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The Quran, also Romanization Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ( Allah). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ( ). Besides its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, (2025). 9781592572229, Alpha. ISBN 9781592572229 and has significantly influenced the Arabic. It is the object of a modern field of academic research known as Quranic studies.
Muslims believe the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final Islamic prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on the Laylat al-Qadr, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle, a proof of his prophethood, and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to the first Islamic prophet Adam, including the holy books of the Torah, Zabur, and Gospel in Islam.
The Quran is believed by Muslims to be God's own divine speech providing a complete code of conduct across all facets of life. This has led Muslim theologians to fiercely debate whether the Quran was "created or uncreated." According to tradition, several of Muhammad's companions served as scribes, recording the revelations. Shortly after Muhammad's death, the Quran was compiled on the order of the first caliph Abu Bakr () 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 some differences in meaning.
The Quran assumes the reader's familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical canon and Apocrypha. It summarizes some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance for humankind (). It sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the Islamic ethics of an event over its narrative sequence.
Supplementing the Quran with explanations for some cryptic Quranic narratives, and rulings that also provide the basis for Islamic law in most denominations of Islam, are —oral and written traditions believed to describe words and actions of Muhammad. During prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic. Someone who has memorized the entire Quran is called a . Ideally, verses are recited with a special kind of prosody reserved for this purpose called . During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during prayers. In order to extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, Muslims rely on exegesis, or commentary rather than a direct translation of the text.
In other verses, the word refers to 'an individual passage recited by'. Its liturgy context is seen in a number of passages, for example: "So when is recited, listen to it and keep silent." The word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Tawrat and Injil.See "Ķur'an, al-", Encyclopedia of Islam Online and
The term also has closely related that are employed throughout the Quran. Each synonym possesses its own distinct meaning, but its use may converge with that of in certain contexts. Such terms include ('book'), ('sign'), and ('scripture'); the latter two terms also denote units of revelation. In the large majority of contexts, usually with a definite article (), the word is referred to as the ('revelation'), that which has been "sent down" () at intervals. cf. cf. Other related words include: ('remembrance'), used to refer to the Quran in the sense of a reminder and warning; and ('wisdom'), sometimes referring to the revelation or part of it.
The Quran describes itself as 'the discernment' (), 'the mother book' (), 'the guide' (), 'the wisdom' (), 'the remembrance' (), and 'the revelation' (; 'something sent down', signifying the descent of an object from a higher place to lower place). (2025). 9781904063308, ICAS press. ISBN 9781904063308 Another term is ('The Book'), though it is also used in the Arabic language for other scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospels. The term ('written work') is often used to refer to particular Quranic manuscripts but is also used in the Quran to identify earlier revealed books.
narrates Muhammad describing the revelations as, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell" and A'isha reported, "I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)." Muhammad's first revelation, according to the Quran, was accompanied with a vision. The agent of revelation is mentioned as the "one mighty in power," the one who "grew clear to view when he was on the uppermost horizon. Then he drew nigh and came down till he was (distant) two bows' length or even nearer." The Islamic studies scholar Welch states in the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' that he believes the graphic descriptions of Muhammad's condition at these moments may be regarded as genuine, because he was severely disturbed after these revelations. According to Welch, these seizures would have been seen by those around him as convincing evidence for the superhuman origin of Muhammad's inspirations. However, Muhammad's critics accused him of being a possessed man, a [[soothsayer|Clairvoyant]], or a magician since his experiences were similar to those claimed by such figures well known in ancient Arabia. Welch additionally states that it remains uncertain whether these experiences occurred before or after Muhammad's initial claim of prophethood.
The Quran describes Muhammad as "", which is traditionally interpreted as 'illiterate', but the meaning is rather more complex. Medieval commentators such as al-Tabari () maintained that the term induced two meanings: first, the inability to read or write in general; second, the inexperience or ignorance of the previous books or scriptures (but they gave priority to the first meaning). Muhammad's illiteracy was taken as a sign of the genuineness of his prophethood. For example, according to Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, if Muhammad had mastered writing and reading he possibly would have been suspected of having studied the books of the ancestors. Some scholars such as W. Montgomery Watt prefer the second meaning of —they take it to indicate unfamiliarity with earlier sacred texts.
The final verse of the Quran was revealed on the 18th of the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the year 10 Hijri year, a date that roughly corresponds to February or March 632. The verse was revealed after the Prophet finished delivering his sermon at Ghadir Khumm.
According to Islamic tradition, the Quran was revealed to Muhammad in seven different (meaning letters; however, it could mean dialects, forms, styles or modes). Most Islamic scholars agree that these different are the same Quran revealed in seven different Arabic and that they do not change the meaning of the Quran, the purpose of which was to make the Quran easy for recitation and memorization among the different Arab .Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips (2025). 9789960967707, International Islamic Publishing House. ISBN 9789960967707 While Sunni Muslims believe in the seven , some Shia reject the idea of seven Quranic variants. A common misconception is that the seven and the are the same.
Around the 650s, the Islamic expansion beyond the Arabian Peninsula and into Iran, the Levant and North Africa, as well as the use of the seven , had caused some confusion and differences in the pronunciation of the Quran, and conflict was arising between different Arab tribes due to some claiming to be more superior to other Arab tribes and non-Arabs based on dialect, which Uthman noticed. In order to preserve the sanctity of the text, he ordered a committee headed by Zayd to use Abu Bakr's copy and prepare a standard text of the Quran.: Thus, within 20 years of Muhammad's death in 632, the complete Quran was committed to written form as the Uthmanic codex. That text became the model from which copies were made and promulgated throughout the urban centers of the Muslim world, and other versions are believed to have been destroyed.:
and the six other of the Quran fell out of use. The present form of the Quran text is accepted by Muslim scholars to be the original version compiled by Abu Bakr.
Qira'at which is a way and method of reciting the Quran was developed sometime afterwards. There are Ten recitations and they are not to be confused with ahruf. Shias recite the Quran according to the of Hafs on authority of ‘Asim, which is the prevalent in the Islamic world and believe that the Quran was gathered and compiled by Muhammad during his lifetime. It is claimed that the Shia had more than 1,000 ascribed to the Shia Imams which indicate the distortion of the Quran and according to Etan Kohlberg, this belief about Quran was common among Shiites in the early centuries of Islam. In his view, Ibn Babawayh was the first major Twelver author "to adopt a position identical to that of the " and the change was a result of the "rise to power of the Sunni 'Abbasid caliphate," whence belief in the corruption of the Quran became untenable vis-a-vis the position of Sunni "orthodoxy".Kohlberg & Amir-Moezzi 2009, p.24-26-27 Alleged distortions have been carried out to remove any references to the rights of Ali, the Imams and their supporters and the disapproval of enemies, such as Umayyad dynasty and Abbasids.Kohlberg & Amir-Moezzi 2009, pp.20, 24
Other personal copies of the Quran might have existed including Ibn Mas'ud's and Ubay ibn Ka'b's codex, none of which exist today.
