How to write the Koran in Arabic. What is the Koran

An ancient hand scripted Quran

The Koran is the holy book of Muslims, a collection of revelations sent by Allah to Muhammad from above, the basis of Muslim doctrine. Based on the basic provisions of the Koran, social, economic, political, legal and family relations are built in Islam. The Quran was revealed in Arabic. The Qur'an is a book containing more than 500 pages of text and 114 chapters (surahs). Significant portions of the text of the Quran are rhymed prose.

According to the doctrine of Islam, the Koran is an uncreated book, existing forever, like Allah himself, it is his word. Judging by the data of the Muslim tradition, the revelations of Allah were transmitted to the Prophet Muhammad around the years 610-632, and their recording, collection and compilation of the book lasted for many years. And for almost 14 centuries this book has lived and retained its significance not only as a religious, but also as a historical and literary monument. In countries where Islam is the state religion, many legal acts are based on the Koran; people take oaths and oaths on the Koran. The study of the Koran and its interpretations (tafsir) is one of the main subjects of religious educational institutions in a number of countries.

What does the word “Koran” mean?

The title of the Muslim holy book is usually translated as "reading". But this does not mean reading in the literal sense of the word. After all, Muhammad read his sermons not from a written text, but from memory. In addition, Muhammad delivered his sermons rhythmically, as if reciting them. The word “Quran” is often used with the article “al” - “Al-Quran”, which means a holy book, which, like the Bible, the Torah, is intended to be read aloud, by heart. According to Muslim tradition, the Koran cannot be translated into other languages. Muslims whose native language is not Arabic memorize the most important parts of the Qur'an. Reading or listening to the Koran in Arabic means for a Muslim to listen to the speech of God himself.

The famous scientist, orientalist, translator of the Koran into Russian I. Yu. Krachkovsky writes that the Koran is very difficult to understand, many manifestations of the spiritual world of the people of that era turned out to be forever lost to our time. Since translating and printing the Koran into other languages ​​was forbidden, therefore for a very long time the Koran was only copied.

Being illiterate, Muhammad did not write down his sermons, but many of his followers memorized them because they were similar to poetry. Those who knew the entire Koran by heart were called hafiz. However, some passages of the Koran were written down by literate Arabs on palm leaves, parchment, flat bones, and clay tablets. Part of the holy book was written down by Muhammad's personal scribe, Zayd ibn Thabit.

After the death of the prophet, the first caliph, friend and relative Abu Bakr, decided to collect all the texts and compile a collection of Muhammad's sermons. The first version of the Koran (Suhuf) appeared, but the final book of the prophet, prepared under Caliph Uthman, was called “Mushaf” and was canonized. This book was large in size and written on parchment. Several copies were made of the Mushaf, one of which is kept in the Kaaba next to the “black stone”. Another copy of the Koran is kept in Medina, in the courtyard of the Prophet's Mosque. It is believed that two more original copies of the Koran have survived: one is in Cairo, in the Egyptian National Library, the other in Tashkent.

The Koran for Muslims is a guide to action and life. It is addressed to Muslims and gives them advice on how to live, work, and relate to people. The Koran is a guide in which a Muslim finds answers to many questions that interest him. Being predominantly a religious-philosophical work and a legislative book. The Koran is a unique historical and literary work, by reading which we learn about the geographical features of the Arabian Peninsula, about the life and way of life, the activities of the Arabs, and the historical events of that era. In the Koran you can read about the moral culture of Muslims, their behavior, and relationships. Dwelling on the contents of the Koran, we note that Muhammad’s sermons present various subjects - traditions, myths, legends of Arab tribes. The fight against polytheism, the affirmation of monotheism, that is, the unity of God, is the main idea of ​​the Koran. The Koran presents some religious information about the immortality of the soul, about heaven and hell, about the end of the world, about the Day of Judgment, about the creation of the world and man, about the fall of the first people - Adam and Eve, about the global flood and others.

A distinctive feature of the Koran is that Allah speaks in it in the first person - this is the first and most significant difference between the Koran and the Torah and the Gospel. Most of the Koran is a dialogue between Allah and people, but always through Muhammad, through his lips. Since the Koran is a difficult work to understand, there are different interpretations of it. The most authoritative scholars were and still are allowed to interpret the Koran; it is unacceptable to distort the meaning of a single verse of the Koran. Unfortunately, these days we see how various terrorist organizations and sects, interpreting and distorting the meaning of the Koran in their own way, call illiterate people to war and to commit all sorts of crimes against humanity.

Also amazing and attractive in the Koran is the imagery of presentation, emotionality, and richness of poetic techniques and vocabulary. The verses of the Koran worried many famous scientists and poets. The great Russian poet A. S. Pushkin wrote about the role of the Koran:

The list is given from the heavenly book

You, prophet, are not for the obstinate:

Calmly proclaim the Quran,

Without forcing the wicked!

And the great Tatar poet G. Tukay noted: “The Koran is a true stronghold.” Let us remember the words of B. Pasternak regarding the Bible, but they are surprisingly applicable to the Koran: “... this is not so much a book with hard text as a notebook of humanity.” The texts of the Koran are ancient, but ageless, accepted by past generations and awaiting acceptance by future generations, feeding followers of Islam, scientists, and poets with living thought...

This is interesting:

English Islamic scholar William Watt writes: “When Arab studies, Arab thought, Arab writings are presented in full, it becomes clear that without the Arabs, European science and philosophy could not have developed at such a pace. The Arabs were not just transmitters, but also genuine carriers of Greek thought. The Europeans had to learn everything they could from the Arabs before they could move forward." (L. I. Klimovich “Book about the Koran, its origin and mythology.” - M., 1986)

Etymology

There are several opinions about the origin of the name. According to the generally accepted version, it is derived from the verbal verb qaraʾa(قرأ), “kara’a” (“read, reading”). It is also possible that it comes from “kerian” (“reading the sacred text”, “edification”)

The Qur'an itself uses various names for the final revelation, of which the most common are:

• Furqan (discrimination between good and evil, truth and falsehood, permitted and forbidden) (Quran, 25:1)
• Kitab (Book) (Quran, 18:1)
• Dhikr (Reminder) (Quran, 15:1)
• Tanzil (Revelation) (Quran, 26:192)

The word “mushaf” refers to individual copies of the Koran.

Meaning in Islam

In Islam, the Holy Quran is the constitution that Allah sent down to His Messenger so that every person could establish a relationship with the Lord, with himself and the society in which he lives, and fulfill his life mission as the Lord of the worlds wished (Koran , 2:185). It is an eternal miracle that will not lose any of its importance and relevance until the Day of Resurrection.

He who believes in him gets rid of slavery to creation and begins a new life, since his soul seems to be born again so that he can serve the Almighty and earn His mercy.

Muslims accept this grace, adhere to the divine guidance, follow its injunctions, obey its commands, avoid its prohibitions and do not transgress its restrictions. Following the Quranic path is the key to happiness and prosperity, while moving away from it is the cause of unhappiness (Quran, 6:155).

The Quran educates Muslims in the spirit of righteousness, fear of God and good behavior

The Prophet Muhammad explained that the best of people is the one who studies the Quran and teaches other people this knowledge.

The Koran contains the basic principles and ideas of Muhammad's creed, according to Muslim tradition, which were transmitted to him by Allah himself, through the angel Gabriel. This book contains many intersections with Judaism and Christianity. Islamic theologians explain this by saying that Allah had previously conveyed his covenants to Musa and Isa, but over time these covenants began to become outdated or distorted, and only Muhammad conveyed the true faith to believers.

Researchers divide the suras into two groups - Meccan and Medina. The first group dates back to the period when Muhammad was just beginning his journey as a prophet. The second group dates back to the time when the prophet received widespread recognition and veneration. The later Medinan surahs place less emphasis on vague speculations about the Last Judgment and the like and concentrate more on formulating rules of conduct, assessing historical events and the like.

The text of the Qur'an is fragmentary, but not contradictory. In his book, the Almighty invites unbelievers to find contradictions in their Scripture if they are so sure of Its imperfection and untruth. Later, in addition to the Koran, oral traditions, hadiths appeared, telling about the life of the prophet. Soon after the death of Muhammad, hadith began to be collected by his followers and in the ninth century six collections were compiled, making up the so-called Sunnah.

The Koran was revealed not only to the Arabs, but also to all humanity: “We sent you only as a mercy to the inhabitants of all the worlds” (Koran, 21:107) [ affiliated source?] .

Characters of the Quran

About a quarter of the text of the Koran describes the lives of various prophets, most of whose descriptions coincide with the biblical ones. The prophets included the Old Testament patriarchs Adam, Noah, kings David and Solomon and others. The Koran also mentions kings and righteous men whose names were not mentioned in the Bible (Luqman, Dhul-Qarnayn, etc.). The last in the list of prophets is the prophet Muhammad himself and it is stated that after him there will be no other prophets. At the same time, the Koran is more consistent in its description of Jesus - he is neither God nor the son of God. Thus, the idea of ​​monotheism is preserved to a much greater extent than in Christianity. The theological and philosophical part is also rich in borrowings from the Bible. However, all this did not harm the authority of the Koran. On the contrary, thanks to such similarities between the holy books, it was easier for the Christians conquered by the Muslims to accept the new faith.

Structure of the Quran

Surahs, with a few exceptions, are arranged in the Qur'an according to their size rather than chronologically. First there are long suras, then suras with a gradually decreasing number of verses.

The most important suras and verses of the Koran

History of the Quran

Manuscript of the Koran 7th century.

According to Islamic tradition, it is believed that the Koran came down to the world from Allah in its entirety on the night of Qadr, but the angel Gabriel transmitted it to the prophet in parts for 23 years (Koran, 17:106).

During his public activities, Muhammad made many sayings and delivered many sermons. Moreover, when he spoke on behalf of Allah, he used rhymed prose, which in ancient times was the traditional form of speech for oracles. These sayings, in which the prophet spoke on behalf of Allah, became the Koran. The rest of the sayings became part of legends. Since Muhammad himself could neither read nor write, he ordered his secretary to write down sayings on pieces of paper and bones. However, some of his sayings were preserved not thanks to the notes, but thanks to the memory of pious people. As a result, the revelations formed 114 suras or 30 pericopes. Due to the arbitrary order of the revelations, it is difficult for critics to determine their chronological order. However, there are several ways to sort them by time. For example, one reliable legend divides the suras into Meccan and Medina. However, this method does not always work, since some of the suras are composed of revelations from different periods.

During the life of the prophet, there was no need for the Koran - any unclear questions could be explained by Muhammad himself. However, after his death, the rapidly spreading Islam required a clearly formulated written law, supported by the name of the prophet. In this regard, Abu Bekr and Umar commissioned the prophet's former secretary, Zaid ibn Thabit, to compile an initial summary of the existing records of the prophet's words. Quite quickly, Zeid completed his work and presented the initial version of the Koran. In parallel with him, other people were busy with the same work. Thanks to this, four more collections of Allah’s commandments appeared. Zeid was tasked with bringing all five revisions together and upon completion of this work, the original drafts were destroyed. The result of Zeid's work was recognized as the canonical version of the Koran. Legend has it that Caliph Osman himself loved to read this version, and it was this version that he was reading at the moment when he was killed by the crowd. There are even ancient manuscripts of the Koran that are said to be stained with the blood of the caliph.

