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The Final Revealed Text from God
The
Holy Quran (also written as Koran) is the eternal and
literal word of God. Prophet Muhammad ( an Arab and a descendant of
Abraham) received these divine revelations (The Holy Quran) over a
period of 23 years in the seventh century of the Common Era (C.E.).
Each revelation was written down by the Prophet's scribes according
to the Prophet's instructions. The current order and organization
into the 114 chapters (surahs) of the entire revelations were
therefore given to us by the Prophet himself. Additionally, the
Prophet and many fellow Muslims (sahabah) had committed the entire
Quran to memory. The practice of memorizing the whole Quran
continued throughout the centuries. There are thousands of such
Muslims, known as Huffaz, usually one for each Mosque in Muslim
countries. To learn more on this, please
read Preservation of the Quran.
In order to gain a proper understanding
of many verses in the Holy Quran, it is important to
understand and know the historic context of the revelations. So many revelations in the Holy
Quran came down to provide guidance to Prophet Muhammad and the fellow Muslims based
on what they were confronting at that time.
"Alif, Lam, Meem. This
is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil). Who
believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon
them; And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was
revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter. These depend on guidance
from their Lord. These are the successful. As for the Disbelievers, Whether thou
warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not. Allah hath
sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will
be an awful doom." (Surah Al-Baqarah, Chapter 2)
Calling the Quran amazing is not
something done only by Muslims, who have an appreciation for the book and who are pleased
with it; it has been labeled amazing by non-Muslims as well. In fact, even people who hate
Islam very much have still called it amazing. One thing which surprises
non-muslims who
are examining the book very closely is that the Qur'an does not appear to them to be what
they expected.
This
page contains a list of articles about the Holy Quran (Koran), the Holy Book of Muslims.
The original text of the Quran, in Arabic, is widely available throughout the world. The
Holy Quran is the only revealed text still extant today in its original language and form.
The Quran has been translated into every
major language. The English translations by Abdullah Yusuf Ali and
Muhammad Pickthall are
two popular translations. We have made these translations available to our readers
on this page. We recommend the translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali with
commentary as a first reading.
Maulana Maududi's translation and commentary on
the Qur'an "The Meaning of the Qur'an" ranks as one of the best such works in
existence today. Unlike many early translators, Syed Maududi uses the standard technique of
providing an explanation of the Qur'anic verses from the Sunnah of the Prophet including the historical
reasons behind the verses. A list of
Maududi's introductions to each chapter in the Qur'an is given on this site.
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