There was a very early attempt to establish a uniform rasm from what was probably a wider and more varied group of related texts in early transmission.… After the creation of this standardized canonical text, earlier authoritative texts were suppressed, and all extant manuscripts—despite their numerous variants—seem to date to a time after this standard consonantal text was established.Although most variant readings of the text of the Quran have ceased to be transmitted, some still are.Ibn Warraq, Which Koran? Variants, Manuscript, Linguistics, p. 45. Prometheus Books, 2011. There has been no critical text produced on which a scholarly reconstruction of the Quranic text could be based.
In 1972, in a mosque in the city of Sana'a, Yemen, manuscripts "consisting of 12,000 pieces" were discovered that were later proven to be the oldest Quranic text known to exist at the time. The Sana'a manuscripts contain , manuscript pages from which the text has been washed off to make the parchment reusable again—a practice which was common in ancient times due to the scarcity of writing material. However, the faint washed-off underlying text () is still barely visible. Studies using radiocarbon dating indicate that the parchments are dated to the period before 671 CE with a 99 percent probability. The Germany scholar Gerd R. Puin has been investigating these Quran fragments for years. His research team made 35,000 microfilm photographs of the manuscripts, which he dated to the early part of the 8th century. Puin has noted unconventional verse orderings, minor textual variations, and rare styles of orthography, and suggested that some of the parchments were palimpsests which had been reused. Puin believed that this implied an evolving text as opposed to a fixed one. It is also possible that the content of the Quran itself may provides data regarding the date of writing of the text. For example, sources based on some archaeological data give the construction date of Masjid al-Haram, an architectural work mentioned 16 times in the Quran, as 78 AH an additional finding that sheds light on the evolutionary history of the Quran mentioned, which is known to continue even during the time of Hajjaj, in a similar situation that can be seen with al-Aksa, though different suggestions have been put forward to explain.
In 2015, a single folio of a very early Quran, dating back to 1370 years earlier, was discovered in the library of the University of Birmingham, England. According to the tests carried out by the Oxford University Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, "with a probability of more than 95%, the parchment was from between 568 and 645". The manuscript is written in Hijazi script, an early form of written Arabic. This possibly was one of the earliest extant exemplars of the Quran, but as the tests allow a range of possible dates, it cannot be said with certainty which of the existing versions is the oldest. Saudi scholar Saud al-Sarhan has expressed doubt over the age of the fragments as they contain dots and chapter separators that are believed to have originated later. The Birmingham manuscript caused excitement amongst believers because of its potential overlapping with the dominant tradition over the lifetime of Muhammad to 632 CEElizabeth Goldman (1995), p. 63, gives 8 June 632, the dominant Islamic tradition. Many earlier (mainly non-Islamic) traditions refer to him as still alive at the time of the invasion of Palestine. See Stephen J. Shoemaker, The Death of a Prophet: The End of Muhammad's Life and the Beginnings of Islam, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011. and used as evidence to support conventional wisdom and to refute the revisionists' views that expresses findings and views different from the traditional approach to the early history of the Quran and Islam.
Quranic studies state that, in the historical context, the content of the Quran is related to Rabbinic, Jewish-Christian, Syriac Christian and Hellenic literature, as well as pre-Islamic Arabia. Many places, subjects and mythological figures in the Arabic mythology and many nations in their historical neighbourhoods, especially Judeo-Christian stories, are included in the Quran with small allusions, references or sometimes small narratives such as jannāt ʿadn, jahannam, Seven Sleepers, Queen of Sheba etc. However, some philosophers and scholars such as Mohammed Arkoun, who emphasize the mythological content of the Quran, are met with rejectionist attitudes in Islamic circles.
The stories of Surah Yusuf, Moses, Al Imran (parents of Mary according to the Quran) and mysterious hero: "It is generally agreed both by Muslim commentators and modéra sic occidental scholars that Dhu ’l-Ḳarnayn ... is to be identified with Alexander the Great." : "... (usually identified with Alexander the Great) ...". (2025). 9789004355996, Brill. ISBN 9789004355996 Dhul-Qarnayn ("the man with two horns") who built a barrier against Gog and Magog that will remain until the end times are more detailed and longer stories. Apart from semi-historical events and characters such as King Solomon and David, about Jewish history as well as the The Exodus, Qisas al-Anbiya, such as Creationism, the Flood, struggle of Abraham with Nimrod, sacrifice of his son occupy a wide place in the Quran.
Even though Muslims do not doubt about the existence and tawhid, they may have adopted different attitudes that have changed and developed throughout history regarding his nature (attributes), names and relationship with creation. Rabb is an Arabic word to refers to God meaning Lord (2017). 9781611177954, Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 9781611177954 and the Quran cites in several places as in the Al-Fatiha; "All Praise and Gratitude is due to God, Lord of all the Universe". Mustafa Öztürk points out that the first Muslims believed that this god lived in Seven Heavens with the following words of Ahmad Ibn Hanbal: "Whoever says that Allah is everywhere is a heretic, an infidel. He should be invited to repent, but if he does not, be killed." This understanding changes later and gives way to the understanding that "God cannot be assigned a place and He is everywhere." Also actions and attributes suh as coming, going, sitting, satisfaction, anger and sadness etc. similar to humans used for this God in the Quran were considered —"no one knows its interpretation except God" ()—by later scholars stating that God was Tanzih in any way.
Islam regards Abraham as a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad via Ishmael and mentioned in 35 chapters of the Quran, more often than any other biblical personage apart from Moses. Muslims regard him as a hanif, an archetype of the perfect Muslim, and revered prophet and builder of the Kaaba in Mecca. The Quran consistently refers to Islam as 'the religion of Abraham' (). In Islam, Eid-al-Adha is celebrated to commemorate Abraham's attempt to sacrifice his son by surrendering in line with his dream,(As-Saaffat; 100–107) which he accepted as the will of God.
and her servants finding baby Moses in the Nile, Jami' al-tawarikh; a story that follows the footsteps of Sargon of Akkad's Mythology possibly pious fiction. ]] In Islam, Moses is a prominent prophet and messenger of God and the most frequently mentioned individual in the Quran, with his name being mentioned 136 times and his life being narrated and recounted more than that of any other prophet.
