QUR'AN
QURAN
KORAN
CORAN

In Syraic (= Christian Aramaic) qeryaanaa: scriptural reading. Occurs 66 times in the Qur'an. See also ARABIC, WORD OF GOD.

#### Etymology of the word "Qur'an"

According to Dr. Sobhy as-Salih, this word is not Arabic but Aramaic. He said: "Allah chose to His revelation new names different from those used by the Arabs, in general and in detail." (Sobhy as-Salih, Mabahith fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an, Dar al-'Ilm lel-Malayeen, Beirut, 1983, p. 17) He also said, "When the Arabs before Islam used the word (qara') it meant 'to be pregnant or to have a child'. But the word qara' as 'to recite' is of an Aramaic origin." (ibid, p. 19). [Aside: If the latter is true, then those Muslims who try to show that Muhmmad was illiterate will find this funny. Of course, when Gabriel told him to "be pregnant or have a child," it must be he cannot, a perfectly logical and correct answer!]

Further reference for this etymological derivation (in German): Christoph Luxenberg, Die syro-aramäische Lesart des Koran: ein Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung der Koransprache, Berlin 2000 (ISBN 3-86093-274-8). Luxenberg gives the complete etymology of qur'aan from qeryaanaa in detailed steps.

The Qur'an is also called al-Furqan. According to Dr. Sobhy as-Salih, this word is also not Arabic but Aramaic (ibid, p. 20). The Qur'an was also called Mushaf meaning "sheets or leaves". According to Dr. Salih, "when the Qur'an was collected and written on paper they wanted to give it A NAME. The word, Sifr, was suggested by some. It was rejected on the grounds that this is what the Jews call their books. Some suggested the word Mushaf because this is what the Ethiopian [Christians] call their holy books." (ibid, p. 78)

It seems strange that for all the titles of the Qur'an, none of them were actually Arabic, especially when the Qur'an says that Allah sent it down in Arabic (Yusuf 12:2; ar-Ra`d 13:37; an-Nahl 16:103; ash-Shu`ara' 26:195; az-Zumar 39:28; Ha Mim Sajdah 41:3; ash-Shura 42:7; az-Zukhruf 43:3; al-Ahqaf 46:12).

The Qur'an was not written down in full, but revealed piecemeal over the period of 22 years.

#### The Message of the Qur'an

Recommendation: A Topical Study of the Qur'an

#### Summary of Qur'an details

Some surahs have alternative names. They are given in a new line [and in brackets]. However, the list of alternative names is not complete yet.

