The Qur'an/Kutub

Muslims believe that through the ages, Allah has revealed his truth through his prophets and that this has been written down in holy books.

Ibrahim brought a book, which is now lost. Muslims also accept the Tawrah (Jewish Torah) brought by Musa and the Zabur of Dawud (Psalms of David). They also believe in the Injil of Isa (Gospels of Jesus)

"We believe in Allah and that which is revealed unto us and that which was revealed unto Abraham, and Ishmael, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the tribes, and that which Moses and Jesus received, and that which the Prophets received from their Lord." Qur'an 2:136

"Today I have perfected your religion for you, and I have completed My blessing upon you, and I have approved Islam for your religion." Qur'an 5:5

As well as the Qur'an, Mulslims also have the example of Muhammad through the Hadith - showing how the prophet himself put the rules of the Qur'an into practice.

'The Accurate Six' is the name given to the most trustworthy of the Hadith. They were collected within the first three centuries of Islam.

Muslims believe that Allah sent other holy books to other people of the world but that most of these revelations are now lost or corrupted i.e. Allah's words became mixed up with human interpretations.

Although Allah inspired both Judaism and Christianity, Muslims do not accept everything that their scriptures say.

Muslims believe that the words of the Qur'an come from Allah himself and were passed on to humanity through Muhammad. Muhammad is not the author, Allah is.

Muhammad recited the words of Allah which were revealed to him through the angel Jebreel (Gabriel). They were then recorded after his death.

Muslims are not allowed to eat or drink, smoke or talk in the same room where the Qur'an is being read as they must give it their full attention.

Muslims believe that the Qur'an is a perfect copy of a heavenly book, and that it is the last revelation of Allah's truth ti the human world, they believe that it is the best guide for how to live our lives and achieve salvation.

Muslims must treat the Qur;an with great care. They wrap it in a clean cloth and keep it on the highest shelf in the room, to show its superiority. When is use, Muslims will use a bookstand so that the Qur'an does not touch the floor.

Muslims must wash before touching the Qur'an. Girls and women must cover their heads before reading the Qur'an and boys and men will usually wear a prayer cap. They do this as a sign of respect.

The Qur'an contains the complete and uncorrupted words of Allah for all people, everywhere, in all ages. It is the timeless truth from Allah to humanity.

Of 'The Accurate Six' - the two most authoritative are called sahih which means 'sound'.

Muslims also have the Hadith as a source of guidance, the word hadith means a 'statement' or 'report'. The books of Hadith are collections of reports of what Muhammad said, did or approved of in particular situations.

Some of the Hadith collections are particularly important because they record the sunnah of Muhammad - his 'custom' or way of doing things, which he wanted Muslims to follow.

Someone who has learnt the Qur'an by heart is called a Hafiz/Hafizah (male/female).

The Qur'an has 114 chapters, which are called surahs. There are over 6000 verses in the Qur'an and are split into units within a surah. Each unit is called an ayah.

Since the Qur'an is believed to be from Allah, every word is sacred to Muslims. It is therefore important to keep it in the language it was first spoken in - Arabic.

The Qur'an has been translated for those who do not speak Arabic but these translations would not be recognised as a proper Qur'an by Muslims. Instead these are seen as interpretations.

The Qur'an is written in verses of various lengths. Each chapter begins with the words 'In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate.' This is known as the Bismillah.

The word Qur'an means 'recitation'. This links to Muhammad being instriucted to recite the words soken to him by the angel Jebreel and Muslims recite passages from the Qur'an in their five daily prayer sessions.