Stories of the prophets in the Quran often revolve around a certain pattern, according to which a prophet is sent to a group of people, who then reject or attack him, and ultimately suffer extinction as God's punishment. However, the Quran, given its paraenetic character, does not offer a full narrative; but rather offers a parabolic reference to the doom of previous generations, assuming the audience is familiar with the told stories.Hagen, G. (2009). "From Haggadic Exegesis To Myth: Popular Stories Of The Prophets In Islam"
Commanding ma’ruf and forbidding munkar (Ar. ٱلْأَمْرُ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَٱلنَّهْيُ عَنِ ٱلْمُنْكَرِ) is repeated or referred to in nearly 30 verses in different contexts in the Quran and is an important part of Islamism / jihadist indoctrination today, as well as Shiite teachings.
Although a common translation of the phrase is "Enjoining good and forbidding evil", the words used by Islamic philosophy determining good and evil in discourses are "istihsan" and "qubh". The word ma’ruf literally means "known" or what is approved because of its familiarity for a certain society and its antithesis munkar means what is disapproved because it is unknown and extraneous.T. Izutsu, Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Qur’an, London, McGillQueen’s University Press, 2002, p. 213
The Quran is one of the fundamental sources of Islamic law ( sharia). Some formal religious practices receive significant attention in the Quran including the salat and fasting in the Ramadan. As for the manner in which the prayer is to be conducted, the Quran refers to Ruku. The term chosen for charity, zakat, literally means purification implies that it is a self-purification. In fiqh, the term fard is used for clear imperative provisions based on the Quran. However, it is not possible to say that the relevant verses are understood in the same way by all segments of Islamic commentators; For example, Hanafis accept Salah as fard. However, some religious groups such as Quranists and Shiites, who do not doubt that the Quran existing today is a religious source, infer from the same verses that it is clearly ordered to pray 2 or 3 times,Zum Beispiel Sayyid Ahmad Khan. Vgl. Ahmad: Islamic Modernism in India and Pakistan 1857–1964. 1967, S. 49.Vgl. Birışık: "Kurʾâniyyûn" in Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi. 2002, Bd. 26, S. 429.; Yüksel; al-Shaiban; Schulte-Nafeh: Quran: A Reformist Translation. 2007, S. 507. not 5 times. About six verses adress to the way a woman should dress when in public; Some Muslim scholars consider this verse referring to the Hijab while others to clothings in general.
Research shows that the rituals in the Quran, along with laws such as qisas and tax (zakat), developed as an evolution of pre-Islamic Arabian rituals. Arabic words meaning pilgrimage (hajj), prayer (salāt) and charity (zakāt) can be seen in pre-Islamic safaitic inscriptions, and this continuity can be observed in many details, especially in hajj and umrah.
As a different example, in the necklace story of Aisha, called Asbab al-Nuzul for surah An-Nur :11-20 four witnesses were required for the accusation of adultery. In addition, those who made accusations that did not meet the specified conditions would be punished with 80 lashes. The jurisprudence of later periods stipulates that witnesses must be men, covering all hudud and people who did not have credibility and honesty in society (slaves, non-adl; fasiq, infidels) could not testify against believers.
Sharia is a collection of laws and rules created by scholars' interpretations on the Quran and hadith collections, and has been developed over the centuries, changing according to different geographies and societies. Madhab are schools of understanding that try to determine the actions that people should do or avoid based on the Quran and hadiths. The place of hadiths in legislation is controversial; for example, in the Hanafi school, in order to claim that something is Fard, that issue must be clearly expressed in the Quran. Some of these results may also indicate exaggeration of statements, generalizations taken out of context, and imperative broadening of scope. Of the few criminal cases listed as crimes in the Quran, only a few of them are punished by the classical books of sharia as determined by the verses of the Quran and are called hudud laws. How the verse Al-Ma'idah 33, which describes the crime of hirabah, should be understood is a matter of debate even today. The verse talks about the punishment of criminals by killing, hanging, having their Cross-amputation, and being exiled from the earth, in response to an -abstract- crime such as "fighting against Allah and His Messenger". Expanding or narrowing the conditions and scope of this crime according to new situations and universal legal standards are issues that continue to be discussed today such as punishing in addition to rebellion against the legitimate government on "concrete sequential criminal acts" ie massacre, robbery and rape as preconditions.
Although the constitutions of most Muslim-majority states contain references to sharia, its rules are largely preserved only in family law and criminal law in some. The Islamic revival of the late 20th century Dawah by Islamism for the full implementation of sharia, including corporal punishment such as stoning for adultery, through a variety of propaganda methods, from civic political activities to terrorism.
In the Quran belief in the afterlife is often referred in conjunction with belief in God: "Believe in God and the last day" emphasizing what is considered impossible is easy in the sight of God. A number of such as 44, 56, 75, 78, 81 and 101 are directly related to the afterlife and warn people to be prepared for the "imminent" day referred to in various ways. It is 'the Day of Judgment,' 'the Last Day,' 'the Day of Resurrection,' or simply 'the Hour.' Less frequently it is 'the Day of Distinction', 'the Day of the Gathering' or 'the Day of the Meeting'.
Chapters are classified as Meccan sura or Medinan sura, depending on whether the verses were revealed before or after the migration of Muhammad to the city of Medina on traditional account. However, a sūrah classified as Medinan may contain Meccan verses in it and vice versa. Sūrah names are derived from a name or a character in the text, or from the first letters or words of the sūrah. Chapters are not arranged in chronological order, rather the chapters appear to be arranged roughly in order of decreasing size.see Each sūrah except the ninth starts with the Basmala (), an Arabic phrase meaning 'In the name of God.' There are, however, still 114 occurrences of the Bismillah in the Quran, due to its presence in Quran as the opening of Solomon's letter to the Queen of Sheba.See:* "Kur`an, al-", Encyclopaedia of Islam Online
The Muqattaʿat ( , 'disjoined letters, disconnected letters'; is the plural of a participle from , 'to cut, break'. also 'mysterious letters') are combinations of between one and five Arabic alphabet figuring at the beginning of 29 out of the 114 chapters of the Quran just after the basmala. The letters are also known as Fawatih (فواتح), or 'openers', as they form the opening verse of their respective suras. Four surahs are named for their : Ta-Ha, Ya Sin, Ṣād, and Qāf. Various theories have been put forward; they were a secret communication language between Allah and Muhammad, abbreviations of various names or attributes of Allah,Suyūtī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 1, p. 57. symbols of the versions of the Quran belonging to different companions, elements of a secret Quran code,Rashad Khalifa, Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle, Islamic Productions International, 1982. or expressions containing esoteric meanings. Some researchers associate them with hymns used in Syrian Christianity. The phrases must have been part of these hymns or abbreviations of Mantra.Sedgwick, Mark (2004). Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-515297-2. P. 66. Some of them, such as Nun, were used in symbolic meanings.