s/no | name | English Names | #verses | place | chronological order
1 | Al-Fatihah | The Opening | 7 | Mecca | 5
2 | Al-Baqarah | The Cow | 286 | Madina | 87
3 | Âl 'Imran | The Family of 'Imran | 200 | Madina | 89
4 | An-Nisa' | Women | 176 | Madina | 92
5 | Al-Ma'idah | The Table | 120 | Madina | 112
6 | Al-An`am | The Cattle | 165 | Mecca | 55
7 | Al-A`raf | The Elevated Places | 206 | Mecca | 39
8 | Al-Anfal | The Spoils of War | 75 | Madina | 88
9 | At-Taubah | Repentance | 129 | Madina | 113
| [Bara'ah] | [Immunity / Disavowal] |  |  |
10 | Yunus | Jonah | 109 | Mecca | 51
11 | Hud | Hud | 123 | Mecca | 52
12 | Yusuf | Joseph | 111 | Mecca | 53
13 | Al-Ra`d | The Thunder | 43 | Madina | 96
14 | Ibrahim | Abraham | 52 | Mecca | 72
15 | Al-Hijr | The Rock | 99 | Mecca | 54
16 | An-Nahl | The Bee | 128 | Mecca | 70
17 | Bani Isra'il | The Israelites | 111 | Mecca | 50
18 | Al-Kahf | The Cave | 110 | Mecca | 69
19 | Maryam | Mary | 98 | Mecca | 44
20 | Ta Ha | Ta Ha | 135 | Mecca | 45
21 | Al-Anbiya' | The Prophets | 112 | Mecca | 73
22 | Al-Hajj | The Pilgrimage | 78 | Madina | 103
23 | Al-Mu'minun | The Believers | 118 | Mecca | 74
24 | An-Nur | The Light | 64 | Madina | 102
25 | Al-Furqan | The Criterion | 77 | Mecca | 42
26 | Ash-Shu`ara' | The Poets | 227 | Mecca | 47
27 | An-Naml | The Ant | 93 | Mecca | 48
28 | Al-Qasas | The Narrative | 88 | Mecca | 49
29 | Al-`Ankabut | The Spider | 69 | Mecca | 85
30 | Ar-Rum | The Romans | 60 | Mecca | 84
31 | Luqman | Lukman | 34 | Mecca | 57
32 | As-Sajdah | The Adoration | 30 | Mecca | 75
33 | Al-Ahzab | The Allies | 73 | Madina | 90
34 | Saba' | Sheba | 54 | Mecca | 58
35 | Fatir | The Creator | 45 | Mecca | 43
36 | Ya Sin | Ya Sin | 83 | Mecca | 41
37 | As-Saffat | The Rangers | 182 | Mecca | 56
38 | Sad | Sad | 88 | Mecca | 38
39 | Az-Zumar | The Companies | 75 | Mecca | 59
40 | Al-Mu'min | The Forgiving One | 85 | Mecca | 60
41 | Ha Mim Sajdah | Revelations Well Expounded | 54 | Mecca | 61
42 | Ash-Shura | The Counsel | 53 | Mecca | 62
43 | Az-Zukhruf | The Embellishment | 89 | Mecca | 63
44 | Ad-Dukhan | The Evident Smoke | 59 | Mecca | 64
45 | Al-Jathiyah | The Kneeling | 37 | Mecca | 65
46 | Al-Ahgaf | The Sandhills | 35 | Mecca | 66
47 | Muhammad | Muhammad | 38 | Madina | 95
| [Al-Qital] | [War / Fighting] |  |  |
48 | Al-Fath | The Victory | 29 | Madina | 111
49 | Al-Hujurat | The Chambers | 18 | Madina | 106
50 | Qaf | Qaf | 45 | Mecca | 34
51 | Adh-Dhariyat | The Scatterers | 60 | Mecca | 67
52 | At-Tur | The Mountain | 49 | Mecca | 76
53 | An-Najm | The Star | 62 | Mecca | 23
54 | Al-Qamr | The Moon | 55 | Mecca | 37
55 | Ar-Rahman | The Merciful | 78 | Madina | 97
56 | Al-Waqi`ah | That Which is Coming | 96 | Mecca | 46
57 | Al-Hadid | The Iron | 29 | Madina | 94
58 | Al-Mujadilah | She Who Pleaded | 22 | Madina | 105
59 | Al-Hashr | The Exile | 24 | Madina | 101
60 | Al-Mumtahanah | She Who is Tested | 13 | Madina | 91
61 | As-Saff | The Ranks | 14 | Madina | 109
62 | Al-Jum`ah | The Day of Congregation | 11 | Madina | 110
63 | Al-Munafiqun | The Hypocrites | 11 | Madina | 104
64 | At-Taghabun | The Cheating | 18 | Madina | 108
65 | At-Talaq | The Divorce | 12 | Madina | 99
66 | At-Tahrim | The Prohibition | 12 | Madina | 107
67 | Al-Mulk | The Kingdom | 30 | Mecca | 77
68 | Al-Qalam | The Pen | 52 | Mecca | 2
69 | Al-Haqqah | The Inevitable | 52 | Mecca | 78
70 | Al-Ma`arij | The Ladders | 44 | Mecca | 79
71 | Nuh | Noah | 28 | Mecca | 71
72 | Al-Jinn | The Jinn | 28 | Mecca | 40
73 | Al-Muzammil | The Mantled One | 20 | Mecca | 3
74 | Al-Mudathir | The Clothed One | 56 | Mecca | 4
75 | Al-Qiyamah | The Resurrection | 40 | Mecca | 31
76 | Ad-Dahr | The Man | 31 | Madina | 98
77 | Al-Mursalat | The Emissaries | 50 | Mecca | 33
78 | An-Naba' | The Tidings | 40 | Mecca | 80
79 | An-Naziat | Those Who Pulled Out | 46 | Mecca | 81
80 | `Abasa | He Frowned | 42 | Mecca | 24
81 | At-Takwir | The Cessation | 29 | Mecca | 7
82 | Al-Infitar | The Cleaving Asunder | 19 | Mecca | 82
83 | At-Tatfif | The Defrauders | 36 | Mecca | 86
84 | Al-Inshiqaq | The Rending | 25 | Mecca | 83
85 | Al-Buruj | The Constellations | 22 | Mecca | 27
86 | At-Tariq | The Night-Comer | 17 | Mecca | 36
87 | Al-A`la | The Most High | 19 | Mecca | 8
88 | Al-Ghashiyah | The Overwhelming Calamity | 26 | Mecca | 68
89 | Al-Fajr | The Dawn | 30 | Mecca | 10
90 | Al-Balad | The City | 20 | Mecca | 35
91 | Ash-Shams | The Sun | 15 | Mecca | 26
92 | Al-Layl | The Night | 21 | Mecca | 9
93 | Ad-Duha | The Early Hours | 11 | Mecca | 11
94 | Al-Inshirah | The Expansion | 8 | Mecca | 12
95 | At-Tin | The Fig | 8 | Mecca | 28
96 | Al-`Alaq | The Clot | 19 | Mecca | 1
97 | Al-Qadr | The Majesty | 5 | Mecca | 25
98 | Al-Bayyinah | The Proof | 8 | Madina | 100
99 | Al-Zilzal | The Shaking | 8 | Madina | 93
100 | Al-`Adiyat | The Assaulters | 11 | Mecca | 14
101 | Al-Qari`ah | The Terrible Calamity | 11 | Mecca | 30
102 | At-Takathur | Worldly Gain | 8 | Mecca | 16
103 | Al-`Asr | Time | 3 | Mecca | 13
104 | Al-Humazah | The Slanderer | 9 | Mecca | 32
105 | Al-Fil | The Elephant | 5 | Mecca | 19
106 | Al-Quraysh | The Quraish | 4 | Mecca | 29
107 | Al-Ma'un | The Daily Necessaries | 7 | Mecca | 17
108 | Al-Kauthar | Abundance | 3 | Mecca | 15
109 | Al-Kafirun | The Unbelievers | 6 | Mecca | 18
110 | An-Nasr | The Help | 3 | Madina | 114
111 | Al-Lahab | The Fame | 5 | Mecca | 6
112 | Al-Ikhlas | Purity (of Faith) | 4 | Mecca | 22
| [At-Tauhid] | [Unity] |  |  |
113 | Al-Falaq | The Daybreak | 5 | Mecca | 20
114 | An-Nas | The Men | 6 | Mecca | 21