Already in the first decades after the death of Muhammad, differences emerged between the followers of Islam. These followers began to be divided into the first directions and sects - Sunnis, Kharijites and Shiites. Among them, the attitude towards the canonical Koran was different. Sunnis accepted Zeid's text unconditionally. The Kharijites, who had puritanical views, began to object to the 12th sura, which tells about Joseph being sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt. From the point of view of the Kharijites, the sura too loosely described the attempts of the wife of an Egyptian nobleman to seduce Joseph. The Shiites believed that, on the orders of Osman, all passages telling about Ali and the prophet’s attitude towards him were removed from the Koran. However, all those who were dissatisfied were forced to use Zeid’s version.

As its name suggests, the Qur'an was meant to be read aloud. Over time, it turned into a whole art - the Koran had to be read like the Torah in the synagogue, recitative and chanting. Also, everyone had to remember a significant part of the text by heart. Both in the past and now there are people who remember the entire Quran by heart. Due to this, the Koran plays an important role in public education, in some places being the only educational material. Since language teaching is based on it, the Arabic language is spreading along with Islam. And all literature related to Islam, regardless of its language, is full of references to the Koran.

Quran and science

Koran, 9th century

Muslim theologians claim that the Qur'an is certainly not a scientific work, but the facts mentioned in it, related to various fields of knowledge, indicate that the scientific potential of the Qur'an was many times greater than the level of knowledge that humanity had achieved at the time of the appearance of the Qur'an. This question has been and remains the object of research by scientists.

This concordism strives to harmonize the Koranic tale of peacemaking with the data of modern science. Through some, often poetic and vague, verses, proponents of this concept “predict” plate tectonics, the speed of light, etc. However, it should be emphasized that most of these verses can also describe observable facts known already at the time of the creation of the Quran or widespread theories ( for example, Galen's theory).

The most popular proponent of Qur'anic concordism is the Turkish publicist Adnan Oktar, better known by his pen name Harun Yahya. In his books, he clearly rejects the theory of evolution, thereby remaining in the position of creationism.

It is widely believed in the modern Islamic world that the Qur'an predicted many scientific theories and discoveries. Muslim preacher Idris Galyautdin in one of his books listed the names of modern scientists who converted to Islam after making another discovery and saw that it was reflected in the Koran 14 centuries ago. One of them was academician Maurice Bucaille, a member of the French Academy of Medicine. However, such lists can be viewed with caution: contrary to what is often stated, M. Bucaille apparently was not a member of the French Academy of Medicine. Other lists also include Jacques-Yves Cousteau, although a denial of his conversion was published by his foundation back in 1991.

Studying the Quran

Sources of Qur'anic stories

The source of the stories of the Koran, according to Islam, is only the Almighty. This is indicated by many suras of the holy book: “We sent down the Koran on the night of Power” (Koran, 97:1), “If people and jinn had gathered to make something like this Koran, they would not have created something like this, even if some of them were other helpers" (Quran, 17:90).

Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad was given the Koran by the Almighty to correct the distortions that people had made in the early divine scriptures - the Torah and the Gospel. There is a final version of the Divine Law in the Qur'an (Qur'an, 2:135).

First and last chapters of the Qur'an together

Literary structure

There is a consensus among Arab scholars in using the Qur'an as the standard by which other Arabic literature is judged. Muslims claim that the Koran has no analogues in content and style.

Qur'anic sciences

Interpretation

Both the contradictions in the text of the Koran and the increased demands of the gigantic caliphate gave rise to an urgent need for constant commentary on the contents of the Koran. This process is called “tafsir” - “interpretation”, “exegesis”. This process was started by Muhammad himself, who justified contradictions in his sermons by referring to the changed will of Allah. This subsequently grew into the institution of naskh. Naskh (abrogation) was used when it was known for sure that two passages of the Koran contradict each other. In order to avoid ambiguity in the reading of the text, within the framework of naskh it was established which text should be considered true and which should be considered outdated. The first was called “nasikh”, the second was called “mansukh”. According to some sources, the Koran includes 225 such contradictions, and more than 40 sutras contain canceled verses.

In addition to the institution of naskh, tafsir also includes commenting on texts. First of all, such comments are necessary for those places that are too vague or, like the 12th sutra about Joseph, too frivolous. Interpretations of such places were given depending on the circumstances. As is often the case with ancient religious texts, references to allegories played a significant role in such interpretations. It was stated that such a text should not be interpreted literally and was only intended to demonstrate one idea or another. Also, when interpreting the Koran, materials from the hadiths of the Sunnah were often used.

The doctrine of the interpretation of the Koran began to take shape as an independent field of science in the 10th century, when, through the efforts of the famous theologian Muhammad al-Tabari and commentators of his generation, such as Ibn Abu Hatim, the early period of interpretation of the Koran was summed up.

Following them, fundamental works in this area were compiled by Ibn Abu Hatim, Ibn Majah, al-Hakim and other commentators.

The Science of Pronunciation of the Qur'an

The Arabic word "qiraat" means "readings of the Qur'an." The most famous are the 10 ways to read the Quran. Ten qurra, imams of the qiraat:

1. Nafi" al-Madani (died 169 AH)
2. Abdullah b. Kathir al-Makki (died 125 AH). But do not confuse him with Mufassir Ismail b. Kathir who died in 774 AH.
3. Abu Amr b. Alya al-Basri (died 154 AH)
4. Abdullah b. Amr al-Shami (died 118 AH)
5. Asim b. Abi an-Najud al-Kufi (died 127 AH)
6. Hamza b. Khubayb al-Kufi (died 156 AH)
7. Ali b. Hamza al-Kisa'i al-Kufi (died 187 AH)
8. Abu Ja'far Yazid b. Al-Qa'qa" al-Madani (died 130 AH)
9. Yakub b. Ishaq al-Hadrami al-Basri (died 205 AH)
10. Khalaf b. Hisham al-Basri (died 229 AH)

The book “Manarul Huda” says: “The truth is that when people from different tribes came to Muhammad, he explained the Koran in their dialect, that is, he pulled it out in one, two or three alifs, pronounced it firmly or softly.” The seven qiraats are the seven types of Arabic dialect (Lughat).

In the book “An-neshr” 1/46, Imam Ibn al-Jazari cited from Imam Abul Abbas Ahmad b. Al-Mahdani says: “Basically, residents of large cities read according to the imams: Nafi,” Ibni Kathir, Abu Amr, Asim, Ibni Amir, Hamza and Kisai. Subsequently, people began to be content with one qiraat, it even came to the point that those who read other qiraats were considered guilty, and sometimes they made takfir (accused of unbelief). But Ibni Mujahid adhered to the opinion of the seven qurra and managed to convey to others the validity of the remaining qiraats. We do not know of a single work where at least one qiraat was mentioned besides the seven known to us. That’s why we say seven qiraats.”

Each of the ten qurras, regarding their type of recitation, has reliable evidence that their qiraat reaches the Messenger of Allah himself. Here are all seven authentic (sahih) qiraats:

In culture

Page from the Koran

Translations

Quran with Persian translation

Theologians believe that the translation of the meanings of the Koran should be based on reliable hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad, comply with the principles of the Arabic language and the generally accepted provisions of the Muslim Sharia. Some believed that when publishing a translation it is obligatory to indicate that it is a simple explanation of the meanings of the Koran. The translation cannot serve as a substitute for the Koran during prayers.

Experts divide translations of the Koran into two large groups: literal and semantic. Due to the complexity of translation from Arabic into other languages ​​(in particular, into Russian) and the ambiguity of interpretation of many words and phrases, semantic translations are considered the most preferable. However, you need to understand that the interpreter can make mistakes, just like the author of the translation.

Koran in Russia

Main article: Koran in Russia

The first translation of the Koran was published by order of Peter I in 1716. This translation has long been attributed to P. V. Postnikov, but recent archival research has shown that the translation actually made by Postnikov remains in two manuscripts, one of which is marked with his name, and the translation printed in 1716 has nothing in common with that belonging to Postnikov and much worse in quality, it has to be considered anonymous. In modern Russia, the most popular translations of four authors are the translations of I. Yu. Krachkovsky, V. M. Porokhova, M.-N. O. Osmanov and E. R. Kuliev. Over the last three centuries, more than a dozen translations of the Koran and tafsirs have been written in Russia.

Translations of the Koran and tafsirs

Year	Author	Name	Notes
1716	author unknown	"Alkoran about Mohammed, or Turkish Law"	This translation was made from the translation of the French diplomat and orientalist André du Rieux.
1790	Verevkin M. I.	“The Book of Al-Koran of the Arabian Mohammed...”
1792	Kolmakov A.V.	"Al-Koran Magomedov..."	This translation was made from the English translation by J. Sale.
1859	Kazembek A.K.	"Miftah Qunuz al-Quran"
1864	Nikolaev K.	"Koran of Magomed"	The French translation by A. Bibirstein-Kazimirsky was taken as a basis.
1871	Boguslavsky D. N.	"Koran"	The first translation made by an orientalist.
1873	Sablukov G. S.	"The Koran, the legislative book of the Mohammedan creed"	Created by an orientalist and missionary. It was reprinted several times, including with parallel Arabic text.
1963	Krachkovsky I. Yu.	"Koran"	The translation with comments by Krachkovsky in Russia is considered academic due to its high scientific significance, since Ignatius Yulianovich approached the Koran as a literary monument that reflected the socio-political situation of Arabia during the time of Muhammad. Reprinted many times.
1995	Shumovsky T. A.	"Koran"	The first translation of the Koran from Arabic into Russian is in verse. Written by a student of Ignatius Krachkovsky, candidate of philological and doctor of historical sciences, Arabist Theodor Shumovsky. A distinctive feature of this translation is that the Arabic forms of the names of Quranic characters (Ibrahim, Musa, Harun) are replaced with generally accepted ones (Abraham, Moses, Aaron, etc.).
	Porokhova V. M.	"Koran"
1995	Osmanov M.-N. ABOUT.	"Koran"
1998	Ushakov V.D.	"Koran"
2002	Kuliev E. R.	"Koran"
2003	Shidfar B. Ya.	"Al-Quran - translations and tafsir"
	Al-Azhar University	Al-Muntahab "Tafsir Al-Quran"
	Abu Adel	“The Koran, translation of the meaning of the verses and their brief interpretation”
2011	Alyautdinov Sh. R.	"Holy Quran. Meanings"	Translation of the meanings of the Koran in the context of modernity at the beginning of the 21st century and from the point of view of that part of the people who speak and think in Russian. This translation of the meanings of the Holy Quran is the first theological translation in Russian.

