Information AboutQuran |
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The Qur’ān over a period of twenty-three years''Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths,'' Mary Pat Fisher, 1997, page 338, I.B. Tauris Publishers, Qur'an, Chapter 17, Verse 106 and view the Qur'an as God's final revelation to humanity. Qur'an, Chapter 33, Verse 40 Watton, Victor, (1993), ''A student's approach to world religions:Islam'', Hodder & Stoughton, pg 1. ISBN 0-340-58795-4 Muslims regard the Qur'ān as the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with those revealed to 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.'' Qur'ān, Chapter 15, Verse 9 Qur'ān Chapter 5, Verse 46 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 Quran 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)." However, the Quran in a single manuscript form was only made during the reign of the Caliph Othman who ordered the production of several copies. Sahih Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 201 ETYMOLOGY AND MEANING The original usage of the word "'" is in the Qur'an itself, where it occurs about 70 times assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun (') of the and Gospel .See:
The term also has closely related Synonym s which are employed throughout the Qur'an. Each of the synonyms possess their own distinct meaning, but their use may converge with that of ''ķur`ān'' in certain contexts. Such terms include "'" ("book"); "'" ("sign"); and "''''" ("scripture"). The latter two terms also denote units of revelation. Other related words are: "''''", meaning "remembrance," used to refer to the Qur'an in the sense of a reminder and warning; and "''''", meaning "wisdom," sometimes referring to the revelation or part of it.According to Welch in the Encyclopedia of Islam, the verses pertaining to the usage of the word ''hikma'' "should probably be interpreted in the light of IV, 105, where it is said that Muhammad is to judge ( tahkum) mankind on the basis of the Book sent down to him." FORMAT See Also: Sura The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, each known as a ''sura''. Each chapter possesses a title: usually a word mentioned within the chapter itself. In general the longer chapters appear earlier in the Quran, while the shorter ones appear later. As such, the arrangement is not connected to the sequence of revelation. Each chapter commences with the ''bismillah ir rahman nir rahimm'',Arabic: , transliterated as: ''''. an Arabic phrase meaning ("In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful"), with the exception of the ninth chapter.There are, however, still 114 occurrences of the basmala in the Qur'an, due to its presence in verse 27:30 as the opening of Solomon's letter to the Queen of Sheba. cf. Encyclopedia Of Islam , "Kur`an, al-"See:
Literary structure The Quran'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 Quran as a standard by which other Arabic literature should be measured. Muslims point out (in accordance with the Quran itself) that the Quranic content and style is inimitable. Issa Boullata, ''Literary Structure of Qur'an'', Encyclopedia Of The Qur'an , vol.3 p.192, 204 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 Oracle s. Some later portions also preserve this form but also in a style where the movement is calm and the style expository. {Link without Title} 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." Michael Sells, ''Approaching the Qur'an'' (White Cloud Press, 1999), and Norman O. Brown, "The Apocalypse of Islam." ''Social Text'' 3:8 (1983-1984) 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?" Michael Sells, ''Approaching the Qur'an'' (White Cloud Press, 1999) ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT See Also: Origin of the Qur'an According to Islam, Muhammad received the Qur'an as a series of revelations from God through the angel Gabriel (see ), and is reported to have had mysterious seizures at the moments of inspiration. 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, since they are unlikely to have been invented by later Muslims. 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. Encyclopedia Of Islam online, Muhammad article 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 one God (Allah).1 Based on Islam and nature of pre-islamic Arabia it is generally accepted Muhammad could neither read nor write. He was seen as intelligent and wise man who would simply recite what was revealed to him for his companions to write down and memorize. However some scholars (mostly Western)- ( Christoph Luxenberg , Maxime Rodinson , William Montgomery Watt , etc.) - used to argue that the claim that Muhammad was not able to read and write at all is based on weak traditions and that, because of many details concerning Muhammad's biography and teachings, it is not convincing. Adherents to Islam hold that the wording of the Qur'anic text available today corresponds exactly to that revealed to 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 Allah, 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. 2 Some non-Muslim scholars accept a similar account, but without accepting any supernatural claims: they say that Muhammad put forth verses and laws that he claimed to be of divine origin; that his followers memorized or wrote down his revelations; that numerous versions of these revelations circulated after his death in 632 CE . They claim that first Abu Bakr ordered its compilation and then Uthman ordered the collection and ordering of this mass of material circa 650-656. These scholars point to many attributes of the Qur'ān as indicative of a human collection process that was extremely respectful of a miscellaneous collection of original texts. Originality Dispute , http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_301_350/a_divine_guidance_or_a_historica.htm LANGUAGE The Qur'an is thought to be one of the first texts written in Arabic. It is written in the classical Arabic which is also the Arabic of Pre-Islamic Poetry including the '' Mu'allaqat '', or ''Suspended Odes''. Some scholars argue that the first Qur'an was not written in Arabic, but instead the spoken language of the time, namely a later Syro-Aramaic. From ''The Foreign Vocabulary Of The Qur'an'', Arthur Jeffery 1938, LITERARY USAGE ]] 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
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| Most Muslims Treat Paper Copies Of The Qur'an With Veneration, Ritually Washing Before Reading The Qur'anMahfouz (2006), P35 Worn Out Qur'ans Are Not Discarded As Wastepaper, But Are Buried Or Burnt{{cite Web Url | http://wwwsalafyinkcom/articles/What%20should%20be%20done%20with%20a%20torn%20Mushafpdf title=How is a torn Mushaf (Qur'an) disposed of accessdate=2007-04-18 author=The Permanent Committee of Research & Islamic Rulings |
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