The Quran (English pronunciation: /kɔrˈɑːn/[n 1] kor-AHN; Arabic: القرآن al-qurʾān, IPA: [qurˈʔaːn],[n 2] literally meaning "the recitation"), also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Al-Coran, Coran, Kuran, and Al-Qur'an, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God[1] (Arabic: الله, Allah). It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language.[2][3][4][5][6]
The Quran is composed of verses (Ayah) that make up 114 chapters (suras) of unequal length which are classified either as Meccan (المكية) or Medinan (المدينية) depending upon the place and time of their claimed revelation.[7] Muslims believe the Quran to be verbally revealed through angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) from God to Muhammad gradually over a period of approximately 23 years beginning in 610 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death.[1][8][9]
Shortly after Muhammad's death the Quran was compiled into a single book by order of the first Caliph Abu Bakr and at the suggestion of his future successor Umar. Hafsa, Muhammad's widow and Caliph Umar's daughter, was entrusted with that Quranic text after the second Caliph Umar died.[10] When the third Caliph Uthman began noticing slight differences in pronunciation of the Qur'anic Arabic by those whose dialect was not that of the Quraish, sought Hafsa's permission to use her text and commissioned a committee to produce a standard copy of the text of Qur'an to which added diacritical marks ensured correct pronunciation, and to be set as the standard dialect, the Quraish dialect, now known as Fus'ha (Modern Standard Arabic) (see Origin and development of the Qur'an). Five of these original Qur'ans (Mus'haf) were sent to the major Muslim cities of the era, with Uthman keeping one for his own use in Medina. Any variations to standardized text were invalidated and ordered to be destroyed, all other versions of the Qur'an copied by scribes subsequently were from this codex. This process of formalization is known as the "Uthmanic recension".[11] The present form of the Quran text is accepted by most scholars as the original version compiled by Abu Bakr.[11][12]
Muslims regard the Quran as the main miracle of Muhammad, the proof of his prophethood[13] and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with the messages revealed to Adam, regarded in Islam as the first prophet,[14] and continued with the Suhuf Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham),[15] the Tawrat (Torah or Pentateuch) of Moses,[16][17] the Zabur (Tehillim or Book of Psalms) of David,[18][19] and the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus.[20][21][22] The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in Jewish and Christian scriptures, summarizing some, dwelling at length on others and in some cases presenting alternative accounts and interpretations of events.[23][24][25] The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance, sometimes offering detailed accounts of specific historical events, and often emphasizing the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence.[26][27]
The word qurʾān appears about 70 times in the Quran itself, assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun (maṣdar) of the Arabic verb qaraʾa (قرأ), meaning “he read” or “he recited.” The Syriac equivalent is qeryānā, 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 qaraʾa itself.[28] In any case, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammad's lifetime.[1] 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 (qurʾānahu)”.[29]
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 al-qurʾān is recited, listen to it and keep silent".[30] The word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel.[31]
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 qurʾān in certain contexts. Such terms include kitāb (“book”); āyah (“sign”); and sūrah (“scripture”). The latter two terms also denote units of revelation. In the large majority of contexts, usually with a definite article (al-), the word is referred to as the “revelation” (wahy), that which has been “sent down” (tanzīl) at intervals.[32][33] Other related words are: dhikr, meaning "remembrance," used to refer to the Quran in the sense of a reminder and warning; and ḥikma, meaning “wisdom”, sometimes referring to the revelation or part of it.[28][34]
The Quran has many other names. Among those found in the text itself are al-furqān (“discernment” or “criterion”), al-hudah (“the guide”), ḏikrallāh (“the remembrance of God”), al-ḥikmah (“the wisdom”), and kalāmallāh (“the word of God”). Another term is al-kitāb (“the book”), though it is also used in the Arabic language for other scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospels. The term muṣḥaf ("written work") is often used to refer to particular Quranic manuscripts but is also used in the Quran to identify earlier revealed books.[1]
Islamic tradition relates that Muhammad received his first revelation in the Cave of Hira during one of his isolated retreats to the mountains. Thereafter, he received revelations over a period of twenty-three years. According to hadith and Muslim history, after Muhammad emigrated to Medina and formed an independent Muslim community, he ordered a considerable number of the sahabah to recite the Quran and to learn and teach the laws, which were revealed daily. Companions who engaged in the recitation of the Quran were called Qari. Since most sahabah were unable to read or write, they were ordered to learn from the prisoners-of-war the simple writing of the time. Thus a group of sahabah 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 chapters 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.[35][36]
Sahih Bukhari narrates Muhammad describing the revelations as, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell" and Aisha 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)".[37] 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.[38]
The Quran states that Muhammad was ummi,[39] interpreted as illiterate in Muslim tradition. According to Watt, the meaning of the Quranic term ummi is unscriptured rather than illiterate.
According to Shias, Sufis and scarce Sunni scholars, Ali compiled a complete version of the Quran mus'haf[1] immediately after Muhammad's death. The order of this mus'haf differed from that gathered later during Uthman's era. Despite this, Ali made no objection or resistance against standardized mus'haf, but kept his own book.[35][40]
After seventy reciters were killed in the Battle of Yamama, the caliph Abu Bakr decided to collect the different chapters and verses into one volume. Thus, a group of reciters, including Zayd ibn Thabit, collected the chapters and verses and produced several hand-written copies of the complete book.[35][41]
9th century Quran manuscript.