Overall evaluation of translations

It is worth noting that when translating or conveying meanings into Russian, as is the case with any attempt to translate the Holy Scriptures, it was not possible to avoid inaccuracies and errors, including gross ones, since much depends on the taste and ideological views of the translator, his upbringing, cultural environment, as well as from insufficient familiarity with the multitude of surviving sources and approaches of various scientific and theological schools. In addition, there is a different attitude of the Muslim community towards the possibility of translating the Qur'an from a sharply negative one, caused both by fears of misunderstanding by the translator of the text due to insufficient educational level, and by an emphasis on the exceptional truth of the Arabic original, to generally benevolent, understanding the linguistic differences of the peoples of the world and a desire to emphasize that Islam is not exclusively an ethnic religion of Arabs. That is why there is still not a single translation that would be unambiguously defined as exemplary and classic. Although some Muslim theologians even draw up memos that explain all the requirements that a translator and interpreter must meet. And a number of authors devoted their works to the presentation and understanding of errors in translations of the Koran into Russian. For example, Elmir Kuliev devoted one of the chapters of his book “On the Way to the Koran” to a serious analysis of errors and inaccuracies in translations, from distortions of the meaning of individual concepts to ideological issues when transmitting the text by one translator or another.

see also

Notes

1. Rezvan E.A. Mirror of the Koran // “Star” 2008, No. 11
2. Olga Bibikova Quran // Encyclopedia Around the World (P.1, P.2, P.3, P.4, P.5, P.6)
3. Chapter 58 Koran, tradition and fiction // Illustrated history of religions in 2 vols. / Ed. Prof. D. L. Chantepie de la Saussey. Ed. 2nd. M.: ed. Department of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery, 1992. Vol. 1 ISBN 5-7302-0783-2
4. Ignatenko A. A. About Islam and the normative deficiency of the Koran // Otechestvennye zapiski, 2008. - No. 4 (43). - pp. 218-236
5. Rezvan E. A. al-KUR'AN // Islam: An Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M.: The science, 1991 . - P.141.
6. Abd ar-Rahman al-Saadi. Taysir al-Karim al-Rahman. P. 708
7. Ali-zade A.A. Koran // Islamic encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Ansar, 2007. - P.377 - 392(copy of the book)
8. Ibn Hajar. Fath al-Bari. T.9, P.93.
9. Chapter 9 Islam: theory and practice] (Koran, Contents of the Koran, Interpretation of the Koran (Tafsir))//L. S. Vasiliev. History of the Religions of the East. - M.: Book house "University", 2000 ISBN 5-8013-0103-8
10. Aya. Religion: Encyclopedia / comp. and general ed. A.A. Gritsanov, G.V. Blue. - Minsk: Book House, 2007. - 960 pp. - (World of Encyclopedias).. Archived
11. What does "Manzil" mean?
12. P. A. Gryaznevich Koran. Great Soviet Encyclopedia: In 30 volumes - M.: "Soviet Encyclopedia", 1969-1978.. Archived from the original on May 30, 2012.
13. Kitab as-sunan Abu Dawud, volume 1. p. 383
14. M. Yakubovich."The Qur'an and modern science".
15. Harun Yahya"The Collapse of the Theory of Evolution".
16. Ahmad Dallal"Encyclopedia of the Qur'an", "The Qur'an and Science".
17. Idris Galyautdin."Famous people who converted to Islam." - Kazan, 2006.
18. An official letter from the Cousteau Foundation states: “We absolutely state that Commander Cousteau did not become a Mohammedan and the rumors circulating have no basis.”- Témoignage: La “conversion” du commandant Cousteau à l’Islam
19. Science "qiraat"
20. Muhsin S. Mahdi, Fazlur Rahman, Annemarie Schimmel Islam.// Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008.
21. An international competition for reading the Koran has begun in Kuwait //AhlylBaytNewsAgency, 04/14/2011
22. The XI international competition of Koran reciters will be held in Moscow // ANSAR Information and Analytical Channel, 10/22/2010.
23. Ukrainian hafiz will represent the country at several international competitions in reading the Koran // Information and analytical project “Islam in Ukraine”, 08.26.2009
24. Koran recitation competition in the Islamic Republic of Iran // Information and educational portal MuslimEdu.ru., October 12, 2010.

Among all the books that today are called Divine revelation, there is only one scripture that is still ready to defend this right. We are talking about the very last of all those books that have ever been called Divine.

This book is the Koran!

From the very beginning of its appearance, the Qur'an is recognized by people as a message from God without human mediation in this matter. That is, if the basis of faith in the previous scriptures were the Messengers themselves, who, having left this world, left these books without any argument or defense, then Muhammad (pbuh), who brought the Koran to people, played this role in relation to the disseminated scripture , never played. In other words, the proof by which people at all times had reason to trust the words of the Messengers and Prophets, in the case of the Koran, became the property of the Book itself. Muhammad (pbuh), who, like all previous Messengers, once left this world, was not initially the decisive argument in favor of the Quran. And more needs to be said, namely, that people believed in him, as the Messenger of God, indirectly, on the basis of the Koran. Those. It was not Muhammad who, through some miracles, proved the Divine origin of the Koran, but, on the contrary, the Koran became the basis of people’s faith in the Messenger mission of Muhammad.

But what kind of argument is this? What proof does this scripture contain?

Why has no one been able to refute the truth of this revelation for fourteen centuries? For a more substantive reflection on the questions posed, I propose to return to the judgments of previous chapters and remember that faith is nothing more than a solid understanding based on irrefutable facts. When we are asked to believe and follow any postulates, our mind tends to doubt until evidence that convinces the mind is provided. The question of belief in the Divine origin of a particular scripture also requires facts.

But what should this evidence be?

After all, we are not talking about what the weather is like today, but about our connection with the One who created us, and not only us, but this whole world and everything that fills it and everything that is greater and less than this! What should these arguments be, while our whole life depends on the solution to this issue? What can convince us so much that we, overnight, are ready to change our previous views, values, ideals and goals? Certainly! You are right, it must be something challenging, extremely visual, objective and, at the same time, absolutely impossible for anyone, even the most brilliant person! It must be said more, these facts must be such that any reasonable person, regardless of his level of education, can see their persuasive power.

Yes! And you are right again - it must be a miracle!

But what is a miracle? This is a very important question, because often this word is used to denote a completely different reality than the one we are talking about now. For example, having designed a new and improved car model that meets the requirements of the most stringent standards, its developers can say that this car is a miracle of technology, etc. Terminology is a necessary, but still a separate topic for a completely different conversation, I just want to clarify that, speaking about the evidence of the Messengers and the Divine Scriptures, we are talking about a miracle in the literal sense of the word.

Miracle is something supernatural, unusual and impossible for humans. Moreover, not just for someone in particular, but for a person as such, i.e. for all people.

Miracle is something before which even the immutable laws of the universe lose their force.

Miracle is something that cannot be learned and cannot be achieved, even with the participation of all people on earth in this matter, and even with their use of the entire arsenal of scientific, technical and other achievements. Remember the stories about Musa (Moses), who turned lifeless objects into living creatures, or about Isa (Jesus), when he, born of a mother without a father, spoke like an adult in a cradle, revived the dead, and with the touch of his hand healed blindness, leprosy, or about Ibrahim (Abraham), how he, in full view of people, while in the fire, did not experience pain or injury. It is not surprising that the sparkling, pious people of their people to whom they were sent had little difficulty discerning in their deeds the signs that only the Messengers and Prophets of God himself can have. Perhaps some of the Jews and Christians reading this book, having heard the last lines, will feel reassured that their choice was correct. But this is false reassurance, because the miracles of the Messengers I mentioned are not tangible today. I foresee a logical question about why I, “who doubt the miracles of the previous messengers,” so confidently present stories about them on the pages of my own reflections.

I will answer as follows: “I testify to my belief that both Musa (Moses), who brought the Taurat (Torah), and Isa (Jesus), who transmitted the Injil (Gospel), were Messengers of the One God, the Lord of the Worlds. I believe in their former existence on earth, as well as the existence of many other messengers and prophets of God like Ibrahim (Abraham), Isaac (Isaac), Nuh (Noah). My faith in these messengers and prophets, and also in the fact that words from God himself once came from their lips, differs from the faith of those people who position themselves as supporters of their teachings. The difference is that they think they believe, but I truly believe, and this is because I base this on indisputable evidence. This proof is the Koran. The only Book that, over many centuries and to this day, retains the purity of revelation from the Lord who created us all.

But why do I think that relying on the Koran is reasonable and reliable, but referring to the Torah and the Gospel is thoughtless and groundless?

Here, I am forced to repeat myself and say that the Divine origin of the Torah and the Gospel was proven by the messengers who brought them, who left this world long ago, and their books remained not only without evidence, but also without protection from deliberate distortion. But the Divine origin of the Koran is proven through a miracle that is contained in this scripture itself, and which, after the departure of Muhammad from this life, did not disappear with him, but, on the contrary, continues to remain an indisputable fact to this day!

But what is this fact?

What is the miracle of the Quran? What is the proof of his Divinity? These questions concern not only people of our generation. After Muhammad (pbuh) proclaimed to people about his prophetic mission, and that revelations were sent down to him from the One God for all, he met fierce resistance from the polytheists. Muhammad called on the people to believe in the One God and recognize His leadership as the basis for the life of not only an individual, but also the entire society. Naturally, this did not please the nobility of his people, who built their power on the principles of polytheism. From the very beginning, they entered into an ideological struggle with Muhammad, trying to accuse him of lying, and also of the fact that the Koran, which he preaches, is nothing more than his own invention. In response to these accusations, the Almighty sent down words in the Koran that became the very indestructible basis for the understanding that the Koran is not the work of man, but the speech of the Lord of the worlds.

The Almighty challenged them, and with them all those who will ever doubt the truth of the Koran. This challenge is for people to compose something like the Quran:

Say: “If people and jinn were to come together to compose something like this Qur’an, they would not be able to do it, even if they helped each other.” (17:88)

Intensifying the challenge of the Koran, the Almighty demands that they provide only a few surahs:

Or they say: “He invented the Koran.” Say: “Bring ten fictitious surahs like these, and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.” (11:13)

Then He asks them to bring the least, that is, one surah:

Or they say, “He made it up.” Say: “Compose at least one surah like these, and call upon whomever you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.” (10:38)

If you are in doubt about what We have revealed to Our servant, then compose one similar surah and call your witnesses besides Allah, if you are telling the truth. (2:23)

What is this challenge?

What does it point to and what does it oblige you to? The point is that the Qur'an is presented in such a way of speaking that it cannot be imitated by man. That is, if anyone wants to answer the challenge of the Koran, he will have to present his thoughts in the same way as in the Koran, in other words, the new text should become similar to the text of the Koran in the way it is presented. Here, it should be noted that not one of the texts existing in the world that has ever been written by man does not bear the sign of inimitability. We can take two works that will differ from each other in eloquence, but the way the language is used in these texts can be absolutely identical. This will be either one of the methods of versification, or some version of prose. There is no third!

In this sense, any, even the most unique literary masterpiece written by a person, has a huge number of “twin brothers”, written in the same language, in the same style, using the same way of presenting speech. The Qur'anic text, from the very beginning to the end, does not obey the existing rules of versification and prose - Its style was not known to people from among the Arabs and non-Arabs either before the Qur'an or after. Therefore, the challenge of the Koran is not that people can express something as beautifully as it looks in the Koran, and not even that this new speech carries unique laws of politics, economics, education, or is filled with precise scientific data, which is widely presented in the Koran.

No, the challenge of the Koran lies only in the fact that one of the people, or all people taken together, composed a few lines in the same way of presenting speech as the entire Koran was presented. At one time, the polytheists from among the Quraish, many of whom were fluent in all styles of the Arabic language, were powerless to bring a similarity to the Koran.

There was no way they could ignore this challenge since the Holy Qur'an constitutes the basis in confirming the truth of the prophetic mission of Muhammad (pbuh). But he was not just calling for one more of the many religions that existed in Arabia; on the contrary, armed with the ideas of the Koran, Muhammad entered into an ideological struggle against the dominant political system. He condemned and publicly condemned the very basis of existing religions and the laws flowing from them. Therefore, the leaders of Mecca accepted the challenge of the Koran - they could not help but accept it, they entered into this struggle, tried to answer the challenge, but failed.

