The Holy Qur’an

Great Wall of China

Dhul-Qarnayn

What Is Dhul-Qarnayn? Dhul-Qarnayn or Dhu al-Qarnayn, ذُو ٱلْقَرْنَيْن, Ḏū l-Qarnayn, lit. “He of the Two Horns”) appears in the Quran, Surah Al-Kahf (18), Ayahs 83–101 as one who travels to the east and west and sets up a barrier between a certain people and Gog and Magog (called Ya’juj and Ma’juj). Elsewhere the Quran tells...

17th-century manuscript of an Alexandrine novel (Russia): Alexander exploring the depths of the sea

Alexander The Great In The Quran

Alexander The Great In The Quran The story of Dhul-Qarnayn (ذو القرنين, literally “The Two-Horned One”, also transliterated as Zul-Qarnain or Zulqarnain), mentioned in the Quran, maybe a reference to Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 BC), popularly known as Alexander the Great. Western and traditional Muslim scholars generally identify Alexander the Great...

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Arguments For The Divine Authorship Of The Qur’an

Divine Authorship Of The Qur’an This article covers the Arguments For The Divine Authorship Of The Qur’an. When we study the Qur’an’s words, styles, and meanings even superficially, we notice immediately that it is unique. So, in rank and worth it is either below—even Satan cannot claim this, nor does he...

The leaves from this Quran written in gold and contoured with brown ink have a horizontal format. This is admirably suited to classical Kufic calligraphy, which became common under the early Abbasid caliphs.

What Is Quran How Can It Be Defined?

What Is Quran How Can It Be Defined? This article covers the answer to the question: “What Is Quran How Can It Be Defined?” The Quran is an eternal translation of the great book of the universe and the everlasting translator of the various ‘languages’ in which Divine laws of...

Payrus of Irenaeus' Against Heresies, which describes early Gnostic beliefs about Jesus' death which influenced Islam.

Sources for The Quran

Sources For The Quran Scholars have been able to point out several pre-existing sources for the Quran. Some scholars have calculated that one third of the Quran has pre-Islamic Christian origins. The most famous pre-Islamic source for the Quran is the Bible, which predates the Quran by several centuries. Quran contains references to...

The Quran

The Qur’an

The Qur’an In accordance with humanity’s worth and value, and considering the human heart, spirit, mind, and physical being, the Qur’an descended from the Highest of the High. Containing the most perfect messages, it is a collection of Divine Laws. Followed today by more than one billion people, the Qur’an...

A 12th-century Quran manuscript at Reza Abbasi Museum.

Is The Holy Book Word Of God?

Is The Holy Book (The Quran) Word Of God? This article covers the answer to the question: “Is The Holy Book Word Of God?“ The Holy Book is completely different from all the other books in the world 1. When we study the Holy Book even superficially from the viewpoint...

A Quran Student

Islam’s The Holy Qur’an

Islam’s The Holy Qur’an This article covers the answer to the question: “What is Islam’s The Holy Qur’an?” If We had sent down this Qur’an on a mountain, surely you would have seen it humbled, rent asunder by fear of God. Such comparisons do We coin for people that perhaps...

The Quran, in traditional Arabic text.

Historical Reliability Of The Quran

What Is Historical Reliability Of The Quran? The historical reliability of the Quran concerns the question of the historicity of the described or claimed events in the Quran. Muslims have generally disapproved of the historical criticism of the Quran. In the Muslim world, scholarly criticism of the Quran can be considered apostasy and can be punished by...

Qur’an section from the early 9th century, in Kufic script, with an early form of vowelization using red dots only for endings and difficult words.

Surah

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...

These two lines of calligraphy in elegant muhaqqaq script are from chapter 40 (Sura al-Mu'min, The Believer) of the Qur'an. The fragment on which they are written was once part of a Qur'an manuscript that is probably the largest ever produced. Originally, each page included seven lines of script copied on one side only. A double-page would fit perfectly into the gigantic stone Qur'an stand made for the congregational mosque of Bibi Khanum in Samarqand and commissioned by a grandson of Timur (Tamerlane, d. 1405). Its calligrapher was likely the renowned 'Umar Aqta'. Historical sources tell us that 'Umar tried to impress Timur by writing a Qur’an so small that it could fit under a signet ring. When the sultan was unmoved, 'Umar wrote a Qur'an so large that it had to be brought to Timur on a cart.

Ayah

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...

Page from a Koran, Near East, Abbasid period, late ninth-early tenth century

I’jaz

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...

Folio from a Qur'an Manuscript

Early Quranic Manuscripts

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...

Rainbow Quran With English Translation

English Translations Of The Quran

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...

Comparison of a 21st-century Quran (left) and the Birmingham Quran manuscript

Birmingham Quran Manuscript

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...

Recto side of the Stanford '07 folio. The upper text covers Quran 2 (al-Baqarah).265-271.

Sanaa Manuscript

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...

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List Of Sunni Books

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...

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Chronological Order Of The Quran

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...

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The Holy Quran’s Invitation To Christians

The Holy Quran’s Invitation To Christians This article covers the answer to the question: “What is the Holy Quran‘s Invitation to Christians?“ “Say: “People of the Book! Come now to a word common between us and you, that we serve none but Allah, and that we associate not aught with...

A man making dua [supplicating]

Dua

Dua In Islam, dua (دُعَاء‎ ), literally meaning “invocation“, is an act of supplication. The term is derived from an Arabic word meaning to ‘call out’ or to ‘summon’, and Muslims regard this as a profound act of worship. Muhammad is reported to have said, “Dua is the very essence of worship.” There is...