Qur'an

SIGNIFICANCE: The Qur'an is recognized as the sacred text of Islam, the world's second-largest religion, with over 1.9 billion practitioners worldwide.

TYPE OF WORK: Book

RECORDED: c. 644–56 CE

MESSENGER: Muhammad (570–632)

SUBJECT MATTER: Followers of Islam believe this holy book to be God’s last message to humanity

The Qur'an is the most important text in the Islamic faith. The Arabic word qur’ân means “recitation,” specifically a recitation that was given to the Prophet Muhammad (ca. 570–June 8, 632) by the angel Gabriel as the final message of God (Allah) to humanity. Unlike Judeo-Christian scriptures, the Qur'an is not a collection of works written by multiple authors compiled over a long period of time. Believed to have been revealed to Muhammad, over a period of about two decades, the Qur'an is neither a book of history, nor a memoir of Muhammad, nor a philosophical treatise. Advocating uncompromising monotheism, its purpose is to proclaim the sovereignty of God (Allah), his coming judgment for humankind, and humanity’s need to submit to him and live faithfully, according to his rules.

Muhammad had the text of the Qur'an recorded on materials such as tablets, palm leaves and hides. During the rule of Othman, the third successor after Muhammad, its 114 chapters, or suras, were assembled and standardized in their modern form; their total length is close to that of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The suras are arranged in approximately descending order of their size, thereby disrupting the message’s chronological and thematic sequence. If the suras are separated so that those revealed in Mecca, when Muhammad was a prophet opposing the established order, and those revealed in Medina after he became the leader of the Arabs, the Qur'an’s tone and contents would differ profoundly. The former suras are more individualistic and mystical, while the latter are clearly more collective and political.

Muslims believe that the Qur'an is God’s simplest, clearest and most comprehensive message to humanity. Its language, eloquence, rhythm, and rhetoric are said to reveal something of how God thinks and feels. The Qur'an is said to be untranslatable and many Muslims regard only the Arabic original as authentic; however, it was first translated into English in 1734 and has been translated into numerous other languages.

Illiterate according to tradition, Muhammad is recognized as merely the Messenger of God. Indeed, in many Muslim cultures to say that Muhammad, rather than God, was the author of the Qur'an is regarded as incorrect if not blasphemous. Piety is also expressed through the avoidance of idolatry, including representational art in almost any form; a notable expression of this avoidance is the longstanding tradition of not depicting Muhammad in human form in any Muslim art.

Hadith, which include records of Muhammad's beliefs and behavior which influenced longstanding interpretations of certain Quranic passages, supplement the teachings of the Qur'an and for most Muslim denominations form the foundation of Islamic law. Different schools of Islam have differing opinions of whether hadith were the product of divine inspiration or not. A few Muslim groups reject hadith altogether and believe the Qur'an alone should serve as the guiding principles of the faith.

Hadithic literature details the five pillars of Islam, which are five fundamental beliefs and practices of the faith, which are not explicitly spelled out in the Qur'an but are nonetheless derived from the text and considered obligatory for all Muslims. The five pillars are shahada (declaration of Muslim faith), salah (daily prayer), zakat (giving alms), sawm (fasting), and hajj (pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, for those who are able to do so.)

Over the centuries, some parts of the Qur'an have generated controversy among Muslims and led to criticism of Islam from people of different faiths. For example, the Qur'an divides humanity into the Abode of Islam and the Abode of War, which some believe implies salvation and peace cannot be realized without being part of Islam. Twenty-three suras detail the fate of unbelievers, who are depicted as arrogant and worldly. Three others extol believers to refuse aid, compassion, and friendship to non-Muslims. While modern Muslims, in both belief and practice, have a wide range of opinions toward these passages, some critics argue certain passages in the Qur'an promote violence against non-believers. Most modern Muslim scholars reject the idea that these passages promote violence and cite other passages promoting peace and hospitality and condemning violence against innocent people, although some fundamentalist groups have ignored these mainstream interpretations and seized on certain passages to justify acts of terror and violence.

In the early 2020s, roughly 1.9 billion people worldwide identified as Muslims. As with other major religions, these believers were organized into different sects, some of whom disagreed on specific points of interpretation of the Qur'an. Still, for all Muslims, the Qur'an remains a central document of their faith. Readings of the Qur'an feature prominently in a number of Muslim holidays; for example, during the holy month of Ramadan, a period marked by all-day fasting, Muslims recite tarawih, which are prayers including long portions of Quranic text. Due to its central role in the Muslim faith, the Qur'an has had a major influence on Arabic language, culture, and literature for over a millennium.

While, like most other holy texts, the Qur'an has been cited to justify censorship, oppression, and even violence, the Qur'an itself has also been the subject of censorship. Banned in some parts of medieval Europe due to conflicts between Christian Europe and Muslim nations such as the Ottoman Empire, it was later restricted in the Soviet Union, China and other communist countries in the twentieth century, due to these countries' official adoption of state atheism and efforts to suppress all types of religion. During the 2010s and 2020s, Qur'an censorship was also part of China's campaign to suppress its Muslim Uyghur minority population.

During the twenty-first century, censorship of and backlash against the Qur'an also occurred in the context of Islamophobia, which increased in the United States, Western Europe, and a number of other areas during those years. Alleged desecrations of the Qur'an in Muslim-majority countries occasionally led to mob violence, including the lynching of a woman in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2015 after she was falsely accused of burning a Qur'an. During the late 2010s and early 2020s, some anti-Muslim activists, often affiliated with anti-immigration groups or other right-wing causes, staged Qur'an burnings in Sweden, Denmark, and other countries; these events often ignited protests and occasionally sparked violence. Many of these burnings also drew official condemnation from the governments of Muslim-majority nations.

Bibliography

Lari, Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi. "Lesson 6: The Relationship between the Qur'an and the Progeny of the Prophet." Islam.com, www.al-islam.org/imamate-and-leadership-sayyid-mujtaba-musavi-lari/lesson-6-relationship-between-quran-and-progeny. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

"The Qur'an." Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.org/learn/educators/curriculum-resources/art-of-the-islamic-world/unit-one/the-quran. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

Rashid, Qasim. "Anyone Who Says the Quran Advocates Terrorism Obviously Hasn't Read its Lessons on Violence." The Independent, 10 Apr. 2017, www.independent.co.uk/voices/islam-muslim-terrorism-islamist-extremism-quran-teaching-violence-meaning-prophet-muhammed-a7676246.html. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

Ringgren, Helmer and Sinai, Nicolai. "Qurʾān." Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Dec. 2024, www.britannica.com/topic/Quran. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.

"What is the Quran?." Quran.com, quran.com/about-the-quran. Accessed 4 Dec. 2024.