A detailed discussion on the chronology of the suras (or parts of suras) is found in The Historical Development of the Qur'an by Rev. Canon Sell, which also gives a table with three proposed chronologies.

Notes:

1. Traditionally, the first BISMILLAH before Sura Fatiha is counted as a verse, all other "Bismillahs" are treated as headings for various suras and therefore not counted as verses.
2. Sura 9 does not commence with the Bismillah.
3. The verse numbers in translations may not always tally since some translations split some of the verses. Some editions, particularly on the Indian subcontinent, count the Bismillahs in all suras as full verses (verse 1) which shifts all others by one.
4. Surahs are classified into Meccan or Madinan, i.e., according to where it was supposed to be revealed. No. of Meccan Suras = 86; No. of Madinan Suras = 28. Total = 114
5. Total No. of Verses 6236 (in the standard verse division system)

#### Challenge from the Qur'an

The Qur'an issued a challenge to unbelievers to produce a sura like it (bani Isra'il 17:88). The implication is that if others cannot produce a sura like it, then the Qur'an is true. However, this challenge of the Qur'an to anyone to produce a verse like it is in strange land. Muslims have often said that it refers to the eloquence and beauty of the verses. Unfortunately, however, there is no objective criteria by which one can judge this. Interestingly enough, no Muslim has ever put up an objective criteria by which to judge such a contest. Secondly, there is no concensus as to who will be the judge of such a contest. In other words, there are no rules and no judge. At the same time, there are others who have pointed out grammatical errors in the Qur'an. Some Muslims responded that the Qur'an is the final arbitar of correct Arabic, and if the grammar books do not conform to the Qur'an, then the grammer books have to be changed. But clearly, that is not acceptable, for the Qur'an was supposedly revealed in the midst of a people who were masters of eloquence and poetry, and the challenge was issued to them. (Do we not remember that Muhammad originally thought that he was becoming one of the poets after the first revelation (see Muhammad))?

see here for more details.