In addition of the division into chapters, there are various ways of dividing Quran into parts of approximately equal length for convenience in reading. The 30 juz' (plural ) can be used to read through the entire Quran in a month. A is sometimes further divided into two hizb (plural ), and each subdivided into four . The Quran is also divided into seven approximately equal parts, manzil (plural ), for it to be recited in a week. A different structure is provided by semantic units resembling paragraphs and comprising roughly ten each. Such a section is called a ruku.
The language of the Quran has been described as "rhymed prose" as it partakes of both poetry and prose; however, this description runs the risk of failing to convey the rhythmic quality of Quranic language, which is more poetic in some parts and more prose-like in others. Rhyme, while found throughout the Quran, is conspicuous in many of the earlier Meccan suras, in which relatively short verses throw the rhyming words into prominence. The effectiveness of such a form is evident for instance in Sura 81, and there can be no doubt that these passages impressed the conscience of the hearers. Frequently a change of rhyme from one set of verses to another signals a change in the subject of discussion. Later sections also preserve this form but the style is more expository.
The Quranic text seems to have no beginning, middle, or end, its nonlinear structure being akin to a web or net. The textual arrangement is sometimes considered to exhibit lack of continuity, absence of any chronological or thematic order and repetitiousness. Michael Sells, citing the work of the critic Norman O. Brown, acknowledges Brown's observation that the seeming disorganization of Quranic 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. Sells also addresses the much-discussed repetitiveness of the Quran, seeing this, too, as a literary device.
A text is Self-reference when it speaks about itself and makes reference to itself. According to Stefan Wild, the Quran demonstrates this metatextuality by explaining, classifying, interpreting and justifying the words to be transmitted. Self-referentiality is evident in those passages where the Quran refers to itself as revelation (), remembrance ( dhikr), news (), criterion () in a self-designating manner (explicitly asserting its Divinity, "And this is a blessed Remembrance that We have sent down; so are you now denying it?"), or in the frequent appearance of the "Say" tags, when Muhammad is commanded to speak (e.g., "Say: 'God's guidance is the true guidance'", "Say: 'Would you then dispute with us concerning God?'"). According to Wild the Quran is highly self-referential. The feature is more evident in early Meccan suras.
The Quran is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature. The emergence of the Quran was an oral and aural poetic experience; the aesthetic experience of reciting and hearing the Quran is often regarded as one of the main reasons behind conversion to Islam in the early days. Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry was an element of challenge, propaganda and warfare, and those who incapacitated their opponents from doing the same in feṣāḥa and rhetoric socially honored, as could be seen on Mu'allaqat poets. The etymology of the word "poet; (poet)" connotes the meaning of a man of inspirational knowledge, of unseen powers. `To the early Arabs poetry was ṣihr ḥalāl and the poet was a genius who had supernatural communications with the jinn or Ghost, the muses who inspired him.’ Although pre-Islamic Arabs gave poets status associated with suprahuman beings, soothsayers and prophecies were seen as persons of lower status. Contrary to later hurufism and recent scientific prophecy claims, traditional miracle statements about the Quran hadn't focused on prophecies, with a few exceptions like the Byzantine victory over the Persians in wars that continued for hundreds of years with mutual victories and defeats.
The first works about the of the Quran began to appear in the 9th century in the Mu'tazila circles, which emphasized only its literary aspect, and were adopted by other religious groups.Vgl. Martin 533 According to grammarian Al-Rummani the eloquence contained in the Quran consisted of Simile, metaphor, paronomasia, hyperbole, concision, clarity of speech (bayān), and euphony. He also added other features developed by himself; the free variation of themes (taṣrīf al-maʿānī), the implication content (taḍmīn) of the expressions and the rhyming closures (fawāṣil).Vgl. Neuwirth 177 und Grotzfeld 65. The most famous works on the doctrine of inimitability are two medieval books by the grammarian Al Jurjani (d. 1078 CE), Dala’il al-i'jaz ('the Arguments of Inimitability') and Asraral-balagha ('the Secrets of Eloquence'). Al Jurjani believed that Quran's eloquence must be a certain special quality in the manner of its stylistic arrangement and composition or a certain special way of joining words. Angelika Neuwirth lists the factors that led to the emergence of the doctrine of : The necessity of explaining some challenging verses in the Quran; In the context of the emergence of the theory of "proofs of prophecy" (dâ'il an-nubuwwa) in Kalam, proving that the Quran is a work worthy of the emphasized superior place of Muhammad in the history of the prophets, thus gaining polemical superiority over Jews and Christians; Preservation of Arab national pride in the face of confrontation with the Iranian Shu'ubiyya movement, etc.Vgl. Neuwirth 172-175. Orientalist scholars Theodor Nöldeke, Friedrich Schwally and John Wansbrough, pointing out linguistic defects, held similar opinions on the Quranic text as careless and imperfect.
Revered by pious Muslims as "the holy of holies",Guillaume, Islam, 1954: p.74 whose sound moves some to "tears and ecstasy", it is the physical symbol of the faith, the text often used as a charm on occasions of birth, death, marriage. Traditionally, before starting recitation, ablution is performed, one seeks refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan, and the reading begins by mentioning the names of Allah, Rahman and Rahim together known as basmala. Consequently,
According to Islam, the Quran is the word of God (). Its nature and whether it was created became a matter of fierce debate among religious scholars;Patton, Ibn Ḥanbal and the Miḥna, 1897: p.54 and with the involvement of the political authority in the discussions, some Muslim religious scholars who stood against the political stance mihna religious persecution during the Caliphate al-Ma'mun period and the following years.
Muslims believe that the present Quranic text corresponds to that revealed to Muhammad, and according to their interpretation of Quran , it is protected from corruption ("Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its guardians").
