10/9/2015 QuranWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

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ManuscriptoftheQuran.BrooklynMuseum.

11thcenturyNorthAfricanQuranintheBritishMuseum.

QuranFromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

TheQuran(/krn/[n1]korAHNArabic:alqurn,[n2]literallymeaning"therecitation"alsoromanizedQur'anorKoran)isthecentralreligioustextofIslam,whichMuslimsbelievetobearevelationfromGod(Arabic:,Allah).[1]ItiswidelyregardedasthefinestpieceofliteratureintheArabiclanguage.[2][3]Somehavecriticisedthetext'shistoricalauthenticityandmorality.Quranicchaptersarecalledsurasandverses,ayahs.

MuslimsbelievetheQuranwasverballyrevealedbyGodtoMuhammadthroughtheangelGabriel(Jibril),[4][5]graduallyoveraperiodofapproximately23years,beginningon22December609CE,[6]whenMuhammadwas40,andconcludingin632,theyearofhisdeath.[1][7][8]MuslimsregardtheQuranasthemostimportantmiracleofMuhammad,aproofofhisprophethood,[9]andtheculminationofaseriesofdivinemessagesthatstartedwiththemessagesrevealedtoAdamandendedwithMuhammad.

Accordingtothetraditionalnarrative,severalcompanionsofMuhammadservedasscribesandwereresponsibleforwritingdowntherevelations.[10]ShortlyafterMuhammad'sdeath,theQuranwascompiledbyhiscompanionswhowrotedownandmemorizedpartsofit.[11]ThesecodiceshaddifferencesthatmotivatedtheCaliphUthmantoestablishastandardversionnowknownasUthman'scodex,whichisgenerallyconsideredthearchetypeoftheQuranwehavetoday.However,theexistenceofvariantreadings,withmostlyminorandsomesignificantvariations,andtheearlyunvocalizedArabicscriptmeantherelationshipbetweenUthman'scodextoboththetextoftoday'sQuranandtotherevelationsofMuhammad'stimeisstillunclear.[10]

TheQuranassumesfamiliaritywithmajornarrativesrecountedintheJewishandChristianscriptures.Itsummarizessome,dwellsatlengthonothersand,insomecases,presentsalternativeaccountsandinterpretationsofevents.[12][13][14]TheQurandescribesitselfasabookofguidance.Itsometimesoffersdetailedaccountsofspecifichistoricalevents,anditoftenemphasizesthemoralsignificanceofaneventoveritsnarrativesequence.[15][16]TheQuranisusedalongwiththehadithtointerpretsharialaw.[17]

Duringprayers,theQuranisrecitedonlyinArabic.[18]

SomeonewhohasmemorizedtheentireQuraniscalledahafiz.SomeMuslimsreadQuranicayah(verse)withelocution,whichisoftencalledtajwid.DuringthemonthofRamadan,MuslimstypicallycompletetherecitationofthewholeQuranduringtarawihprayers.InordertoextrapolatethemeaningofaparticularQuranicverse,mostMuslimsrelyonthetafsir.[19]

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10/9/2015 QuranWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

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QuraninMashhad,IranwrittenbyAli.

Contents

1Etymologyandmeaning2History

2.1Propheticera2.2Compilation

3SignificanceinIslam3.1InWorship3.2InIslamicart3.3Inimitability

4Textandarrangement5Contents

5.1Monotheism5.2Eschatology5.3Prophets5.4Ethicoreligiousconcepts

6Literarystyle7Interpretation

7.1Esotericinterpretation7.1.1HistoryofSuficommentaries

7.2Levelsofmeaning7.3Reappropriation

8Translations9Recitation

9.1Rulesofrecitation9.2Variantreadings

10Writingandprinting10.1Writing10.2Printing

11Relationshipwithotherliterature11.1TheBible11.2Relationships11.3Arabwriting

12Seealso13Notes14References15Furtherreading16Externallinks

Etymologyandmeaning

Thewordqurnappearsabout70timesintheQuranitself,assumingvariousmeanings.Itisaverbalnoun(madar)oftheArabicverbqaraa(),meaning"heread"or"herecited".TheSyriacequivalentis()qeryn,whichrefersto"scripturereading"or"lesson".[20]WhilesomeWesternscholarsconsiderthewordtobederivedfromtheSyriac,themajorityofMuslimauthoritiesholdtheoriginofthewordisqaraa