#### Codices of the Qur'an

three other codices were in existence before the official Uthmanic codex compiled by Zaid ibn Thabit, the more famous ones being Ubayy b. Ka'ab, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and Abu Musa. Some allege even more. These codices had some significant variants with the Uthmanic codex. see The Collection of the Qur'an - from the Hadiths for more details from the hadiths.

see "Material for the history of the text of the Qur'an: the old codices: the Kitab al-masahif of Ibn Abu Dawud together with a collection of the variant readings of the codices of Ibn Ma'sud, Ubai, 'Ali, Ibn 'Abbas, Anas, Abu Musa and other Qur'anic authorities which present a type of text anterior to that of the canonical text of 'Uthman," by Arthur Jeffery, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1937.

#### Collection of the Qur'an

see The Collection of the Qur'an - from the Hadiths and Uthman.

- attests to book of Moses, al-Baqarah 2:89; al-Ahqaf 46:11-12,30

- attests to previous books, al-Baqarah 2:91,136; Âl 'Imran 3:1-4,84; an-Nisa' 4:47,136; al-Ma'idah 5:48; al-An`am 6:93; Yunus 10:38,95; al-Fatir 35:31; Ha Mim Sajdah 41:43 see also al-An`am 6:116; Yunus 10:65; al-Kahf 18:28

- bestowed on a blessed night, ad-Dukhan 44:3; al-Qadr

- cannot change God's words, al-An`am 6:34,115; Yunus 10:65, see also protected by God

- clear or obscure?

  - clear ordinances, an-Nahl 16:89; al-Bayyinah 98:3

  - conveyed clearly, al-Ma'idah 5:16; Yunus 10:15

  - detailed explanation of everything, Yusuf 12:111

  - easy to understand, ad-Dukhan 44:58

    al-Ghazali, the famous theologian who successfully put Sufiism with the realms of Muslim orthodoxy, said that the number of clear verses is 500, a mere 8% of the Qur'an!

  - expostion of that which is decreed for mankind, Yunus 10:37

  - fully explained, al-An`am 6:114

    There are many obscure passages in the Qur'an, that this verse cannot be referring to the whole Qur'an. This verse actually say that the Jews and Christians know that it is revealed in truth!

  - some verses direct, some allegorical, Âl 'Imran 3:7

- completion of, al-Ma'idah 5:3

- communicated by clear voice,

  > "Of all the divine books the Koran is the only one of which the text, words and phrases have been communicated to the prophet by an audible voice." (Ibn Khalkan, as quoted in Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol 7, p.335, quoted by Abdul-Haqq p.58)

  It seems that ibn Khalkan ignored that God spoke to Moses directly. This distinction from previous revelations, however, make it difficult for the Muslim to push that it is the same as previous revelations.

- confirmation of that which is before, Yunus 10:37; Yusuf 12:111

- contains all manners of similitudes, al-Kahf 18:54; az-Zumar 39:27

- contemporaries' comments: a poet possessed (As-Saffat 37:36), tales of ancients dictated to Muhammad (Al-Furqan 25:5), magic derived from old and nothing but a word of a mortal (Al-Mudathir 74:24,25)

- custodian of previous Scripture, al-Ma'idah 5:48

- distortion of, al-Ma'idah 5:41

- divine nature of, Yunus 10:37

- don't approach it in haste, Ta Ha 20:114

- encouraged to learn the Qur'an and teach it "The best of you are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it to others." (Sahih Bukhari)

- essence found in earlier revelation, ash-Shu`ara' 26:196

- full of wisdom, Ya Sin 36:2

- gathered by God, al-Qiyamah 75:17

- guidance to humans, al-Baqarah 2:185; Yusuf 12:111

- incompleteness of or variants,

  - missing verses of

  - variants, see seven recensions of Qur'an and Variants of Qur'an According to Ubayy b. Kab, one of the secretaries of Muhammad, sura as-Saff 61:6 reads: "O children of Israel, I am God's messenger to you, and I announce to you a prophet whose community will be the last community and by which God will put the seal on the prophets and messengers." where "Ahmad" is not mentioned.

