The Qur’an
by Sohaib N. Sultan
The Qur’an, which literally means "recital", is the spiritual, moral, and communal guide to life for Muslims through the ages and across the oceans.
Muhammad, who was born in 570 CE in the ancient Arab land of
Mecca
, was a deeply contemplative and introspective human being who longed for an intimate relationship with God.
In his search for spiritual illumination, Muhammad would spend hours every week away from friends and family, meditating in a remote cave known as hira on top of the mountain of light (jabal al-nur) outside Mecca.
During one such night, when Muhammad was 40 years old, a strong invisible force suddenly came upon the spiritual seeker, squeezing him tightly and then releasing him with the command: “Read!” Muhammad, startled by the presence of the spirit began shaking and replied with honesty: “I do not know how to read!”
The spirit took hold of Muhammad once again, squeezing him even tighter, repeating the same command, with Muhammad offering the same reply.
Upon the third time, Muhammad cried back to the spirit, asking: “What shall I read?” The spirit replied, “Read, in the name of your Lord, who created: created man of clotted blood.
Read, for your Lord is most generous, the one taught the use of the pen, taught man what he did not know” (96:1-5).
These words, recited into the heart of Muhammad through Angel Gabriel by divine decree, became the first passage that was revealed to Muhammad of the Qur’an, converting the contemplative spiritual seeker into a prophet and messenger of God.
Here too begins the story of the Qur’an as a book of revelation that continued to be revealed in stages for the rest of the Prophet’s 23 year life span.
As Prophet Muhammad would receive revelation it would be preserved in his heart, and he would then recite it to his devout companions who would preserve it either by scribing or memorizing the passages.
According to Muslim belief, Angel Gabriel would go over the revealed passages with the Prophet every year during the holy month of
Ramadan
and instruct him in the ordering of passages from beginning to end. In this way, the Qur’an was portioned into 114 chapters (known as sura in Arabic) of varying lengths. The longest chapter in the Qur’an is made up of 286 verses (the Arabic for verse is ayah), and the shortest chapters are made up of 3 verses.
Each chapter has a name that is central to the theme or a critical aspect of the chapter.
Many of the chapters are named after prophets or sages, such as Joseph (Sura 12) or Mary (Sura 19).
Muhammad received the revelation of the Qur’an in two major periods: the Meccan period and the Medinan period. The first part refers to the first 13 years of his prophetic mission in which, much like Jesus, he preached the message of God and suffered great hardships from his people.
The second part refers to the next ten years that the Prophet spent in another city known as
Medina
(Yathrib) in which, much like Moses, he formed a religious community based on divine laws. In the Meccan period, the emphasis of the Qur’anic message was on the belief in the Oneness of God, the hereafter, perfecting spiritual states, and doing righteous deeds.
The same themes continue into the Medinan period of Qur’anic revelation, but more emphasis is placed on communal laws that shape the social, economic, and political spheres of life.
Generally speaking, Medinan chapters are found in the first-third of the Qur’an even though they were revealed later, and Meccan chapters are found in the last-third of the Qur’an even though they were revealed earlier.
So, chronologically the earlier chapters are found toward the middle and end of the book, while the later chapters are found at the beginning of the book.
Today, the same Qur’an that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, is preserved in its original Arabic both in the form of a book (the number of which have vastly increased with the invention of the printing press) and in the memory of millions of Muslims who commit the scripture to memory.
The rhyme and rhythm of the Qur’an is so beautiful and precise to the ear that its memorization continues to be an art that is mastered till this day by Muslims worldwide.
ONE is using the translation of the Qur’an by Thomas Cleary, published by Starlatch Press in 2004.
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