In about 650, as Islam expanded beyond the Arabian peninsula into Persia, the Levant and North Africa, the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan ordered the preparation of an official, standardized version, to preserve the sanctity of the text (and perhaps to keep the Rashidun Empire united, see Uthman Qur'an). Five reciters from amongst the companions produced a unique text from the first volume, which had been prepared on the orders of Abu Bakr and was kept with Hafsa bint Umar. 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 destroyed by burning or boiling. This remains the authoritative text of the Quran to this day.[35][42][43]
The Quran in its present form is generally considered by academic scholars to record the words spoken by Muhammad because the search for variants in Western academia has not yielded any differences of great significance. Historically, controversy over the Quran's content has rarely become an issue, although debates continue on the subject.[44][45]
Muslims believe the Quran to be the book of divine guidance and direction for humanity and consider the text in its original Arabic to be the literal word of God,[46] revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over a period of twenty-three years[8][9] and view the Quran as God's final revelation to humanity.[8][47]
Wahy in Islamic and Quranic concept means the act of God addressing an individual, conveying a message for a greater number of recipients. The process by which the divine message comes to the heart of a messenger of God is tanzil (to send down) or nuzul (to come down). As the Quran says, "With the truth we (God) have sent it down and with the truth it has come down." It designates positive religion, the letter of the revelation dictated by the angel to the prophet. It means to cause this revelation to descend from the higher world. According to hadith, the verses were sent down in special circumstances known as asbab al-nuzul. However, in this view God himself is never the subject of coming down.[48]
The Quran frequently asserts in its text that it is divinely ordained, an assertion that Muslims believe. The Quran – often referring to its own textual nature and reflecting constantly on its assertion of divine origin – is the most meta-textual, self-referential religious text.[citation needed] The Quran refers to a written pre-text that records God's speech even before it was sent down.[49][50]
The issue of whether the Quran is eternal or created was one of the crucial controversies among early Muslim theologians. Mu'tazilis believe it is created while the most widespread varieties of Muslim theologians consider the Quran to be eternal and uncreated. Sufi philosophers view the question as artificial or wrongly framed.[51]
Muslims maintain the present wording of the Quranic text corresponds exactly to that revealed to Muhammad himself: as the words of God, said to be delivered to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel. Muslims consider the Quran to be a guide, a sign of the prophethood of Muhammad and the truth of the religion. They argue it is not possible for a human to produce a book like the Quran, as the Quran itself maintains.
Therefore an Islamic philosopher introduces a prophetology to explain how the divine word passes into human expression. This leads to a kind of esoteric hermeneutics that seeks to comprehend the position of the prophet by mediating on the modality of his relationship not with his own time, but with the eternal source his message emanates from. This view contrasts with historical critique of western scholars who attempt to understand the prophet through his circumstances, education and type of genius.[52]
The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia declares the Quran and sunnah the sole constitutional law of the kingdom.
Muslims believe that the Quran is different from all other books in ways that are impossible for any other book to be, such that similar texts cannot be written by humans. These include both mundane and miraculous claims. The Quran itself challenges any who disagree with its divine origin to produce a text of a miraculous nature.[53]
Scholars of Islam believe that its poetic form is unique and of a fashion that cannot be written by humans. They also claim it contains accurate prophecy and that no other book does.[54][55][56][57][58]
Main articles:
Sura and
Ayah
The first four verses (
ayat) of
Al-Alaq, the 96th
sura of the Quran.
The text of the Quran consists of 114 chapters of varying lengths, each known as a sura. Chapters are classed as Meccan or Medinan, depending on when (before or after Hijra) the verses were revealed. Chapter titles are derived from a name or quality discussed in the text, or from the first letters or words of the sura. Muslims believe that Muhammad, on God's command, gave the chapters their names.[1] Generally, longer chapters appear earlier in the Quran, while the shorter ones appear later. The chapter arrangement is thus not connected to the sequence of revelation. Each sura except the ninth starts with the Basmala,[59] an Arabic phrase meaning (“In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful”). There are, however, still 114 occurrences of the basmala in the Quran, due to its presence in verse 27:30 as the opening of Solomon's letter to the Queen of Sheba.[60]
Each sura is formed from several ayat (verses), which originally means a sign or portent sent by God. The number of verses differ from chapter to chapter. An individual verse may be just a few letters or several lines. The verses are unlike the highly refined poetry of the pre-Islamic Arabs in their content and distinctive rhymes and rhythms, being more akin to the prophetic utterances marked by inspired discontinuities found in the sacred scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. The actual number of ayat has been a controversial issue among Muslim scholars since Islam's inception, some recognizing 6,000, some 6,204, some 6,219, and some 6,236, although the words in all cases are the same. The most popular edition of the Quran, which is based on the Kufa school tradition, contains 6,236 ayat.[1]
There is a crosscutting division into 30 parts of roughly equal division, ajza, each containing two units called ahzab, each of which is divided into four parts (rub 'al-ahzab). The Quran is also divided into seven approximately equal parts, manazil, for it to be recited in a week.[1]
The Quranic text seems to have no beginning, middle, or end, its nonlinear structure being akin to a web or net.[1] The textual arrangement is sometimes considered to have lack of continuity, absence of any chronological or thematic order, and presence of repetition.[61][62]
Fourteen different Arabic letters form 14 different sets of “Quranic Initials” (the "Muqatta'at", such as A.L.M. of 2:1) and prefix 29 suras in the Quran. The meaning and interpretation of these initials is considered unknown to most Muslims.
In 1974, Egyptian biochemist Rashad Khalifa claimed to have discovered a mathematical code based on the number 19,[63] which is mentioned in Sura 74:30[64] of the Quran. This code only manifests itself in a version of Quran that Khalifa published himself and which differs from the one accepted by most Muslims. It is the basis for the beliefs of United Submitters International, a religious group that Khalifa founded.
The Quranic verses contain general exhortations regarding right and wrong and the nature of revelation.
Historical events are related to outline general moral lessons.
Verses pertaining to natural phenomena have been interpreted by Muslims as an indication of the authenticity of the Quranic message.
The Quran's message is conveyed with various literary structures and devices. In the original Arabic, the chapters and verses employ phonetic and thematic structures that assist the audience's efforts to recall the message of the text. Muslims[who?] assert (according to the Quran itself) that the Quranic content and style is inimitable.[65]
Richard Gottheil and Siegmund Fränkel in the Jewish Encyclopedia write that the oldest portions of the Quran reflect significant excitement in their language, through short and abrupt sentences and sudden transitions. The Quran nonetheless carefully maintains 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.[66][verification needed]
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."[67][68] Sells also addresses the much-discussed "repetitiveness" of the Quran, seeing this, too, as a literary device.