- invisible barrier during recitation, bani Isra'il 17:45

- is not Muhammad's sayings, an-Najm 53:3; al-Haqqah 69:44

- is the hadith,

  This is an argument of the "Qur'an-only" party. They argue based on al-A`raf 7:185; Yunus 10:36; Luqman 31:6; az-Zumar 39:23,29; al-Jathiyah 45:6; at-Tur 52:34; al-Qalam 68:44; al-Mursalat 77:50.

- neglected nothing, al-An`am 6:38

- night most fitting for lucid reflections upon, al-Muzammil 73:2-6

- not from a satanic force, at-Takwir 81:25

- not poetry, Ya Sin 36:69; al-Haqqah 69:41

- on stoning, see Adultery.

  Muslim in the seventh part of his Sahih (commentary of An-Nawawi) in the book of Al-Zakat about the virtue of being satisfied with whatever God gives and about urging people to have that virtue, pages 139-40, reported that Abu Al-Aswad reported that his father said: Abu Musa Al-Ashari invited the Qur'an readers of Basra. Three hundred readers responded to his invitation. He told them: You are the readers and the choice of the people of Basra. Recite the Qur'an and do not neglect it. Otherwise, a long time may elapse and your hearts will be hardened as the heartsw of those who came before you were hardened.

  We used to read a chapter from the Qu'ran similar to Bara'ah in length (about 130 verses) and seriousness, but I forgot it. I can remember from that chapter only the following words:

  "Should a son of Adam own two valleys full of wealth, he would seek a third valley, and nothing would fill Ibn Adam's abdomen but the soil."

  We used to read a chapter similar to the Musabihat and I forgot it. I only remember the following:

  "Oh you who believe, why do you say what you do not do? Thus, a testimony will be written on your necks and you will be questioned about it on the day of judgement."

  Muslim also reported in the book Al-Ridhaa (book of nursing), part 10, page 29, that Ayeshah [reportedly] said the following: There was in what was revealed in the Qur'an that ten times of nursing known with certainty makes the nursing woman a mother of a nursed child. This number of nursings would make the woman "haram" (forbidden) to the child.

  Muhammad died while these words were recorded and read in the Qur'an.

  Umar reportedly said that Chap 33 is incomplete

  Al-Muttaqi Ali Ibn Husam Ad-Deen, in his book "Mukhtasar Kanz al-Ummal," (printed on the margin of Imam Ahmad's Musnad, part two, page two), in his hadith about chapter 33, said that Ibn Murdawayh reported that Huthaifah said: Umar said to me "How many verses are contained in the chapter of Al-Ahzab?" I said, "72 or 73 verses." He said it was almost as long as the chapter of the Cow, which contains 287 verses, and in it was the verse of stoning.

  Al-Hakim An-Nisaboori in his book "Al-Mustadrak" in the book of commentary on the Qur'an, part two, page 224, reported that Ubayy Ibn Kaab (whom the Prophet called the leader of Al-ansar), said that the Messenger of God said to him: Certainly the Almighty commanded me to read the Qur'an in front of you, and he read "The unbelievers from the people of the Book and the pagans will not change their way until they see the evidence. Those who disbelieve among the people of the scripture and the idolators could not change until the clear proof came unto them. A Messenger from Allah, reading purified pages..." And of the very excellent part of it "Should Ibn Adam ask for a valley full of wealth and I grant it to him, he would ask for another valley. And if I grant him that, he would ask for a third valley. Nothing would fill the abdomen of Ibn Adam except the soil. God accepts the repentance of anyone who repents. The religion in the eyes of God is the Hanafiyah (Islam) rather than Yahudiyya (Judaism) or Nasraniya (Christianity). Whoever does good, his goodness will not be denied.

- perfected in truth and justice, al-An`am 6:115

- problems within the Qur'an. Taken from Chad VanDixhoorn, Islam and Orthodoxy: A Critique of Muslim Apologetics, unpublished article, Huron College, London, Canada: 1995.

