Template:Short description Template:About Template:Pp-move Template:Pp-semi-indef Template:Use American English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox religious text
The Quran,Template:Efn also romanized Qur'an or Koran,Template:Efn is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God (Allāh). It is organized in 114 chapters (Template:Transliteration, Template:Pl. Template:Transliteration) which consist of individual verses (Template:Transliteration). Besides its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Alpha">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Esposito">Template:Cite book</ref> and has significantly influenced the Arabic language. 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, Psalms, 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 (Template:Reign) by the companions, who had written down or memorized parts of it. Caliph Uthman (Template:Reign) 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 and apocryphal texts. 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 (Template:Qref). It sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance 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 hadiths—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 Template:Transliteration. Ideally, verses are recited with a special kind of prosody reserved for this purpose called Template:Transliteration. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during Template:Transliteration 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. Template:Quran
Etymology and meaningEdit
The word Template:Transliteration appears about 70 times in the Quran itself,<ref name="Wheeler2002">Template:Cite book</ref> assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun ([[Arabic verbs#Verbal noun (maṣdar)|Template:Transliteration]]) of the Arabic verb Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) meaning 'he read' or 'he recited'. The Syriac equivalent is Template:Transliteration ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), which refers to 'scripture reading' or 'lesson'.<ref name="Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While some Western scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, the majority of Muslim authorities hold the origin of the word is Template:Transliteration itself.<ref name="Britannica">Template:Harvnb</ref> Regardless, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammad's lifetime.<ref name="Britannica" /> An important meaning of the word is the 'act of reciting', as reflected in an early Quranic passage: "It is for Us to collect it and to recite it (Template:Transliteration)."<ref>Template:Qref</ref>
In other verses, the word refers to 'an individual passage recited [by Muhammad]'. Its liturgical context is seen in a number of passages, for example: "So when Template:Transliteration is recited, listen to it and keep silent."<ref>Template:Qref</ref> The word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel.<ref>See "Ķur'an, al-", Encyclopedia of Islam Online and Template:Qref</ref>
The term also has closely related synonyms that are employed throughout the Quran. Each synonym possesses its own distinct meaning, but its use may converge with that of Template:Transliteration in certain contexts. Such terms include Template:Transliteration ('book'), Template:Transliteration ('sign'), and Template:Transliteration ('scripture'); the latter two terms also denote units of revelation. In the large majority of contexts, usually with a definite article (Template:Transliteration), the word is referred to as the Template:Transliteration ('revelation'), that which has been "sent down" (Template:Transliteration) at intervals.<ref>Template:Qref cf.</ref><ref>Template:Qref cf.</ref> Other related words include: Template:Transliteration ('remembrance'), used to refer to the Quran in the sense of a reminder and warning; and Template:Transliteration ('wisdom'), sometimes referring to the revelation or part of it.<ref name=Britannica />Template:Efn
The Quran describes itself as 'the discernment' (Template:Transliteration), 'the mother book' (Template:Transliteration), 'the guide' (Template:Transliteration), 'the wisdom' (Template:Transliteration), 'the remembrance' (Template:Transliteration), and 'the revelation' (Template:Transliteration; 'something sent down', signifying the descent of an object from a higher place to lower place).<ref name=Jaffer>Template:Cite book</ref> Another term is Template:Transliteration ('The Book'), though it is also used in the Arabic language for other scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospels. The term Template:Transliteration ('written work') is often used to refer to particular Quranic manuscripts but is also used in the Quran to identify earlier revealed books.<ref name="Britannica" />
HistoryEdit
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Prophetic eraEdit
Islamic tradition relates that Muhammad received his first revelation in 610 CE in the Cave of Hira on the Night of Power<ref name="surah al-qadr">Template:Qref</ref> during one of his isolated retreats to the mountains. Thereafter, he received revelations over a period of 23 years. According to Template:Transliteration (traditions ascribed to Muhammad)Template:Efn<ref name="handbook">Template:Cite book</ref> and Muslim history, after Muhammad and his followers immigrated to Medina and formed an independent Muslim community, he ordered many of his companions to recite the Quran and to learn and teach the laws, which were revealed daily. It is related that some of the Quraysh who were taken prisoners at the Battle of Badr regained their freedom after they had taught some of the Muslims the simple writing of the time. Thus a group of Muslims gradually became literate. As it was initially spoken, the Quran was recorded on tablets, bones, and the wide, flat ends of date palm fronds. Most suras (also usually transliterated as Surah) were in use amongst early Muslims since they are mentioned in numerous sayings by both Sunni and Shia sources, relating Muhammad's use of the Quran as a call to Islam, the making of prayer and the manner of recitation. However, the Quran did not exist in book form at the time of Muhammad's death in 632 at age 61–62.<ref name="Britannica" /><ref name="LivRlgP338">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Qref</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb</ref><ref name=watt>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=chi>Template:Cite book</ref> There is agreement among scholars that Muhammad himself did not write down the revelation.<ref name=denffer>Template:Cite book</ref>
Template:Transliteration 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)."Template:Efn 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,"<ref>Template:Qref</ref> 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."<ref name=watt /><ref>Template:Qref</ref> 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, 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.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia </ref>
The Quran describes Muhammad as "Template:Transliteration",<ref>Template:Qref</ref> which is traditionally interpreted as 'illiterate', but the meaning is rather more complex. Medieval commentators such as al-Tabari (Template:Died in) 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 Template:Transliteration—they take it to indicate unfamiliarity with earlier sacred texts.<ref name=watt /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The final verse of the Quran was revealed on the 18th of the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the year 10 A.H., 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 Template:Transliteration (meaning letters; however, it could mean dialects, forms, styles or modes).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Most Islamic scholars agree that these different Template:Transliteration are the same Quran revealed in seven different Arabic dialects 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 tribes.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While Sunni Muslims believe in the seven Template:Transliteration, some Shia reject the idea of seven Quranic variants.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A common misconception is that the seven Template:Transliteration and the Template:Transliteration are the same.