[edit] Tafsir
The Quran has sparked a huge body of commentary and explication (tafsir), aimed at explaining the "meanings of the Quranic verses, clarifying their import and finding out their significance."[69]
Tafsir is one of the earliest academic activities of Muslims. According to the Quran, Muhammad was the first person who described the meanings of verses for early Muslims.[70] Other early exegetes included a few Companions of Muhammad, like Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Abdullah ibn Umar and Ubayy ibn Kab. Exegesis in those days was confined to the explanation of literary aspects of the verse, the background of its revelation and, occasionally, interpretation of one verse with the help of the other. If the verse was about a historical event, then sometimes a few traditions (hadith) of Muhammad were narrated to make its meaning clear.[71]
Because the Quran is spoken in classical Arabic, many of the later converts to Islam (mostly non-Arabs) did not always understand the Quranic Arabic, they did not catch allusions that were clear to early Muslims fluent in Arabic and they were concerned with reconciling apparent conflict of themes in the Quran. Commentators erudite in Arabic explained the allusions, and perhaps most importantly, explained 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" (nasikh) the earlier text (mansukh).[72][73] Other scholars, however, maintain that no abrogation has taken place in the Qur'an.[74]
[edit] Ta'wil
Ja'far Kashfi defines ta'wil as 'to lead back or to bring something back to its origin or archetype'. It is a science whose pivot is a spiritual direction and a divine inspiration, while the tafsir is the literal exegesis of the letter; its pivot is the canonical Islamic sciences.[75] Muhammad Husayn Tabatabaei says that according to the popular explanation among the later exegetes, ta'wil indicates the particular meaning a verse is directed towards. The meaning of revelation (tanzil), as opposed to ta'wil, is clear in its accordance to the obvious meaning of the words as they were revealed. But this explanation has become so widespread that, at present, it has become the primary meaning of ta'wil, which originally meant "to return" or "the returning place". In Tabatabaei's view, what has been rightly called ta'wil, or hermeneutic interpretation of the Quran, is not concerned simply with the denotation of words. Rather, it is concerned with certain truths and realities that transcend the comprehension of the common run of men; yet it is from these truths and realities that the principles of doctrine and the practical injunctions of the Quran issue forth. Interpretation is not the meaning of the verse; rather it transpires through that meaning – a special sort of transpiration. There is a spiritual reality, which is the main objective of ordaining a law, or the basic aim in describing a divine attribute—and there is an actual significance a Quranic story refers to.[76][77]
According to Shia beliefs, those who are firmly rooted in knowledge like the Prophet and the imams know the secrets of the Quran. According to Tabatabaei, the statement "none knows its interpretation except Allah" remains valid, without any opposing or qualifying clause. Therefore, so far as this verse is concerned, the knowledge of the Quran's interpretation is reserved for God. But Tabatabaei uses other verses and concludes that those who are purified by God know the interpretation of the Quran to a certain extent.[77] As Corbin narrates from Shia sources, Ali himself gives this testimony:
Not a single verse of the Quran descended upon (was revealed to) the Messenger of God, which he did not proceed to dictate to me and make me recite. I would write it with my own hand, and he would instruct me as to its tafsir (the literal explanation) and the ta'wil (the spiritual exegesis), the nasikh (the verse that abrogates) and the mansukh (the abrogated verse), the muhkam (without ambiguity) and the mutashabih (ambiguous), the particular and the general...[78]
According to Tabatabaei, there are acceptable and unacceptable esoteric interpretations. Acceptable ta'wil refers to the meaning of a verse beyond its literal meaning; rather the implicit meaning, which ultimately is known only to God and can't be comprehended directly through human thought alone. The verses in question here refer to the human qualities of coming, going, sitting, satisfaction, anger, and sorrow, which are apparently attributed to God. Unacceptable ta'wil is where one "transfers" the apparent meaning of a verse to a different meaning by means of a proof; this method is not without obvious inconsistencies. Although this unacceptable ta'wil has gained considerable acceptance, it is incorrect and cannot be applied to the Quranic verses. The correct interpretation is that reality a verse refers to. It is found in all verses, the decisive and the ambiguous alike; it is not a sort of a meaning of the word; it is a fact that is too sublime for words. God has dressed them with words to bring them a bit nearer to our minds; in this respect they are like proverbs that are used to create a picture in the mind, and thus help the hearer to clearly grasp the intended idea.[77][79]
Therefore Sufi spiritual interpretations are usually accepted by Islamic scholars as authentic, as long as certain conditions are met.[80] In Sufi history, these interpretations were sometimes considered religious innovations (bid'ah), as Salafis believe today. However, ta'wil is extremely controversial even amongst Shia. For example, when Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini, the leader of Islamic revolution, gave some lectures about Sura al-Fatiha in December 1979 and January 1980, protests forced him to suspend them before he could continue beyond the first two verses of the surah.[81]
Unlike the Salafis and Zahiri, Shias and Sufis as well as some other Muslim philosophers believe the meaning of the Quran is not restricted to the literal aspect.[82] For them, it is an essential idea that the Quran also has inward aspects. Henry Corbin narrates a hadith that goes back to Muhammad:
"The Qur'an possesses an external appearance and a hidden depth, an exoteric meaning and an esoteric meaning. This esoteric meaning in turn conceals an esoteric meaning (this depth possesses a depth, after the image of the celestial Spheres, which are enclosed within each other). So it goes on for seven esoteric meanings (seven depths of hidden depth)."[82]
According to this view, it has also become evident that 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.[83] Corbin considers the Quran to play a part in Islamic philosophy, because gnosiology itself goes hand in hand with prophetology.[84]
Commentaries dealing with the zahir (outward aspects) of the text are called tafsir, and hermeneutic and esoteric commentaries dealing with the batin are called ta'wil (“interpretation” or “explanation”), which involves taking the text back to its beginning. Commentators with an esoteric slant believe that the ultimate meaning of the Quran is known only to God.[1] In contrast, Quranic literalism, followed by Salafis and Zahiris, is the belief that the Quran should only be taken at its apparent meaning.
Title page of the first German translation (1772) of the Quran.