  - Muhammad supposed 'Imran or Amran to be the father of the Virgin Mary (Sura [cix.] lxvi. 12) - Mary and Elizabeth to be sisters; who, with Jesus, John, and Zacharias, make up the family of 'Imran. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Muhammad is guilty of the anachronism of confounding Miriam with the Virgin Mary. On the other hand is the difficulty of conceiving that as the sequence of time and fact is observed with tolerable accuracy in regard to the main features of Jewish and Christian History, he should have fallen into so serious an error, or have so inadvertently adopted, as Mr. Muir supposes, the phraseology of his Jewish informants (amongst whom the only well-known Mary (Miriam) was the daughter of 'Imran and the sister of Moses) as to have overlooked the discrepancy in their respective dates. But it is possible that Muhammad believed, as some Muslim writers assert, that Miriam's soul and body were miraculously preserved till the time of Jesus in order to become Mary his mother. Certainly the Talmudists fabled that the Angel of Death and the worm of corruption had no power over Miriam."

  - Ta Ha 20:90 records a Samaritan helping the Israelites build the golden calf. The Samaritans only came into existence after about 600 B.C. when Israel and Judah were taken into captivity. Not the time of the Exodus.

  - Commentators understand that Surah al-Kahf 18:89-98 refers to Alexander the Great. The passage records that he was a devout Muslim and lived to a ripe old history records that he was a polytheist and died young.

  - In Surah Hud 11:42-43 "Noah's (unnamed) son is said to have refused to take refuge in the ark while the flood waters were rising, and despite his father's plea, chose rather to flee to a mountaintop, from which he was swept away by a wave. (Genesis 6-7 indicates that Noah had only three sons, and that they all entered the ark. Genesis 10 gives the line of descendants from each.")

  - Surah Yusuf 12:11-20 records that "Joseph did not go seeking his brother up at Dothan (As Genesis 37 records), but rather the brothers, having already plotted his death, persuaded Jacob to let him go with them simply for fun and sport. Having gotten him into their power, they put him down into a well with water in it (rather than a dry pit). Nor was it they who sold him to the passing merchantmen, but rather a chance wayfarer who had come to the well to draw water. He sold the boy to the merchants "for a few dirhams" (rather than the substantial price of twenty shekels of silver, as Gen. 37:28 states.)"

  - Contrast Surah ash-Shu`ara 26:55-60 with Exodus 1:9 and Surah al-Baqarah 2:57, al-Baqarah 2:61 with Exodus and Numbers. The Quran records that "During the exodus, the Israelites became tired of manna and demanded vegetables from the soil. After scolding them, Moses said, Get down to Egypt, for you shall have what you asked.' They proceeded to do so: And they returned with wrath from God.' Ancient history is very clear that "while discontented Israelites spoke of returning to Egypt, none of them actually did so. . . .In this connection, it is stated v. as-Saff 61: They disbelieved the signs of God, and slew the Prophets unjustly; this, for they rebelled and transgressed.'" The Bible records no prophets being killed prior to Moses.

- reason for, al-Jum`ah 62:2

- recensions, seven, Sahih Bukhari vol. 3, book 41, no.601, Sahih Bihari vol. 6, book 61, no. 514, Sahih Bihari vol. 9, book 93, no. 640

  > Narrated Ibn Abbas:
  > Allah's Apostle said, "Gabriel read the Qur'an to me in one way (i.e. dialect) and I continued asking him to read it in different ways till he read it in seven different ways." (Sahih Bukhari 4.442, also Sahih Bukhari 6.513)

  Interestingly, this hadith tells us that it was not Gabriel (hence Allah) who initiated the reading in seven different ways, but was on Muhammad's initiative.

- recite as much as you may do with ease, al-Muzammil 73:20

- record of decisions of divine will.

  Book of Jubilee 3:10 states that the law of purification of woman after childbirth are written in the tablets in heaven. Jubilee 12:8 regard "Feast of Booths" ( Leviticus 23:40-43). Jubilee 5:13 states that the divine judgement on all that exists on earth is written on tablets in heaven. Book of Enoch prophesied future from contents of this tablet. (XCII:2, LXXXI, CIII:2, CVI:19, Also Encyclopaedia of Islam, p.288 quoted by Abdul-Haqq)

- religious system perfected in, al-Ma'idah 5:3

  > Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab:
  > Once a Jew said to me, "O the chief of believers! There is a verse in your Holy Book Which is read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed as a day of celebration." 'Umar bin Al-Khattab asked, "Which is that verse?" The Jew replied, "This day I have perfected your religion For you, completed My favor upon you, And have chosen for you Islam as your religion." (al-Ma'idah 5:3) 'Umar replied, "No doubt, we know when and where this verse was revealed to the Prophet. It was Friday and the Prophet was standing at 'Arafat (i.e. the Day of Hajj)" (Sahih Bukhari 1.43)

- revealed but not in Qur'an (???)