Compilation and preservationEdit
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{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Following Muhammad's death in 632, a number of his companions who memorized the Quran were killed in the Battle of al-Yamama by Musaylima. The first caliph, Abu Bakr (Template:Reign), subsequently decided to collect the book in one volume so that it could be preserved.<ref name="jecampo" /> Zayd ibn Thabit (Template:Died in) was the person to collect the Quran since "he used to write the Divine Inspiration for Allah's Apostle".<ref name="Donner-Companion">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Thus, a group of scribes, most importantly Zayd, collected the verses and produced a hand-written manuscript of the complete book. The manuscript according to Zayd remained with Abu Bakr until he died. Zayd's reaction to the task and the difficulties in collecting the Quranic material from parchments, palm-leaf stalks, thin stones (collectively known as Template:Transliteration, any written work containing divine teachings)<ref name="demyth-62">Template:Cite journal</ref> and from men who knew it by heart is recorded in earlier narratives. In 644, Muhammad's widow Hafsa bint Umar was entrusted with the manuscript until the third caliph, Uthman (Template:Reign),<ref name="Donner-Companion" /> requested the standard copy from her.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to historian Michael Cook, early Muslim narratives about the collection and compilation of the Quran sometimes contradict themselves: "Most ... make Uthman little more than an editor, but there are some in which he appears very much a collector, appealing to people to bring him any bit of the Quran they happen to possess." Some accounts also "suggest that in fact the material" Abu Bakr worked with "had already been assembled", which since he was the first caliph, would mean they were collected when Muhammad was still alive.Template:Sfn
Around the 650s, the Islamic expansion beyond the Arabian Peninsula and into Persia, the Levant and North Africa, as well as the use of the seven Template:Transliteration, 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.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> 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.<ref name="Tabatabae1988p99">Template:Harvnb: <templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
Since the word of God seemed threatened with alteration, the [third] caliph ordered that five of the {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} from amongst the companions, (one of them being Zayd ibn Thābit who had compiled the first volume), produce other copies from the first volume which had been prepared on the orders of the first caliph and which had been kept with Ḥafṣah, the wife of the Prophet and daughter of the second caliph.
The other copies, already in the hands of Muslims in other areas, were collected and sent to Medina where, on orders of the Caliph, they were burnt (or, according to some historians, were destroyed by boiling). Thus several copies were made, one being kept in Medina, one in Mecca, and one each sent to Sham (a territory now divided into Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan), Kufa and Basra.
It is said that beside these five, one copy was also sent to Yemen and one to Bahrein. These copies were called the Imam copies and served as original for all future copies. The only difference of order between these copies and the first volume was that the chapters "Spirits of War" and "Immunity" were written in one place between "The Heights" and "Jonah."{{#if:|{{#if:|}}
— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries}}
{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Blockquote with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | author | by | char | character | cite | class | content | multiline | personquoted | publication | quote | quotesource | quotetext | sign | source | style | text | title | ts }}</ref><ref name="sbukhari1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Thus, within 20 years of Muhammad's death in 632,Template:Sfn 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.<ref name="Tabatabae1988p99" /><ref name="rippin">Template:Harvnb:
- "Poetry and Language", by Navid Kermani, pp. 107–20.
- For the history of compilation see "Introduction," by Tamara Sonn, pp. 5–6
- For eschatology, see "Discovering (final destination)", by Christopher Buck, p. 30.
- For literary structure, see "Language," by Mustansir Mir, p. 93.
- For writing and printing, see "Written Transmission", by François Déroche, pp. 172–87.
- For recitation, see "Recitation," by Anna M. Gade pp. 481–93</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation
|CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Sfn and the six other Template:Transliteration of the Quran fell out of use.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> The present form of the Quran text is accepted by Muslim scholars to be the original version compiled by Abu Bakr.<ref name="watt" /><ref name="chi" />Template:EfnTemplate:Efn
Qira'at which is a way and method of reciting the Quran was developed sometime afterwards. There are ten canonical recitations and they are not to be confused with ahruf. Shias recite the Quran according to the Template:Transliteration of Hafs on authority of ‘Asim, which is the prevalent Template:Transliteration in the Islamic world<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and believe that the Quran was gathered and compiled by Muhammad during his lifetime.<ref name="Shirazi01">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Shirazi03">Template:Cite book</ref> It is claimed that the Shia had more than 1,000 hadiths ascribed to the Shia Imams which indicate the distortion of the Quran<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and according to Etan Kohlberg, this belief about Quran was common among Shiites in the early centuries of Islam.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In his view, Ibn Babawayh was the first major Twelver author "to adopt a position identical to that of the Sunnis" 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".<ref>Kohlberg & Amir-Moezzi 2009, p.24-26-27</ref> 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 Umayyads and Abbasids.<ref>Kohlberg & Amir-Moezzi 2009, pp.20, 24</ref>
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.<ref name="Britannica" /><ref name="Tabatabae1988p99"/><ref name="leaman">Template:Cite book
- For God in the Quran (Allah), see "Allah", by Zeki Saritoprak, pp. 33–40.