Translation of the Quran has always been a problematic and difficult issue. Many argue that the Quranic text cannot be reproduced in another language or form.[85] Furthermore, an Arabic word may have a range of meanings depending on the context, making an accurate translation even more difficult.[86]
The first complete translation of the Quran was completed in 884 CE in Alwar (Sindh, India now Pakistan) by the orders of Abdullah bin Umar bin Abdul Aziz on the request of the Hindu Raja Mehruk.[87]
Nevertheless, the Quran has been translated into most African, Asian and European languages.[86] The first translator of the Quran was Salman the Persian, who translated sura Al-Fatiha into Persian during the 7th century.[88] The first complete translation of Quran was into Persian during the reign of Samanids in the 9th century. Islamic tradition holds that translations were made for Emperor Negus of Abyssinia and Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, as both received letters by Muhammad containing verses from the Quran.[86] In early centuries, the permissibility of translations was not an issue, but whether one could use translations in prayer.
Verses 33 and 34 of sura
Ya-Seen in this Chinese translation of the Quran.
In 1936, translations in 102 languages were known.[86] 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.[89]
Robert of Ketton's 1143 translation of the Quran for Peter the Venerable, Lex Mahumet pseudoprophete, was the first into a Western language (Latin).[90] Alexander Ross offered the first English version in 1649, from the French translation of L'Alcoran de Mahomet (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. All these translators were non-Muslims. There have been numerous translations by Muslims.
The English translators have sometimes favored archaic English words and constructions over their more modern or conventional equivalents; for example, two widely read translators, A. Yusuf Ali and M. Marmaduke Pickthall, use the plural and singular "ye" and "thou" instead of the more common "you".[91]
In addition to and largely independent of the division into suras, there are various ways of dividing the Quran into parts of approximately equal length for convenience in reading, recitation and memorization. The thirty ajza can be used to read through the entire Quran in a week or a month. Some of these parts are known by names and these names are the first few words by which the juz' starts. A juz' is sometimes further divided into two ahzab, and each hizb subdivided into four rub 'al-ahzab. A different structure is provided by the ruku'at, semantical units resembling paragraphs and comprising roughly ten ayat each. Some also divide the Quran into seven manazil to facilitate complete recitation in a week.
| “ |
...and recite the Quran in slow, measured rhythmic tones. |
” |
|
—Quran 73:4 (Yusuf Ali)
|
One meaning of Quran is "recitation". Tajwid, an Arabic word for elocution, is a set of rules that governs how the Quran should be recited and is assessed in terms of how accessible the recitation is to those intent on concentrating on the words.[92]
To perform salat (prayer), a mandatory obligation in Islam, a Muslim is required to learn at least some sura of the Quran (typically starting with the first one, 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.
Quran with colour-coded
tajwid rules.
A person whose recital repertoire encompasses the whole Quran is called a qari', whereas a memoriser of the Quran is called a hafiz (fem. Hafaz) (which translate as "reciter" or "protector," respectively). Muhammad is regarded as the first qari' since he was the first to recite it. Recitation (tilawa تلاوة) of the Quran is a fine art in the Muslim world.
Page of a 13th century Quran, showing
Sura 33: 73
There are several schools of Quranic recitation, all of which teach possible pronunciations of the Uthmanic rasm: Seven reliable, three permissible and (at least) four uncanonical – in 8 sub-traditions each – making for 80 recitation variants altogether.[93] A canonical recitation must satisfy 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 Muhammad through tawatur, meaning that it has to be related by a large group of people to another down the isnad chain.
These recitations differ in the vocalization (tashkil) 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 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 Muhammad 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."
The presence of these different recitations is attributed to many hadith. Malik Ibn Anas has reported:[94]
- Abd al-Rahman Ibn Abd al-Qari narrated: "Umar Ibn Khattab said before me: I heard Hisham Ibn Hakim Ibn Hizam reading Surah Furqan in a different way from the one I used to read it, and the Prophet (sws) himself had read out this surah to me. Consequently, as soon as I heard him, I wanted to get hold of him. However, I gave him respite until he had finished the prayer. Then I got hold of his cloak and dragged him to the Prophet (sws). I said to him: "I have heard this person [Hisham Ibn Hakim Ibn Hizam] reading Surah Furqan in a different way from the one you had read it out to me." The Prophet (sws) said: "Leave him alone [O 'Umar]." Then he said to Hisham: "Read [it]." [Umar said:] "He read it out in the same way as he had done before me." [At this,] the Prophet (sws) said: "It was revealed thus." Then the Prophet (sws) asked me to read it out. So I read it out. [At this], he said: "It was revealed thus; this Quran has been revealed in Seven Ahruf. You can read it in any of them you find easy from among them.
Suyuti, a famous 15th century Islamic theologian, writes after interpreting above hadith in 40 different ways:[95]
- "And to me the best opinion in this regard is that of the people who say that this hadith is from among matters of mutashabihat, the meaning of which cannot be understood."
Many reports contradict the presence of variant readings:[96]
- Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami reports, "the reading of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Zayd ibn Thabit and that of all the Muhajirun and the Ansar was the same. They read the Quran according to the Qira'at al-'ammah. This is the same reading the Prophet (sws) read twice to Gabriel in the year of his death. Zayd ibn Thabit was also present in this reading [called] the 'Ardah-i akhirah. It was this very reading that he taught the Quran to people till his death".[97]
- Ibn Sirin writes, "the reading on which the Quran was read out to the prophet in the year of his death is the same according to which people are reading the Quran today".[98]
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi also purports that there is only one recitation of Quran, which is called Qira'at of Hafss or in classical scholarship, it is called Qira'at al-'ammah. The Quran has also specified that it was revealed in the language of Muhammad's tribe: the Quraysh.[Quran 19:97][Quran 44:58][96]
However, the identification of the recitation of Hafss as the Qira'at al-'ammah is somewhat problematic when that was the recitation of the people of Kufa in Iraq, and there is better reason to identify the recitation of the reciters of Madinah as the dominant recitation. The reciter of Madinah was Nafi' and Imam Malik remarked "The recitation of Nafi' is Sunnah."
