Qur'an

The Qur'ān (Arabic: ', literally "the recitation"; also called ' "The Noble Qur'an"; also transliterated as Quran, Koran (the traditional term in English), and Al-Quran), is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the literal word of God (Arabic Allah) as revealed to Muhammad, over a period of twenty-three years by the angel Gabriel and regard it as God's final revelation to mankind.

Muslims also call the Qur'an the "Final Testament", "The Book", "Book of God" and "The Revelation."

Etymology

Within Arabic grammar, the word "qur'an" constitutes a masdar (verbal noun) of the Arabic verb قرأ qara'a ("to read" or "to recite"BYU Studies, vol. 40, number 4, 2001. Page 52Lisan al-Arab[1]. The word is used in the Qur'an itself as a term for the Qur'an, e.g. 12:2:

Lo! We have revealed it, a Lecture [qur'ān] in Arabic, that ye may understand. (Pickthall's translation): We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an, in order that ye may learn wisdom. (Yusuf Ali's translation)

It is also used within the Qur'an in its generic sense of "reading", "recital", as in 75:18 (with -a accusative suffix + -hu 3rd person masculine singular possessive suffix):

And when We read [qara'-] it, follow thou the reading [qur'ān-ahu] (Pickthall): But when We have promulgated [qara'-] it, follow thou its recital [qur'ān-ahu] (as promulgated) (Yusuf Ali)

However, there is some question as to whether this word was formed within Arabic from this root or borrowed separately from Syriac. The latter hypothesis was first proposed by the German Semitic scholar Theodore Nöldeke argued in his 1860 Geschichte des Qorâns (History of the Qur'an)[2] that the word qur'ān might be a borrowing from the Syriac noun ܩܪܝܢܐ qeryānâ (whose meanings include "reading" and "lection, lesson"), itself derived from the verb ܩܪܐ qrâ ("to read, recite; to study"Payne Smith, Jessie (Ed.) (1903). A compendious Syriac dictionary founded upon the Thesaurus Syriacus of R. Payne Smith. Oxford University Press, reprinted in 1998 by Eisenbraums. ISBN 1-57506-032-9. Page 516, 519):

"Since a cultural word like "to read" can not be proto-Semitic, we may assume that it has entered Arabia, and probably from the North ... Since Syriac has, next to the verb קּרא, also the noun qeryānā, meaning both ἀνάγνωσις ("reading, reading out") and ἀνάγνωσμα ("lection, lecture"), and because of the above mentioned, the assumption of probability increases, that the term Qur'an is not an internal Arabic development from the infinitive with the same meaning, but a borrowing from the Syriac word that has been adapted according to the type fulʻān."Da nun ein Kulturwort wie "lesen" nicht ursemitisch sein kann, so dürfen wir annehmen, daß es in Arabien eingewandert ist, und zwar wahrscheinlich aus dem Norden...Da nun das Syrische neben dem Verbum קּרא das Nomen qeryānā hat, und zwar in der doppelten Bedeutung ἀνάγνωσις (das Lesen, Vorlesen) und ἀνάγνωσμα (Lesung, Lektüre), so gewinnt, im Zusammenhange mit dem eben Erörteten, die Vermutung an Wahrscheinlichkkeit, daß der Terminus Qorän nicht eine innerarabische Entwicklung aus dem gleichbedeutenden Infinitive ist, sondern eine Entlehnung aus jenem syrischen Worte unter gleichzeitiger Angleichung an Typus fulʻān." Nöldeke, Theodor (1860) Geschichte des Qorâns. Göttingen. Part I, page 33.

More recent proponents of this view include Christoph LuxenbergLuxenberg, Christoph (2004) -- Die Syro-Aramäische Lesart des Koran: Ein Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung der Koransprache. Berlin: Verlag Hans Schiler. 20054 ISBN 3-89930-028-9. Page 81-84. (who takes it as evidence that the Qur'an was itself originally a Syriac lectionary).

Format of the Qur'an

A copy of the Qur'an opened for reading.