To illustrate the events that took place then, it is appropriate to recall the dialogue that took place between the Quraish nobility and al-Walid ibn al-Mughiyra, who was considered one of the best experts in the field of versification. So the enemies of Muhammad asked Ibn al-Mughiyira to catch Muhammad in a lie and prove that the speech of the Koran is nothing more than eloquent poetry. In response to this, al-Mughiyra told the people: “I swear to God, I don’t know anyone among you who knows poetry, rajaz (poetic meter) and qasida better than me. I swear to God, what he says is nothing like that. I swear to God, there is sweetness and grace in the words he speaks. These words are “covered with leaves above and abundant with moisture below.” They rise above them, and nothing can rise above them."

That is, even the most sophisticated people in the art of language could not provide any arguments to attribute the speech of the Koran to the speech of Muhammad. This phenomenon from the perspective of linguistics is described as follows: “In the presentation of the Koran, it is observed that the style of using words and expressions in it was not known to the Arabs both in the era when Muhammad (pbuh) lived and before him. It is inconceivable that Muhammad (pbuh), as a human being, could express his thoughts in such a way of speech, the like of which he had not previously heard, for the mind rejects the possibility of this. Thus, it is absolutely impossible that the style of Quranic expression, in its words and sentences, came from Muhammad (pbuh), who had never experienced them before. After all, Muhammad (pbuh) is one of the Arabs, and no matter how brilliant a person is, he is still in his era and cannot go beyond it. If all the people who know Arabic turned out to be powerless, then Muhammad (pbuh) also turned out to be powerless, since he is one of them. Moreover, a huge number of his own sayings have been transmitted from Muhammad (pbuh), and if we compare the speech of Muhammad (pbuh) with the speech of the Koran, then there is no stylistic similarity between them, which indicates that The Quran is not the speech of Muhammad (pbuh). In addition, the beginning of the creative activity of all poets, writers, philosophers and thinkers begins in a way of presenting speech in which there is some weakness. Gradually their ability to present speech develops, and one day reaches its highest limit.

Therefore, their works, in their strengths and weaknesses, are different, not to mention the presence in their presentations of awkward thoughts and broken expressions. This absolutely cannot be said about the Quran, which from the first day of its revelation, from its first verse to its last, uses the same method of speech, presented in the highest eloquence, both in the sublimity of its thoughts and the power of expressions. There is not a single broken phrase in it, and not a single awkward thought, and it is all one. The whole Qur'an, in its way, as a whole and in detail, is as if one sentence, which indicates that the Qur'an is not the speech of man, which is prone to be subject to contradictions in expression and meaning."

Therefore, after some time, the Quraish, abandoning attempts to make something similar to the Koran, switched to a brutal power struggle. They tried to destroy the spread of the ideas of the Koran through murder, torture, expulsion and blockades against all those people who declared their adherence to the Koranic teachings. They spent enormous efforts and resources to drown out the speech of the Koran, while it was enough to simply answer the challenge that existed in it, bring a semblance of at least one, the smallest surah, and that would be all - it would all be over. However, they were unable to do this!

So the great words of the Koran prevailed over them, although this was their language, which they knew perfectly well, and mastered all its rules and subtleties. It was a language in which they themselves wrote a huge number of works, which in their sophistication and eloquence repeated each other, but were not at all similar to the Koran. All this clearly indicates that the Qur'an is the speech of the Almighty, and that it is the truth that obliges every person to obey His commands.

Perhaps someone will object and say:

“If we talk about the miraculousness of the Quran, then its understanding is limited to those who know Arabic and, understanding its subtleties, can realize its miraculousness. How, then, can the Koran be considered proof for all humanity and oblige them to practice Islam? Here you need to understand that awareness of the miraculousness of the Koran does not rely on mastery of the Arabic language, which even many Arabs do not know perfectly. In order to answer the challenge of the Koran, yes, you need to know Arabic, but in order to understand its wonder, it is not at all necessary to know the language. Because this awareness is based on factors not directly related to knowledge of this language, but, on the contrary, are available to every reasonable person.

So what do you need to pay attention to, what are these factors?

There are three of these factors:

1) Existence of a challenge. From the moment of its revelation until the end of the world, the Quranic challenge continues to exist before all humanity so that people would compose something similar to the Quran. To answer this challenge means to be able to express any thoughts in the style of presentation of speech as presented in this scripture. After all, if the Koran was written by a person, it means that something similar can happen to someone else. To answer the challenge of the Koran means to destroy Islam, faith in which is based on the recognition of the divine origin of this religion.

2) Availability of incentives to respond to the challenge of the Koran. Islam, which is based entirely on faith in the Koran and the prophetic mission of Muhammad, is an ideology that constantly lays claim to world leadership. Islam does not recognize the right of any people to make laws for humanity. Islam, offering humanity all the systems of concepts, norms and laws necessary for life, encourages its supporters to wage an unyielding struggle to establish the power of Allah over people. For more than ten centuries, the Islamic state was the most influential and powerful state in the world, and this power was built on the faith of Muslims in the divinity of the Koran and the strict implementation of Its guidance. Considering that Muslims have a huge number and inhabit territories with colossal reserves of strategic resources, we can say that there have been plenty of incentives to refute the Koran at all times.

And today, when the Islamic people, based on faith in the truth of the Koran, began to once again strive for unification and a return to the rule of Sharia (Divine legislation), this challenge continues to cause insomnia among all politicians who, one way or another, support the colonial policies of large states such as America, Russia, France, England and Germany. It was this trend, crushing for their colonial essence, that prompted them to unite and launch a new crusade against Muslims, which they called the fight against world terrorism. The interest of the above large states in the destruction of Islam, as the only factor in opposing their colonial policy in Muslim lands, is clearly visible in many statements, which has recently been increasingly heard in the statements of their leaders and responsible persons. Again, as before, they spend countless resources and efforts, suffer huge losses, but still they have not come up with anything better than gross acts of violence, although, as before, it is enough to simply put together a dozen words in such a way that it would be looks like the Koran.

3) Lack of response to the challenge of the Koran To this day, not a single person has answered the challenge of the Koran, despite the fact that the Koran was compiled in purely Arabic, with all the rules to which all the letters of this language are subject. Arabic was not a new language at the time of the revelation of the Quran, and is not forgotten today. Millions of Arabs and non-Arabs, philologists and orientalists are fluent in Arabic. Their speeches can be compared with the speeches of the most famous poets of that time, when the culture of the Arabic language had reached the perfect heights of its development, but all of them taken together still remain powerless to compose a few lines in the manner demonstrated throughout the Qur'an.

Listen to the statements of some famous philologists...

...of the Arabic language, who studied the phenomenon of the Koran:

“Indeed, among all the rich and prolific Arabic literature there is not a single work of poetry or prose that can be compared with the Koran.” Alfred Guillaume, from the book "Islam", 1990

“...My attempt to create some kind of similarity, even remotely reflecting the sublime eloquence of the Arabic sound of the text of the Koran, which, along with the very essence of the Divine message, is a literary masterpiece of all mankind with its euphony and rich rhyme, turned out to be very faded in comparison with the Koran. Almost all translators of the meanings of the Koran have neglected, in the words of the Muslim Pickthall, “the unique harmony and euphony” of the Koran, so it is not surprising that when comparing the translations with the amazingly decorated text of the original, the first look dull and ordinary-sounding. Arthur J. Arberry, "Translation of the Koran" Oxford Research Centre, London, 1964

“Despite the fact that the best linguists have repeatedly tried to create some kind of Quran, using rules corresponding to the most commonly used expressions and grammatical forms of the Quran, not one of them has yet achieved success in this field” F.F. Arbuthnot, The Construction of the Bible and the Koran, London. 1985, s.5.

“All those who are familiar with the Qur'an in the original Arabic sound are unanimous in praising the literary beauty of this religious book. The splendor of its form is so unique that it cannot be adequately conveyed and preserved in any of the European languages ​​into which it was translated.” Edward Montet, from the book Translation of the Koran into French, Paris, 1929.

“The Koran shocks and amazes anyone who listens with the beauty and attractiveness of its original Arabic sound. His laconic, expressive and excellent style, mostly rhyming text, short sentences filled with many deep meanings that are very difficult to convey in literal translation, have a powerful impact and explosive energy." John Naish, from the book "The Wisdom of the Qur'an", Oxford, 1937 .

“The morality and ideology of the Quran, its language, style and rhyme, have influenced all literary works to one degree or another. Certain linguistic features could not be counterfeited either in the prose of the subsequent century or in future literary works. Thanks to the grace and flexibility that the Koran introduced into the structure of the Arabic language, this language began to develop rapidly and soon began to meet all the needs of the Arab Caliphate, which was rapidly gaining political and social weight, the power of which was extremely great.” Famous linguist, researcher of the Arabic language Hamilton Gibb, Oxford.

Thus, from a detailed consideration of these three factors, it follows that these circumstances are sufficiently applicable to become evidence in the matter of the miraculousness of the Holy Quran for any person. That is, the challenge of the Koran was thrown fourteen centuries ago, at all times and today there are those who have a perfect knowledge of the Arabic language and those who crave the destruction of Islam, but they still fail. Experts and great specialists in the field of Arabic have not been able to provide anything that would invalidate the miraculousness of the Qur'an. There are all the necessary reasons and incentives for such attempts. There is nothing that would prevent you from doing this. But they didn't! Consider whether understanding this reality does not prompt us to confidently recognize that the speech of the Qur'an is unusual, supernatural and beyond the reach of man. After all, if the Koran had been composed by Muhammad himself, or someone else from among the Arabs or those who knew the Arabic language, then there would certainly be someone else who would be able to destroy this daring challenge - which is possible for one person, sooner or later late becomes possible for many others too!

But this has not happened to this day!

Truly, the speech of the Koran is precisely what cannot be learned and what cannot be achieved, this is the very miracle that is direct proof that the Koran is not an invention of man, but the last appeal of the Creator to his creations.

Excerpts from the book “The Origin of the Qur'an, Classic Studies of the Holy Book of Islam, edited by Ibn Warraq; Prometheus Books 1998."

Introduction

The Prophet Muhammad died in 632. The earliest biography of him is the book of Ibn Ishaq, written in 750, one hundred and twenty years after the death of Muhammad. The authenticity of this biography is made even more doubtful by the fact that the original work of Ibn Ishaq has been lost, and what is available is only parts of a later text belonging to Ibn Hisham (died 834), two hundred years after the death of the Prophet.

The historical and biographical tradition concerning Muhammad and the early years of Islam was thoroughly tested at the end of the 19th century. But even before this, scientists were well aware of the presence of legendary and theological elements in this tradition.

It was believed that after some sifting of the evidence, enough information would remain to form a clear sketch of Muhammad's life. However, this illusion was shattered by Wellhausen, Caetani and Lammens, who raised questions about the reliability of this information.

Wellhausen divided the historical information dating from the 9th and 10th centuries into two groups: the first, a primitive tradition written down at the end of the eighth century, the second, a parallel version that was deliberately forged to refute the first. The second version is contained in the tendentious works of historians, for example, Sayaf bin Umar.

Caetani and Lammens questioned even the data that had previously been accepted as objective. Muhammad's biographers were too distant from the time they described to have true data, and they were far from objective. The goal of the biographers was not to describe reality, but to construct an ideal. Lammens dismissed the entire biography of Muhammad as speculative and tendentious interpretation.