AZ [however] says that the people of El-Hijaz and Hudhayl, and the people of Makkah and Al-Madinah, to not pronounce hamzah [at all]: and 'Isa Ibn-'Omar says, Tamim pronounce hamzah, and the people of Al-Hijaz, in cases of necessity, [in poetry,] do so.[99]
Most Muslims today use printed editions of the Quran. There are many editions, large and small, elaborate or plain, expensive or inexpensive. Bilingual forms with the Arabic on one side and a gloss into a more familiar language on the other are very popular.
Qurans are produced in many different sizes. Most are of a reasonable book size, but there exist extremely large Qurans (usually for display purposes) and very small Qurans (sometimes given as gifts).
An Illuminated Qurʾān from the library of Tippoo Ṣāḥib was presented to the University of Cambridge by the Court of Directors of the East India Company in 1806. The volume has two decorated medallions and two magnificent headpieces containing the Fātiḥa. The text of the Qurʾān is followed by some prayers, and a Fal-nāmah. The manuscript is not dated, but dates of ownership of 1028 A.H./1618 C.E. and 1066 A.H./1655 C.E. occur at the beginning.[100]
Before printing was widely adopted in the 19th century, the Quran was transmitted in manuscript books made by copyists and calligraphers. Short extracts from the Quran were printed in the medieval period from carved wooden blocks, one block per page; a technique already widely used in China. However there are no records of complete Qurans produced in this way, which would have involved a very large investment.[101] Mass-produced less expensive versions of the Quran were produced from the 19th century by lithography, which allowed reproduction of the fine calligraphy of hand-made versions.[102]
The first and last chapters of the Quran together written in the
Shikastah style.
The oldest surviving Quran printed with movable type was produced in Venice in 1537/1538. It seems to have been prepared for sale in the Ottoman empire, where all movable type printing using Arabic characters had been forbidden in 1485. This decree was reversed in 1588, but there remained strong resistance to adopting movable type printing for any subjects, let alone the Quran, until the late 19th century. This seems to have been partly from opposition by the large profession of copyists, and for aesthetic reasons, and fear of mistakes in the text.[103] Catherine the Great of Russia sponsored a printing of the Quran in 1787. This was followed by editions from Kazan (1828), Persia (1833) and Istanbul (1877).[104]
It is extremely difficult to render the full Quran, with all the points, in computer code, such as Unicode. The Internet Sacred Text Archive makes computer files of the Quran freely available both as images[105] and in a temporary Unicode version.[106] Various designers and software firms have attempted to develop computer fonts that can adequately render the Quran.[107]
Since Muslim tradition felt that directly portraying sacred figures and events might lead to idolatry, it was considered wrong to decorate the Quran 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 complex and beautiful. Arabic calligraphy is a highly honored art, much like Chinese calligraphy. Muslims also decorated their Qurans with abstract figures (arabesques), colored inks, and gold leaf. Pages from some of these antique Qurans are displayed throughout this article.
| “ |
It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong).[108] |
” |
|
—Quran 3:3 (Yusuf Ali)
|
The Quran speaks well of the relationship it has with former books (the Torah and the Gospel) and attributes their similarities to their unique origin and saying all of them have been revealed by the one God.[109]
According to Sahih Bukhari, the Quran was recited among Levantines and Iraqis, and discussed by Christians and Jews before it was standardized.[110] Its language was similar to the Syriac language. 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.[111] Jesus is mentioned more often in the Quran than Muhammad while Mary is mentioned in the Quran more than the New Testament.[112] Muslims believe the common elements or resemblances between the Bible and other Jewish and Christian writings and Islamic dispensations is due to their common divine source, and that the original Christian or Jewish texts were authentic divine revelations given to prophets.
The Quran has been noted to have certain narratives similarities to the Diatessaron, Protoevangelium of James, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew and the Arabic Infancy Gospel.[113][114][115] One scholar has suggested that the Diatessaron, as a gospel harmony, may have led to the conception that the Christian Gospel is one text.[116]
After the Quran, and the general rise of Islam, the Arabic alphabet developed rapidly into an art form.[117]
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:[118]
Although Arabic, as a language and a literary tradition, was quite well developed by the time of Muhammad's prophetic activity, it was only after the emergence of Islam, with its founding scripture in Arabic, that the language reached its utmost capacity of expression, and the literature its highest point of complexity and sophistication. Indeed, it probably is no exaggeration to say that the Quran was one of the most conspicuous forces in the making of classical and post-classical Arabic literature.
The main areas in which the Qur'an exerted noticeable influence on Arabic literature are diction and themes; other areas are related to the literary aspects of the Qur'an particularly oaths (q.v.), metaphors, motifs, and symbols. As far as diction is concerned, one could say that Qur'anic words, idioms, and expressions, especially "loaded" and formulaic phrases, appear in practically all genres of literature and in such abundance that it is simply impossible to compile a full record of them. For not only did the Qur'an create an entirely new linguistic corpus to express its message, it also endowed old, pre-Islamic words with new meanings and it is these meanings that took root in the language and subsequently in the literature...
Arabic Quran with
Persian translation.
Arabic Quran with Persian translation from the
Ilkhanid Era.
Respect for the written text of the Quran is an important element of religious faith by many Muslims. They believe that intentionally insulting the Quran is a form of blasphemy[citation needed].
Many Muslims memorize at least some portion of the Quran in the original Arabic, usually at least the verses needed to perform the contact prayers (salat). Those who have memorized the entire Quran earn the right to the title of Hafiz.[119]
The text of the Quran has become readily accessible over the internet, in Arabic as well as numerous translations in other languages. It can be downloaded and searched both word-by-word and with Boolean algebra. Photos of ancient manuscripts and illustrations of Quranic art can be witnessed. However, there are still limits to searching the Arabic text of the Quran.[120]
Most Muslims treat paper copies of the Quran with reverence.[121] Based on tradition and a literal interpretation of sura 56:77–79: "That this is indeed a Quran Most Honourable, In a Book well-guarded, Which none shall touch but those who are clean", many scholars believe that a Muslim must perform a ritual cleansing with water (wudu) before touching a copy of the Quran, or mus'haf, although this view is not universal.