Muslims believe the Quran to be God's literal words, a complete code of life, the final revelation to humanity, a work of divine guidance revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.Watton, Victor (1993), A student's approach to world religions: Islam, Hodder & Stoughton, p. 1. On the other hand it is believed in Muslim community that full understanding of it can only be possible with the depths obtained in the basic and religious sciences that the ulema (imams in shia) might access, as "heirs of the prophets". For this reason, direct reading of the Quran or applications based on its literal translations are considered problematic except for some groups such as Quranists thinking that the Quran is a complete and clear book;Jens Zimmermann, Hermeneutics: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2015, pg. 90 and tafsir / fiqh are brought fore to correct understandings in it. With a classical approach, scholars will discuss verses of the Quran in context called asbab al-nuzul in islamic literature, as well as language and linguistics; will pass it through filters such as muhkam and mutashabih, nasıkh and abrogated; will open the closed expressions and try to guide the believers. There is no standardization in Quran translations, and interpretations range from traditional scholastic, to literalist-salafist understandings to Esoteric-Sufist, to modern and secular exegesis according to the personal scientific depth and tendencies of scholars.
Other sections of the Quran of choice are also read in daily prayers. Sura Al-Ikhlāṣ is second in frequency of Quran recitation, for according to many early authorities, Muhammad said that Ikhlāṣ is equivalent to one-third of the whole Quran.Seyyed Hossein Nasr (2015), The Study Quran, HarperCollins, p. 1578.
Respect for the written text of the Quran is an important element of religious faith by many Muslims, and the Quran is treated with reverence. Based on tradition and a literal interpretation of Quran ("none shall touch but those who are clean"), some Muslims believe that they must perform a ritual cleansing with water (wudu or ghusl) before touching a copy of the Quran, although this view is not universal.
Worn-out and old copies of the Quran are wrapped in a cloth and stored indefinitely in a safe place, buried in a mosque or a Muslim cemetery, or burned and the ashes buried or scattered over water. While praying, the Quran is only recited in Arabic.
In Islam, most intellectual disciplines, including Islamic theology, philosophy, Sufism and Fiqh, have been concerned with the Quran or have their foundation in its teachings. Muslims believe that the preaching or reading of the Quran is rewarded with divine rewards variously called , thawab, or .
Principally, a tafsir deals with the issues of Classical Arabic, jurisprudence, and Islamic theology. In terms of perspective and approach, tafsir can be broadly divided into two main categories, namely tafsir bi-al-ma'thur (lit. received tafsir), which is transmitted from the early days of Islam through the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his Sahaba, and tafsir bi-al-ra'y (lit. tafsir by opinion), which is arrived through personal reflection or ijtihad.
There are different characteristics and traditions for each of the tafsirs representing respective schools and doctrines, such as Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, and Sufism. There are also general distinctions between classic tafsirs compiled by authoritative figures of Ulama during the formative ages of Islam, and modern tafsir which seeks to address a wider audience, including the common people.Mir, Mustansir. (1995). "Tafsīr". In John L. Esposito. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Shias and Sunnis as well as some Muslim philosophers believe the meaning of the Quran is not restricted to the literal aspect. In contrast, Bi-la kaifa, followed by Salafis and , is the belief that the Quran should only be taken at its apparent meaning. Henry Corbin narrates a hadith that goes back to Muhammad:
According to esoteric interpreters, the inner meaning of the Quran does not eradicate or invalidate its outward meaning. Rather, it is like the soul, which gives life to the body. Corbin considers the Quran to play a part in Islamic philosophy, because Gnosiology itself goes hand in hand with prophetology.
Islamic tradition also holds that translations were made for Negus of Abyssinia and Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, as both received letters by Muhammad containing verses from the Quran. In early centuries, the permissibility of translations was not an issue, but whether one could use translations in prayer. The Quran has been translation into most , , and languages. The first translator of the Quran was Salman the Persian, who translated surat al-Fatiha into Persian language during the seventh century.Al-Nawawi, Al-Majmu, (Cairo: Matba'at at-Tadamun n.d.), 380. Another translation of the Quran was completed in 884 in Alwar (Sindh, India, now Pakistan) by the orders of Abdullah bin Umar bin Abdul Aziz on the request of the Hindu Raja Mehruk.
The first fully attested complete translations of the Quran were done between the 10th and 12th centuries in Persian language. The Samanid Empire king, Mansur I (961–976), ordered a group of scholars from Greater Khorasan to translate the Tafsir al-Tabari, originally in Arabic, into Persian. Later in the 11th century, one of the students of Abu Mansur Abdullah al-Ansari wrote a complete tafsir of the Quran in Persian. In the 12th century, Najm al-Din Abu Hafs al-Nasafi translated the Quran into Persian.C.E. Bosworth. Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Al-Tabari, Abu Djafar Muhammad b. Djarir b. Yazid", Vol. 10, p. 14. The manuscripts of all three books have survived and have been published several times. In 1936, translations in 102 languages were known. In 2010, the Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review reported that the Quran was presented in 112 languages at the 18th International Quran Exhibition in Tehran.
Robert of Ketton's 1143 translation of the Quran for Peter the Venerable, Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete, was the first into a Western language (Latin).
Alexander Ross offered the first English version in 1649, from the French translation of L'Alcoran de Mahomet (1647) by Andre du Ryer. In 1734, George Sale produced the first scholarly translation of the Quran into English; another was produced by Richard Bell in 1937, and yet another by Arthur John Arberry in 1955. While all these translators were non-Muslims, there have been numerous translations by Muslims: popular modern English translations by Muslims include The Oxford World Classics translation by Muhammad Abdel Haleem, The Clear Quran by Mustafa Khattab, Sahih International's translation, among various others. As with translations of the Bible, the English translators have sometimes favored archaic English words and constructions over their more modern or conventional equivalents; for example, two widely read translators, Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Marmaduke Pickthall, use the plural and singular ye and thou instead of the more common you.
The oldest Gurmukhi translation of the Quran Sharif has been found in village Lande of Moga district of Indian Punjab which was printed in 1911.
In order to avoid incorrect pronunciation, reciters follow a program of training with a qualified teacher. The two most popular texts used as references for rules are Matn al-Jazariyyah by Ibn al-Jazari and Tuhfat al-Atfal by Sulayman al-Jamzuri.
The recitations of a few Egyptian reciters, like El Minshawy, Al-Hussary, Abdul Basit, Mustafa Ismail, were highly influential in the development of current styles of recitation.
There are generally two types of recitation (based on pace of recitation):
It is generally stated that there are small differences between readings. However, these small changes may also include differences that may lead to serious differences in Islam, ranging from the definition of God to practices such as the wudu.