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CaveofHira,locationofMuhammad'sfirstrevelation.

itself.[1]Regardless,ithadbecomeanArabictermbyMuhammad'slifetime.[1]Animportantmeaningofthewordisthe"actofreciting",asreflectedinanearlyQuranicpassage:"ItisforUstocollectitandtoreciteit(qurnahu)."[21]

Inotherverses,thewordrefersto"anindividualpassagerecited[byMuhammad]".Itsliturgicalcontextisseeninanumberofpassages,forexample:"Sowhenalqurnisrecited,listentoitandkeepsilent."[22]ThewordmayalsoassumethemeaningofacodifiedscripturewhenmentionedwithotherscripturessuchastheTorahandGospel.[23]

ThetermalsohascloselyrelatedsynonymsthatareemployedthroughouttheQuran.Eachsynonympossessesitsowndistinctmeaning,butitsusemayconvergewiththatofqurnincertaincontexts.Suchtermsincludekitb(book)yah(sign)andsrah(scripture).Thelattertwotermsalsodenoteunitsofrevelation.Inthelargemajorityofcontexts,usuallywithadefinitearticle(al),thewordisreferredtoasthe"revelation"(way),thatwhichhasbeen"sentdown"(tanzl)atintervals.[24][25]Otherrelatedwordsare:dhikr(remembrance),usedtorefertotheQuraninthesenseofareminderandwarning,andikmah(wisdom),sometimesreferringtotherevelationorpartofit.[1][26]

TheQurandescribesitselfas"thediscernment"(alfurqn),"themotherbook"(ummalkitb),"theguide"(huda),"thewisdom"(hikmah),"theremembrance"(dhikr)and"therevelation"(tanzlsomethingsentdown,signifyingthedescentofanobjectfromahigherplacetolowerplace).[27]Anothertermisalkitb(TheBook),thoughitisalsousedintheArabiclanguageforotherscriptures,suchastheTorahandtheGospels.Theadjectiveof"Quran"hasmultipletransliterationsincluding"quranic","koranic",and"qur'anic",orcapitalisedas"Qur'anic","Koranic",and"Quranic".Thetermmus'haf('writtenwork')isoftenusedtorefertoparticularQuranicmanuscriptsbutisalsousedintheQurantoidentifyearlierrevealedbooks.[1]Othertransliterationsof"Quran"include"alCoran","Coran","Kuran",and"alQuran".[28]

History

Propheticera

Seealso:Wahy

IslamictraditionrelatesthatMuhammadreceivedhisfirstrevelationintheCaveofHiraduringoneofhisisolatedretreatstothemountains.Thereafter,hereceivedrevelationsoveraperiodof23years.AccordingtohadithandMuslimhistory,afterMuhammademigratedtoMedinaandformedanindependentMuslimcommunity,heorderedmanyofhiscompanionstorecitetheQuranandtolearnandteachthelaws,whichwererevealeddaily.ItisrelatedthatsomeoftheQurayshwhoweretakenprisonersatthebattleofBadrregainedtheirfreedomaftertheyhadtaughtsomeoftheMuslimsthesimplewritingofthetime.ThusagroupofMuslimsgraduallybecameliterate.Asitwasinitiallyspoken,theQuranwasrecordedontablets,bones,andthewide,flatendsofdatepalmfronds.MostsuraswereinuseamongstearlyMuslimssincetheyarementionedinnumeroussayingsbybothSunniandShiasources,relatingMuhammad'suseoftheQuranasacalltoIslam,themakingofprayerandthe

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Quranicversecalligraphy,inscribedontheshoulderbladeofacamelwithinks

PartofAlAlaq96thsuraoftheQuranthefirstrevelationreceivedbyMuhammad.

mannerofrecitation.However,theQurandidnotexistinbookformatthetimeofMuhammad'sdeathin632.[29][30][31]ThereisagreementamongscholarsthatMuhammadhimselfdidnotwritedowntherevelation.[32]

SahihalBukharinarratesMuhammaddescribingtherevelat