Quran

Quran
Arabic: ٱلْقُرْآن, romanizedal-Qurʾān
Quran opened, resting on a stand
Information
ReligionIslam
LanguageClassical Arabic
Period610–632 CE
Chapters114 (list)
See Surah
Verses6,348 (including the basmala)
6,236 (excluding the basmala)
See Āyah
Full text
Quran at Arabic Wikisource
Quran at English Wikisource

The Quran,[iii] also romanized Qur'an or Koran,[iv] is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God.[11] It is organized in 114 chapters (Surah) which consist of individual verses (ayat). In addition to its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature,[12][13][14] and has significantly influenced the Arabic language.

Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final Islamic prophet Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on the Night of Power,[15] when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death at age 61–62.[11][16][17] Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle, a proof of his prophethood,[18] and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to the first Islamic prophet Adam, including the Islamic holy books of the Torah, Psalms, and Gospel.

The Quran is believed by Muslims to be not simply divinely inspired, but the literal words of God, and provides a complete code of conduct that offers guidance in every walk of their life.[19][additional citation(s) needed] This divine character attributed to the Quran led Muslim theologians to fiercely debate whether the Quran was either "created or uncreated."[20] According to tradition, several of Muhammad's companions served as scribes, recording the revelations.[21] Shortly after the prophet's death, the Quran was compiled by the companions, who had written down or memorized parts of it.[22] Caliph Uthman established a standard version, now known as the Uthmanic codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today. There are, however, variant readings, with mostly minor differences in meaning. Controversy over the Quran's content integrity has rarely become an issue among Muslim history[23][v] despite some hadiths stating that the textual integrity of the Quran was not preserved.[25]

The Quran assumes the reader's familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical and apocryphal scriptures. It summarizes some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events.[26][27] The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance for humankind (2:185). It sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence.[28] 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,[29][vi] are hadiths—oral and written traditions believed to describe words and actions of Muhammad.[vii][29] During prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic.[30] Someone who has memorized the entire Quran is called a hafiz. Ideally, verses are recited with a special kind of prosody reserved for this purpose, called tajwid. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during tarawih 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.[31]

  1. ^ dictionary.reference.com: koran
  2. ^ dictionary.reference.com: quran
  3. ^ Cambridge dictionary: koran
  4. ^ Cambridge dictionary: quran
  5. ^ "Alcoran". Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. 1 (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1888. p. 210.
  6. ^ a b "Google Books Ngram Viewer". Google Books. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Koran". Oxford English Dictionary. Vol. 5 (1st ed.). Oxford University Press. 1901. p. 753.
  8. ^ "Koran". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  9. ^ "Quran". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  10. ^ "Koran". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.
  11. ^ a b Nasr 2007
  12. ^ Arberry, Arthur (1956). The Koran Interpreted. London. p. 191. ISBN 0-684-82507-4. It may be affirmed that within the literature of the Arabs, wide and fecund as it is both in poetry and in elevated prose, there is nothing to compare with it.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)[clarification needed]
  13. ^ Toropov, Brandon; Buckles, Luke (2004). Complete Idiot's Guide to World Religions. Alpha. p. 126. ISBN 978-1-59257-222-9. Muslims believe that Muhammad's many divine encounters during his years in Mecca and Medina inspired the remainder of the Qur'an, which, nearly fourteen centuries later, remains the Arabic language's preeminent masterpiece.
  14. ^ Esposito, John (2010). Islam: The Straight Path (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-19-539600-3. Throughout history, many Arab Christians as well have regarded it as the perfection of the Arabic language and literature.
  15. ^ Surah Al-Qadr 97
  16. ^ Fisher, Mary Pat (1997). Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths (Rev. ed.). London: I. B. Tauris Publishers. p. 338.
  17. ^ Quran 17:106
  18. ^ Peters, F.E. (2003). The Words and Will of God. Princeton University Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 978-0-691-11461-3.
  19. ^ Carroll, Jill. "The Quran & Hadith". World Religions. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  20. ^ Patton, Ibn Ḥanbal and the Miḥna, 1897: p.54
  21. ^ Donner, Fred (2006). "The historical context". In McAuliffe, Jane Dammen (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'ān. Cambridge University Press. pp. 31–33.
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference jecampo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  23. ^ Warraq I, et al. Warraq I (ed.). "The Origins of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam's Holy Book". The Christian response to the Muslim debate. Summarised by Sharon Morad, Leeds. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference peters-1991 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ https://www.al-islam.org/quran-its-protection-alteration-sayyid-saeed-akhtar-rizvi/some-ahadith-omission
  26. ^ Nigosian, Solomon A. (2004). Islam: Its History, Teaching and Practices (New ed.). Indiana University Press. pp. 65–80. ISBN 978-0-253-21627-4.
  27. ^ Wheeler, Brannon M. (2002). Prophets in the Quran: an introduction to the Quran and Muslim exegesis. Continuum. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-8264-4956-6.
  28. ^ Nasr 2003, p. 42
  29. ^ a b Sandıkcı, Özlem; Rice, Gillian (2011). Handbook of Islamic Marketing. Edward Elgar. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-84980-013-6.
  30. ^ Street, Brian V. (2001). Literacy and Development: Ethnographic Perspectives. p. 193.
  31. ^ Brown, Norman O. (1991). Apocalypse And/or Metamorphosis. University of California Press. p. 81. ISBN 0-520-07298-7.


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