Qur'an:The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: القرآن ;al-ķur'ān, literally "the recitation"; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Al-Qur'an) is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind and consider the text in its original Arabic to be the literal word of Allah,[2] revealed to Muhammad over a period of twenty-three years[3][4] and view the Qur'an as God's final revelation to humanity.[5][6]
Muslims regard the Qur'ān as the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with those revealed to Adam — regarded, in Islam, as the first prophet — and including the Suhuf-i-Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham),[7] the Tawrat (Torah),[8][9] the Zabur (Psalms),[10][11] and the Injil (Gospel).[12][13][14] The aforementioned books are recognized in the Qur'ān,[15][16] and the Qur'anic text assumes familiarity[17] with many events from Jewish and Christian scriptures, retelling some of these events in distinctive ways, and referring obliquely to others. It rarely offers detailed accounts of historical events; the Qur'an's emphasis is typically on the moral significance of an event, rather than its narrative sequence. Details to historical events are contained within the Hadith of Muhammad and the narrations of Muhammad's Companions (Sahabah).
The Qur'anic text itself proclaims a divine protection of its message: Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian.[18][19]
The Qur'anic verses were originally memorized by Muhammad's companions as Muhammad recited them, with some being written down by one or more companions on whatever was at hand, from stones to pieces of bark. In the Sunni tradition, the collection of the Qur'ān compilation took place under the Caliph Abu Bakr, this task being led by Zayd ibn Thabit Al-Ansari. "The manuscript on which the Quran was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with 'Umar till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa bint Umar (Umar's daughter)."[20]
Etymology and meaning:
The original usage of the word "ķur`ān" is in the Qur'an itself, where it occurs about 70 times assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun (maṣdar) of the Arabic verb "ķara`a" (Arabic: قرأ), meaning "he read" or "he recited," and represents the Syriac equivalent "ķeryānā" - which refers to "scripture reading" or "lesson." While most Western scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, the majority of
Muslim authorities hold the origin of the word is ķara`a itself.[21] Among the earliest meanings of the word Qur'an is the "act of reciting", for example in a Qur'anic passage: "Ours is it to put it together and [Ours is] its ķur`ān."[22] In other verses it refers to "an individual passage recited [by Muhammad]." In the large majority of contexts, usually with a definite article (al-), the word is referred to as the "revelation" (tanzīl), that which has been "sent down" at intervals.[23] Its liturgical context is seen in a number of passages, for example:"So when al-ķur`ān is recited [by Muhammad], listen to it and keep silent."[24] The word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel.[25]The term also has closely related synonyms which are employed throughout the Qur'an. Each of the synonyms possess their own distinct meaning, but their use may converge with that of ķur`ān in certain contexts. Such terms include "kitāb" ("book"); "āyah" ("sign"); and "sūrah" ("scripture"). The latter two terms also denote units of revelation. Other related words are: "dhikr", meaning "remembrance," used to refer to the Qur'an in the sense of a reminder and warning; and "hikma", meaning "wisdom," sometimes referring to the revelation or part of it.
Format
The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, each known as a sura. Each chapter possesses a title, usually a word mentioned within the chapter itself. In general, the longer chapters appear earlier in the Quran, while the shorter ones appear later. As such, the arrangement is not connected to the sequence of revelation. Each chapter commences with the bismillah ir rahman nir rahimm,[27][28]
Literary structure
The Quran's message is conveyed through the use of a variety of literary structures and devices. In its original Arabic idiom, the individual components of the text — surahs and ayat — employ phonetic and thematic structures that assist the audience's efforts to recall the message of the text. There is consensus amongst Arab scholars to use the Quran as a standard by which other Arabic literature should be measured. Muslims point out (in accordance with the Quran itself) that the Quranic content and style is inimitable.[29]
Richard Gottheil and Siegmund Fränkel in the Jewish Encyclopedia write that the oldest portions of the Qur'an reflect significant excitement in their language, through short and abrupt sentences and sudden transitions. The Qur'an nonetheless carefully mainta
ins the rhymed form, like the oracles. Some later portions also preserve this form but also in a style where the movement is calm and the style expository.[30]Michael Sells, citing the work of the critic Norman O. Brown, acknowledges Brown's observation that the seeming "disorganization" of Qur'anic literary expression — its "scattered or fragmented mode of composition," in Sells's phrase — is in fact a literary device capable of delivering "profound effects — as if the intensity of the prophetic message were shattering the vehicle of human language in which it was being communicated."[31] Sells also addresses the much-discussed "repetitiveness" of the Qur'an, seeing this, too, as a literary device.
"The values presented in the very early Meccan revelations are repeated throughout the hymnic Suras. There is a sense of directness, of intimacy, as if the hearer were being asked repeatedly a simple question: what will be of value at the end of a human life?" [32]