The Qur'an consists of 114 surah (chapters) with a total of 6236 ayat (verses).

Each surah, or chapter, is generally known by an Arabic name derived from that surah (see List of surah names). The surahs are not arranged in chronological order (in the order in which Islamic scholars believe they were revealed) but in a different order, roughly descending by size.

The Qur'an for reading and recitation

In addition to and largely independent of the division into surahs, there are various ways of dividing the Qur'an into parts of approximately equal length for convenience in reading, recitation and memorization. The seven manazil (stations) and the thirty ajza' (parts) can be used to work through the entire Qur'an in a week or a month, one manzil or one juz' a day, respectively. A juz' is sometimes further divided into two ahzab (groups), and each hizb is in turn subdivided into four quarters. A different structure is provided by the ruku'at, semantical units resembling paragraphs and comprising roughly ten ayat each.

A hafiz is one who has memorized the entire text of the Qur'an, and is able to recite it properly (Tajweed). There are believed to be millions of these worldwide. All Muslims must memorize at least some parts of the Qu'ran, in order to perform their daily prayers.

Qur'an recitation

The very word Qur'an is usually translated as "recital," indicating that it cannot exist as a mere text. It has always been transmitted orally as well as textually.

To even be able to perform salat (prayer), a mandatory obligation in Islam, a Muslim is required to learn at least some suras of the Qur'an (typically starting with the first sura, al-Fatiha, known as the "seven oft-repeated verses," and then moving on to the shorter ones at the end). Until one has learned al-Fatiha, a Muslim can only say phrases like "praise be to God" during the salat.

A person whose recital repertoire encompasses the whole Qur'an is called a qari' (قَارٍئ) or hafiz (which translate as "reciter" or "protector," respectively). Muhammad is regarded as the first hafiz. Cantillation (tilawa تلاوة) of the Qur'an is a fine art in the Muslim world.

Schools of recitation

A fragment from the Qu'ran, Sura 33: 73�"74

There are several schools of Qur'anic recitation, all of which are permissible pronunciations of the Uthmanic rasm. Today, ten canonical and at least four uncanonical recitations of the Qur'an exist. For a recitation to be canonical it must conform to three conditions:

# It must match the rasm, letter for letter.# It must conform with the syntactic rules of the Arabic language.# It must have a continuous isnad to Prophet Muhammad through tawatur, meaning that it has to be related by a large group of people to another down the isnad chain.

Ibn Mujahid documented seven such recitations and Ibn Al-Jazri added three. They are:

# Nafi` of Madina (169/785), transmitted by Warsh and Qaloon# Ibn Kathir of Makka (120/737), transmitted by Al-Bazzi and Qonbul# Ibn `Amer of Damascus (118/736), transmitted by Hisham and Ibn Zakwan# Abu `Amr of Basra (148/770), transmitted by Al-Duri and Al-Soosi# `Asim of Kufa (127/744), transmitted by Sho`bah and Hafs# Hamza of Kufa (156/772), transmitted by Khalaf and Khallad# Al-Kisa'i of Kufa (189/804), transmitted by Abul-Harith and Al-Duri# Abu-Ja`far of Madina, transmitted by Ibn Wardan and Ibn Jammaz# Ya`qoob of Yemen, transmitted by Ruways and Rawh# Khalaf of Kufa, transmitted by Ishaaq and Idris

These recitations differ in the vocalization (tashkil تشكيل) of a few words, which in turn gives a complementary meaning to the word in question according to the rules of Arabic grammar. For example, the vocalization of a verb can change its active and passive voice. It can also change its stem formation, implying intensity for example. Vowels may be elongated or shortened, and glottal stops (hamzas) may be added or dropped, according to the respective rules of the particular recitation. For example, the name of archangel Gabriel is pronounced differently in different recitations: Jibrīl, Jabrīl, Jibra'īl, and Jibra'il. The name "Qur'an" is pronounced without the glottal stop (as "Qurān") in one recitation, and prophet Abraham's name is pronounced Ibrāhām in another.

