The Quran
This term has other meanings, see the Qur'an (meanings). Islam · The Holy Scriptures The structure of the Quran Characters of the Quran Reading rules Specialists Tafsir and translation For instances , see also The cover of the Quran Surah Al-Fatiha The Qur'an (Arabic: الْققرآن [qurˈʔaːn] — al-Qur'an, the Holy Qur'an, the Noble Qur'an, the Venerable Qur'an) is a Muslim holy book written in Arabic. The word "Quran" comes from Arabic, meaning "reading aloud", "edification" (the Quran, 75:16-18)[1][2]. According to the Islamic faith, the Quran was transmitted by revelation to the Prophet Muhammad[3] and is the word of God. The modern version of the Quran is a collection of records analyzed in the 7th century by a special board headed by Zayd ibn Sabit, at the behest of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Umar ibn al-Khattab, verified and approved as the only correct version under the third Caliph Uthman[4]. In the Muslim tradition, it is believed that the canonical version was approved in accordance with the consensus of the surviving companions of the prophet at that time that it was in this form that the prophet Muhammad himself read the Quran, and that is how it was dictated. The written record of the Qur'an and its reading are reliable (mutawatir), as well as the language in which the Qur'an was revealed — literary (classical) Arabic.[5][6][7][8][9][10]. According to Muslim tradition, the transmission of the Koran was carried out through the angel Jibril (Archangel Gabriel) and lasted almost 23 (more precisely 22, from 610 to 632) years, and Muhammad received his first revelation at the age of forty, on the Night of predestination (the month of Ramadan). The Quran was written down from the words of Muhammad by his companions. There are many studies devoted to the Quran by both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars. In the Muslim world, one of the generalizing works is recognized as "Perfection in the Quranic Sciences" by Jalal al-Din as-Suyuta (1455-1505)[11]. In Islamic countries, the Koran, together with the Sunnah (the words and deeds of Muhammad, transmitted in the hadith), serves as the basis of legislation, both religious, civil and criminal. There are many tafsirs (explanatory commentaries) written to the Quran by Muslim scholars and theologians. Etymology There are several opinions about the origin of the name. According to the generally accepted version, it is derived from the Arabic verb قررَأَ, karaʾa — "to read, to read"[2], presumably under the influence of Sir. Kerian - "reading the sacred text", "edification"[12]. The Qur'an itself uses various names of the last revelation, of which the most common are: Furqan (Arabic - "discernment" — of good and evil, truth and falsehood, permissible and forbidden)(Qur'an, 25:1) Kitab (Arabic - "book")(Qur'an, 18:1) Dhikr (Arabic - —reminder")(Quran, 15:9) Tanzil (Arabic: "revelation"))(Quran, 26:192) Nur (Arabic: "ور — "light")(Quran, 24) The word "mushaf" refers to individual copies of the Quran (respectively, the word "Quran" refers to its content).
Meaning in Islam The Koran, according to Islamic dogma, is: The divine guidance for mankind, the last Holy Scripture revealed by Allah[2]; the eternal and uncreated[13] Word of God, the testimony of prophecy and the last heavenly revelation, which confirmed the truth of all previous scriptures, abolished the laws they proclaimed and approved the last and most perfect heavenly legislation[1][2] (however, in Islamic history there have been serious theological discussions about the creation/uncreation of the Quran[14]); The miracle is one of the proofs of Muhammad's prophetic mission, the culmination of a series of divine messages. Divine messages began with Adam, and included the Scrolls of Abraham, the Taurat (Torah), Zabur (Psalter), and Injil (Gospel)[2]. Content The visit of Queen Belkis to King Solomon. Edward Poynter, 1890. In the Old Testament, Solomon took seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and in his old age he worshipped idols like a pagan[15]. Solomon entered the Qur'an as a prophet-king who ruled over humans, jinn, and nature. The Quran contains the basic principles and ideas of the faith, which, according to the Muslim concept, were orally transmitted to Muhammad by Allah himself through the angel Jibril. This book contains many intersections with Judaism and Christianity. Islamic theologians explain this by the fact that Allah had previously transmitted his covenants to Musa and Isa, but over time these covenants became outdated or distorted, and only Muhammad conveyed the true faith to believers[16]. The Quran includes 114 chapters (surahs). The first surahs of the Quran are entire treatises, while the last ones take up only a few lines. The content of the surahs is extremely diverse, there are both expositions of the basics of Muslim law, and descriptions of real historical events during the confrontation between Mecca and Medina. Researchers of the surahs are divided into two groups — the Meccan and the Medina. The first group refers to the period when Muhammad was just beginning his career as a prophet. The second group refers to the time when the prophet was widely recognized and revered. Later Madinah surahs pay less attention to theological reflections on the Last Judgment and the like, and focus more on formulating rules of conduct, evaluating historical events, and the like[2][16]. The Qur'an invites non-believers to find contradictions in the Scriptures if they are so convinced of its imperfection and untruth. Later, in addition to the Quran, oral traditions and hadiths appeared, telling about the life of the prophet. Shortly after Muhammad's death, hadiths began to be collected by his followers, and in the 9th century, six collections were formed, forming the so-called Sunnah[16]. About a quarter of the text of the Quran describes the lives of various prophets, the descriptions of most of which coincide with the biblical ones. The prophets included the Old Testament patriarchs Adam, Noah (Nuh), kings David (Dawud) and Solomon (Suleiman) and others. The Quran also mentions kings and righteous men whose names were not mentioned in the Bible (Luqman, Dhul-Qarnayn, etc.). Muhammad himself is the last in the list of prophets and it is stated that there will be no other prophets after him[16].
