The Qur'an
The Islam scriptures are the Qur’an, which means “recitation” as it recalls sacred writings originating from the sermons of Muhammad. Although the Qur’an has been translated into many languages, only the Arabic version is considered to be fully authoritative. It is believed to be revealed to Muhammad twenty years after his first revelation in 610 CE and contains the sermons up until the end of his life. Disciples memorized and wrote down the words of Muhammad’s revelations, but after his death, they created a single authorized version. The work of the Qur’an started by Abu Bakr who is Muhammad’s first successor, also known as caliph, and ended in 656 CE. The Qur’an is repetitive as it has no segments but instead a body of sermons that repeats images and themes in a natural way.
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The Qur’an contains many stories and figures found in the Jewish and Christian bibles such as Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Jesus, Mary, and many others. It also gives practical admonitions about everyday life such as property rights, money, inheritance, marriage, and divorce. It refers to events in the life of Muhammad and to specifically religious beliefs and regulation such as angels, divine judgment, fasting, and the pilgrimage. |
The Qur’an has 114 chapters, also known as suras. Each sura has a traditional name, derived from an image or topic mentioned in it, such as “The Elephant,” “Light,” “Thunder,” “Smoke,” “The Moon,” and “The High One.” The order of the suras does not reflect the exact order in which they were revealed. Except for the first sura, the suras are arranged by length, from the longest to the shortest. The short suras are probably the earliest teachings of Muhammad, while the long ones are the products of his final years in which the details of Islamic life were being revealed to him.
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This video is an Islamic prayer. The prayer is chanted in Arabic just as the Qur'an is written in Arabic. The Qur'an contains passages that are recited daily. Its chanters have become famous for the beauty of their voices and their interpretation of Qur'anic material as Arabic is known to be an art form. |