The more widely used narrations are those of Hafs (حفص عن عاصم), Warsh (ورش عن نافع), Qaloon (قالون عن نافع) and Al-Duri according to Abu `Amr (الدوري عن أبي عمرو). Muslims firmly believe that all canonical recitations were recited by the Prophet himself, citing the respective isnad chain of narration, and accept them as valid for worshipping and as a reference for rules of Sharia. The uncanonical recitations are called "explanatory" for their role in giving a different perspective for a given verse or ayah. Today several dozen persons hold the title "Memorizer of the Ten Recitations," considered to be the ultimate honour in the sciences of Qur'an.

Writing and printing the Qur'an

[[Image:Large_Koran.jpg|thumb|right|225px|Page from a Qur'an
'Umar-i Aqta'
{{Iran}}, present-day {{Afghanistan}},
{{Timur}}id dynasty, circa 1400
Opaque {{watercolor}}, ink and gold on paper Muqaqqaq script
170 x 109cm (66 15/16 x 42 15/16in.)
Historical Region: {{Uzbekistan}}]]Most Muslims today use printed editions of the Qur'an. There are many editions, large and small, elaborate or plain, expensive or inexpensive [3]. Bilingual forms with the Arabic on one side and a gloss into a more familiar language on the other are very popular.

Qur'ans are produced in many different sizes, from extremely large Qur'ans [4] [5] for display purposes, to extremely small Qur'ans [6].

Qur'ans were first printed from carved wooden blocks, one block per page. There are existing specimen of pages and blocks dating from the 10th century CE. Mass-produced less expensive versions of the Qur'an were later produced by lithography, a technique for printing illustrations. Qur'ans so printed could reproduce the fine calligraphy of hand-made versions.

The oldest surviving Qur'an for which movable type was used was printed in Venice in 1537/1538. It seems to have been prepared for sale in the Ottoman empire. Catherine the Great of Russia sponsored a printing of the Qur'an in 1787. This was followed by editions from Kazan (1828), Persia (1833) and Istanbul (1877) [7].

It is extremely difficult to render the full Qur'an, with all the points, in computer code, such as Unicode. The Internet Sacred Text Archive makes computer files of the Qur'an freely available both as images [8] and in a temporary Unicode version [9]. Various designers and software firms have attempted to develop computer fonts that can adequately render the Qur'an. See [10] for one such commercial font.

Before printing was widely adopted, the Qur'an was transmitted by copyists and calligraphers. Since Muslim tradition felt that directly portraying sacred figures and events might lead to idolatry, it was considered wrong to decorate the Qur'an with pictures (as was often done for Christian texts, for example). Muslims instead lavished love and care upon the sacred text itself. Arabic is written in many scripts, some of which are both complex and beautiful. Arabic calligraphy is a highly honored art, much like Chinese calligraphy. Muslims also decorated their Qur'ans with abstract figures (arabesques), colored inks, and gold leaf. Pages from some of these beautiful antique Qur'ans are displayed throughout this article.

Some Muslims believe that it is not only acceptable, but commendable to decorate everyday objects with Qur'anic verses, as daily reminders. Other Muslims feel that this is a misuse of Qur'anic verses; those who handle these objects will not have cleansed themselves properly and may use them without respect.

The language of the Qur'an

The Qur'an was one of the first texts written in Arabic. It is written in an early form of classical Arabic known as "Quranic" Arabic. There are few other examples of Arabic from that time. (The Mu'allaqat, or Suspended Odes, are believed by some to be examples of pre-Islamic Arabic; others say that they were created after Muhammad. Only five pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions survive.)

Soon after Muhammad's death in 632 CE, Islam burst out of Arabia and conquered the Middle East, Northern Africa, Central Asia, and parts of Europe. Arab rulers had millions of foreign subjects, with whom they had to communicate. Thus, the language rapidly changed in response to this new situation, losing complexities of case and obscure vocabulary. Several generations after the prophet's death, many words used in the Qur'an had become opaque to ordinary sedentary Arabic-speakers, as Arabic had changed so much, so rapidly. The Bedouin speech changed at a considerably slower rate, however, and early Arabic lexicographers sought out Bedouin to explain difficult words or elucidate points of grammar. Partly in response to the religious need to explain the Qur'an to Muslims who were not familiar with Qur'anic Arabic, Arabic grammar and lexicography soon became important sciences. The model for the Arabic literary language remains to this day the speech used in Qur'anic times, rather than the current spoken dialects.

