Qur'an

The Qur'an ({{lang-ar|أَلْقُرآن}} al-qur'ān literally "the recitation"; also called Al Qur'ān Al Karīm or "The Noble Qur'an"; or transliterated Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. It is a tenet of Islam that the Qur'an is the literal word of God in Arabic and the culmination of God's revelation to mankind, revealed to Muhammad, the final prophet of Islam, over a period of 23 years through the angel Jibril (Gabriel).

Stylistic attributes

The Qur'an mixes narrative, exhortation, and legal prescription. The suras frequently combine all these modes, not always in ways that seem sensible or obvious to the non-Muslim reader.

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There are many repeated epithets (e.g. "Lord of the heavens and the earth"), sentences ("And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis"), and even stories (such as the story of Adam) in the Qur'an. Muslim scholars explain these repetitions as emphasizing and pointing up different aspects of important themes.

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The Qur'an is partly rhymed, partly prose. Traditionally, the Arabic grammarians consider the Qur'an to be a genre unique unto itself, neither poetry (defined as speech with metre and rhyme) nor prose (defined as normal speech or rhymed but non-metrical speech, saj'.)

Related Topics:
Arabic grammar - Poetry - Metre - Rhyme - Prose - Saj'

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The Qur'an often, although by no means always, uses loose rhyme between successive verses; for instance, at the beginning of surat al-Fajr:

Related Topics:
Rhyme - Al-Fajr

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: Wal-fajr(i),

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: Wa layâlin `ashr(in),

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: Wash-shaf`i wal-watr(i)

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: Wal-layli 'idhâ yasr(î),

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: Hal fî dhâlika qasamun li-dhî ḥijr(in).

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or, to give a less loose example, the whole of surat al-Fil:

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: 'A-lam tara kayfa fa`ala rabbuka bi-'aṣḥâbi l-fîl(i),

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: 'A-lam yaj`al kaydahum fî taḍlîl(in)

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: Wa-'arsala `alayhim ṭayran 'abâbîl(a)

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: Tarmîhim bi-ḥijâratin min sijjîl(in)

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: Fa-ja`alahum ka-`aṣfin ma'kûl(in).

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(Note that verse-final vowels are unpronounced when the verses are enunciated separately, a regular pausal phenomenon in classical Arabic. In these cases, î and û often rhyme, and there is some scope for variation in syllable-final consonants.)

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Some suras also include a refrain repeated every few verses, for instance ar-Rahman ("Then which of the favours of your Lord will ye deny?") and al-Mursalat ("Woe unto the repudiators on that day!")

Related Topics:
Refrain - Ar-Rahman - Al-Mursalat

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Islamic scholars divide the verses of the Qur'an into those revealed at Mecca (Makka), and those revealed at Medina (Madina) after the Hijra. In general, the earlier Makkan suras tend to have shorter verses than the later Madinan suras, which deal with legal matters, and are quite long. Contrast the Makkan verses above with a verse such as al-Baqara 229:

Related Topics:
Mecca - Medina - Hijra - Makkan sura - Madinan sura - Al-Baqara

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: Divorce must be pronounced twice and then (a woman) must be retained in honour or released in kindness. And it is not lawful for you that ye take from women aught of that which ye have given them; except (in the case) when both fear that they may not be able to keep within the limits (imposed by) Allah. And if ye fear that they may not be able to keep the limits of Allah, in that case it is no sin for either of them if the woman ransom herself. These are the limits (imposed by) Allah. Transgress them not. For whoso transgresseth Allah's limits: such are wrong-doers.

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Similarly, the Madinan suras tend to be longer, including the longest sura of the Qur'an, al-Baqara.

Related Topics:
Madinan sura - Al-Baqara

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