An Introduction to Islam Chapter 6

What was the time period of the Revelation given to the Prophet Muhammad?

Arabic was not developed until 200 years after the period of the Revelation; Islam is the mother of Arabic because it had to be developed in order to create an accurate written account of the Qur'an during the early generations of the Islamic movement, for more than its first two centuries, in fact, written Arabic was not developed enough to preserve precisely every sound and thus needed the help of oral knowledge

What is Ta'wil?

a more common Qur'anic term for exegesis is ta'wil, but later that term takes on a special meaning as allegorical interpretation, which explores symbolic and inner meanings; this type of exegesis is especially prominent in Shi'i and Sufi (mystical) contexts much more used by philosophers and mystics; whereas tafsir is about interpreting it literally at the level of ta'wil, sectarian issues may affect the interpretation of passages

How many years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad was the Qur'an compiled into book form?

although Muhammad is reported not to have been able to read or write, there were many in his environment who could, but they were limited by the incomplete written script of their day it was not until nearly 300 years after the death of the Prophet that what is called a "standard exemplar" of the Qur'anic text was perfected the "standard exemplar" is a technical term referring to a properly voweled and precisely marked text to be used for copying

What is the basmala? Which Surah of the Qur'an does not begin with it?

before reciting any portion of the Qur'an, one should first "take refuge" (isti'adha) by uttering the formula: "I take refuge with God from the accursed Satan" (a 'udhu b 'illahi min al-shayan al-rajim), after which is recited, whether or not it happens at that place in the text: "In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate" (bismi-llahi al-rahman al-rahim), this is known as the basmala, and it appears at the beginning of every sura of the Qur'an, except the ninth one of the most frequently uttered pious phrases of Muslims and is considered essential before embarking on any significant activity, like eating, conjugal relations, writing (first thing written down), and speaking before a group

How is the Qur'an divided or arranged for liturgical divisions? How many sections is it divided into for Ramadan recitations?

in addition to the divisions by suras and verses, the Qur'an is also arranged according to liturgical divisions, for purposes of recitation one scheme divides the text into thirty equal parts, the number of days in the holy month of Ramadan; one part is recited each day, so that by the end of the month, the entire Qur'an has been recited, each thirtieth of the text is called a juz', further broken into two smaller divisions each called a hizb, further subdivided into "quarters" (rub') the actual closing of the recitation is called a khatma and is finished with the recitation of the Fatiha

What is the politically correct way to refer to a quote from the Qur'an?

it was NOT said by Muhammad, either the Qur'an says it, or God/Allah says it

What are the "occasions of revelations"?

most Muslims do not believe that the Qur'an was revealed in any manner that would suggest it was a response to historical circumstances in a casual sense Qur'an scholars call the specific circumstances connected with revealed passages "occasions of revelations" (asbab nuzul al-Qur'an); the occasions are not causes, but simply incidents or events that have been remembered- most often the reports from Muhammad; an occasion of revelation is something external to the Qur'an text itself

What is meant by the "Inimitability" of the Qur'an?

non-Muslims think the Qur'an as repetitive and hard to get through; not regarded as defects by Muslims, because the Qur'an is first of all a divine message that provides the most authentic glimpse of God's inner nature the text is regarded as inimitable, expressed by the phrase i'jaz al-Qur'an; no one can produce a Qur'an, this doctrine goes, no matter how skilled in language and rhetoric this i'jaz, or "miraculous" nature, applies not only to the Qur'an's unsurpassable language and style but also and especially to its truth in every detail a remarkable phenomenon is the very repetition of the message's basic themes in practically every section of the Qur'an that might be extracted for recitation the Qur'an is entirely self-consistent and harmonious on the level of its basic teachings, but it is discontinuous and unlike other writings, especially the Bible, which it only faintly and superficially resembles at points

How is the Qur'an used in popular religion?