Translations of the Qur'an

The Qur'an

The Qur'an has been translated into many languages; there are several translations for many languages, including English. These translations are considered to be glosses for personal use only; they have no weight in serious religious discussion. Translation is an extremely difficult endeavor, because each translator must consult his/her own opinions and aesthetic sense in trying to replicate shades of meaning in another language; this inevitably changes the original text. Thus a translation is often referred to as an "interpretation," and is not considered a real Qur'an. Just as Jewish and Christian scholars turn to the earliest texts, in Hebrew or Greek, when it is a question of exactly what is meant by a certain passage, so Muslim scholars turn to the Qur'an in Arabic.

Robert of Ketton was the first person to translate the Qur'an into a Western language, Latin, in 1143.Alexander Ross offered the first English version in 1649. In 1734, George Sale produced the first scholarly translation of the Qur'an into English; another was produced by Richard Bell in 1937, and yet another by Arthur John Arberry in 1955. All these translators were non-Muslims. There have been numerous translation by Muslims; the most popular of these are the translations by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al Hilali, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, M. H. Shakir, Muhammad Asad, and Marmaduke Pickthall.

The English translators have sometimes favored archaic English words and constructions over their more modern or conventional equivalents; thus, for example, two widely-read translators, A. Yusuf Ali and M. Marmaduke Pickthall, use "ye" and "thou" instead of the more common "you." Another common stylistic decision has been to refrain from translating "Allah" �" in Arabic, literally, "The God" �" into the common English word "God." These choices may differ in more recent translations.

Stylistic attributes

The Qur'an mixes narrative, exhortation, and legal prescription. The suras frequently combine all these modes, not always in ways that seem obvious to the reader. Muslims often argue that the uniqueness of the Qur'anic style supports belief in its divine origin.

There are many repeated epithets (e.g. "Lord of the heavens and the earth"), sentences ("And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis"), and even stories (such as the story of Adam) in the Qur'an. Muslim scholars explain these repetitions as emphasizing and explaining different aspects of important themes.

The Qur'an is partly rhymed, partly prose. Traditionally, the Arabic grammarians consider the Qur'an to be a genre unique unto itself, neither poetry (defined as speech with metre and rhyme) nor prose (defined as normal speech or rhymed but non-metrical speech, saj').

11th century Persian Qur'an folio page in kufic script

The Qur'an often, although by no means always, uses loose rhyme between successive verses; for instance, at the beginning of surat al-Fajr:

Wal-fajr(i),: Wa layâlin `ashr(in),: Wash-shaf`i wal-watr(i): Wal-layli 'idhâ yasr(î),: Hal fî dhâlika qasamun li-dhî ḥijr(in).

or, to give a less loose example, the whole of surat al-Fil:

`A-lam tara kayfa fa`ala rabbuka bi-`aṣḥâbi l-fîl(i),: `A-lam yaj`al kaydahum fî taḍlîl(in): Wa-`arsala `alayhim ṭayran `abâbîl(a): Tarmîhim bi-ḥijâratin min sijjîl(in): Fa-ja`alahum ka-`aṣfin ma'kûl(in).

(Note that verse-final vowels are unpronounced when the verses are enunciated separately, a regular pausal phenomenon in classical Arabic. In these cases, î and û often rhyme, and there is some scope for variation in syllable-final consonants.) It should also be noted that many words rhyme in Arabic with or without the addition of a case ending suffix due to the repetition of common vowel sounds. Arabic poetry frequently makes use of this type of rhyme, often referred to as monorhyme.

Some suras also include a refrain repeated every few verses, for instance ar-Rahman ("Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?") and al-Mursalat ("Woe unto the repudiators on that day!").

