What is the Quran?
The most conventional answer is that the Quran is a book – but it is not like most books. It is made up of words which contain truth and guidance for every human being, and Muslims believe that these are words revealed directly by God, in the Arabic language, to the last of His prophets and messengers, Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him).
The Quran presents itself with a number of names and descriptions which are worth reflecting on. Here are just a few:
Quran and Kitab (Recital & Writ): the first means something recited aloud, and the second means something written down. This describes the two main ways this scripture is experienced, and which you can encounter on this website.
Kalam Allah (Divine Speech): this means that these words are a direct communication from the Creator and Master of every living being. It occupies the highest level of authority for its believers, and it is clarified and supported by the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ. While the language of this particular revelation was Arabic, we also have many translations into different languages which help us to understand its meanings.
Dhikr and Huda (Remembrance & Guidance): the Quran is used as a way to connect with God and keep Him in our hearts and on our tongues. It is also fundamentally a guide for our personal lives and for the life of the community and society.
The Quran is the final revealed message which complements and completes earlier revealed scriptures, just as the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught the same essential message as the many prophets before him, including Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham, and Jesus (peace be upon them all). The Quran clarifies what humanity needs to know from now until the Day of Judgment, and it will remain preserved from loss and distortion which affected previous scriptures in various ways.
The most conventional answer is that the Quran is a book – but it is not like most books. It is made up of words which contain truth and guidance for every human being, and Muslims believe that these are words revealed directly by God, in the Arabic language, to the last of His prophets and messengers, Muhammad ﷺ (peace be upon him).
The Quran presents itself with a number of names and descriptions which are worth reflecting on. Here are just a few:
Quran and Kitab (Recital & Writ): the first means something recited aloud, and the second means something written down. This describes the two main ways this scripture is experienced, and which you can encounter on this website.
Kalam Allah (Divine Speech): this means that these words are a direct communication from the Creator and Master of every living being. It occupies the highest level of authority for its believers, and it is clarified and supported by the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ. While the language of this particular revelation was Arabic, we also have many translations into different languages which help us to understand its meanings.
Dhikr and Huda (Remembrance & Guidance): the Quran is used as a way to connect with God and keep Him in our hearts and on our tongues. It is also fundamentally a guide for our personal lives and for the life of the community and society.
The Quran is the final revealed message which complements and completes earlier revealed scriptures, just as the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught the same essential message as the many prophets before him, including Adam, Noah, Moses, Abraham, and Jesus (peace be upon them all). The Quran clarifies what humanity needs to know from now until the Day of Judgment, and it will remain preserved from loss and distortion which affected previous scriptures in various ways.
What is the Holy Quran? And what does it contain?
The Holy Quran is the Holy Book or the Scripture of the Muslims. It lays down for them the law and commandments, codes for their social and moral behaviour, and contains a comprehensive religious philosophy. The language of the Quran is Arabic. It is a compilation of the verbal revelations given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(sa) over a period of twenty three years.
The Holy Quran is divided into 114 Chapters and each Chapter consists of individual verses. The Chapters (called Surah in Arabic) are of varying lengths, some consisting of a few lines while others run for many pages. The text of the Holy Quran has remained unchanged over the past 1500 years. The millions of copies of the Quran circulating in the world today are all identical down to a single letter. And this is not strange since God says in the Holy Quran that He Himself will guard this book:
“Surely it is We Who have revealed the Exposition, and surely it is We Who are its guardians” (15:10)
To the Muslims, the Quran is the Word of God and contains complete guidance for mankind. Much of the Quran is about God, His attributes and man’s relationship to Him. But it also contains directives for its followers, historical accounts of certain prophets and peoples, arguments for accepting Muhammad as a genuine Prophet and good news for the believers and warnings for the disbelievers.