Even cautious scholars have admitted that we know extremely little about the actual life of Muhammad before he became the prophet of God, unless we take into account the legendary biography revered by believers.

Skepticism. Hadiths

1. Muhammad was illiterate. It depended on oral information transmitted from Christians and especially Jews. Distortions in oral transmission explain the inaccuracy of the stories. Here are some historical errors: Mary is called Aaron's sister ( 3:35-37 ), Haman is called Pharaoh's courtier ( 28:38 ), Gideon and Saul mix ( 2:249 ). There is a contradictory attitude towards non-Muslims. Ayat 2:191 calls to fight with the infidels, and Sura at-Tawba calls for war with those who disagree, but the verse 2:256 says that "there is no compulsion in religion", and the verse 16:125 calls only for friendly disputes with Jews and Christians.
2. If we discard the comments, the Qur'an is incomprehensible. Islamic theologians explain the controversy by placing the verses (verses) in historical context and by appealing to the theory of "verse abrogation". Without commentary, the Koran is completely distorted and meaningless.
3. Transfer from 612–613? Muhammad never gave orders to write down the Koran, and when Abu Bakr first asked Zayd ibn Thabit to do this, he refused, citing the fact that he had no right to do this if Muhammad did not consider it necessary. (The amazing memory of the Arabs is exaggerated. For example, if we compare the Itaba version of the elegy among different clans, we see significant differences). Some of the verses appear to have been written down, but we do not know which ones and cannot guess how they were preserved. What happened to the notes after codification? They couldn’t just be thrown away - it’s blasphemous!
4. Who is the author of our standard text and is this text authentic? Zayd ibn Thabit supposedly wrote down the complete text of the Qur'an at least twice (under Abu Bakr and then under Uthman). The first copy was given to Hafsa, but 15 years later the believers were still arguing about what the Quran even was, so Zaid, at Uthman's request, wrote down the second copy, and all the others were destroyed by Uthman. It is possible that Zayd was trying to accurately reproduce Muhammad's words, otherwise he would certainly have improved the style and grammar and corrected historical and typographical errors. Indeed, the Koran today is essentially identical to this 2nd edition, although not necessarily identical to the words of Muhammad. The claim that the Qur'an is the ideal of the Arabic language is absurd, since there are many examples of repetition, weak rhyme, substitution of letters to improve rhyme, use of foreign words, strange usage or substitution of names (for example, Tera with Azhar, Saul with Talut ( 2:248:250 ), Enoch on Idris 19:56 ).

The text of the Qur'an has traditionally been studied: 1) through commentaries, 2) by grammarians studying Arabic vowels and diacritics, 3) through the type of script used.

1. The first interpreter was Ibn Abbas. It is a major source of interpretation, although many of its opinions are considered heretical. Other commentators include al-Tabari (839–923), al-Zamakhshari (1075–1144), and al-Beidhawi (d. 1286).
2. Diacritics did not exist before the Umayyad Caliphate. They were borrowed from Hebrew and Aramaic. Of the most important grammarians, we can note Khalil ibn Ahmad (718–791), who coined the “hamza,” and Sibawayhi (Khalil). The vowels were not revealed until the end of the 8th century. It happened at a training center in Baghdad under the influence of Aramaic.
3. Three main scripts were used: Kufic, Naskh and mixed. The type of font allows for the first rough dating of the manuscripts. A more accurate determination of the age of manuscripts is achieved by analyzing other features of the text, such as the use of diacritics.

Transfer of the Quran

Alphonse Mingana

• There is no agreement in the traditions regarding the collection of the Qur'an. The earliest evidence of the composition of the Qur'an is ibn Sa'd (844), Bukhari (870) and Muslim (874).
• Ibn Saad lists 10 people who could have compiled the Koran during the life of Muhammad (a number of hadiths in favor of each of them are also given). Then there is a hadith attributing the collection to Uthman during the caliphate of Umar, and elsewhere the compilation is attributed directly to Umar.
• Buhari's account is different. He attributes the collection of the Qur'an during Muhammad's lifetime to a number of people (but their list differs from that of ibn Sa'd). Then he gives the history of the redaction of Abu Bakr, carried out single-handedly by Zayd ibn Thabit. And then immediately follows the hadith about the work on the edition of Uthman carried out by Zayd together with three other scholars.
• The last two traditions (edited by Abu Bakr and Uthman) were accepted along with all the others, but it is not clear why. Moreover, if the Koran was already completely assembled by them, why was it so difficult to make the compilation? It seems that these two editions are also fictitious, like the others.
• Other Muslim historians further confuse the picture:
  • The author of Fihrist lists all the stories of ibn Saad and Bukhari and adds two more to them.
  • Tabari tells us that Ali ibn Ali Talib and Uthman wrote down the Qur'an, but when they were absent, ibn Ka'b and Zayd ibn Thabit did so. At that time, people accused Uthman of reducing the Qur'an from several books to one.
  • Waqidi writes that the Christian slave Ibn Qumna taught Muhammad, and that Ibn Abi Sarkh claimed that he could change what he wanted in the Qur'an simply by writing about it to Ibn Qumna.
  • Another source of tradition attributes the compilation of the Koran to Caliph Abdul-Malik b. Marwan (684–704) and his deputy Hajjaj b. Yusuf. Bar-Ghebreus and Jalal ad-Din al-Suyuti attribute the creation to the former, and ibn Dumaq and Makrizi to the latter. Ibnul 'Athir says that al-Hajjaj outlawed the reading of al-Masud's version, ibn Khallikan states that al-Hajjaj tried to bring the authors to an agreement on the text, but failed. Indeed, discrepancies persisted and were noted by Zamakhshariya and Beidhavi, although anyone who adhered to the variants was severely persecuted.

Transmission of the Qur'an according to Christian authors

1. 639 AD e. - dispute between the Christian patriarch and Amr b. al-Azdom (the results of the dispute are reflected in a manuscript dated 874 AD). We find out that:
   • The Bible was not translated into Arabic;
   • in Arab society there was teaching of the Torah, denial of the divinity and resurrection of Christ;
   • there are no references to any Arabic holy books;
   • some of the Arab conquerors were literate.
2. 647 AD e. - A letter from the Patriarch of Seleucia, Ishoyab III, refers to the beliefs of the Arabs without any reference to the Koran.
3. 680 AD e. - The anonymous author in Guidi does not know the Koran, believes that Arabs simply practice the Abrahamic faith, and does not realize that Muhammad is a religious figure.
4. 690 AD e. - John Bar Penkayi, writing to the reign of Abdul-Malik, knows nothing about the existence of the Koran.

It was not until the 8th century that the Qur'an became a subject of discussion between Muslims and Christians. Early Christian critics of the Koran: Abu Nosh (secretary to the governor of Mosul), Timothy (Nestorian patriarch of Seleucia) and the most significant - al-Kindi (830 AD, i.e. 40 years before Bukhari!).

Kindi's main argument: Ali and Abu Bakr argued about the rights of succession to Muhammad. Ali began compiling the Qur'an, while others insisted on including their own passages in the Qur'an. A number of options were recorded. Ali pointed out discrepancies with Uthman, hoping to damage other versions, so Uthman destroyed all but one copy. Four copies of Uthman's collection were made, but all the originals were destroyed. When Hajjaj b. Yusuf gained power (Abdul-Malik was caliph 684-704), he collected all the copies of the Koran, changed the passages according to his own will, destroyed the rest and made 6 copies of a new version. So, how could we distinguish the original from the fake?

Something like the Muslim response to Kindi is given in an apology for Islam written 20 years later in 835 AD. e. doctor Ali b. Rabannat-Tabari at the request of Caliph Motevekkil. In it, Tabari ignores Kindi's historical point of view and insists that the Sahabah (i.e., the prophet's entourage) were good people. He then sets out an apologia for Islam, which is important because it gives an earlier date to the hadith.

So, there is no evidence to suggest that Christians knew about the official Koran before the end of the 8th century and seem to have viewed Islam as some kind of political enterprise with religious overtones.

conclusions

1. At the time of Muhammad's death, the Qur'an had not actually been written down. It is unclear how well-known records existed in Mecca and Medina at that time.
2. A few years after Muhammad's death, those around him began recording Muhammad's prophecies. This gave them an advantage. Uthman's version received the highest approval, and the rest were destroyed. Obviously, dialect differences were not a problem, since the Arabic script at that time could not represent them in writing.
3. Uthman's Qur'an was possibly written down on parchment scrolls (suhufs), and later under Abdul-Malik and Hajjaj b. Yusufe was placed in the book with a fair amount of editorial corrections, a number of insertions and omissions.

Materials on the history of the text of the Koran

Muslim authors show no interest in criticizing the text of the Qur'an until 322 A.H., when the text was consolidated by Wazir ibn Muqla and Ibn Isa (with the help of Ibn Mujahid). After this, anyone who used the old versions or variants was punished (Ibn Muskam and Ibn Shanabud are good examples of what happens to those who disobey). Although the actual manuscripts were destroyed, variations survive to some extent in the commentaries of Az-Zamakhsham (d. 538), Abu Hayan of Spain (d. 749), and al-Shawrani (d. 1250), as well in the philological works of al-Uqbari (d. 616), Ibn Halawai (d. 370), and Ibn Jinn (d. 392). However, this information was not used to create a critical text of the Quran.

Muslim tradition (for example, that before his death Muhammad ordered the Koran to be written down, although not in book form) is largely fictional. Among other things, the same tradition claims that only minor parts were written down, and most of the Koran could have been lost after the death of the Muslims at al-Yamamah.

Perhaps Abu Bakr collected something that many others did (there is no agreement on the list of persons in the two lists given by traditions); but its assembly was not an official edition, but rather a private matter. Some devout Muslims claim that the word jama"a(“to collect”) only means “to memorize” (“to memorize”) in the traditions referring to the capital's vaults, since these collections were transported on camels and of course burned in fire, most likely they were written vaults. Different capital territories adhered to different codes: Homs and Damascus adhered to al-Aswad, Kufa to Ibn Masud, Basra to al-Ashari, and Syria to Ibn Ka'b. Significant discrepancies between these texts gave rise to Uthman to carry out a radical revision. The Qurra fiercely opposed him in this, and Ibn Masud stubbornly refused to leave his list until he was forced to do so.

Variants were retained by commentators and philologists only if they were sufficiently close to the orthodox reading to compile tafsirs. They insist that they retained only the variants that were explanatory articles to the text of Uthman.

“The amount of material preserved in this way is, of course, relatively small, but it is remarkable that it was preserved at all. With the general acceptance of the standard text, other types of texts, even if they escaped the flames, would have died out during transmission due to the absolute lack of interest in them. Such variants, if they were cited in the educated part of society, should have survived only in small numbers, only having theological or philological significance, so most of the variants should have disappeared early. Moreover, even though these variants persisted, there were some attempts at suppression in the interests of orthodoxy. One may cite, for example, the case of the great Baghdad scholar Ibn Shanabud (245-325), who was allowed to become an outstanding authority on the Koran, but who was forced to publicly renounce the use of versions from old manuscripts in his work.

More striking differences were not recorded for fear of reprisals.