18th century AD Qur'an

Islamic scholars divide the verses of the Qur'an into those revealed at Mecca (Makka), and those revealed at Medina (Madina) after the Hijra. In general, the earlier Makkan suras tend to have shorter verses than the later Madinan suras, which deal with legal matters, and are quite long. Contrast the Makkan verses above with a verse from al-Baqara such as :

"A divorce is only permissible twice: after that, the parties should either hold Together on equitable terms, or separate with kindness. It is not lawful for you, (Men), to take back any of your gifts (from your wives), except when both parties fear that they would be unable to keep the limits ordained by God. If ye (judges) do indeed fear that they would be unable to keep the limits ordained by God, there is no blame on either of them if she give something for her freedom. These are the limits ordained by God. so do not transgress them if any do transgress the limits ordained by God, such persons wrong (Themselves as well as others)." (Yusuf Ali)

Similarly, the Madinan suras tend to be longer, including the longest sura of the Qur'an, al-Baqara.

The beginnings of the suras

Every sura but the ninth is preceded by the words Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim (Arabic:بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم) (listen). This is most frequently translated "In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful." Interestingly, the Arabic words translated as "most gracious" (رحمان)(Rahman) and "most merciful" (رحيم)(Rahim) derive from the same triliteral (RHM; ر ح م), or "mercy." Grammatically, the form of the first word conveys magnitude, while that of the second conveys permanence. Therefore, the chapter openings may better be translated as "In the name of God, the most merciful, the ever merciful." This double declaration at the start of most chapters suggests the importance of mercy in the Muslim conception of God.

Twenty-nine suras begin with letters taken from a restricted subset of the Arabic alphabet. Thus, for instance, surat Maryam begins

Kaf Ha Ya 'Ain Sad

(This is) a recital of the Mercy of thy Lord to His servant Zakariya."''

While there has been some speculation on the meaning of these letters, many Muslim scholars believe that their full meaning may never be grasped. However, they have observed that in all but 4 of the 29 cases, these letters are almost immediately followed by mention of the Qur'anic revelation itself. Western scholars' efforts have been tentative; one proposal, for instance, was that they were initials or monograms of the scribes who had originally transcribed the sura. See Qur'anic initial letters for a fuller discussion.

The temporal order of Qur'anic verses

Belief in the Qur'an's direct, uncorrupted divine origin is considered fundamental to Islam by most Muslims.

"This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear God"

However, there are instances where some verses presuppose that a given practice is allowed, while others forbid it. These are interpreted by most Muslim scholars in the light of the relative chronology of the verses: since the Qur'an was revealed over a course of 23 years, many verses are said to have been clarified or abrogated (mansūkh) by later verses. Many Muslim commentators explain that this is because Muhammad was directed to gradually lead his small band of believers towards the straight path, rather than reveal the full rigor of the law at once.

Interpretation of the Qur'an

The Qur'an has sparked a huge body of commentary and explication. As discussed earlier, later Muslims did not always understand the Qur'an's Arabic, they did not catch allusions that were clear to early Muslims, and they were extremely concerned to reconcile apparent contradictions and conflicts in the Qur'an. Commentators glossed the Arabic, explained the allusions, and perhaps most importantly, decided which Quranic verses had been revealed early in Muhammad's prophetic career, as being appropriate to the very earliest Muslim community, and which had been revealed later, canceling out or "abrogating" (nāsikh) the earlier text. Memories of the occasions of revelation (asbāb al-nuzūl), the circumstances under which Muhammad had spoken as he did, were also collected, as they were believed to explain some apparent obscurities. It should be noted that not all Muslims believe that there are abrogations in the text of the Qur'an, and insist that there are no contradictions or unclear passages to explain.

Most commentators considered it extremely important for commentators to explain how the Qur'an was revealed -- when and under which circumstances. Much commentary, or tafsir, was dedicated to history. The early tafsir are considered to be some of the best sources for Islamic history. Famous early commentators include at-Tabari and Ibn Kathir.