Defiling or dismembering copies of the Quran is considered Quran desecration. Pulping, recycling, or otherwise discarding worn-out copies of the text is forbidden. Worn-out, torn, or errant (for example, pages out of order) Qurans are left free to flow in a river, kept somewhere safe, burned, or buried in a remote location.[122]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2007). "Qurʾān". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-68890/Quran. Retrieved 2007-11-04.
- ^ Chejne, A. (1969) The Arabic Language: Its Role in History, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
- ^ Nelson, K. (1985) The Art of Reciting the Quran, University of Texas Press, Austin
- ^ Speicher, K. (1997) in: Edzard, L., and Szyska, C. (eds.) Encounters of Words and Texts: Intercultural Studies in Honor of Stefan Wild. Georg Olms, Hildesheim, pp. 43–66.
- ^ Taji-Farouki, S. (ed.) (2004) Modern Muslim Intellectuals and the Quran, Oxford University Press, Oxford
- ^ Kermani, Naved. Poetry and Language. In: The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an (2006). ed: Andrew Rippin. Blackwell Publishing
- ^ What Everyone Should Know About the Qur'an Ahmed Al-Laithy
- ^ a b c Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths, Mary Pat Fisher, 1997, page 338, I.B. Tauris Publishers.
- ^ a b Quran 17:106
- ^ http://www.quran.net/quran/PreservationOfTheQuran.htm
- ^ a b "CRCC: Center For Muslim-Jewish Engagement: Resources: Religious Texts". Usc.edu. Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. http://web.archive.org/web/20110107135721/http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/bukhari/061.sbt.html#006.061.510. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
- ^ See:
- William Montgomery Watt in The Cambridge History of Islam, p.32
- Richard Bell, William Montgomery Watt, 'introduction to the Qurʼān', p.51
- F. E. Peters (1991), pp.3–5: “Few have failed to be convinced that … the Quran is … the words of Muhammad, perhaps even dictated by him after their recitation.”
- ^ Peters (2003), pp.12 and 13[Full citation needed]
- ^ Wheeler, Brannon M. (2002). Prophets in the Quran: an introduction to the Quran and Muslim exegesis. Continuum. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-8264-4956-6.
- ^ Quran 87:18–19
- ^ Quran 3:3
- ^ Quran 5:44
- ^ Quran 4:163
- ^ Quran 17:55
- ^ Quran 5:46
- ^ Quran 5:110
- ^ Quran 57:27
- ^ Quran 3:84
- ^ Quran 4:136
- ^ “The Quran assumes the reader is familiar with the traditions of the ancestors since the age of the Patriarchs, not necessarily in the version of the ‘Children of Israel’ as described in the Bible but also in the version of the ‘Children of Ismail’ as recounted orally, interspersed with polytheist elements, at the time of Muhammad. The term jahiliya (ignorance), used to speak of the pre-Islamic epoch, does not imply that the Arabs were not familiar with their traditional roots but that their knowledge of ethical and spiritual values had been lost.” Exegesis of Bible and Qur'an, H. Krausen. Webcitation.org[unreliable source]
- ^ Nasr (2003), p.42[Full citation needed]
- ^ Quran 2:67–76
- ^ a b “Ķur'an, al-”, Encyclopedia of Islam Online.
- ^ Quran 75:17
- ^ Quran 7:204
- ^ See “Ķur'an, al-”, Encyclopedia of Islam Online and [Quran 9:111]
- ^ Quran 20:2 cf.
- ^ Quran 25:32 cf.
- ^ According to Welch in the Encyclopedia of Islam, the verses pertaining to the usage of the word hikma should probably be interpreted in the light of IV, 105, where it is said that “Muhammad is to judge (tahkum) mankind on the basis of the Book sent down to him.”
- ^ a b c d *Tabatabaee, 1988, chapter 5[Full citation needed]
- ^ See:
- William Montgomery Watt in The Cambridge History of Islam, p.32
- Richard Bell, William Montgomery Watt, Introduction to the Qurʼān, p.51
- ^ Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 1. Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement. "Allah's Apostle replied, 'Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form of Inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says.' 'Aisha added: Verily 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)."
- ^ Encyclopedia of Islam online, Muhammad article
- ^ Quran 7:157
- ^ See:
- Observations on Early Qur'an Manuscripts in San'a
- The Qur'an as Text, ed. Wild, Brill, 1996 ISBN 978-90-04-10344-3
- ^ Sahih al-Bukhari, 6:60:201
- ^ Mohamad K. Yusuff, Zayd ibn Thabit and the Glorious Qur'an
- ^ The Koran; A Very Short Introduction, Michael Cook. Oxford University Press, pp. 117–124
- ^ Arthur Jeffery and St. Clair-Tisdal et al,Edited by Ibn Warraq, Summarised by Sharon Morad, Leeds. "The Origins of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam's Holy Book". http://debate.org.uk/topics/books/origins-koran.html. Retrieved 2011-03-15.
- ^ *F. E. Peters (1991), pp.3–5: "Few have failed to be convinced that the Quran is the words of Muhammad, perhaps even dictated by him after their recitation."
- ^ Quran 2:23–4
- ^ Watton, Victor, (1993), A student's approach to world religions:Islam, Hodder & Stoughton, pg 1. ISBN 978-0-340-58795-9
- ^ See:
- ^ Wild (1996), pp. 140
- ^ Quran 43:3
- ^ Corbin (1993), p.10
- ^ Corbin (1993), pp .10 and 11
- ^ [Quran 17:88]
- ^ [Quran 2:23]
- ^ [Quran 10:38]
- ^ Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an – Miracles
- ^ Ahmad Dallal, Encyclopedia of the Qur'an, Qur'an and science
- ^ Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an – Byzantines
- ^ Arabic: بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم, transliterated as: bismi-llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīmi.