Masahif Books

During the 4th Islamic century, three books were written by Ibn al-Anbari, Ibn Ashta and Ibn Ubi Dawud, each with the same title: Kitab al-Masahif, and each discussed lost manuscripts. The first two are lost and survive only in quotations; the third book has survived. Ibn Abu Dawud, the third most important hadith collector, refers to 15 primary manuscripts and 13 secondary lists (the latter being predominantly based on Mas'ud's primary manuscript).

One of the major obstacles to constructing variants through hadith is that the transmission of variants was not as meticulous as the transmission of the canonical version, so it is difficult to assert authenticity. However, despite the limitations, there is significant information available to assist in the formation of a critical text. 32 different books contain the main sources of variations.

Code of Ibn Masud (d. 32)

Ibn Masud was one of the first converts to Islam. He participated in the Hegira to Abyssinia and Medina, participated in the battles of Badr and Uhud, was the personal servant of Muhammad and learned surahs from the prophet 70. He was one of the early teachers of Islam, and the prophet himself praised him for his knowledge of the Koran.

He compiled a manuscript which he used in Kufa and many copies were made from it. He indignantly rejected the offer to abandon his manuscript because he considered it more accurate than the manuscript of Zayd ibn Thabit. His manuscript did not include Surahs 1, 113 and 114. He did not consider them as part of the Qur'an, although he was aware of them and offered various readings of them. The order of the suras also differed from the official codex of Uthman.

Codex Ubay b. Kaaba (d. 29 or 34)

Ibn Ka'b was one of the Ansar. He was Muhammad's secretary in Medina and was ordered to write down a treaty with the people of Jerusalem. He was one of the 4 teachers recommended by the prophet. His personal manuscript dominated in Syria even after standardization. He was probably involved in the creation of Uthman's text, but the tradition distorts what exactly his participation was. He also probably knew the same number of suras as the official version of the Koran, although the order was different. His personal manuscript never reached the popularity of Ibn Mas'ud's and was quickly destroyed by Uthman.

Codex Ali (d. 40)

Ali was Muhammad's son-in-law and supposedly began composing the manuscript immediately after Muhammad's death. He was so engrossed in this task that he neglected his oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr. It is believed that he had access to a hidden repository of Quranic materials. Ali's division into suras is very different from Uthman's, which is why it is so difficult to say whether material was lost or added. Ali supported Uthman's editorship and burned his manuscript. It is difficult to assert whether the variants attributed to Ali originate from the original manuscript or from his interpretation of Uthman's manuscript.

Progress in the study of the text of the Qur'an

Arthur Jeffrey

A quick glance at the Muslim commentaries reveals many difficulties with the vocabulary of the Qur'an. Commentators tend to assume that Muhammad meant the same things that they meant by certain words, and they interpreted the Qur'an in the light of the theological and judicial controversies of their time.

Geoffrey had already compiled a lexicon of non-Arabic words in the Qur'an, but the Arabic words could not be properly researched until the existence of a critical text. Closest to text receptions is the textual tradition of Hafs from Asim (the best of the three traditions of the Kufan ​​school). A standard edition of this text was undertaken by the Egyptian government in 1923.

Following the Muslim tradition, the text coming from Uthman's edition did not have periods or vowels. When diacritics were invented, different traditions developed in the major metropolises. Even if there was agreement regarding the consonants (khuruf), different options for harmonizing the text could be invented. Therefore, a large number of ihtiyar fil huruf (i.e., consonant traditions) developed, where differences in the placement of dots led to variations in the text of the consonants. These systems not only differed in the placement of periods and vowels, but from time to time they used different consonants, as if trying to improve Uthman's text. (It is important to note that there are 7 systems for placing points of ihtiyar fil huruf, each with two systems of vowels, for a total of 14 classical readings. When citing a system, both the source of the huruf and the source of the vowels are indicated)

In 322 after Hijra, ibn Mujahid (a great authority on the Qur'an) declared the fixation of khuruf (presumably Uthman) and prohibited all other ihtiyar and limited the variations of agreement to 7 different systems. Later, three more systems were adopted on equal terms.

Thus, the text of the Qur'an has two main versions, canonical versions limited to vowel readings (of which the system of Asim of Kufa, according to Hafs, is somehow the most popular) and non-canonical consonantal versions.

Fatih invariants

Arthur Jeffrey

The Fatihah (first sura) is not generally considered to be the original part of the Qur'an. Even the earliest Muslim commentators (e.g. Abu Bakr al Asamm, d. 313) did not consider it canonical.

One version of Fatih is given in Tadkirot al-Aimah Muhammad Bakuir Majlizi (Tehran, 1331), the other is in a small book of fiqh written about 150 years ago. These two options differ from each other and from textus recepticus, although the meaning of all three remains the same. The differences include substitution of synonyms, changes in verb forms, and single substitutions of words that are not synonyms but have a generally related meaning (e.g. r"-rahmana(merciful) on r-razzaqui(generous)). These differences are not meant to improve the grammar or clarity of the text and do not appear to have any teaching value - rather it appears to be a spoken prayer that was subsequently written down.

Khalib b. Ahmad, a reader at a school in Basra, offers another option. He received it from Isa b. Imara (d. 149) and was a student of Ayub al-Sakhtiyani (d. 131), both of whom are known for transmitting non-canonical variants.

Abu Ubayd on the Lost Verses

Arthur Jeffrey

There may be a few incorrect invocations that have crept into the Qur'an, but what can be said more confidently is that many authentic invocations have been lost. Geoffrey gives the full text of a chapter from Kitab Fada il al-Quran, Abu Ubaidah, folios 43 and 44, regarding the lost chapters of the Qur'an.

Abu Ubayd al-Qasim Sallam (154–244 after Hijra) studied under renowned scholars and himself became well known as a philologist, jurist, and expert on the Qur'an. Following his hadith:

• Umar recorded as a saying that most of the Qur'an is lost;
• Aisha reports that Sura 33 had 200 verses, most of which have been lost;
• Ibn Ka'b reports that Sura 33 had as many verses as Sura 2 (i.e. at least 200) and included verses about stoning adulterers. Now there are 73 verses in Sura 33;
• Uthman also refers to missing verses about stoning adulterers (this is reported in several different hadiths);
• Ibn Ka'b and al-Khattab disagree about the identity of Sura 33 in the Qur'an;
• some (Abu Waqid al Laiti, Abu Musa al-Amori, Zayd b. Arqam and Jabir b. Abdullah) recall the verse about the greed of man, which is unknown in the Qur'an;
• Ibn Abbas admits that he heard something that he could not say whether it was part of the Quran or not;
• Abi Ayoub b. Yunus quotes a verse he read from Aisha's list, which is not now included in the Qur'an, and adds that Aisha accused Uthman of distorting the Qur'an;
• Adi b. Adi criticizes the existence of other missing verses whose original existence was confirmed by Zayd ibn Thabit;
• Umar questions the loss of another verse, and then Abu al-Rahman b Auf informs him: “They fell out of the Koran along with other dropped verses”;
• Ubaid concludes the chapter by stating that all these verses are authentic and were quoted during prayers, but they were not overlooked by scholars because they were seen as additional, repeating verses contained elsewhere in the Qur'an.

Textual discrepancies in the Qur'an

Orthodox Islam does not require uniformity from the Qur'an. 7–10 options are allowed, usually (but not always) differing only in minor details.

Other (unorthodox) variations may be explained by the fact that Muhammad frequently changed his revelations and some of his followers may not have known what the abrogated verses were. After his death, it became a political necessity for Uthman to standardize the text, and Hajjaj carried out another redaction towards the end of the 7th century.

For a long time there was a misunderstanding about what belongs to the Koran and what does not. Sometimes the words of poets were quoted as the words of Allah. Even religious leaders were not always sure of the correctness of the text. For example, in one of his letters, Caliph Mansur incorrectly quotes the verse 12:38 , relying on the word "Ishmael" to prove his point, although this word does not even appear in the text. It is remarkable that neither Mubbarad nor ibn Khaldun, both of whom copied this letter, noticed the error. Even Bukhari, at the beginning of his Kitab al-Manaqib, quotes something from revelation, although it is not contained in the Qur'an. These errors arose while the written version existed; it is clear that the errors would not have crept in if the text was still transmitted orally.

Much misunderstanding arises from the lack of diacritics. For example, Hamza, who later participated in the invention of dot notation, admits that he mixed up la zaita fihi(there is no oil in it) and la raiba(no doubt), due to the lack of points. Thus, the absence of dots can radically change the meaning. Of course, a dotting system based on Aramaic was adopted, although Caliph Mamun (198–218 after Hijra) prohibited the use of diacritics and vowels. A distinct tradition of dots has developed over time, usually with minor differences in meaning, but in some cases a difference in dots has resulted in a major difference in meaning.

Sometimes the text variations seem like a deliberate attempt to add to the text. Sometimes readers used historical research to support grammatical studies in determining the authenticity of a text. For example, Ibrahim preferred instead Abraham(which probably serves as a rhyme).

Sources of the Qur'an

What did Muhammad borrow from Judaism?

Concepts borrowed from Judaism

• Tabut– ark [of the covenant];
• Taurat- law;
• Jannatu"Adn- paradise;
• Jahannam– hell;
• Ahbar- teacher;
• Darasa– study of scripture in order to find meanings introduced into the text;
• Sabt– Shabbat;
• Sakinat– presence of the Lord;
• Taghut- error;
• Ma"un– shelter;
• Masanil- repetition;
• Rabanit- teacher;
• Furquan- deliverance, redemption;
• Malakut- government.

These 14 words of Jewish origin used in the Qur'an describe the idea of ​​God's guidance, revelation, judgment after death and were borrowed by Islam from Judaism. Otherwise, why weren't Arabic words used?

Views borrowed from Judaism

Views Relating to Doctrine.

1. Unity of God (Monotheism);
2. Creation of the world in 6 days, 7 heavens (defended in Shagiga, compare the “7 paths” used in the Talmud, 7 abysses - including 7 gates and trees in the gates);
3. State of Revelation;
4. Retribution, including the Last Judgment and the Resurrection from the Dead - for example, the connection between the Resurrection and the Judgment, the world lying in evil before the coming of the Messiah/Mahdi, the war between Gog and Magog, the bodies of people will testify against them. (For example, 24:24 ), idols will be thrown into hell fire, sinners will prosper and their iniquity will increase. 1,000 years from the day of the Lord, the resurrected man will rise in the clothes in which he was buried.
5. The doctrine of spirits is identical beliefs regarding angels and demons (jinn). Although Islam has a much more earthly concept of heaven, some common features remain.

Moral and legal standards

1. Prayer: the positions of the teacher during prayer coincide (standing, sitting, reclining), see. 10:12 ; shortened prayers during war; Prayer while drunk is prohibited; the prayer is pronounced loudly, but not loudly; The change of day and night is determined by the ability to distinguish the blue (black) thread from the white one.
2. Woman: A divorced woman waits 3 months before remarrying; time for weaning a child - 2 years; similar restrictions on marriages between relatives.

Outlook on life

• Righteous death is rewarded - Koran, 3:198 , and Num. 23:10;
• Achieving full understanding at the age of 40 - Koran, 46:15 ;
• Intercession effectively leads to reward - the Qur'an, 4:85 ;
• After death, family and acquired wealth do not follow a person, only his deeds - Sunnah 689 and Pirke Rabbi Eliezer 34.

Plots borrowed from Judaism

We can assume that Muhammad received the Old Testament narratives from the Jews, since there are no specific Christian characteristics.