(These classic commentaries usually include all common and accepted interpretations; modern fundamentalist commentaries like that written by Sayyed Qutb tend to advance only one of the possible interpretations.)

Commentators feel fairly sure of the exact circumstances prompting some verses, such as surat Iqra, or many parts, including ayat 190-194, of surat al-Baqarah. In other cases (eg surat al-Asr), the most that can be said is which city the Prophet was living in at the time (dividing between Makkan and Madinan suras.) In some cases, such as surat al-Kawthar, the details of the circumstances are disputed, with different traditions giving different accounts.

The most important external aid used in interpreting the meanings of the Qur'an are the hadith — the collected oral traditions upon which Muslim scholars (the ulema) based Islamic history and law. Scholars sifted the many thousands of hadith, trying to discover which were true and which were fabrications. One method, extensively used, was a study of the chain of narrators, the isnad, by which the tradition had been passed.

While certain hadith — the hadith qudsi — are thought to reflect noncanonical words spoken by God to Muhammad, Muslims do not consider these to form any part of the Qur'an.

Similarities between the Qur'an and the Bible

The Qur'an retells 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, Heber, Shelah, Abraham, Lot, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Job, Jethro, David, Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, Jonah, Aaron, Moses, Zechariah, Jesus, and John the Baptist are mentioned in the Qur'an as prophets of God (see Prophets of Islam )(a list with additional people is in Similarities between the Bible and the Qur'an). Muslims believe the common elements or resemblances between the Bible and other Jewish and Christian writings and Islamic dispensations is due to the common divine source. Muslims believe that the Christian or Jewish texts were authentic divine revelations given to prophets. Some Muslims claim that they were neglected or corrupted (tahrif) by the Jews and Christians and have been replaced by God's final and perfect revelation, which is the Qur'an. Bernard Lewis, The Jews of Islam (1984). Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691008078. p.69 However the historical biblical archaeological record refutes this assertion because the Dead Sea Scrolls (Old Testament and other Jewish writings) have been fully translated The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible: The Oldest Known Bible Translated for the First Time into English (2002) HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 0060600640 , validating the authenticity of the greek Septuagint (Old Testament) http://www.septuagint.net .

Origin and development of the Qur'an

Based on Islamic traditions and legends, it is generally believed that Muhammad could neither read nor write, but would simply recite what was revealed to him for his companions to write down and memorize. Many scholars - (Rashad Khalifa, (Christoph Luxenberg, Maxime Rodinson, William Montgomery Watt, etc.) - have argued that this claim is based on weak traditions and that, in regard of many aspects concerning Muhammad's biography and teachings, it is not convincing:

"The Meccans were in general familiar with reading and writing. A certain amount of writing would be necessary for commercial purposes ... In view of this familiarity with writing among the Meccans particularly, both for records and for religious scriptures, there is a presumption that Muhammad knew at least enough to keep commercial records ... The probability is that Muhammad was able to read and write sufficiently for business purposes, but it seems certain that he had not read any [religious] scriptures." - W. Montgomery Watt in "Muhammad's Mecca"William Montgomery Watt, "Muhammad's Mecca", Chapter 3: "Religion In Pre-Islamic Arabia", p. 26-52

"Whatever Arabic tradition may have assumed from a wrong interpretation of a word in the Koran, it seems certain that Muhammad learned to read and write. But except for a few vague and unreliable pointers in his life and work we have no way of knowing the extent of his learning." - M. Rodinson in "Mohammed"Maxime Rodinson, "Mohammed", translated by Anne Carter, p. 38-49, 1971

Adherents to Islam hold that the wording of the Qur'anic text available today corresponds exactly to that revealed to Muhammad himself: words of God delivered to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. The Qur'an is not only considered by Muslims to be a guide but also as a sign of the prophethood of Muhammad and the truth of the religion. Muslims argue that it is not possible for a human to produce a book like the Qur'an.

Some secular scholars accept a similar account, but without accepting any supernatural claims: they say that Muhammad put forth verses and laws that he claimed to be of divine origin; that his followers memorized or wrote down his revelations; that numerous versions of these revelations circulated after his death in 632 CE, and that Uthman ordered the collection and ordering of this mass of material circa 650-656. These scholars point to many attributes of the Qur'an as indicative of a human collection process that was extremely respectful of a miscellaneous collection of original texts.