- ^ See:
- “Kur`an, al-”, Encyclopaedia of Islam Online
- Allen (2000) p. 53
- ^ Samuel Pepys: "One feels it difficult to see how any mortal ever could consider this Koran as a Book written in Heaven, too good for the Earth; as a well-written book, or indeed as a book at all; and not a bewildered rhapsody; written, so far as writing goes, as badly as almost any book ever was!" http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/display.php?table=review&id=21
- ^ "The final process of collection and codification of the Quran text was guided by one over-arching principle: God's words must not in any way be distorted or sullied by human intervention. For this reason, no serious attempt, apparently, was made to edit the numerous revelations, organize them into thematic units, or present them in chronological order.... This has given rise in the past to a great deal of criticism by European and American scholars of Islam, who find the Quran disorganized, repetitive, and very difficult to read." Approaches to the Asian Classics, Irene Blomm, William Theodore De Bary, Columbia University Press, 1990, p. 65
- ^ Rashad Khalifa, Quran: Visual Presentation of the Miracle, Islamic Productions International, 1982. ISBN 978-0-934894-30-2
- ^ Quran 74:30 Prophecies Made in the Quran that Have Already Come True
- ^ Issa Boullata, "Literary Structure of Quran," Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān, vol.3 p.192, 204
- ^ Jewishencyclopedia.com – Körner, Moses B. Eliezer
- ^ Michael Sells, Approaching the Qur'ān (White Cloud Press, 1999)
- ^ Norman O. Brown, "The Apocalypse of Islam." Social Text 3:8 (1983–1984)
- ^ Preface of Al'-Mizan, reference is to Allameh Tabatabaei[dead link]
- ^ Quran 2:151
- ^ Tafseer Al-Mizan[dead link]
- ^ How can there be abrogation in the Quran?
- ^ Are the verses of the Qur'an Abrogated and/or Substituted?
- ^ Islahi, Amin Ahsan (in Urdu (tr: English)). Tadabbur-i-Qur'an (Pondering over the Qur'an). http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=426. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
- ^ Corbin (1993), p.9
- ^ Tabataba'I, Tafsir Al-Mizan, The Principles of Interpretation of the Quran[dead link]
- ^ a b c Tabataba'I, Tafsir Al-Mizan, Topic: Decisive and Ambiguous verses and "ta'wil"[dead link]
- ^ Corbin (1993), p.46
- ما نَزلت على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم آية من القرآن إلاّ أقرأنيها وأملاها عليَّ فكتبتها بخطي ، وعلمني تأويلها وتفسيرها، وناسخها ومنسوخها ، ومحكمها ومتشابهها ، وخاصّها وعامّها ، ودعا الله لي أن يعطيني فهمها وحفظها فما نسيتُ آية من كتاب الله تعالى ولا علماً أملاه عليَّ وكتبته منذ دعا الله لي بما دعا ، وما ترك رسول الله علماً علّمه الله من حلال ولا حرام ، ولا أمرٍ ولا نهي كان أو يكون.. إلاّ علّمنيه وحفظته، ولم أنسَ حرفاً واحداً منه
- ^ Tabatabaee (1988), pp. 37–45
- ^ Sufi Tafsir and Isma'ili Ta'wil
- ^ Algar, Hamid (June 2003), The Fusion of the Gnostic and the Political in the Personality and Life of Imam Khomeini (R.A.)
- ^ a b Corbin (1993), p.7
- ^ Tabatabaee, Tafsir Al-Mizan[dead link]
- ^ Corbin (1993), p.13
- ^ Aslan, Reza (20 November 2008). "How To Read the Quran". Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2204849/?from=rss. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- ^ a b c d Fatani, Afnan (2006). "Translation and the Qur'an". In Leaman, Oliver. The Qur'an: an encyclopedia. Great Britain: Routeledge. pp. 657–669.
- ^ Monthlycrescent.com
- ^ An-Nawawi, Al-Majmu', (Cairo, Matbacat at-'Tadamun n.d.), 380.
- ^ "More than 300 publishers visit Quran exhibition in Iran". Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review. 12 August 2010. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=more-than-300-publishers-visit-koran-exhibition-in-iran-2010-08-12
- ^ Islam: A Thousand Years of Faith and Power. New Haven: Yale University Press. 2002. p. 42.
- ^ "Surah 3 – Read Quran Online". http://readquranonline.info/surah003.html. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
- ^ Sonn, Tamara (2006). "Art and the Qur'an". In Leaman, Oliver. The Qur'an: an encyclopedia. Great Britain: Routeledge. pp. 71–81.
- ^ Navid Kermani, Das ästhetische Erleben des Koran. Munich (1999)
- ^ Malik Ibn Anas, Muwatta, vol. 1 (Egypt: Dar Ahya al-Turath, n.d.), 201, (no. 473).
- ^ Suyuti, Tanwir al-Hawalik, 2nd ed. (Beirut: Dar al-Jayl, 1993), 199.
- ^ a b Javed Ahmad Ghamidi. Mizan, Principles of Understanding the Qur'an, Al-Mawrid
- ^ Zarkashi, al-Burhan fi Ulum al-Quran, 2nd ed., vol. 1 (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1980), 237.
- ^ Suyuti, al-Itqan fi Ulum al-Quran, 2nd ed., vol. 1 (Baydar: Manshurat al-Radi, 1343 AH), 177.
- ^ E. W. Lane, Arabic–English Lexicon
- ^ "al-Qurʼān". Cambridge University Digital Library. http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-NN-00003-00075/. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
- ^ Muslim Printing Before Gutenberg
- ^ Peter G. Riddell, Tony Street, Anthony Hearle Johns, Islam: essays on scripture, thought, and society : a festschrift in honour of Anthony H. Johns, pp. 170–174, BRILL, 1997, ISBN 978-90-04-10692-5, ISBN 978-90-04-10692-5
- ^ Suraiya Faroqhi, Subjects of the Sultan: culture and daily life in the Ottoman Empire, pp, 134–136, I.B.Tauris, 2005, ISBN 978-1-85043-760-4, ISBN 978-1-85043-760-4;The Encyclopaedia of Islam: Fascicules 111–112 : Masrah Mawlid, Clifford Edmund Bosworth
- ^ The Qur'an in Manuscript and Print. "The Qur'anic Script". http://www.islamworld.net/UUQ/3.txt. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
- ^ Article by A. Yusuf Ali. "The Holy Qur'an". http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/quran/index.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
- ^ Unicode Qur'an. "Sacred-texts". http://www.sacred-texts.com/isl/uq/. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
- ^ Mishafi Font. "Award-winning calligraphic typeface". http://www.diwan.com/mishafi/main.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-05.