Patriarchs

1. From Adam to Noah:
   • Creation - Adam is wiser than the angels because he could name the animals ( 2:33 ), see also Midrash Rabbah on Numbers 19, Midrash Rabbah on Genesis 8 and 17 and Sanhedrin 38;
   • The story of Satan who refused to serve Adam ( 7:11 ), 17:61 , 18:50 , 20:116 , 38:74 ) was clearly rejected by the Jews, see Midrash Rabbah on Genesis 8;
   • Cain and Abel - victim and killer.
   • Koran: Raven tells Cain how to bury the body ( 5:31 ), Jews - the raven tells the parents how to bury the body (Pirke Rabbi Eliezer Ch. 21);
   • Koran: killing a soul equals killing all humanity ( 5:32 ). This is taken from the context of Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5;
   • Idris (Enoch) - taken to heaven after death and resurrected, see. 19:57 and Genesis 5:24, as well as Tract Derin Erez (according to Midrash Yalkut Ch. 42);
2. From Noah to Abraham:
   • Angels lived on earth, watched over women and destroyed marriages. Ayat 2:102 refers to Midrash Abhir (quoted from Midrash Yalkut Ch. 44);
   • Noah - in the role of teacher and prophet, as well as the flood of water correspond to rabbinic views (Compare 7:64 , 10:73 , 11:40 , 22:42 , 23:27 , 25:37 , 26:105-121 , 29:14 , 37:74-82 , 54:9-15 , 71:1 and further from Sanhedrin 108, from Midrash Tanshuma (section “Noah”) and from Rosh Hashanah 162. The words of Noah are indistinguishable from the words of Muhammad (or Gabriel/Allah).
3. From Abraham to Moses:
   • Abraham is the archetype of the prophet, a friend of God, lived in the temple, wrote books. A conflict over idols put him in danger of being burned alive, but God saved him. Muhammad's identification with Abraham is so strong that words are attributed to Abraham that would not apply to anyone else outside the context of Muhammad.
   • Almost the entire 12th sura is dedicated to Joseph. Additions to biblical history come from Jewish legends. For example, Joseph is warned about Potiphar's wife in a dream ( 12:24 , Sotah 6:2), Egyptian women cut off their hands because of Joseph's beauty ( 12:31 , compare with references in Midrash Yalkut to the "Great Chronicles").

Moses and his time

Very similar to the biblical story with some errors and the addition of material from Jewish legends.

• Baby Moses refused the breast of an Egyptian woman ( 28:12 , Sota 12.2).
• Pharaoh declared himself a god ( 26:29 , 28:38 , Midrash Rabbah on Exodus, Ch. 5).
• Pharaoh eventually repented ( 10:90 and further, Pirke Rabbi Eliezar, section 43).
• The Lord threatens to bring down a mountain on the Israelites ( 2:63 , 2:93 , 2:171 , Aboda Zera 2:2).
• There is confusion about the exact number of executions: 5 executions ( 7:133 ) or 9 ( 27:12 );
• Haman ( 28:6 , ; 29:39 ) and Korea ( 40:24 ) are considered advisors to the pharaoh.
• Aaron's sister Miriam is also believed to be the mother of Jesus ( 3:35-37 ).

Kings who ruled undivided Israel

Almost nothing is said about Saul and David. Solomon is discussed in much more detail. The Story of the Queen of Sheba ( 27:22 ) is almost identical to the second Targum on the book of Esther.

Saints after Solomon

Elijah, Jonah, Job, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego (not named), Ezra, Elisha.

Conclusions: Muhammad borrowed quite a lot from Judaism, both from Scripture and from tradition. He freely interpreted what he heard. "Worldviews, doctrinal issues, ethical principles and general views on life, as well as more specialized issues of history and tradition, have indeed been transferred from Judaism to the Koran."

Appendix: Views of the Koran that are hostile to Judaism

Muhammad's goal was to unite all religions except Judaism, with its many laws, and at the same time remain his own. Therefore, he broke with the Jews, declaring them enemies who killed the prophets ( 2:61 , 5:70 ), thought they were chosen by God ( 5:18 ), believed that only they would enter heaven ( 62:6 ), mistook Ezra for the son of God ( 9:30 ), believed in the intercession of their ancestors, distorted the Bible ( 2:75 ). To emphasize the break, he changed some Jewish traditions. For example:

• dinner precedes prayer (Sunnah 97ff) in contrast to the Talmud's strong emphasis on prayer;
• Sex is permitted during Ramadan. The Talmud prohibits sex on the eve of holidays. In addition, men can remarry divorced wives only if the woman married and divorced someone else ( 2:230 ). This is in direct conflict with the Bible;
• most Jewish dietary rules are ignored;
• Muhammad refers to "an eye for an eye" and reproaches the Jews for replacing this commandment with the payment of money ( 5:45 ).

Sources of Islam

Views of Muslim theologians on the origins of Islam

The Quran was handed down directly by God from heaven, through Gabriel, to Muhammad. God is the only "source" of Islam.

Certain views and customs of the Arabs preserved in Islam, according to the book “Days of Ignorance”

Islam has preserved much from pre-Islamic Arabia, including the name of God - Allah. The concept of monotheism existed in the Jahiliya - even the pagans had the idea of ​​a God superior to all others. There are hints that idolatry persisted (e.g., the Satanic Verses). The Kaaba has been the masjid (mosque, place of worship) of many tribes since 60 BC. e. The tradition of kissing the black stone comes from the pagans. Two passages from Saba Muallaq Imraul Qais are quoted in the Qur'an ( 54:1 , 29:31 And 29:46 , 37:69 , 21:96 , 93:1 ). There is also a hadith where Imraul ridicules Fatima for copying from him and claiming it to be Revelation.

Borrowing the principles and stories of the Koran and Tradition from the Jewish commentators, and some religious customs from the Sabaeans

The Sabaeans are a now extinct religious group. Very little is known about it, but the surviving information allows us to highlight the following customs:

• 7 daily prayers, 5 of them coincide in time, chosen by Muhammad;
• prayer for the dead;
• 30-day fast from sunrise to nightfall;
• observance of the holiday of the establishment of the 5 principles;
• worship of the Kaaba.

The Jews were the three main tribes that lived in the vicinity of Medina: Banu Quraiza, Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir.

1. Cain and Abel - 5:27:31 , Wed Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziah, Jerusalem Targum. Particularly noticeable are the parallels with Pirke Rabbi Eleazer (the story of the raven who taught people how to bury) and the Mishnah Sanhedrin (a commentary on bloodshed).
2. Abraham saved from Nimrod's fire ( 21:69 ) – borrowed from Midrash Rabbah (Gen. 15:7). The parallels are especially obvious when there is a reference to the corresponding hadith. The only notable discrepancy is that the Quran calls Abraham's father Azar rather than Terah, but Eusebius reports that this name is similar to that used in Syria. Jewish commentary resulted from an erroneous translation Ur, which means "city" in Babylonian, as Or meaning "fire", so the commentator (Jonathan without Uzziah) suggested that Abraham was sent into the fiery furnace of the Chaldeans.
3. Visit to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba 27:22 and further) borrowed from the 2nd Targum on the book of Esther.
4. Harut and Marut ( 2:102 , especially Araysh al-Majalis - a commentary on the said verse) - are identical to several passages from the Talmud, especially Midrash Yalkut. The stories are similar and differ only in the names of the angels. The names in the Koran coincide with the names of two goddesses revered in Armenia.
5. A number of other borrowings from the Jews:
   • The construction of Mount Sinai - 2:63 and Aboda Sarah;
   • making the golden calf - 2:51 and Pirke Rabbi Eleazerzh
   • the man who created the golden calf is called in the Koran the word Sameri, however, the Samaritans did not appear until 400 years after Moses.
6. Some more Jewishisms:
   • Many words in the Koran are of Hebrew, Chaldean, Syriac, etc., and not of Arabic origin;
   • The concept of 7 heavens and 7 deeps is taken from the Hebrew books Chagigah and Zohar ( 15:44 , 17:44 );
   • The throne of God is located above the water ( 11:7 ) - borrowing from Hebrew Rashi;
   • The angel Malik rules Gehenna - his name is taken from Moloch, the god of fire in pagan Palestine.
   • The wall separating heaven and hell ( 7:46 ) – a number of places in the Jewish Midrash.
7. Religious rites of Islam, borrowed from the Jews:
   • The beginning of the day is determined by the ability to distinguish a white thread from a black (Islam) or blue (Judaism) thread ( 2:187 , Mishnah Berakot)
   • The Qur'an is preserved on the heavenly tablets ( 85:21-22 ), similar to the tablets of the Decalogue (Deut. 10:1-5), regarding which Jewish legend embellishes that the Torah, Scripture, Prophets, Mishnah and Gemara are written on them (Rabbi Simeon).

Regarding the belief that much of the Qur'an originated from the accounts of heretical Christian sects

Many heretics were expelled from the Roman Empire and migrated to Arabia before Muhammad.

1. Seven Sleepers or Cave Brothers ( 18:9-26 ). The story is of Greek origin, found in the Latin work of Gregory of Tours (History of the Martyrs, 1:5) and is considered by Christians to be a sanctimonious fabrication.
2. Mary's story ( 3:35-37 , 19:28 , 66:12 ). Mary is called the sister of Aaron, the daughter of Imran (Hebrew Amran - the father of Moses) and the mother of Jesus. The hadith tells that Mary's mother, an old barren woman, promised that if God gave her a child, she would give him to the temple (from the Proto-Gospel of James the Less). The Hadith also explains that the throwing of wands mentioned in the Qur'an refers to the priests vying for the right to contain Mary. They threw their rods into the river, and only Zechariah's rod did not drown (from The History of our Holy Father the Aged, the Carpenter (Joseph)). Mary was accused of adultery, but proved her innocence (from the Proto-Gospel, a Coptic book about the Virgin Mary) and gave birth under a palm tree that helped her (from “The History of the Origin of Mary and the Childhood of the Savior”).
3. Childhood of Jesus: Jesus spoke from the cradle and sculpted birds from clay and then brought them to life ( 3:46:49 ). Taken from the Gospel of Thomas Israelite and the Gospel of the Childhood of Jesus Christ, ch. 1, 36, 46. Jesus was not actually crucified ( 4:157 ) according to the heretic Basilides (quoted by Irenaeus). The Qur'an erroneously believes that the Trinity consists of Father, Mother and Son ( 4:171 , 5:72-73 , 5:116 ).
4. Some other stories from Christian or heretical writers: in the hadith (Qissas al-Anbial) God sends angels for the ashes to create Adam, and Azrael brings them from the 4 cardinal points (Ibn Atir through Abdul Feda). This is from the heretic Marconius, who argued that humans were created by an angel (“God of the Law”), and not by God himself. Balance of good and evil deeds (

   Arab and Greek historians report that much of the Arabian Peninsula was under Persian rule before and during Muhammad's life. Ibn Ishaq reports that the stories of Rutem, Isfandiyar and ancient Persia were told in Medina, and Quraysh often compared them with the stories of the Qur'an (for example, the tales of Nadr, son of al-Harith).

