38]}.

Quranic Initials

14 different Arabic letters, form 14 different sets of “Quranic Initials” (the "Muqatta'at", such as A.L.M. of 2:1), and prefix 29 suras in the Quran. The meaning and interpretation of these initials is considered unknown to most Muslims. In 1974, an Egyptian biochemist named Rashad Khalifa claimed to have discovered a mathematical code based on the number 19^[70], which is mentioned in Sura 74:30^[71] of the Quran.

In culture

Most Muslims treat paper copies of the Qur'an with veneration, ritually washing before reading the Qur'an.^[72] Worn out, torn, or errant (for example, pages out of order) Qur'ans are not discarded as wastepaper, but rather are left free to flow in a river, kept somewhere safe, burnt, or buried in a remote location. Many Muslims memorize at least some portion of the Qur'an in the original Arabic, usually at least the verses needed to perform the prayers. Those who have memorized the entire Qur'an earn the right to the title of Hafiz.^[73]

Mizan Zainal Abidin, the monarch of Malaysia, kissing the Quran during his investiture.

Based on tradition and a literal interpretation of sura 56:77-79: "That this is indeed a Qur'ān Most Honourable, In a Book well-guarded, Which none shall touch but those who are clean.", many scholars opine that a Muslim perform wudu (ablution or a ritual cleansing with water) before touching a copy of the Qur'ān, or mushaf. This view has been contended by other scholars on the fact that, according to Arabic linguistic rules, this verse alludes to a fact and does not comprise an order. The literal translation thus reads as "That (this) is indeed a noble Qur'ān, In a Book kept hidden, Which none toucheth save the purified," (translated by Mohamed Marmaduke Pickthall). It is suggested based on this translation that performing ablution is not required.

Qur'an desecration means insulting the Qur'ān by defiling or dismembering it. Muslims must always treat the book with reverence, and are forbidden, for instance, to pulp, recycle, or simply discard worn-out copies of the text. Respect for the written text of the Qur'ān is an important element of religious faith by many Muslims. They believe that intentionally insulting the Qur'ān is a form of blasphemy.

Cyberspace

The text of the Quran has become readily accessible over the internet, in Arabic as well as numerous translations in other languages. It can be downloaded and searched both word-by-word and with Boolean algebra. Photos of ancient manuscripts and illustrations of Quranic art can be witnessed. However, there are still limits to searching the Arabic text of the Quran.^[74]

Criticism

Main article: Criticism of the Qur'an

The Qur'an's teachings on matters of war and peace have become topics of heated discussion in recent years. Some critics allege that some verses of the Qur'an in their historical and literary context sanction military action against unbelievers as a whole both during the lifetime of Muhammad and after.^[75][76] In response to this criticism, some Muslims argue that such verses of the Qur'an are taken out of context,^[77][78][79] and claim that when the verses are read in context it clearly appears that the Qur'an prohibits aggression,^[80][81][82] and allows fighting only in self defense.^[83][84]

Some critics reject the Muslim belief regarding the divine origin of the Qur'an^[85][86][87], and base their argument on the problems that they claim to exist in the Qur'ān, both textually and morally.^[88][89]

Others have praised the Quran's style as a book of divine guidance^[90], and its eloquence has been described as perfect by Dr. Francis Steingass due to the Quran's "ability to transform savage tribes into civilized nations."^[91]

See also

Find more information on Qur'an by searching Wikipedia's sister projects
	Dictionary definitions from Wiktionary
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
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	Source texts from Wikisource
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• Legends and the Qur'an
• Ayat
• Esoteric interpretation of the Qur'an
• Hafiz
• Islam
• Origin and development of the Qur'an
• Persons related to Qur'anic verses
• Qur'an and miracles
• Qur'an alone
• Qur'an and Sunnah
• Qur'anic literalism
• Qur'an reading
• Sura
• Tafsir
• Women in Quran
• There are also articles on each of the suras, or chapters, of the Qur'ān. Click on a chapter number to view the article.

Notes