  > Narrated Ash-Sha'bi:
  > Abu Juhaifa said, "I asked Ali, 'Have you got any book (which has been revealed to the Prophet apart from the Qur'an)?' 'Ali replied, 'No, except Allah's Book or the power of understanding which has been bestowed (by Allah) upon a Muslim or what is (written) in this sheet of paper (with me).' Abu Juhaifa said, "I asked, 'What is (written) in this sheet of paper?' Ali replied, it deals with The Diyya (compensation (blood money) paid by the killer to the relatives of the victim), the ransom for the releasing of the captives from the hands of the enemies, and the law that no Muslim should be killed in Qisas (equality in punishment) for the killing of (a disbeliever). (Sahih Bukhari 1.111)

  see The Collection of the Qur'an - from the Hadiths for more details.

- revealed in Arabic, Yusuf 12:2; ar-Ra`d 13:37; an-Nahl 16:103; Ta Ha 20:113; ash-Shu`ara' 26:195; az-Zumar 39:28; Ha Mim Sajdah 41:3; az-Zukhruf 43:3; ad-Dukhan 44:58

- revealed in truth, al-An`am 6:14

- sent forth "in waves" (gradually), al-Mursalat 77:1

- source of health, bani Isra'il 17:82; Ha Mim Sajdah 41:44

- standardization, see Uthman

- surah mentioning war, Muhammad 47:20

- transcription underway at Mecca, al-Furqan 25:5

- untranslatable, see Is The Qur'an Translatable? Early Muslim Opinion

- upon an imperishable tablet, al-Buruj 85:21-22.

  > "Rabbi Simeon ben Laqish saith, "What is it that which is written, 'And I shall give thee tablets of stone, and the Law, and the commandment which I have written, that thou mayest teach them' (Ex XXIV:12)?"

  > The tablets -- these are the ten commandments; the Law, that which is read; and the Commandments; this is the Mishnah, which I have written, these are the Prophets and the Hagiographa: that thou mayest teach them, this denotes the Gamara. This teaches that all of them were given to Moses from Sinai. (Tract Berakhoth quoted in vol 5. Col. 1)

- Uthmanic codex, (Ar: Mushaf Uthmani), see Uthman

- Some interesting things:

  Caliph Alwalid ibn Yazid, who ruled the Muslims in the year 743 A.D. said:

  > "Talaaba be-inoboati Hashimeon bela wahion attaho wala kitabo w" (The Islamic Caliphate, p. 59)

  which means

  > Muhammad the Hashemite manipulated people by his claim that he was a prophet, without true inspiration or an inspired book.

  Caliph Abd Al-Malik ibn Marwan, who was a Muslim leader and scholar of the Qur'an, after becoming the Caliph, folded the Qur'an and said, "this is the last time I will ever use you." (The Islamic Caliphate, p. 173)

- an-Nisa' 4:82; al-Ma'idah 5:16; al-An`am 6:19; al-A`raf 7:204; at-Taubah 9:111; Yunus 10:15-16; al-Ma'idah 5:6,30,32; Hud 11:13-14; Yusuf 12:3; al-Hijr 15:87,91; an-Nahl 16:98; bani Isra'il 17:9,41,46,60,78,88-89,106; al-Kahf 18:54; Ta Ha 20:2; al-Furqan 25:4; an-Naml 27:1,6,76,92; al-Qasas 28:85; ar-Rum 30:58; Saba' 34:31; Sad 38:1-2; az-Zumar 39:27; Ha Mim Sajdah 41:41; ash-Shura 42:7; az-Zukhruf 43:31; al-Ahqaf 46:12,29; Muhammad 47:24; Qaf 50:1-2,45; al-Qamar 54:17,22,32,40; ar-Rahman 55:2; al-Waqi`ah 56:75,77; al-Hashr 59:21; al-Haqqah 69:40; al-Jinn 72:1; al-Muzammil 73:4,20; ad-Dahr 76:23; al-Inshiqaq 84:21,

Go Back to Main Index