The Qur'an is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God (Allah). It is widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature. The Quran is divided into chapters (Arabic: سورة sūrah, plural سور suwar), which are subdivided into verses (Arabic: آية āyah, plural آيات āyāt).
Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final Prophet, Muhammad, through the angel, Gabriel (Jibril), incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle, a proof of his prophethood, and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to Adam and ending with Muhammad. The word "Quran" occurs some 70 times in the Quran's text, and other names and words are also said to refer to the Quran.
According to tradition, several of Muhammad's companions served as scribes and recorded the revelations. Shortly after his death, the Quran was compiled by the companions, who had written down or memorised parts of it. The codices showed dialectic differences that motivated Caliph Uthman to establish a standard version, now known as Uthman's codex. There are, however, variant readings, with little or no differences in meaning. There are ten famous variants which are said to be authentic in transmission.
The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical scriptures. It summarises some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance for mankind (2:185). It sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence. Hadith are additional oral and written traditions supplementing the Quran; from careful authentication they are believed to describe words and actions of Muhammad, and in some traditions also those closest to him, the companions.The Quran is used together with hadith to interpret shari'ah (Islamic) law. During prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic.
Someone who has memorised the entire Quran is called a hafiz. Quranic verse (ayah) is recited with a special kind of elocution reserved for this purpose, called tajwid. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during tarawih prayers. In order to extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, most Muslims rely on exegesis, or tafsir. See an example here.
Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final Prophet, Muhammad, through the angel, Gabriel (Jibril), incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle, a proof of his prophethood, and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to Adam and ending with Muhammad. The word "Quran" occurs some 70 times in the Quran's text, and other names and words are also said to refer to the Quran.
According to tradition, several of Muhammad's companions served as scribes and recorded the revelations. Shortly after his death, the Quran was compiled by the companions, who had written down or memorised parts of it. The codices showed dialectic differences that motivated Caliph Uthman to establish a standard version, now known as Uthman's codex. There are, however, variant readings, with little or no differences in meaning. There are ten famous variants which are said to be authentic in transmission.
The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical scriptures. It summarises some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance for mankind (2:185). It sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence. Hadith are additional oral and written traditions supplementing the Quran; from careful authentication they are believed to describe words and actions of Muhammad, and in some traditions also those closest to him, the companions.The Quran is used together with hadith to interpret shari'ah (Islamic) law. During prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic.
Someone who has memorised the entire Quran is called a hafiz. Quranic verse (ayah) is recited with a special kind of elocution reserved for this purpose, called tajwid. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during tarawih prayers. In order to extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, most Muslims rely on exegesis, or tafsir. See an example here.
The preservation of the Holy Qur'an
There are hundreds of religions flourishing around the world: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Bahaism, Zoroastrianism, Mormonism, Jehovas Witnesses, Jainism, Confucianism etc. And each of these religions claim that their scripture is preserved from the day it was revealed (written) until our time. A religious belief is as authentic as the authenticity of the scripture it follows. And for any scripture to be labelled as authentically preserved it should follow some concrete and rational criteria.
Imagine this scenario: A professor gives a three hour lecture to his students. Imagine still that none of the students memorised this speech of the professor or wrote it down. Now forty years after that speech if these same students decided to replicate professor's complete speech word for word, would they be able to do it? Obviously not. Because the only two modes of preservation historically is through writing and memory. Therefore, for any claimants to proclaim that their scripture is preserved in purity, they have to provide concrete evidence that the Scripture was written in its entirety and memorised in its entirety from the time it was revealed to our time, in a continuous and unbroken chain. If the memorisation part doesn't exist parallel to the written part to act as a check and balance for it, then there is a genuine possibility that the written scripture may loose its purity through unintentional and intentional interpolations due to scribal errors, corruption by the enemies, pages getting decomposed etc, and these errors would be concurrently incorporated into subsequent texts, ultimately loosing its purity through ages.
Now, of all the religions mentioned above, does any one of them possess their scriptures in its entirety both in writing and in memory from the day of its revelation until our time. None of them fit this required criteria, except one: This unique scripture is the Qur’an – revelation bestowed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) 1,418 years ago, as a guidance for all of humankind.
Click here to read regarding the history of The Holy Qur'an.
Imagine this scenario: A professor gives a three hour lecture to his students. Imagine still that none of the students memorised this speech of the professor or wrote it down. Now forty years after that speech if these same students decided to replicate professor's complete speech word for word, would they be able to do it? Obviously not. Because the only two modes of preservation historically is through writing and memory. Therefore, for any claimants to proclaim that their scripture is preserved in purity, they have to provide concrete evidence that the Scripture was written in its entirety and memorised in its entirety from the time it was revealed to our time, in a continuous and unbroken chain. If the memorisation part doesn't exist parallel to the written part to act as a check and balance for it, then there is a genuine possibility that the written scripture may loose its purity through unintentional and intentional interpolations due to scribal errors, corruption by the enemies, pages getting decomposed etc, and these errors would be concurrently incorporated into subsequent texts, ultimately loosing its purity through ages.
Now, of all the religions mentioned above, does any one of them possess their scriptures in its entirety both in writing and in memory from the day of its revelation until our time. None of them fit this required criteria, except one: This unique scripture is the Qur’an – revelation bestowed to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) 1,418 years ago, as a guidance for all of humankind.
Click here to read regarding the history of The Holy Qur'an.
Read the Qur'an:
- Uthmani Print: Link 1(with translation) / Link 2
- 13-Line Print (PDF Files) [DOWNLOAD]