on the popular level, the Qur'an is often used as a protective device against evil spirits and influences for example, a passage from it may be written on paper and enclosed in an amulet, which is hung from the neck; or a complete mushaf may be mounted in a prominent place in a private auto or taxi; or a sick person may be given a potion made by mixing water with the ink that has been used to write a Qur'anic charm, drinking this dissolved ink is thought by some to heal through the great baraka (spiritual power) of the Qur'an the last two suras of the Qur'an are called "the Two Charms" and are legitimately used to ward off the evil of sorcerers and witches in the Qur'anic worldview, magic is real and threatening, sometimes must be countered with magical means, of which the Qur'an is the most potent the rituals of Muslims' social relations include phrases and expressions mined from the Qur'an

What is Tafsir? What are the two types of Tafsir and how do they differ?

tafsir is an Arabic term that can be translated as "exegesis", "commentary", or "interpretation", and the like; it occurs once in the Qur'an itself (25:33) tafsir is the main branch of Muslim scholars doing interpretation of the Qur'an has come to represent both the entire field of Qur'an interpretation, as a generic category, and the actual operation of examining the plain text: its language, grammar, expressions, peculiarities, and so forth Principally, tafsir deals with the issues of linguistics, jurisprudence, and theology. In terms of perspective and approach, tafsir can be broadly divided into two categories, namely tafsir bi-al-ma'thur (lit. received tafsir) which is transmitted from the early days of Islam through the prophet Muhammad and his companions, and tafsir bi-al-ra'y (lit. tafsir by opinion) which is arrived through personal reflection or independent rational thinking what the Qur'an means is disputed; some verses are said to be clear and others are ambiguous

Were the numbers a part of the Revelation?

the Muslims do not usually refer to the suras by number, although this has become standard practice in Western scholarship the numbers of the suras and verses were added later for convenience; Muslims do not usually use verse numberings either but instead quote the beginning of the passage in question

Under which Caliph was the Qur'an organized into its final format?

the Qur'an was organized into its final format under Uthman

What is the format of the Surahs or chapters of the Qur'an, i.e. how is it organized?

the format of the Qur'an is not a product of revelation, but of convention there are 114 chapters, called suras, arranged roughly according to length; they progress from the longer ones in the earlier portions to the shortest ones at the end; the first sura is an exception, it's called "The Opening" (Al-Fatiha), which occupies a position in Islam parallel to the Lord's Prayer in Christianity we may call the traditional arrangement of the suras the "canonical" ordering, in that it is official there is also a chronological arrangement of suras, according to when each was revealed

Who is a hafiz? Where does a hafiz perform?

the hafiz al-Qur'an, literally "the guardian of the Qur'an", is the one who has memorized it and thus keeps it alive, is a special kind of Muslim and is looked up to as a learned and wise person, often called a shaykh; hafiz must work hard, memorization requires frequent repetition usually in a devotional context often such a person becomes a reciter (qari'), who provides the necessary cycles of Qur'an recitation for the community in which he lives; recitation is required during the salat, also featured in contexts such as funerals, weddings, national observances, the openings of school terms, inaugurations of officials, Ramadan nights, and social occasions in pious people's homes

Were the names of the Surahs a part of the Revelation?

the names of the suras are not part of the revealed message but have usually been assigned later from some word by which the whole has been identified normally, the word that names a sura occurs early, but not always

What are the two major divisions of the Surahs?

the suras are divided up into the two usual groups of Meccan and Medinan periods; Noldeke subdivides the Meccan suras into three periods- early, middle, and late the Medinan suras are quite different from the Meccan ones because of the changed circumstances of that period when Muhammad had become head of an independent theocratic community; passages feature legal and social matters and are much more prosaic and intended for specific application to the regulation of the umma's life; old themes of warning, judgment, punishment, reward, and God's signs in nature and history are still encountered, but their relative prominence is less frequent

What is the literal meaning of the word, Qur'an?

the word Qur'an literally means "recitation" or "the Reading", which refers to individual passages as well as to their collection in the book that Muslims possess a codex or bound volume is called in Arabic a mushaf, which is a common synonym for the Qur'an when preceded by the definite article, as in al-Mushaf other names for the Qur'an, mentioned in the text itself, are al-Furqan "the Criterion" (between truth and falsehood); the most common name for the Islamic scripture among Muslims is al-Qur'an al-Karim, "the Noble (or Gracious) Qur'an"

How many chapters are in the Qur'an?

there are 114 chapters or suras