The Qur'an

'Get ye down all from here; and if, as is sure, there comes to you guidance from Me, whosoever follows guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve' (2: 38)

The Qur'an can be defined as follows:

“The speech of Allah, sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, through the Angel Gabriel, in its precise meaning and precise wording, transmitted to us by numerous persons (tawatur), both verbally and in writing.”

Etymology of word 'Qur'an'

The Arabic word 'Qur'an' is derived from the root “Qara'a”, which has various meanings, such as to read, [Sura 17: 93.] to recite, [Sura 75:18:17: 46.] etc. Qur'an is a verbal noun and hence means the 'reading' or 'recitation'. As used in the Qur'an itself, the word refers to the revelation from Allah in the broad sense [Sura 17: 82.] and is not always restricted to the written form in the shape of a book, as we have it before us today.

However, it means revelation to Muhammad only, while revelation to other prophets has been referred to by different names (e.g. taurat, Injil, kitab, etc.).

Qur’an Pak is divided into 30 chapters. It is the compilation of 114 Surahs. It began to be revealed in disjointed versus and chapters to Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

“Indeed, We sent the Quran down during the Night of Decree”(Quran 97:1)

Other Names of the Qur'an

The revelation from Allah to the Prophet Muhammad is referred to in the Qur'an itself by the name Qur’an (recitation) as well as by other names, such as e.g.

-Furqaan (criterion, see 25: 1).

-Tanzil (sent down, see 26: 192).

-Dhikr (reminder, see 15: 9).

-Kitab (scripture, see 21:10).

-Other references to the Qur'an are by such words as Nur (light), Huda (guidance), Rahma (mercy), Majid (glorious), Mubarak (blessed), Bashir (announcer), Nadhir (warner), etc.

Message of Qur'an

The Qur'an contains the revelations of Allah, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, to mankind. It is the message from God to man and therefore of utmost importance to us. To properly grasp a message, one needs, first of all, to understand its contents exactly, and for this purpose one must study the Qur'an deeply and in detail. In fact, some people do spend their whole lives studying the Qur'an, reading and reflecting upon it and, as they grow and develop, both physically and spiritually, they discover for themselves new meanings and implications.

Muslims have, from earliest times, applied themselves not only to the message from Allah; the Qur'an but also to its setting and framework, and the preoccupation with these ultimately developed into the 'sciences' of or 'knowledge' about the Qur'an, known as "ulum al-qur'an'.

According to a general definition, 'ulum al-qur'an' [Sabuni, Muhammad 'Ali: al-tibyan fi 'ulum al-qur-an, Beirut, 1970, p.10.] denotes studies concerned with the book of revelations sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, (Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) namely:

-Its revelation.

- Its collection.

-Its order and arrangement.

-Its writing down.

-Information about the reasons and occasions of revelation.

-About what was revealed in Makka and what in Madina.

-About the abrogating and abrogated verses.

-About the 'clear' and the 'unclear' verses.

-The term also covers Qur'an-related studies, such as: the explanation of verses and passages by the Prophet himself, his Companions, their followers and the later exegeses of the Qur'an, the methods of explanation, the scholars of exegesis and their books.