The first Quranic manuscripts lacked marks, enabling multiple possible recitations to be conveyed by the same written text. The 10th-century Muslim scholar from Baghdad, Ibn Mujāhid, is famous for establishing seven acceptable textual readings of the Quran. He studied various readings and their trustworthiness and chose seven 8th-century readers from the cities of Mecca, Medina, Kufa, Basra and Damascus. Ibn Mujahid did not explain why he chose seven readers, rather than six or ten, but this may be related to a prophetic tradition (Muhammad's saying) reporting that the Quran had been revealed in seven ahruf. Today, the most popular readings are those transmitted by Hafs (d. 796) and Warsh (d. 812) which are according to two of Ibn Mujahid's reciters, Aasim ibn Abi al-Najud (Kufa, d. 745) and Nafiʽ al-Madani (Medina, d. 785), respectively. The influential standard Quran of Cairo uses an elaborate system of modified vowel-signs and a set of additional symbols for minute details and is based on ʻAsim's recitation, the 8th-century recitation of Kufa. This edition has become the standard for modern printings of the Quran. Occasionally, an early Quran shows compatibility with a particular reading. A Syrian manuscript from the 8th century is shown to have been written according to the reading of Ibn Amir ad-Dimashqi. Another study suggests that this manuscript bears the vocalization of homs region.
According to Ibn Taymiyyah vocalization markers indicating specific vowel sounds ( tashkeel) were introduced into the text of the Quran during the lifetimes of the last Sahabah.
In the beginning, the Quran was not written with dots or tashkeel. These features were added to the text during the lifetimes of the last of the Sahabah. Since it would have been too costly for most Muslims to purchase a manuscript, copies of the Quran were held in mosques in order to make them accessible to people. These copies frequently took the form of a series of 30 parts or juzʼ. In terms of productivity, the Ottoman copyists provide the best example. This was in response to widespread demand, unpopularity of printing methods and for aesthetic reasons.
Whilst the majority of Islamic scribes were men, some women also worked as scholars and copyists; one such woman who made a copy of this text was the Moroccan jurist, Amina, bint al-Hajj ʿAbd al-Latif.
Arabic movable type printing was ordered by Pope Julius II () for distribution among Middle Eastern Christians. The first complete Quran printed with movable type was produced in Venice in 1537–1538 for the Ottoman Empire market by Paganino Paganini and Alessandro Paganini. But this Quran was not used as it contained a large number of errors. Two more editions include the Hinckelmann edition published by the pastor Abraham Hinckelmann in Hamburg in 1694, and the edition by the Italian priest Louis Maracci in Padua in 1698 with Latin translation and commentary.
Printed copies of the Quran during this period met with strong opposition from Ulama: printing anything in Arabic was prohibited in the Ottoman empire between 1483 and 1726—initially, even on penalty of death.; The Ottoman ban on printing in Arabic script was lifted in 1726 for non-religious texts only upon the request of Ibrahim Muteferrika, who printed his first book in 1729. Except for books in Hebrew and European languages, which were unrestricted, very few books, and no religious texts, were printed in the Ottoman Empire for another century.
In 1786, Catherine the Great of Russia, sponsored a printing press for "Tatar and Turkish orthography" in Saint Petersburg, with one Mullah Osman Ismail responsible for producing the Arabic types. A Quran was printed with this press in 1787, reprinted in 1790 and 1793 in Saint Petersburg, and in 1803 in Kazan. The first edition printed in Iran appeared in Qajar Iran (1828), a translation in Turkish was printed in Cairo in 1842, and the first officially sanctioned Ottoman edition was finally printed in Constantinople between 1875 and 1877 as a two-volume set, during the First Constitutional Era.
Gustav Flügel published an edition of the Quran in 1834 in Leipzig, which remained authoritative in Europe for close to a century, until Cairo's Al-Azhar University published an edition of the Quran in 1924. This edition was the result of a long preparation, as it standardized Quranic orthography, and it remains the basis of later editions.
According to Christoph Luxenberg (in The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran) the Quran's language was similar to the Syriac language. The Quran recounts stories of many of the people and events recounted in Judaism and Christianity sacred books (Hebrew Bible, Bible) and devotional literature (Apocrypha, Midrash), although it differs in many details. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Eber, Shelah, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Jethro, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Aaron, Moses, Zechariah, John the Baptist and Jesus are mentioned in the Quran as prophets of God (see Prophets of Islam). In fact, Moses is mentioned more in the Quran than any other individual. Jesus is mentioned more often in the Quran than Muhammad (by name—Muhammad is often alluded to as "The Prophet" or "The Apostle"), while Mary is mentioned in the Quran more than in the New Testament.
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Ethico-religious concepts
While belief in God and obedience to the prophets are the main emphasis in the prophetic stories, there are also non-prophetic stories in the Quran that emphasize the importance of humility and having profound-inner knowledge (hikmah) besides trusting in God. This is the main theme in the stories of Khidr, Luqman and Dhul Qarnayn. According to the later ascriptions to these stories, it is possible for those with this knowledge and divine support to teach the prophets (Khidr-Moses story ) and employ jinn (Dhul Qarnayn). Those who "spend their wealth" on people who are in need because they devoted their lives to the way of Allah and whose situation is unknown because they are ashamed to ask, will be rewarded by Allah. (Al Baqara; 272-274) In the story of Korah, the person who avoids searching for the afterlife with his wealth and becomes arrogant will be punished, arrogance befits only God. (Al Mutakabbir) Characters of the stories can be closed-mythical, (Khidr)Dalley defends traditional opinion: "The name or epithet of Atrahasis is used for the skillful god of craftmanship Kothar-wa-hasis in Ugaritic mythology, and is abbreviated to Chousor in the Greek account of Syrian origins related by Philo of Byblos. A similar abbreviation is used in the name of the Islamic sage Al-khidr..." Stephanie Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, The Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others, Oxford, revised edition 2000, p. 2 demi-mythologic or combined characters, and it can also be seen that they are Islamized. While some believe he was a prophet, some researchers equate Luqman with the Alcmaeon of Croton or Aesop.