- For eschatology, see "Eschatology," by Zeki Saritoprak, pp. 194–99.
- For searching the Arabic text on the internet and writing, see "Cyberspace and the Qur'an", by Andrew Rippin, pp. 159–63.
- For calligraphy, see by "Calligraphy and the Qur'an" by Oliver Leaman, pp. 130–35.
- For translation, see "Translation and the Qur'an," by Afnan Fatani, pp. 657–69.
- For recitation, see "Art and the Qur'an" by Tamara Sonn, pp. 71–81; and "Reading", by Stefan Wild, pp. 532–35.</ref>
Academic researchEdit
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Studies on the Quran rarely went beyond textual criticism.Template:When<ref>Religions of the world Lewis M. Hopfe – 1979 "Some Muslims have suggested and practiced textual criticism of the Quran in a manner similar to that practiced by Christians and Jews on their bibles. No one has yet suggested the higher criticism of the Quran."</ref><ref>Egypt's culture wars: politics and practice – Page 278 Samia Mehrez – 2008 Middle East report: Issues 218–222; Issues 224–225 Middle East Research & Information Project, JSTOR (Organization) – 2001 Shahine filed to divorce Abu Zayd from his wife, on the grounds that Abu Zayd's textual criticism of the Quran made him an apostate, and hence unfit to marry a Muslim. Abu Zayd and his wife eventually relocated to the Netherlands</ref> Until the early 1970s,<ref name="FMDQiRS2008:30">Donner, "Quran in Recent Scholarship", 2008: p.30</ref> non-Muslim scholars of Islam —while not accepting traditional explanations for divine intervention— accepted the above-mentioned traditional origin story in most details.<ref name="jecampo">Template:Cite book</ref>
[[File:Birmingham_mushaf_Bismillah.png|thumb|290x290px|The basmala as written on the [[Birmingham Quran manuscript|Birmingham Template:Transliteration manuscript]], one of the oldest surviving copies of the Quran
Rasm: "ٮسم الله الرحمں الرحىم"]]
University of Chicago professor Fred Donner states that:<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
[T]here was a very early attempt to establish a uniform consonantal text of the Qurʾān 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.<ref name="melchert2" /><ref>Ibn Warraq, Which Koran? Variants, Manuscript, Linguistics, p. 45. Prometheus Books, 2011. Template:ISBN</ref> There has been no critical text produced on which a scholarly reconstruction of the Quranic text could be based.Template:Efn
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 palimpsests, 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 (Template:Transliteration) is still barely visible.<ref name=jqs1>Template:Cite journal</ref> Studies using radiocarbon dating indicate that the parchments are dated to the period before 671 CE with a 99 percent probability.<ref name=bergmann>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=sadeghi>Template:Cite journal</ref> The German 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.<ref name="LESTER-1999">Template:Cite journal</ref> 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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> an additional finding that sheds light on the evolutionary history of the Quran mentioned,<ref name="LESTER-1999"/> which is known to continue even during the time of Hajjaj,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn in a similar situation that can be seen with al-Aksa, though different suggestions have been put forward to explain.Template:Refn
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.<ref name=oldest>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name=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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Birmingham manuscript caused excitement amongst believers because of its potential overlapping with the dominant tradition over the lifetime of Muhammad Template:Circa to 632 CE<ref name=Goldman>Elizabeth 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,Template:Page needed University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011.</ref> and used as evidence to support conventional wisdom and to refute the revisionists' views<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> that expresses findings and views different from the traditional approach to the early history of the Quran and Islam.
ContentsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The Quranic content is concerned with basic Islamic beliefs including the existence of God and the resurrection. Narratives of the early prophets, ethical and legal subjects, historical events of Muhammad's time, charity and prayer also appear in the Quran. The Quranic verses contain general exhortations regarding right and wrong and historical events are related to outline general moral lessons.<ref name=saeed>Template:Cite book</ref> The style of the Quran has been called "allusive", with commentaries needed to explain what is being referred to—"events are referred to, but not narrated; disagreements are debated without being explained; people and places are mentioned, but rarely named."<ref name="Crone-2008">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While tafsir in Islamic sciences expresses the effort to understand the implied and implicit expressions of the Quran, fiqh refers to the efforts to expand the meaning of expressions, especially in the verses related to the provisions, as well as understanding it.<ref name=vogel>Template:Cite book</ref>
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 culture of Arabs and many nations in their historical neighbourhoods, especially Judeo-Christian stories,<ref name="Bietenholz">Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The stories of Yusuf and Zulaikha, Moses, Family of Amram (parents of Mary according to the Quran) and mysterious hero<ref>Template:Harvnb: "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." Template:Harvnb: "[...] Template:Transliteration (usually identified with Alexander the Great) [...]".</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Dhul-Qarnayn ("the man with two horns") who built a barrier against Gog and Magog that will remain until the end of time 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 exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, tales of the hebrew prophets accepted in Islam, such as Creation, the Flood, struggle of Abraham with Nimrod, sacrifice of his son occupy a wide place in the Quran.
