The Quran (, ), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, and is believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God (Allāh). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses (). Aside from its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature and has significantly influenced the Arabic language.
Muslims believe the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final Islamic prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on the Laylat al-Qadr when Muhammad was 40 and concluding in 11 AH/632 CE, 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 the first Islamic prophet Adam, including the holy books of the Torah, Psalms, and Gospel in Islam. The Quran is believed by Muslims to be God's own divine speech providing a complete code of conduct across all facets of life. This has led Muslim theologians to fiercely debate whether the Quran was "created or uncreated". According to tradition, several of Muhammad's companions served as scribes, recording the revelations. Shortly after Muhammad's death, the Quran was compiled on the order of the first caliph Abu Bakr () by the companions, who had written down or memorized parts of it. Caliph Uthman () established a standard version, now known as the Uthmanic codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today. There are, however, canonical variant readings (qirāʾāt), transmitted through oral tradition, with minor variations in wording and nuance that may lead to subtle differences in meaning, while preserving the core message of the Quran. It is the subject of a modern field of academic research known as Quranic studies. Some argue that manuscript evidence, textual variants (such as the Sanaa manuscript), and historical sources suggest a more gradual and complex process of compilation and canonization.
The Quran describes itself as a guide for humanity (). It alludes to significant narratives found in biblical and apocryphal texts. While it devotes considerable space to some of these narratives, it does not quote any paragraph from these sources directly, but summarizes and uses different versions of some in different sections. Islamic theorists tend to explain this situation as the Quran's focus on the moral lessons to be drawn from events. This allusive style and summarization entail many explanatory efforts (exegesis). To extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, Muslims rely on tafsir, or commentary, often in conjunction with translations of the text. Furthermore, hadiths, which are valued in most Islamic schools of thought for their role in establishing Islamic laws and regulations, are oral traditions that were later written down and are believed to reflect the words and actions of Muhammad, serving as additional guidance alongside the Quran for most Muslims. During prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic. A person who has memorized the entire Quran is called a (female hafiza). Ideally, verses are recited with a special kind of prosody reserved for this purpose called . It is a tradition for some Muslims to recite the entire Quran during the prayers throughout the month of Ramadan.
Etymology and meaning The word appears about 70 times in the Qur'an itself, assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun () of the Arabic verb () meaning 'he read' or 'he recited'. The Syriac equivalent is (), which refers to 'scripture reading' or 'lesson'. While some Western scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, the majority of Muslim authorities hold the origin of the word is itself. Regardless, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammad's lifetime. 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 ()."
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 is recited, listen to it and keep silent." The word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel.See "Ķur'an, al-", Encyclopedia of Islam Online and
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 in certain contexts. Such terms include ('book'), ('sign'), and ('scripture'); the latter two terms also denote units of revelation. In the large majority of contexts, usually with a definite article (), the word is referred to as the ('revelation'), that which has been "sent down" () at intervals. cf. cf. Other related words include: ('remembrance'), used to refer to the Quran in the sense of a reminder and warning; and ('wisdom'), sometimes referring to the revelation or part of it.
The Quran describes itself as 'the discernment' (), 'the mother book' (), 'the guide' (), 'the wisdom' (), 'the remembrance' (), and 'the revelation' (; 'something sent down', signifying the descent of an object from a higher place to lower place). Another term is ('The Book'), though it is also used in the Arabic language for other scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospels. The term ('written work') is often used to refer to particular Quranic manuscripts but is also used in the Quran to identify earlier revealed books.
History
Prophetic era Islamic tradition relates that Muhammad received his first revelation in 610 CE in the Cave of Hira on the Laylat al-Qadr during one of his isolated retreats to the mountains. Thereafter, he received revelations over a period of 23 years. The final verse of the Quran was revealed on the 18th of the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the year 10 A.H., a date that roughly corresponds to February or March 632. The verse was revealed after Muhammad finished delivering his sermon at Ghadir Khumm.
narrates Muhammad describing the revelations as, "Sometimes it is (wahy) like the ringing of a bell" and A'isha 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)." "A strong person had taught him". Also expressions like "grew clear to view when he was on the uppermost horizon. Then he drew nigh and came down till he was (distant) two bows' length or even nearer" in the Quran are also linked to the angel of revelation in traditional interpretations. The Islamic studies scholar Welch states in the Encyclopaedia of Islam that, 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.
The revelations traditionally classified as "Meccan" constitute two-thirds of the Quran. It is stated that these revelations were transmitted orally during this period, and then recorded in the years leading up to the Hijrah, a period referred to as the Medinan period (622–632). The Meccan period is known for relying on an oral tradition —including narratives related to the Quran— that is generally considered to have undergone a degree of textual evolution alongside other religious narratives."Or, if the words of the text are thought to have been transmitted orally before being written down (as is commonly assumed to be the case with the Qurʾān), then we may acknowledge the existence of a kind of gray zone, extending between the inscrutable phenomenon of revelation and the definitive writing-down of the text, a period when the content of what had been revealed and was eventually to become the written text was passed back and forth between people in the mundane world, and was possibly undergoing some evolution in the course of those exchanges." The poetic style and frequently repetitive composition of the Quran as we know it today are seen as a consequence of the traditional oral communication method of this period.Bannister, "Retelling the Tale", 2014: p. 1-4 It is thought that the Qur'an began to be written down towards the end of the Meccan period. According to tradition, some of the Quraysh captives taken in the Battle of Badr were given the opportunity to be freed after teaching the Muslims the simple script of that time, and a group of Muslims became literate. Initially transmitted orally, the Qur'an began to be recorded on tablets, bones, and the broad, flat ends of palm tree leaves. Most of suras 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 at age 61–62. There is agreement among scholars that Muhammad himself did not write down the revelation because of the Quranic description on Muhammad as "".
Compilation and preservation
Traditional views According to tradition, after the death of Muhammad in 632, when many of his companions who had memorized the Qur'an were killed by Musaylima in the Battle of al-Yamama, the first caliph Abu Bakr (632-634) decided to compile the book into a single volume for its preservation and appointed Zayd ibn Thabit () for this task, as he was "the person who wrote down the divine revelation for the Messenger of Allah." Zayd's difficulties in collecting the Quranic material from parchments, palm-leaf stalks, thin stones and from men who knew it by heart is recorded in narratives along with a group of friends, and created a draft of the entire book, which he then presented to Abu Bakr. Upon Abu Bakr's death in 644, the Mushaf was given to Muhammad's widow, Hafsa bint Umar, and remained with her until the third caliph, Uthman (reign 644-656), requested a standard copy from her.
Around the 650s, the spread of Islam beyond the Arabian Peninsula to Persia, the Levant, and North Africa, and the establishment of large military garrisons, necessitated the co-existence, integration, and communal worship of soldiers from different tribes. During this time, conflicts arose among the soldiers due to differing readings of the Quran, presented by Islamic scholars as the use of seven syllables (), and this was reported to Uthman, who requested a solution. Thus, in order to preserve the Holy text, he ordered a committee headed by Zayd to prepare a standard text known as the Uthmanic codex, and copies to be sent to various city centers.: It is also believed that other versions (or private codices) of the Qur'an were collected and destroyed on Uthman's orders.: "Poetry and Language", by Navid Kermani, pp. 107–20. For the history of compilation see "Introduction," by Tamara Sonn, pp. 5–6 For eschatology, see "Discovering (final destination)", by Christopher Buck, p. 30. For literary structure, see "Language," by Mustansir Mir, p. 93. For writing and printing, see "Written Transmission", by François Déroche, pp. 172–87.