Other scholars have proposed that some development of the text of the Qur'an took place after the death of Muhammad and before the currently accepted version of the Qur'an stabilized. Western academic scholars associated with such theories include John Wansbrough, Patricia Crone, Michael Cook, Christoph Luxenberg, and Gerd R. Puin.

Another scholar, James A. Bellamy, has proposed some emendations to the text of the Qur'an.

The Qur'an and Islamic culture

Based on tradition and a literal interpretation of sura 56:77-79: "That this is indeed a Qur'an Most Honourable, In a Book well-guarded, Which none shall touch but those who are clean.", many scholars opine that a Muslim perform wudu (ablution or a ritual cleansing with water) before touching a copy of the Qur'an, or mushaf. This has been argued by other scholars on the fact that, according to Arabic linguistic rules, this verse is presenting a fact and not an order. This is because the verb used is past perfect and not imperative. Consequently, an alternate translation is "That (this) is indeed a noble Qur'an, In a Book kept hidden, Which none toucheth save the purified," (translated by Mohamed Marmaduke Pickthall), it is suggested that performing ablution is recommended but not required.

Qur'an desecration means insulting the Qur'an by defiling or dismembering it. Muslims must always treat the book with reverence, and are forbidden, for instance, to pulp, recycle, or simply discard worn-out copies of the text. Respect for the written text of the Qur'an is an important element of religious faith by many Muslims. They believe that intentionally insulting the Qur'an is a form of blasphemy. According to the laws of some Muslim-majority countries, blasphemy is punishable by lengthy imprisonment or even the death penalty.
* See also: Qur'an desecration controversy of 2005

See also

*Qur'an and miracles
*Qur'an and Sunnah
* Origin and development of the Qur'an
* Qur'an reading
* Hafiz
* Qur'anic literalism
* Sura
* Ayat
* Tafsir
* Women in Quran
* Persons related to Qur'anic verses
* There are also articles on each of the suras, or chapters, of the Qur'an. Click on a chapter number to view the article.

References

External links

*Qur'an directory at DMOZ
*Read the Quran in Arabic, English and other languages
* Skeptics Annotated Qu'ran - Qu'ran in English
* Extensive Articles and Books about Quran and Tafseer - Extensive Articles and Books about Quran and Tafseer by AbdurRahman Meda's website

Translations

*Sacred Text Archive
*Religious Texts Index: The Qur'an
*Islamawakened - ayat-by-ayat transliteration and parallel translations from eleven prominent translators.
*The Noble Qur'an - three translations (Yusuf Ali, Shakir, and Pickthal). Also, Abul Ala Maududi's chapter introductions to the Qur'an.
*The Noble Qur'an - translated by Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al Hilali, and Muhammad Muhsin Khan. An English translation endorsed by the Saudi government. Includes Arabic commentary by Ibn Katheer, Tabari, and Qurtubi.
*The Message - Free Minds / Progressive Muslims - a literal translation of the Qur'an.
*Holy Quran Resources - Translation of the Quraan.
*Online translation of the Qur'an — translated by a team of Muslim scholars including the first woman to translate the Qur'an into English.

Search

* Search the Quran
* Qur'an Search or browse the English Shakir translation
* MSA Qur'an search
* Noble Quran Search

Manuscripts

*Quran Manuscripts

History

*Legacy of Abu Bakr: compilation of the Qur'an

Audio/Video

*Two of the most popular recitations of the Qur'an - Hussary and Mishary - at SunniPath.com
*Qur'an recitations by 271 different reciters
*Videos of recitation, commentary, or prayer
*English audio recitation/translation of the Quran
*English Reading
*Alquranic.com
*Reciter.org
*King Fahd Complex
*Introduction (What is Quran, Its Subject, Its mode of speech, Its collection and compilation ....) (English)
*Translation and Short Explanation to Quran (English)

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