Creation and GodEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The central theme of the Quran is monotheism. God is depicted as living, eternal, omniscient and omnipotent (see, e.g., Quran Template:Qref, Template:Qref, Template:Qref). God's omnipotence appears above all in his power to create. He is the creator of everything, of the heavens and the earth and what is between them (see, e.g., Quran Template:Qref, Template:Qref, Template:Qref, etc.). All human beings are equal in their utter dependence upon God, and their well-being depends upon their acknowledging that fact and living accordingly.<ref name=watt /><ref name=saeed /> The Quran uses cosmological and contingency arguments in various verses without referring to the terms to prove the existence of God. Therefore, the universe is originated and needs an originator, and whatever exists must have a sufficient cause for its existence. Besides, the design of the universe is frequently referred to as a point of contemplation: "It is He who has created seven heavens in harmony. You cannot see any fault in God's creation; then look again: Can you see any flaw?"<ref>Template:Qref</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
Even though Muslims do not doubt about the existence and unity of God, 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<ref name="Yuskaev2017">Template:Cite book</ref> 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 the sky 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."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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 Template:Transliteration—"no one knows its interpretation except God" (Template:Qref)—by later scholars stating that God was free from resemblance to humans in any way.Template:Refn
ProphetsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In Islam, God speaks to people called prophets through a kind of revelation called wahy, or through angels. (Template:Qref) nubuwwah (Template:Langx 'prophethood') is seen as a duty imposed by God on individuals who have some characteristics such as intelligence, honesty, fortitude and justice: "Nothing is said to you that was not said to the messengers before you, that your lord has at his Command forgiveness as well as a most Grievous Penalty."<ref>Template:Qref</ref>Template:Citation needed
Islam regards Abraham as a link in the chain of prophets that begins with Adam and culminates in Muhammad via IshmaelTemplate:Sfn and mentioned in 35 chapters of the Quran, more often than any other biblical personage apart from Moses.Template:Sfn Muslims regard him as a hanif,Template:Sfn an archetype of the perfect Muslim, and revered prophet and builder of the Kaaba in Mecca.Template:Sfn The Quran consistently refers to Islam as 'the religion of Abraham' (Template:Tlit).<ref>Template:Qref</ref> 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.<ref name="Glasse">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Better source needed</ref><ref name="Keeler"/>
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.<ref>Hagen, G. (2009). "From Haggadic Exegesis To Myth: Popular Stories Of The Prophets In Islam". In Sacred Tropes: Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur’an as Literature and Culture. Leiden, Niederlande: Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/ej.9789004177529.i-536.65</ref>
Ethico-religious conceptsEdit
While belief in God and obedience to the prophets are the main emphasis in the prophetic stories,<ref name=toshihiko>Template:Cite book</ref> 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 Quran 18:65–82) 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 Qārūn, 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)<ref>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 Template:ISBN</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> or Aesop.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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 Islamist / jihadist indoctrination today, as well as Shiite teachings.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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 "husn" 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.<ref>T. Izutsu, Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Qur’an, London, McGillQueen’s University Press, 2002, p. 213</ref>
;_Abraham_cast_into_fire_by_Nimrod_(bottom).jpg){kind=link}
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 month of Ramadan. As for the manner in which the prayer is to be conducted, the Quran refers to prostration.<ref name=jecampo /><ref name=rcmartin>Template:Cite book</ref> The term chosen for charity, zakat, literally means purification implies that it is a self-purification.<ref name=tsonn /><ref>Template:Qref</ref> 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 5 daily prayers 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,<ref>Zum Beispiel Sayyid Ahmad Khan. Vgl. Ahmad: Islamic Modernism in India and Pakistan 1857–1964. 1967, S. 49.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>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.</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> not 5 times. About six verses adress to the way a woman should dress when in public;<ref name="bucar">Template:Cite book</ref> Some Muslim scholars consider this verse referring to the Hijab<ref name=Hameed>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> while others to clothings in general.<ref name="Asra-2015">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:Refn
Research shows that the rituals in the Quran, along with laws such as qisas<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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-Arabic inscriptions,Template:Sfn and this continuity can be observed in many details, especially in hajj and umrah.Template:Sfn
As a source of law and judgmentEdit
Template:See also A small number of verses in the Quran are about general rules of governance, inheritance, marriage, crime and punishment. Although the Quran does not impose a specific legal-management system, it emphasizes custom in nearly 40 verses and commands justice. (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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="tahir2009">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Qref<ref name=davidpowers>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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 hadd crimes and people who did not have credibility and honesty in society (slaves, non-adl; sinners, infidels) could not testify against believers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In addition, the Islamic judiciary did not require proof of the issues defined as tazir.<ref name="tahir2009"/>Template:Rp The statement in the Quran that determines the status of slaves in community is; Ma malakat aymanuhum<ref>{{#invoke:URL|url}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:URL with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y | 1 | 2 }}</ref> meaning "those whom your right hands possess". The widespread use of slavery in the Islamic world continued until the last century,Template:Refn and the unrestricted sexual use of female slaves, with a few exceptions such as they couldn't be loaned outTemplate:Refn in traditional islamic jurisprudence while stated today often that sharia provides many rights to slaves and aims to eradicate slavery over time.
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. Fiqh sects 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 sect, in order to claim that something is obligatory, 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.Template:Refn 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.<ref name="AutoN0-18">Template:Cite journal</ref> The verse talks about the punishment of criminals by killing, hanging, having their hands and feet cut off on opposite sides, 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<ref name="AutoN0-18"/> 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 brought calls by Islamic movements for the full implementation of sharia, including corporal punishment such as stoning for adultery,<ref name=vikor>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name=mayer>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> through a variety of propaganda methods, from civic political activities to terrorism.
EschatologyEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The doctrine of the last day and eschatology (the final fate of the universe) may be considered the second great doctrine of the Quran.<ref name=watt /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> 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.<ref name=rcmartin />
In the Quran belief in the afterlife is often referred in conjunction with belief in God: "Believe in God and the last day"<ref name=haleem>Template:Cite book</ref> emphasizing what is considered impossible is easy in the sight of God. A number of suras 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'.<ref name=watt />
Text and arrangementEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} 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;Template:Efn 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 stems, 3,382 lemmas and 1,685 roots.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Chapters are classified as Meccan or Medinan, 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.<ref>see Template:Cite book</ref> Each sūrah except the ninth starts with the Bismillah ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), 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 Template:Qref as the opening of Solomon's letter to the Queen of Sheba.<ref>See:* "Kur`an, al-", Encyclopaedia of Islam Online</ref>Template:Sfn
The Muqattaʿat (Template:Langx Template:Transliteration, 'disjoined letters, disconnected letters';<ref>Template:Langx is the plural of a participle from Template:Langx, 'to cut, break'.</ref> also 'mysterious letters')<ref name="Massey2005" /> are combinations of between one and five Arabic letters figuring at the beginning of 29 out of the 114 chapters of the Quran just after the basmala.<ref name="Massey2005">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The letters are also known as fawātih ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), or 'openers', as they form the opening verse of their respective suras. Four surahs are named for their Template:Transliteration: Ṭāʾ-Hāʾ, Yāʾ-Sīn, 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,<ref>Suyūtī, al-Durr al-manthūr, vol. 1, p. 57.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> symbols of the versions of the Quran belonging to different companions, elements of a secret coding system,<ref>Rashad Khalifa, Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle, Islamic Productions International, 1982. Template:ISBN</ref> or expressions containing esoteric meanings.<ref name="marshall">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Some researchers associate them with hymns used in Syrian Christianity.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The phrases must have been part of these hymns or abbreviations of frequently repeated introductory phrases.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>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.</ref> Some of them, such as Nun, were used in symbolic meanings.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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 Template:Transliteration) can be used to read through the entire Quran in a month. A Template:Transliteration is sometimes further divided into two ḥizb (plural Template:Transliteration), and each Template:Transliteration subdivided into four Template:Transliteration. The Quran is also divided into seven approximately equal parts, manzil (plural Template:Transliteration), for it to be recited in a week.<ref name="Britannica" /> A different structure is provided by semantic units resembling paragraphs and comprising roughly ten Template:Transliteration each. Such a section is called a ruku.
Literary styleEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}}
The Quran's message is conveyed with various literary structures and devices. In the original Arabic, the suras and verses employ phonetic and thematic structures that assist the audience's efforts to recall the message of the text. MuslimsTemplate:Who assert (according to the Quran itself) that the Quranic content and style is inimitable.<ref name="Issa">Template:Citation</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Quranic text seems to have no beginning, middle, or end, its nonlinear structure being akin to a web or net.<ref name="Britannica" /> The textual arrangement is sometimes considered to exhibit lack of continuity, absence of any chronological or thematic order and repetitiousness.Template:EfnTemplate:Efn 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.<ref name="ApproachQuran">Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Sells also addresses the much-discussed repetitiveness of the Quran, seeing this, too, as a literary device.
A text is self-referential 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 (Template:Transliteration), remembrance (dhikr), news (Template:Transliteration), criterion (Template:Transliteration) 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?"),<ref>Template:Qref</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
InimitabilityEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} In Islam, Template:Transliteration (Template:Langx), "inimitability challenge" of the Quran in sense of feṣāḥa and belagha (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.<ref>Leaman, Oliver, ed. (2006). The Qur'an: an encyclopedia. Routledge. ISBN 9780415326391</ref> According to this, the Quran is a miracle and its inimitability is the proof granted to Muhammad in authentication of his prophetic status.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The literary quality of the Quran has been praised by Muslim scholars and by many non-Muslim scholars.<ref name=comments>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)</ref> 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.<ref name=sophia>Template:Cite journal</ref>
The Quran is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature.<ref>Template:Cite bookTemplate:Clarify</ref><ref name="Alpha"/><ref name="Esposito"/> The emergence of the Quran was an oral and aural poetic<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="pure.ed.ac.uk">Template:Cite journal</ref> Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry was an element of challenge, propaganda and warfare,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and those who incapacitated their opponents from doing the same in feṣāḥa and Belagha socially honored, as could be seen on Mu'allaqat poets. The etymology of the word "shā'ir; (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 spirits, the muses who inspired him.’<ref name="pure.ed.ac.uk"/> Although pre-Islamic Arabs gave poets status associated with suprahuman beings, soothsayers and prophecies were seen as persons of lower status. Contrary to later hurufic 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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> in wars that continued for hundreds of years with mutual victories and defeats.