According to liberal scholars, the myth of the flood from the story of Gilgamesh was borrowed from the Babylonians and reinterpreted in the Torah and the Koran.[17][18][19]. The structure of the Quran Main article: The structure of the Quran The Qur'an contains 114 surahs (chapters) of varying length (from 3 to 286 verses, from 15 to 6144 words)[1]. All surahs are divided into verses (verses). According to various estimates, the Quran contains from 6204 to 6236 verses[1][20] and 333,015 letters (we are talking about the Arabic text of the Quran). The Quran is also divided into seven equal parts (manzils) for the convenience of reading the Quran during the week. Dividing the Quran into 30 parts (juz) allows you to read the Quran evenly throughout the month. According to Muslim tradition, the surahs are divided into the Meccan ones, which were revealed to Muhammad before the hijrah (migration to Madinah) or on the way to this city, and the Madinah ones, which were revealed in Madinah or during some journey made by Muhammad after the hijrah. Muslims believe that the contents of the Qur'an cannot be changed, as God has promised to protect it until the Day of Judgment (Qur'an, 15:9): Indeed, We have sent down a Reminder, and We guard it. All surahs of the Quran, except the ninth, begin with the words "in the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Merciful." In the first surah of the Quran, these words are included in the text as the first verse[1]. The surahs, with some exceptions, are not arranged chronologically in the Quran, but depending on their size, first there are long surahs, then surahs with a gradually decreasing number of verses[1][21]. The most important surahs and verses of the Quran Surah 1. The most famous surah "Al-Fatiha" ("Opening the Book"), also called the "Mother of the Quran", is repeatedly recited by Muslims in each of the five obligatory daily prayers[22]. Surah 18. "Al-Kahf" ("The Cave"). It is recommended to read it on Fridays[23]. Surah 36. "Ya-Sin". In the teachings of Islam, this surah is the "heart of the Quran"[24]. Surah 112. The very short surah "Al-Ikhlas" is a kind of "symbol of faith" of Islam. Its name means "Sincerity"[25]. Surah 2, ayat 255, called ayat "Al-Kursiy" (Ayat of the Throne). One of the most striking statements about the universal sovereignty of Allah over all that He has created[26]. Surah 24, verse 35, "The Verse about Light" is a verse describing the glory of God[27].
According to Islamic tradition, it is believed that the Quran descended into the world from Allah in its entirety in the cave of Hira on the Night of Predestination, but the angel Gabriel transmitted it to the prophet in parts for 23 years (Quran 17:106) — between 610 and 632 years according to the Gregorian calendar[28]. During his public activities, Muhammad made many sayings and delivered many sermons. At the same time, when he spoke on behalf of Allah, he used rhymed prose, which in ancient times was the traditional form of speech of the oracles. These sayings, in which the prophet spoke in the name of Allah, became the Quran. The rest of the sayings are included in the legends. Since Muhammad himself could neither read nor write, he ordered his secretary to write down the sayings on scraps of paper and bones. However, some of his sayings have been preserved not through notes, but from memory. As a result, the revelations formed 114 surahs or 30 juz. Due to the arbitrary order of the revelations, it is difficult for critics to identify their chronological order. However, there are several ways to sort them by time. For example, one reliable tradition divides the surahs into Meccan and Medina. However, this method does not always work, since some of the surahs are made up of revelations from different periods[29]. During the prophet's lifetime, there was no need for the Koran; any unclear questions could be explained by Muhammad himself. Nevertheless, after his death, the rapidly spreading Islam needed a clearly formulated written law, backed by the name of the prophet. In this regard, Abu Bakr and Umar instructed the Prophet's former secretary, Zeid ibn Sabit, to compile an initial summary of the existing records of the prophet's words. Zeid completed his work quickly enough and presented the initial version of the Quran. In parallel with him, other people were engaged in the same work. Thanks to this, four more collections of Allah's commandments appeared. Zeid was tasked with bringing all five editions together, and upon completion of this work, the original versions were destroyed. The result of Zeid's work was recognized as the canonical version of the Quran. Legend has it that Caliph Uthman himself liked to read this version, and it was this version that he was reading at the moment when he was killed by the crowd. There are even ancient manuscripts of the Koran, which allegedly contain the blood of the Caliph[16]. Already in the first decades after Muhammad's death, disagreements emerged between followers of Islam. These followers began to divide into the first trends and sects: Sunnis, Kharijites and Shiites. Among them, attitudes towards the canonical Qur'an varied. The Sunnis unconditionally accepted Zeid's text. The Kharijites, who had Puritanical views, began to object to the twelfth surah, which tells about Yusuf (Bibl. — Joseph), who was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. From the Kharijite point of view, the surah described too loosely the attempts of the wife of an Egyptian nobleman to seduce Joseph. The Shiites believed that by order of Uthman, all the passages about Ali and the prophet's attitude towards him were removed from the Koran. Nevertheless, all the dissatisfied were forced to use Zeid's version[16]. As its name implies, the Quran was intended to be read aloud. Over time, it turned into a whole art, the Koran should be read like the Torah in the synagogue in a chant. Also, everyone had to memorize a significant part of the text. Both in the past and now, there are people who memorize the entire Quran, called hafiz. Due to this, the Quran plays an important role in public education, sometimes being the only educational material. Since language teaching is based on it, the Arabic language is spreading along with Islam. And all literature related to Islam, regardless of its language, is full of references to the Koran[29]. However, there is some evidence that the text of the Quran has changed over time. Gerd R. Puin, a German researcher of Quranic paleography, believes that the palimpsest from Sana'a indicates the development of the text of the Quran[30]. A similar opinion was expressed by the British historian and researcher of the Middle East, Lawrence Conrad, regarding the early biographies of Muhammad; according to him, Islamic views on the date of Muhammad's birth before the 8th century AD differed for 85 years[31]. The first printed Quran was published by Paganino Paganini in 1538 in Venice[32].
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