Qur'an

The Qur'an is the holy book of all Muslims. The prophet of Islam, Muhammad, is believed to have received the Qur'an through direct revelation (610 CE). According to adherents of the religious tradition of Islam, Allah revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad through the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) during a period of 23 years.

There are 114 chapters, or suras, in the Qur'an. Traditionally, the suras are of two types: the Meccan Suras and the Medinan Suras. Each begins with the words, “In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate.” These suras often center on the theme of faith. The Meccan Suras center on issues of faith, creed, and belief, and on stories of previous prophets and nations; the Medinan Suras concentrate on legislation and law. The Qur'an asserts that the goal of every human being is to live to worship Allah and obey his commands. Following Allah in obedience, according to the Qur'an, leads to heaven, while not following Allah leads to hell. Hence, reading, studying, memorizing, and believing the Qur'an, while adhering to its teachings, are some of the most important aspects of life for a Muslim.

The Qur'an includes the stories of prophets including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. However, unlike other scriptures, Muslims do not recognize any human involvement in the Qur'an, such as authorial influence or human error, but insist that it is inerrant direct revelation and the true word of God. Since tradition holds that Muhammad was illiterate, the emphasis is on the divine miracle of the Qur'an's revelation and not on Muhammad as creator of the text.

The Qur'an does not unfold in only a linear narrative pattern or flow in a chronological manner. The suras concern themselves with issues of politics, economics, and law. The voice in the Qur'an frequently changes. Allah is at different times talked about in the plural first person, the singular first person, and the third person. Additionally, Arabic relies on gendered grammar, and this allows for interesting and complex gender dynamics with the words themselves that often cannot be well understood by non-Arabic speakers.

The Qur'an is considered to be the word of Allah and thus cannot be truly translated. The Qur'an is considered the true Qur'an, in the strictest sense, only in Arabic and no other language. Any translation of the Qur'an from Arabic to another language or text is considered an interpretation of the Qur'an. This, however, does not mean that there are not different analyses of the meaning of the Qur'an. Interpretation of the Qur'an constitutes a discipline among Islamic sciences that is known as tafseer, and religious scholars, Qur'an interpreters, and religious communities have always played a large role in helping decipher what the Qur'an means for the followers of Islam. The rise in schools of interpretation of the Qur'an has generated much new literature.

The Qur'an is looked to as an ethical guide (akhalaeq) for many Muslims and comprises instructions on holy living. It is considered the ultimate source of teaching that affirms many values, such as hospitality, honor, justice, honesty, and kindness. The five pillars of Islam—namely, (1) affirmation of the oneness of God, (2) almsgiving, (3) ritual prayer, (4) fasting during Ramadan, and (5) pilgrimage (hajj)—are emphasized as ways of living ethically.

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