The first works about the Template:Transliteration 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.<ref>Vgl. Martin 533</ref> According to grammarian Al-Rummani the eloquence contained in the Quran consisted of tashbīh, istiʿāra, taǧānus, mubālaġa, concision, clarity of speech (bayān), and talāʾum. 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).<ref>Vgl. Neuwirth 177 und Grotzfeld 65.</ref> 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').<ref name=larkin>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name=sophia/> Angelika Neuwirth lists the factors that led to the emergence of the doctrine of Template:Transliteration: The necessity of explaining some challenging verses in the Quran;<ref>Template:Qref</ref> In the context of the emergence of the theory of "proofs of prophecy" (dâ'il an-nubuwwa) in Islamic theology, 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.<ref>Vgl. Neuwirth 172-175.</ref> Orientalist scholars Theodor Nöldeke, Friedrich Schwally and John Wansbrough, pointing out linguistic defects, held similar opinions on the Quranic text as careless and imperfect.<ref name=lm>Template:Cite book</ref>
Significance in IslamEdit
Quran says, "We have sent down the Quran in truth, and with the truth it has come down"<ref>See:* Template:Harvnb
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Qref, Template:Qref</ref> and frequently asserts in its text that it is divinely ordained.<ref name="jenssen2001">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> 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.<ref name="tsonn">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Qref</ref>
Revered by pious Muslims as "the holy of holies",<ref name=AGI1954:74>Guillaume, Islam, 1954: p.74</ref> whose sound moves some to "tears and ecstasy",<ref name="meanings-iii">Template:Cite book</ref> it is the physical symbol of the faith, the text often used as a charm on occasions of birth, death, marriage. Traditionally, before starting to read the Quran, 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,
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.<ref name=AGI1954:74 /><ref name=iWWINaM1995:105>Ibn Warraq, Why I'm Not a Muslim, 1995: p.105</ref>
According to Islam, the Quran is the word of God (Template:Transliteration). Its nature and whether it was created became a matter of fierce debate among religious scholars;<ref name="WMP1897:54">Patton, Ibn Ḥanbal and the Miḥna, 1897: p.54</ref><ref name="Ruthven-192">Template:Cite book</ref> and with the involvement of the political authority in the discussions, some Muslim religious scholars who stood against the political stance faced religious persecution during the caliph 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 Template:Qref, it is protected from corruption ("Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its guardians").<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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",Template:Efn and see it as the source of scientific knowledge,<ref name="Guessoum-2008">Template:Cite journal</ref> though some refer to it as weird or pseudoscience.<ref name="SARDAR-2008">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Muslims believe the Quran to be God's literal words,<ref name="Britannica" /> a complete code of life,<ref name="Carroll-Q-H">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the final revelation to humanity, a work of divine guidance revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.<ref name = LivRlgP338 /><ref>Watton, Victor (1993), A student's approach to world religions: Islam, Hodder & Stoughton, p. 1. Template:ISBN</ref><ref name="Lambert">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Williams & Drew">Template:Cite bookTemplate:Dead link</ref> 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<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref>) might access, as "heirs of the prophets".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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;<ref>Jens Zimmermann, Hermeneutics: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2015, pg. 90</ref> 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,<ref name="files.eric.ed.gov">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In worshipEdit
Template:See also 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:<ref name=Britannica />
{{#invoke:Listen|main}} Template:Verse translation
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.<ref>Seyyed Hossein Nasr (2015), The Study Quran, HarperCollins, p. 1578.</ref>
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 Template:Qref ("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.<ref name=Britannica />
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While praying, the Quran is only recited in Arabic.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In Islam, most intellectual disciplines, including Islamic theology, philosophy, mysticism and jurisprudence, have been concerned with the Quran or have their foundation in its teachings.<ref name=Britannica /> Muslims believe that the preaching or reading of the Quran is rewarded with divine rewards variously called Template:Transliteration, thawab, or Template:Transliteration.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
In Islamic artEdit
The Quran also inspired Islamic arts and specifically the so-called Quranic arts of calligraphy and illumination.<ref name=Britannica /> 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 mosque lamps, metal work, pottery and single pages of calligraphy for muraqqas or albums.
- Brooklyn Museum - Calligraphy - 3.jpg
Calligraphy, 18th century, Brooklyn Museum.
- Quran inscriptions on wall, Lodhi Gardens, Delhi.jpg
Quranic inscriptions, Bara Gumbad mosque, Delhi, India.
- Mosque lamp Met 91.1.1534.jpg
Typical mosque lamp, of enamelled glass, with the Ayat an-Nur or "Verse of Light" (24:35).
- Muhammad ibn Mustafa Izmiri - Right Side of an Illuminated Double-page Incipit - Walters W5771B - Full Page.jpg
Quran page decoration art, Ottoman period.
- Mausolées du groupe nord (Shah-i-Zinda, Samarcande) (6016470147).jpg
Quranic verses, Shahizinda mausoleum, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
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The leaves from Quran written in gold and contoured with brown ink with a horizontal format suited to classical Kufic calligraphy, which became common under the early Abbasid caliphs.