- ^ 3:3 نزل عليك الكتاب بالحق مصدقا لما بين يديه وانزل التوراة والانجيل
- ^ Quran 2:285
- ^ USC.edu[dead link]
- ^ Annabel Keeler, "Moses from a Muslim Perspective", in: Solomon, Norman; Harries, Richard; Winter, Tim (eds.), Abraham's children: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in conversation, by. T&T Clark Publ. (2005), pp. 55 - 66.
- ^ Esposito, John L. The Future of Islam. Oxford University Press US, 2010. ISBN 978-0-19-516521-0 p. 40
- ^ Christian Lore and the Arabic Qur'an by Signey Griffith, p.112, in The Qurʼān in its historical context, Gabriel Said Reynolds, ed. Psychology Press, 2008
- ^ Qur'an-Bible Comparison: A Topical Study of the Two Most Influential and Respectful Books in Western and Middle Eastern Civilizations by Ami Ben-Chanan, p. 197–198, Trafford Publishing, 2011
- ^ New Catholic Encyclopaedia, 1967, The Catholic University of America, Washington D C, Vol. VII, p.677
- ^ "On pre-Islamic Christian strophic poetical texts in the Koran" by Ibn Rawandi, found in What the Koran Really Says: Language, Text, and Commentary, Ibn Warraq, Prometheus Books, ed. ISBN 978-1-57392-945-5
- ^ Leaman, Oliver (2006). "Cyberspace and the Qur'an". In Leaman, Oliver. The Qur'an: an encyclopedia. Great Britain: Routeledge. pp. 130–135.
- ^ Wadad Kadi and Mustansir Mir, Literature and the Quran, Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an, vol. 3, pp. 213, 216
- ^ Kugle (2006), p.47; Esposito (2000a), p.275
- ^ Rippin, Andrew (2006). "Cyberspace and the Qur'an". In Leaman, Oliver. The Qur'an: an encyclopedia. Great Britain: Routeledge. pp. 159–163.
- ^ Mahfouz (2006), p.35
- ^ http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/02/afghan_quran_burning_protests_what_s_the_right_way_to_dispose_of_a_quran_.html
- ^ dictionary.reference.com: koran
- ^ dictionary.reference.com: quran
- ^ Cambridge dictionary: koran
- ^ Cambridge dictionary: quran
- Rahman, Fazlur (2009) [1989]. Major Themes of the Qur'an (Second ed.). University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-70286-5.
- Allen, Roger (2000). An Introduction to Arabic literature. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77657-8.
- Corbin, Henry (1993 (original French 1964)). History of Islamic Philosophy, Translated by Liadain Sherrard, Philip Sherrard. London; Kegan Paul International in association with Islamic Publications for The Institute of Ismaili Studies. ISBN 978-0-7103-0416-2.
- Esposito, John; Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad (2000). Muslims on the Americanization Path?. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-513526-8.
- Kugle, Scott Alan (2006). Rebel Between Spirit And Law: Ahmad Zarruq, Sainthood, And Authority in Islam. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34711-4.
- Mahfouz, Tarek (2006). Speak Arabic Instantly. Lulu Press, Inc.. ISBN 978-1-84728-900-1.
- Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2003). Islam: Religion, History, and Civilization. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 978-0-06-050714-5.
- Nasr, Seyyed Hossein (2007). "Qurʾān". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-68890/Quran.
- Peters, Francis E. (2003). The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-12373-8.
- Peters, F. E. (1991). "The Quest of the Historical Muhammad". International Journal of Middle East Studies.
- Tabatabae, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn. Tafsir al-Mizan.
- Tabatabae, Sayyid Mohammad Hosayn (1988). The Qur'an in Islam: Its Impact and Influence on the Life of Muslims. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7103-0266-3.
- Wild, Stefan (1996). The Quʼran as Text. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-09300-3.
- Recent translations
- Introductory texts
- Robinson, Neal, Discovering the Qur'an, Georgetown University Press, 2002. ISBN 978-1-58901-024-6
- Sells, Michael, – Approaching the Qur'ān: The Early Revelations, White Cloud Press, Book & CD edition (November 15, 1999). ISBN 978-1-883991-26-5
- Bell, Richard; William Montgomery Watt (1970). Bell's introduction to the Qurʼān. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-0597-2.
- Rahman, Fazlur (2009) [1989]. Major Themes of the Qur'an (Second ed.). University Of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-70286-5.
- Traditional Quranic commentaries (tafsir)
Main article:
List of tafsir
- Al-Tabari, Jamiʿ al-bayān ʿan taʾwil al-Qurʾān, Cairo 1955–69, transl. J. Cooper (ed.), The Commentary on the Qurʾān, Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN 978-0-19-920142-6
- Topical studies
- Literary criticism
- M. M. Al-Azami (2003). The History of The Qur'anic Text: From Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with the Old and New Testaments (First Edition ed.). UK Islamic Academy. ISBN 1-872531-65-2.
- Gunter Luling A challenge to Islam for reformation: the rediscovery and reliable reconstruction of a comprehensive pre-Islamic Christian hymnal hidden in the Koran under earliest Islamic reinterpretations. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers 2003. (580 Seiten, lieferbar per Seepost). ISBN 978-81-208-1952-8
- Luxenberg, Christoph (2004) – The Syro-Aramaic Reading Of The Koran: a contribution to the decoding of the language of the Koran, Berlin, Verlag Hans Schiler, 1 May 2007 ISBN 978-3-89930-088-8
- Puin, Gerd R. – "Observations on Early Quran Manuscripts in Sana'a," in The Qurʾan as Text, ed. Stefan Wild,, E. J. Brill 1996, pp. 107–111.
- Wansbrough, John – Quranic Studies, Oxford University Press, 1977
- Encyclopedias
- Academic journals
- Qur'an browsers and translations
- Word-for-word analysis
- Manuscripts
- Other resources
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