As a source of law and judgment
A small number of verses in the Quran are about general rules of governance, inheritance, marriage, Hudud. Although the Quran does not impose a specific legal-management system, it emphasizes custom in nearly 40 verses and commands Adl (An-Nahl; 90) The practices prescribed in the Quran are considered as reflections of contextual legal understandings, as can be clearly seen in some examples such as Qisas and Diya. The following statement in the Quran is thought to be the general rule of testimony in Islamic jurisprudence, except for crime and punishment - for example, debt, shopping, etc.; O believers! When you contract a loan for a fixed period of time, commit it to writing....with justice. Call upon two of your men to witness. If two men cannot be found, then one man and two women of your choice will witness so if one of the women forgets the other may remind her.
(2025). 9780521796705, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521796705 In addition, the Islamic judiciary did not require proof of the issues defined as tazir. The statement in the Quran that determines the status of slaves in community is; Ma malakat aymanuhum
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/a> meaning "those whom your right hands possess". The widespread use of slavery in the Islamic world continued until the last century, and the unrestricted sexual use of female slaves, with a few exceptions such as they couldn't be loaned out in traditional islamic jurisprudence while stated today often that sharia provides many rights to slaves and aims to eradicate slavery over time.
Eschatology
The doctrine of the last day and eschatology (the final fate of the universe) may be considered the second great doctrine of the Quran. It is estimated that approximately one-third of the Quran is eschatological, dealing with the afterlife in the next world and with the day of judgment at the end of time. The Quran does not assert a natural immortality of the human soul, since man's existence is dependent on the will of God: when he wills, he causes man to die; and when he wills, he raises him to life again in a bodily resurrection.
Text and arrangement
The Quran consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, known as a sūrah. Each sūrah consists of verses, known as āyāt, which originally means a 'sign' or 'evidence' sent by God. The number of verses differs from sūrah to sūrah. An individual verse may be just a few letters or several lines. The total number of verses in the most popular Hafs Quran is 6,236; however, the number varies if the bismillahs are counted separately. According to one estimate the Quran consists of 77,430 words, 18,994 unique words, 12,183 Word stem, 3,382 lemmas and 1,685 roots.
Literary style
The Quran's message is conveyed with various literary structures and devices. In the original Arabic, the suras and verses employ phonetics and thematic structures that assist the audience's efforts to recall the message of the text. Muslims assert (according to the Quran itself) that the Quranic content and style is inimitable.
(2025). 9783447053839, Harrassowitz. ISBN 9783447053839
Inimitability
In Islam, (), "inimitability challenge" of the Quran in sense of feṣāḥa and rhetoric (both eloquence and rhetoric) is the doctrine which holds that the Quran has a miraculous quality, both in content and in form, that no human speech can match.Leaman, Oliver, ed. (2006). The Qur'an: an encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 9780415326391 According to this, the Quran is a miracle and its inimitability is the proof granted to Muhammad in authentication of his prophetic status. The literary quality of the Quran has been praised by Muslim scholars and by many non-Muslim scholars.For example see comments by Arthur John Arberry: "to produce something which might be accepted as echoing however faintly the sublime rhetoric of the Arabic Koran, I have been at pains to study the intricate and richly varied rhythms which constitute the Koran's undeniable claim to rank amongst the greatest literary masterpieces of mankind Arberry, A.J (1955). The Koran: Interpreted. New York: Macmillan. pp. x; Karen Armstrong : "It is as though Muhammad had created an entirely new literary form that some people were not ready for but which thrilled others. Without this experience of the Koran, it is extremely unlikely that Islam would have taken root." Armstrong, K (1994). A History of God.p.78; Oliver Leaman: "the verses of the Qur'an represent its uniqueness and beauty not to mention its novelty and originality. That is why it has succeeded in convincing so many people of its truth. it imitates nothing and no one nor can it be imitated. Its style does not pall even after long periods of study and the text does not lose its freshness over time" Leaman, Oliver (2006). The Qur'an: an Encyclopedia.p.404 and similar views by Joseph Schacht (1974) The legacy of Islam, Henry Stubbe An account of the Rise and Progress of Mohammadanism (1911), Martin Zammit A Comparative Lexical Study of Qur'anic Arabic (2002), and Alfred Guillaume Islam (1990) The doctrine of the miraculousness of the Quran is further emphasized by Muhammad's illiteracy since the unlettered prophet could not have been suspected of composing the Quran.
Significance in Islam
Quran says, "We have sent down the Quran in truth, and with the truth it has come down"See:*
and frequently asserts in its text that it is divinely ordained. The Quran speaks of a written pre-text that records God's speech before it is sent down, the "preserved tablet" that is the basis of the belief in fate also, and Muslims believe that the Quran was sent down or started to be sent down on the Laylat al-Qadr.
It must never rest beneath other books, but always on top of them, one must never drink or smoke when it is being read aloud, and it must be listened to in silence. It is a talisman against disease and disaster.Ibn Warraq, Why I'm Not a Muslim, 1995: p.105
(2025). 9788178358055, Kalpaz Publications. ISBN 9788178358055 Muslims consider the Quran to be a sign of the prophethood of Muhammad and the truth of the religion. For this reason, in traditional Islamic societies, great importance was given to children memorizing the Quran, and those who memorized the entire Quran were honored with the title of hafiz. Even today, millions of Muslims frequently refer to the Quran to justify their actions and desires", and see it as the source of scientific knowledge, though some refer to it as pseudoscience.
In worship
Surah Al-Fatiha, the first chapter of the Quran, is recited in full in every rakat of salah and on other occasions. This sura, which consists of seven verses, is the most often recited surah of the Quran:
In Islamic art
The Quran also inspired and specifically the so-called Quranic arts of calligraphy and illumination. The Quran is never decorated with figurative images, but many Qurans have been highly decorated with decorative patterns in the margins of the page, or between the lines or at the start of suras. Islamic verses appear in many other media, on buildings and on objects of all sizes, such as , metal work, Islamic pottery and single pages of calligraphy for or albums.
Interpretation
Tafsir ( ; ) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a tafsir is a (; plural: ). A Quranic tafsir attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding and conviction of God's will in Islam.
Exoteric and Esoteric interpretations (ta'wil)
Commentaries dealing with the zahir ('outward aspects') of the text are called , (explanation) and hermeneutic and esoteric commentaries dealing with the batin are called ta'wil ('interpretation'). Commentators with an esoteric slant believe that the ultimate meaning of the Quran is known only to God. Esoteric or sufism interpretation relates Quranic verses to the inner or esoteric ( batin) and metaphysical dimensions of existence and consciousness. According to Sands, esoteric interpretations are more suggestive than declarative, and are () rather than explanations ( tafsir). They indicate possibilities as much as they demonstrate the insights of writers.