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9th-century Quran in the Reza Abbasi Museum
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Shikasta nastaliq script, 18th–19th centuries
InterpretationEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Tafsir (Template:Langx Template:IPAc-ar; Template:Langx) refers to an exegesis, or commentary, of the Quran. An author of a tafsir is a Template:Transliteration (Template:Langx; plural: Template:Langx). A Quranic tafsir attempts to provide elucidation, explanation, interpretation, context or commentary for clear understanding and conviction of God's will in Islam.<ref name="Jo" />
Principally, a tafsir deals with the issues of linguistics, jurisprudence, and 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 companions, and tafsir bi-al-ra'y (lit. tafsir by opinion), which is arrived through personal reflection or independent rational thinking.<ref name="Jo" />
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 Muslim scholarship during the formative ages of Islam, and modern tafsir which seeks to address a wider audience, including the common people.<ref name="Jo">Mir, Mustansir. (1995). "Tafsīr". In John L. Esposito. The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref>
Exoteric and Esoteric interpretations (ta'wil)Edit
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Commentaries dealing with the zahir ('outward aspects') of the text are called Template:Transliteration, (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.<ref name="Britannica" /> Esoteric or Sufi interpretation relates Quranic verses to the inner or esoteric (batin) and metaphysical dimensions of existence and consciousness.<ref name=alangodlas>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> According to Sands, esoteric interpretations are more suggestive than declarative, and are allusions (Template:Transliteration) rather than explanations (tafsir). They indicate possibilities as much as they demonstrate the insights of writers.<ref name=kristin>Template:Cite book</ref>
Shias and Sunnis as well as some Muslim philosophers believe the meaning of the Quran is not restricted to the literal aspect.<ref name="corbin1993">Template:Harvnb</ref>Template:Rp In contrast, Quranic literalism, followed by Salafis and Zahiris, is the belief that the Quran should only be taken at its apparent meaning.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Henry Corbin narrates a hadith that goes back to Muhammad:
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.<ref name="corbin1993"/>Template:Rp
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Corbin considers the Quran to play a part in Islamic philosophy, because Gnosiology itself goes hand in hand with prophetology.<ref name="corbin1993"/>Template:Rp
Notable Sufi commentariesEdit
One of the notable authors of esoteric interpretation prior to the 12th century is al-Sulami's (d. 1021) book named Template:Transliteration ('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) Template:Transliteration ('the unveiling of the secrets').<ref name=alangodlas /> Rumi (d. 1273) wrote a vast amount of mystical poetry in his book Mathnawi which some consider a kind of Sufi interpretation of the Quran.<ref name=jmojaddedi>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Simnani (d. 1336) tried reconciliation of God's manifestation through and in the physical world notions with the sentiments of Sunni Islam.<ref name=jelias>Template:Cite journal</ref> Ismail Hakki Bursevi's (d. 1725) work Template:Transliteration ('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 Ghazali).<ref name=jelias />
TranslationsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:See also
Translating the Quran has always been problematic and difficult. Many argue that the Quranic text cannot be reproduced in another language or form.<ref name="slate">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> An Arabic word may have a range of meanings depending on the context, making an accurate translation difficult.<ref name="Fatani-2006">Template:Citation</ref> Moreover, one of the biggest difficulties in understanding the Quran for those who do not know its language in the face of shifts in linguistic usage 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<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> caused by the region, sect,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.Template:Refn
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.<ref name="Fatani-2006" /> In early centuries, the permissibility of translations was not an issue, but whether one could use translations in prayer.Template:Citation needed The Quran has been translated into most African, Asian, and European languages.<ref name =leaman /> The first translator of the Quran was Salman the Persian, who translated surat al-Fatiha into Persian during the seventh century.<ref>An-Nawawi, Al-MajmuTemplate:', (Cairo: Matba'at at-Tadamun n.d.), 380.</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The first fully attested complete translations of the Quran were done between the 10th and 12th centuries in Persian. The Samanid king, Mansur I (961–976), ordered a group of scholars from 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.<ref>C.E. Bosworth. Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Al-Tabari, Abu Djafar Muhammad b. Djarir b. Yazid", Vol. 10, p. 14.</ref> The manuscripts of all three books have survived and have been published several times. In 1936, translations in 102 languages were known.<ref name="Fatani-2006" /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Robert of Ketton's 1143 translation of the Quran for Peter the Venerable, Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete, was the first into a Western language (Latin).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Alexander Ross offered the first English version in 1649, from the French translation of {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
- Page from the Qur'an of Sultan Ibrahim (TKS EH 209).jpg
CitationClass=web }}</ref>
- Ilkhanid Quran.jpg
Arabic Quran with interlinear Persian translation from the Ilkhanid Era
- Alcoran de Mahomet 1647.jpg
lang}}, André du Ryer, 1647
- Koran by Megerlein 1772.jpg
Title page of the first German translation (1772) of the Quran
- Chinese quran.jpg
Verses 33 and 34 of surat Yā Sīn in this Chinese translation of the Quran
RecitationEdit
Rules of recitationEdit
Template:See also 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 elisions, 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 consonants and vowels (the articulation of the Quranic phonemes), the rules of pause in recitation and of resumption of recitation, and the musical and melodious features of recitation.<ref name="Routledge-2006">Template:Citation:Template:Bulleted list</ref>
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 Template:Transliteration rules are Matn al-Jazariyyah by Ibn al-Jazari<ref name="ilm-gate-jazari">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="big41">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=big42>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="big44">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Rp Southeast Asia is well known for world-class recitation, evidenced in the popularity of the woman reciters such as Maria Ulfah of Jakarta.<ref name="Routledge-2006" /> Today, crowds fill auditoriums for public Quran recitation competitions.<ref name="big43">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Esposito/>
There are generally two types of recitation (based on pace of recitation):
- Template:Transliteration is a recitation at moderate pace, used for study and practice.
