“Windows To Spirituality”
What Is Surah? A Surah (سورة sūrah, سور suwar) is the term for a chapter of the Quran. There are 114 surahs in the Quran, 86 are classified as Makki, while 28 are Madini. each divided into verses (āyāt). The chapters or surahs are of unequal length; the shortest chapter (Al-Kawthar) has only...
What Is Ayah? In the Islamic Quran, an Ayah (آية; آيات āyāt) is a “verse,” one of the statements of varying length that make up the chapters (surah) of the Quran and are marked by a number. The word means “evidence,” “sign” or “miracle,” and in Islam may refer to things other than...
What Is I’jaz? In Islam, I’jaz, or inimitability of the Qur’an is the doctrine which holds that the Qur’an has a miraculous quality, both in content and in form, that no human speech can match. According to this doctrine, the Qur’an is a miracle and its inimitability is the proof granted to Muhammad in the...
Early Quranic Manuscripts In this article, you will find information about the early Quranic manuscripts. In Muslim tradition, the Quran is the final revelation from God, Islam’s divine text, delivered to the Islamic prophet Muhammad through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad’s revelations were said to have been recorded orally, through Muhammad and his followers up until...
English Translations Of The Quran This article covers information about English Translations of the Quran. The Quran has been translated into English many times. The first few translations were made in the 17th and 19th centuries, but the majority were produced in the 20th. The following English Translations of The Quran...
Birmingham Quran Manuscript The Birmingham Quran manuscript is a parchment on which two leaves of an early Quranic manuscript are written. In 2015 the manuscript, which is held by the University of Birmingham, was radiocarbon dated to between 568 and 645 CE (in the Islamic calendar, between 56 BH and 25 AH). It is part...
What Is Sanaa Manuscript? The Sanaa Manuscript or Sanaa palimpsest (also Ṣanʿā’ 1 or DAM 01-27.1) is one of the oldest Quranic manuscripts in existence. Part of a sizable cache of Quranic and non-Quranic fragments discovered in Yemen during a 1972 restoration of the Great Mosque of Sana’a, the manuscript was identified as a palimpsest Quran in 1981; as...
List Of Sunni Books This is a list of Sunni books. A classical example of an index of Islamic books can be found in Kitāb al-Fihrist of Ibn Al-Nadim. Sunni Muslims are the larger of the two main branches of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Sunnism or as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (أهل السنة والجماعة) (people of the example (of Muhammad) and the...
Chronological Order Of The Quran The Qur’an is not in chronological order but arranged roughly the longest surah (chapter) to the shortest. The following lists the chronological (or revelational) order of the Qur’an. Chronological Order Surah Name Number of Verses Location of Revelation Traditional Order 1 Al-Alaq 19 Mecca 96 2 Al-Qalam 52...
Jewish Renewal Jewish Renewal (התחדשות יהודית, hitḥadeshut yehudit) is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, and musical practices. Specifically, it seeks to reintroduce the “ancient Judaic traditions of mysticism and meditation, gender equality and ecstatic prayer” to synagogue services. It is distinct from the baal teshuva...
The Philosophy Of Mormonism CHAPTER I In this attempt to treat the philosophy of “Mormonism” it is assumed that no discussion of Christianity in general nor of the philosophy of Christianity is required. The “Mormon” creed, so far as there is a creed professed by the Latter-day Saints, is pre-eminently...
What Is Jain Meditation? Jain meditation (dhyāna) has been the central practice of spirituality in Jainism along with the Three Jewels. Jainism holds that emancipation can only be achieved through meditation or Shukla Dhyana. According to Sagarmal Jain, it aims to reach and remain in a state of “pure-self awareness or knowership.” Meditation is...
Dhyana In Hinduism Dhyana in Hinduism means contemplation and meditation. Dhyana is taken up in Yoga exercises, and is a means to samadhi and self-knowledge. The various concepts of dhyana and its practice originated in the Vedic era of Hinduism, and the practice has been influential within the diverse traditions of Hinduism. It is, in Hinduism, a part of a self-directed...
What Is Mantra? A mantra ( मन्त्र) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have psychological and spiritual powers. Mantra meditation helps to induce an altered state of consciousness. A mantra may or may not have a syntactic...
What Is Zen? Zen (禪; Chán, 선) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty as Chan Buddhism. It was strongly influenced by Taoism and developed as a distinct school of Chinese Buddhism. From China, Chan Buddhism spread south to Vietnam which became Vietnamese Thiền, northeast to Korea and east to Japan, where it became...
What Is Buddhist Meditation? Buddhist meditation is the practice of meditation in Buddhism. The closest words for meditation in the classical languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā (“mental development”) and jhāna/dhyāna (mental training resulting in a calm and luminous mind). Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward liberation, awakening and Nirvana, and includes...
Meditation And Pain Meditation and pain is the study of the physiological mechanisms underlying meditation-specifically its neural components- that implicate it in the reduction of pain perception.[1] Meditation is a behavioral method that has been used for several thousand years to monitor and regulate emotion and attention.[2] Broadly speaking, meditation...
Research On Meditation For the purpose of this article, research on meditation concerns research into the psychological and physiological effects of meditation using the scientific method. In recent years, these studies have increasingly involved the use of modern scientific techniques and instruments, such as fMRI and EEG which are able to directly...
List Of Major Textual Variants In The New Testament This is a list of major textual variants in the New Testament, with a focus on differences between categories of New Testament manuscripts. The Textus Receptus (“received text”) is the name subsequently given to the succession of printed Greek texts of the New Testament which was first...
The New Testament Verses Not Included In The Bible This article covers the List of New Testament Verses Not Included In the Bible. The New Testament verses not included in modern English translations are verses of the New Testament that existed in older versions of the Bible (primarily the King...