The Quran possesses an external appearance and a hidden depth, an exoteric meaning and an esoteric meaning. This esoteric meaning in turn conceals an esoteric meaning. So it goes on for seven esoteric meanings.
Notable Sufi commentaries
One of the notable authors of esoteric interpretation prior to the 12th century is al-Sulami's (d. 1021) book named ('Truths of Exegesis') is a compilation of commentaries of earlier Sufis. From the 11th century onwards several other works appear, including commentaries by Qushayri (d. 1074), Al-Daylami (d. 1193), Al-Shirazi (d. 1209) and Al-Suhrawardi (d. 1234). These works include material from Sulami's books plus the author's contributions. Many works are written in Persian such as the works of Al-Maybudi (d. 1135) ('the unveiling of the secrets'). Rumi (d. 1273) wrote a vast amount of mystical poetry in his book Masnavi which some consider a kind of Sufi interpretation of the Quran. Simnani (d. 1336) tried reconciliation of Incarnation with the sentiments of Sunni Islam. Ismail Hakki Bursevi's (d. 1725) work ('the Spirit of Elucidation') is a voluminous exegesis written in Arabic, combines the author's own ideas with those of his predecessors (notably Ibn Arabi and Al-Ghazali).
Translations
Translating the Quran has always been problematic and difficult. Many argue that the Quranic text cannot be reproduced in another language or form. An Arabic word may have a Polysemy depending on the context, making an accurate translation difficult. Moreover, one of the biggest difficulties in understanding the Quran for those who do not know Ancient Arabic in the face of shifts in linguistics over the centuries is semantic translations (meanings) that include the translator's contributions to the relevant text instead of literal ones. Although the author's contributions are often bracketed and shown separately, the author's individual tendencies may also come to the fore in making sense of the main text. These studies contain reflections and even distortions caused by the region, Islamic sects, education, ideology and knowledge of the people who made them, and efforts to reach the real content are drowned in the details of volumes of commentaries. These distortions can manifest themselves in many areas of belief and practices.
Recitation
Rules of recitation
The proper recitation of the Quran is the subject of a separate discipline named tajwid which determines in detail how the Quran should be recited, how each individual syllable is to be pronounced, the need to pay attention to the places where there should be a pause, to , where the pronunciation should be long or short, where letters should be sounded together and where they should be kept separate, etc. It may be said that this discipline studies the laws and methods of the proper recitation of the Quran and covers three main areas: the proper pronunciation of and (the articulation of the Quranic ), the rules of pause in recitation and of resumption of recitation, and the musical and melodious features of recitation.:
(2009). 9780754634577, Routledge. ISBN 9780754634577 Southeast Asia is well known for world-class recitation, evidenced in the popularity of the woman reciters such as Maria Ulfah of Jakarta. Today, crowds fill auditoriums for public Quran recitation competitions.
Variant readings
The variant readings of the Quran are one type of textual variant.: According to Melchert (2008), the majority of disagreements have to do with vowels to supply, most of them in turn not conceivably reflecting dialectal differences and about one in eight disagreements has to do with whether to place dots above or below the line. Nasser categorizes variant readings into various subtypes, including internal vowels, long vowels, gemination ( shaddah), assimilation and alternation.
Writing and printing
Writing
Before printing was widely adopted in the 19th century, the Quran was transmitted in manuscripts made by calligraphers and copyists. The earliest manuscripts were written in Hijazi script-typescript. The Hijazi style manuscripts nevertheless confirm that transmission of the Quran in writing began at an early stage. Probably in the ninth century, scripts began to feature thicker strokes, which are traditionally known as Kufic scripts. Toward the end of the ninth century, new scripts began to appear in copies of the Quran and replace earlier scripts. The reason for discontinuation in the use of the earlier style was that it took too long to produce and the demand for copies was increasing. Copyists would therefore choose simpler writing styles. Beginning in the 11th century, the styles of writing employed were primarily the naskh, muhaqqaq, rayḥānī and, on rarer occasions, the thuluth script. Naskh was in very widespread use. In North Africa and Iberia, the Maghrebi script style was popular. More distinct is the Bihari script which was used solely in the north of India. Nastaʻlīq style was also rarely used in Persian world.
Printing
Woodcut of extracts from the Quran is on record as early as the 10th century.
(2025). 9781349740307, Springer. ISBN 9781349740307
Criticism
Regarding the claim of divine origin, critics refer to pre-existing sources, not only taken from the Bible, supposed to be older revelations of God, but also from heretic, Apocryphia and sources, such as the Syriac Infancy Gospel and Gospel of James. The Quran acknowledges that accusations of borrowing popular ancient fables were being made against Muhammad.
Relationship with other literature
Some non-Muslim groups such as the Baháʼí Faith and Druze view the Quran as holy. In the Baháʼí Faith, the Quran is accepted as authentic revelation from God along with the revelations of the other world religions, Islam being viewed as a stage within the divine process of progressive revelation. Bahá'u'lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Baháʼí Faith, wrote about the Quran. Unitarian Universalists may also seek inspiration from the Quran. It has been suggested that the Quran has some narrative similarities to the Diatessaron, Protoevangelium of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Arabic Infancy Gospel. One scholar has suggested that the Diatessaron, as a gospel harmony, may have led to the conception that the Christian Gospel is one text.
Relationship with The Bible
The Quran attributes its relationship with former books (the Torah and the ) to their unique origin, saying all of them have been revealed by the God, through it asserts that Jews and Christians have corrupted it through falsification and alteration (Tahrif).
Relationship with Arab writing
After the Quran, and the general rise of Islam, the Arabic alphabet developed rapidly into an art form. The Arabic grammarian Sibawayh wrote one of the earliest books on Arabic grammar, referred to as "Al-Kitab", which relied heavily on the language in the Quran. 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 the Quran exerted a particular influence on Arabic literature's diction, themes, metaphors, motifs and symbols and added new expressions and new meanings to old, pre-Islamic words that would become ubiquitous.
See also
Notes
Citations
Sources
(2025). 9780199730049, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199730049
Henry Corbin (1993). 9780710304162, Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies. ISBN 9780710304162
Further reading
Introductory texts
(1970). 9780748605972, Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748605972
Traditional Quranic commentaries (tafsir)
Topical studies
(2025). 9780061438288, Harper One. ISBN 9780061438288
Literary criticism
Encyclopedias
(2025). 9789004114654, Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 9789004114654
(2025). 9780415775298, Routledge. ISBN 9780415775298
Academic journals
External links
Reference material
Manuscripts
Quran browsers and translation
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