- Mujawwad refers to a slower recitation that deploys heightened technical artistry and melodic modulation, as in public performances by trained experts. It is directed to and dependent upon an audience for the Template:Transliteration reciter seeks to involve the listeners.<ref name="nelson">Template:Cite book</ref>
Variant readingsEdit
The variant readings of the Quran are one type of textual variant.<ref>Template:Harvnb:Template:Bulleted list</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name=Melchert>Template:Cite journal</ref> Nasser categorizes variant readings into various subtypes, including internal vowels, long vowels, gemination (shaddah), assimilation and alternation.<ref name=nasser>Template:Cite book</ref>
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 GodTemplate:Efn-lr to practices such as the formal conditions of ablution.<ref name="Combat">Template:Cite book</ref>
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 Ḥafṣ (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.<ref name=rippin /><ref name=melchert2>Template:Cite journal</ref> 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.<ref name=dutton>Template:Cite journal</ref> Another study suggests that this manuscript bears the vocalization of himsi region.<ref name=rabb>Template:Cite journal</ref>
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.<ref name="Ibn Taymiyyah" />
Writing and printingEdit
WritingEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} 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 Ḥijāzī-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 Maghribī 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.<ref name="Déroche-2006">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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.<ref name="Ibn Taymiyyah">Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="MatbaaBosworth1989"/>
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.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
- Brooklyn Museum - Folio from the "Blue" Qur'an.jpg
Folio from the "Blue" Quran at the Brooklyn Museum
- Folio from a Koran (8th-9th century).jpg
Kufic script, eighth or ninth century
- Qur'anic Manuscript - Maghribi script.jpg
Maghribi script, 13th–14th centuries
- Muhaqqaq script.gif
Muhaqqaq script, 14th–15th centuries
PrintingEdit
Wood-block printing of extracts from the Quran is on record as early as the 10th century.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Arabic movable type printing was ordered by Pope Julius II (Template:Reign) for distribution among Middle Eastern Christians.<ref>Template:Harvnb</ref> The first complete Quran printed with movable type was produced in Venice in 1537–1538 for the Ottoman market by Paganino Paganini and Alessandro Paganini.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Nuovo">Template:Cite journal</ref> But this Quran was not used as it contained a large number of errors.<ref name="madainpaganini">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Two more editions include the Hinckelmann edition published by the pastor Abraham Hinckelmann in Hamburg in 1694,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the edition by the Italian priest Ludovico Maracci in Padua in 1698 with Latin translation and commentary.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Printed copies of the Quran during this period met with strong opposition from Muslim legal scholars: printing anything in Arabic was prohibited in the Ottoman empire between 1483 and 1726—initially, even on penalty of death.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="MatbaaBosworth1989">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Harvnb; Template:Harvnb</ref> 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.Template:Efn
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.Template:Efn The first edition printed in Iran appeared in Tehran (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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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.<ref name="Déroche-2006" />
CriticismEdit
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Regarding the claim of divine origin, criticsTemplate:Who refer to pre-existing sources, not only taken from the Bible, supposed to be older revelations of God, but also from heretic, Apocryphic and talmudic sources, such as the Syriac Infancy Gospel and Gospel of James.Template:Citation needed The Quran acknowledges that accusations of borrowing popular ancient fables were being made against Muhammad.<ref>Template:Qref</ref>
Relationship with other literatureEdit
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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> One scholar has suggested that the Diatessaron, as a gospel harmony, may have led to the conception that the Christian Gospel is one text.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Relationship with The BibleEdit
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The Quran attributes its relationship with former books (the Torah and the Gospels) to their unique origin, saying all of them have been revealed by the God,<ref>Template:Qref</ref>Template:Secondary source needed through it asserts that Jews and Christians have corrupted it through falsification and alteration (Taḥrīf).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
According to Christoph Luxenberg (in The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran) the Quran's language was similar to the Syriac language.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Quran recounts 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, 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.<ref name=Keeler>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Relationship with Arab writingEdit
After the Quran, and the general rise of Islam, the Arabic alphabet developed rapidly into an art form.<ref name =leaman /> 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.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
See alsoEdit
Template:Portal Template:Div col
- List of chapters in the Quran
- List of translations of the Quran
- Quran translations
- Historical reliability of the Quran
- Quran and miracles
- Quran code
- Criticism of the Quran
- Violence in the Quran
- Women in the Quran
- Digital Quran
- The True Furqan
- Qira'at
- Hadith
- Hadith al-Thaqalayn
- Islamic schools and branches
- Schools of Islamic theology
- Attempted imitations of the Quran
ReferencesEdit
NotesEdit
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CitationsEdit
SourcesEdit
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Further readingEdit
Introductory textsEdit
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Traditional Quranic commentaries (tafsir)Edit
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Topical studiesEdit
Literary criticismEdit
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EncyclopediasEdit
Academic journalsEdit
- Journal of Qur'anic Studies ({{#if:1465-3591|Template:Catalog lookup link{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}{{#if:Template:Trim|{{#ifeq:Template:Yesno-no|yes|Template:Main other|{{#invoke:check isxn|check_issn|Template:Trim|error=Template:Error-smallTemplate:Main other}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}|Template:Error-small}}), published by the School of Oriental and African Studies
- Journal of Qur'anic Research and Studies, published by King Fahd Qur'an Printing Complex
External linksEdit
Reference materialEdit
ManuscriptsEdit
- Several digitised Qurans in the Cambridge University Digital Library
- 2017-232-1 al-Qurʼān. / القرآن at OPenn
- Digitised Manuscripts Sorted by Verses at Corpus Coranicum
Quran browsers and translationEdit
- Quran Pdf
- Al-Quran.info Template:Webarchive
- Quran Archive – Texts and Studies on the Quran
- Quran text and translation at Tufts University
- Tanzil – Online Quran Navigator
- Quran.com
- Previous.quran.com – By clicking Settings and selecting The Bridges’ translation by Fadel Soliman, words that have significant variants among the ten canonical qira'at are highlighted in red, together with a footnote listing the readers or transmitters and an English translation for each of the variant readings
- Multilingual Quran (Arabic, English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian)
- Latin script transliterated Qur'an. Hans Zirker. University of Frankfurt.
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