   1. Ascension (Mi'raj) of the Prophet ( 17:1 ). There are significant differences in interpretation. Ibn Ishaq quotes Aisha and the prophet that it was an exit from the body. Muhayyad Din [ibn al-Arabi] agrees. But Ibn Ishaq also quotes the prophet that this was a literal journey. Kotada refers to the prophet's saying that this was a real journey to the seventh heaven. In Zoroastrianism, the Magi send one of their number to heaven to receive a message from God (Ohrmazd) (from Pahlavi's Arta Viraf Namak, 400 BC). The Testament of Abraham also records that Abraham was taken to heaven in a chariot.
   2. Gurias, with which paradise is full ( 55:70 , 56:22 ), similar to the pariahs in Zoroastrianism. The words “guria”, “jinn” and “bihist” (paradise) come from Avesta or Pahlavi. “Youths of pleasure” (“gilunan”) also come from Hindu tales. The name of the angel of death is taken from the Jews (there are two names in Hebrew, Sammael and Azrael, the latter was borrowed by Islam), but the concept of an angel killing those in hell is taken from Zoroastrianism.
   3. Azazel, emerging from hell - according to Muslim tradition, served the Lord for 1,000 years in each of the seven heavens until he reached earth. Then for 3,000 years he sat at the gates of heaven, trying to tempt Adam and Eve in order to destroy creation. This is very similar to the Zoroastrian legend about their devil (Ahriman) in the book Victory of the Lord. Peacock agrees to let Iblis into heaven in exchange for a prayer with magic numbers (Bundahishin) - an association noted by the Zoroastrians (Eznik, in his book "Against Heresies").
   4. The Light of Muhammad is the first created thing (Qissas al-Anbial, Rauza al-Ahbab). The light was divided into 4 parts, then each part into 4 more parts. Muhammad was the first part of the first division of light. This light was then placed on Adam and descended on his best descendants. This actually repeats the Zoroastrian views describing the division of light (“Minuhirad”, “Desatir-i Asmani”, “Yesht”); the light was placed on the first man (Jamshid) and passed on to his greatest descendants.
   5. The Sirat Bridge is a concept borrowed from Dinkard; in Zoroastrianism the bridge is called Chinawad.
   6. The view that each prophet predicts the appearance of the next one is borrowed from Desatir-i Asmani, where each Zoroastrian prophet predicts the next one. In addition, the beginning of these books (for example, “Desatir-i Asmani”) is as follows: "In the name of God, the Giver of blessings, the Beneficent", which corresponds to the beginning of the suras: "In the name of God, the Gracious and the Merciful".
   7. How could Muhammad know about this? Rauza al-Ahbab reports that the prophet often spoke to people from different places. Al Kindi accuses the Qur'an of using "old wives' tales." In addition, from “Sirat Rasul Allah” we learn about the Persian Salman, Muhammad’s adviser at the Battle of the Trench, accused of helping to compile the Koran (the Koran mentions him, although it does not call him by name).

   Hanifites: their influence on Muhammad and his teachings

   The influence of the Hanifites (Arab monotheists) on Muhammad is most reliably described by Ibn Hisham with quotes from Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat. Six Hanifis are mentioned by name - Abu Amir (Medina), Umeya (Tayif), Waraqa (became a Christian), Ubaidallah (became a Muslim, moved to Abyssinia and converted to Christianity), Osman, Zayd (expelled from Mecca, lived on Mount Hira, where Muhammad went to meditate) (the last four are from Mecca).

   , ), but Muslims were ordered to kill idolaters the moment they discovered them (even if they are not fighting against Islam!), since they do not profess the correct faith.

   Jewish foundation of Islam

   Charles Cutler Torrey

   Allah and Islam

   Muhammad tried to create a religious history for the Arabs, but the history of Arab beliefs did not provide him with sufficient sources for this. Such references appear mainly in the Meccan period. He refers to Hud, the prophet of the tribe of Hell; Salih, the prophet of Tamud and Shuaib, the prophet of the Medes. All pagan customs not directly related to idolatry have been preserved in Islam, including the rituals of the Hajj.

   After exhausting the Arabic material, Muhammad turned to the Jewish material, since it was well known and could serve the new religion to spread more deeply over a larger area. In addition to apocryphal works, Muhammad must have known the canonical Bible, especially the Torah. He knew only prophets with interesting destinies, and therefore passed by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and all the minor prophets, with the exception of Jonah. From folk tales, the Arabs knew about the Jewish view of the origin of both peoples from a common ancestor - Abraham and his sons Isaac and Ishmael (Hagar is not mentioned in the Koran). The Koran claims that they built the Kaaba (although later Islamic tradition claims that Adam built the Kaaba and Abraham cleansed it of idols). It seems possible that the Hanifs (Arab monotheists who followed the religion of Abraham) are an invention of later Islam. The story of Iblis (or Shaitan) prostrating himself before Adam is not about worship, since there is a possible Jewish source for this story in Sanhedrin 596 and Midrash Rabbah 8. Shuaib probably corresponds to the biblical Jethro. Uzair is Ezra, and the Jews are accused of declaring him the son of God. Idris is also Ezra (Greek name). The Jewish chronology in the Koran is very weak, in particular, Muhammad makes Moses and Jesus contemporaries (Moses' sister is also the mother of Jesus).

   Isa ibn Mariam is Jesus. Muhammad knows very little about him, and there is no Christian teaching in the Koran. What little information we have about Jesus came first from facts and fancies circulating throughout Arabia, and secondly, to a small extent, through the Jews. The name Isa is in itself incorrect: in Arabic it should sound like Yeshu. One of two things, either this name was given by the Jews (associating Jesus with their ancient enemy Esau), or it is a corruption of the Syriac Isho. In the Qur'an itself, Jesus' position is no higher than Abraham, Moses or David. The exaltation occurred later, during the caliphate, when the Arabs began to have close contacts with Christians. Several Christian terms (Messiah, Spirit) have found their way into the Quran without any real understanding of their meaning. Perhaps the move to Abyssinia served to turn Muhammad to Christian stories. Rudolf and Arens argue that if Muhammad had learned about Jesus from the Jews, he would have ignored or insulted Jesus. But many Jews accepted Jesus as a teacher, while rejecting the Christian worldview. In addition, Muhammad feared a large Christian empire, so he would not trust anyone who defamed Jesus. The information about Christ in the Koran is presented in such a way as not to disturb the Jews. The Quran's views on Jesus are:

   1. confirmed the correctness of the views of the Torah;
   2. preached monotheism;
   3. warned about the possibility of the emergence of new sects.

   In general, the Koran does not say anything specifically Christian about Jesus.

   Torrey then moves on to argue about the constituent Meccan suras, closely following traditional Muslim views. He points out the implausibility of mixing Meccan and Medinan verses if the prophet publicly recited his revelation and his followers memorized the revelation as it happened. Constantly adding new material to existing suras would certainly lead to confusion or skepticism. Traditional commentators often overlook the Jewish population of Mecca, to whom some verses of the Meccan suras may be addressed. In fact, Muhammad's personal contacts with the Jews were longer and closer before the Hijra than after. Can we assume that the Meccan Jews were friendly towards Muhammad? And after the eviction or massacre of the Jews at Yathrib, it is not surprising that the Jews quickly left Mecca.

   Torrey recommends viewing the Meccan suras as a whole, without interpolation, unless absolutely proven otherwise. This reduces the variations in style and vocabulary that distinguish the two periods. Simply put, he advocates literary rather than formal criticism.

   Origin of the term Islam

   Main article: Meaning of the word Islam

   It is believed that Islam means submission, especially towards Allah. But this is not the meaning that the 4th stem of the verb should have "salima". This is especially strange due to the fact that submission is not a dominant quality of Muhammad or his religion, and is in no way emphasized in the Qur'an. However, it is an important attribute of Abraham, especially in his potential sacrifice of Ishmael.

   Narration of the Qur'an

   Muhammad uses the stories of the prophets for the following purposes:

   • provide clear connections to previous “religions of Scripture”;
   • to show his compatriots that his religion had been preached before, and those who did not recognize it were punished.

   However, Muhammad's stories are boring. And An-Nadr ibn Al-Harit ridicules the prophet, claiming that An-Nadr’s own stories about the Persian kings are much more interesting (after the Battle of Badr, the prophet took revenge by executing An-Nadr). Muhammad himself appreciated good stories and, where he could, included folk tales in the Koran. However, this presented Muhammad with a choice: if he simply retold the story, he would be accused of plagiarism, and if he changed them, he would be accused of falsification. He simply could not come up with new stories, because his imagination was vivid, but not creative. All of his characters talk the same way and he has very little sense of action. His solution was to repeat the stories he knew, but in fragments, using introductory words that implied that he could tell more if he wanted (for example, “and when...”, “and then, while...”).

   The story of Joseph is the most complete account of the Qur'an, but, again, irritatingly poor in detail. Why were women given knives? How does feast relate to anything? Why was Joseph imprisoned after Potiphar's wife confessed? The story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba ( 27:22 ) taken straight from the Haggadah. The story of Jonah is a distillation of the Bible account, but the names are based on Greek rather than Hebrew forms. Saul and Goliath (Talut and Jalut) is a mixture of the story of Gideon (Judges 7:47) with David and Goliath. The story of Moses summarizes Exodus 1–4, although Muhammad does not associate Moses with the Israelites. Haman is considered the vizier of the pharaoh. As in the Talmud (Sotah 126), the baby Moses refuses the breast of an Egyptian woman. The marriage of Moses in Media broadly follows the story of Jacob and Rachel; and the tower (almost identical to the Tower of Babel) is built by Pharaoh to reach Allah. These narratives show how free Muhammad felt in reinterpreting the biblical tradition.

   Sura 18 is unusual in that the story it contains does not belong to the Bible or rabbinic literature, and is not referred to by Muhammad anywhere else in the Qur'an.

   1. The Seven Sleepers - comes from the legend of seven Christian youths who fled from Ephesus to the mountains to escape the persecution of Decius Trajan (250 AD). Although this is a Christian story, for several reasons it appears that it came to Muhammad through the Jews: a) the hadith states that the Jews of Mecca were especially interested in this story (see Baydawi on verse 23); b) there is a high probability that the remaining stories in the chapter also reached the Jewish edition; c) the internal evidence of verse 18, which mentions the importance of “clean” eating, a concept important to Jews but not to Christians. There is nothing specifically Christian in this story. They could just as well have been Israeli youths. Apparently, the legend existed in different forms and Muhammad doubted what the correct number of youths was. The Qur'an dispels doubt by stating that only God knows the right answer.
   2. The following story is a simple parable about the confrontation between a God-fearing poor man and an arrogant rich man. The latter is punished.
   3. Then there is the story of Moses searching for the fountain of life, similar to the fountain in the story of Alexander the Great, but only the names are changed. This legend has its roots in the Epic of Gilgamesh.
   4. Finally, the story of the “two-horned” hero is again from Alexander the Great. The hero travels to the place of sunset and to the place of its rise as a messenger of God. He is protected from Gog and Magog (Yajuj and Majuj in the Quran) and builds a great wall. These fantasies are intertwined with the Haggadah, which provides another argument in favor of the Jewish origin of the entire sura.

   Thus, the following sources of the Koran used by Muhammad can be distinguished:

   1. Biblical stories with distortions.
   2. A well-preserved Jewish Haggadah.
   3. There is some essentially Christian material from Aramaic.

Literature

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Every seventh inhabitant of the planet professes Islam. Unlike Christians, whose holy book is the Bible, Muslims have the Koran. In plot and structure, these two wise ancient books are similar to each other, but the Koran has its own unique features.

What is the Koran

Before you figure out how many surahs are in the Koran and how many verses, it’s worth learning more about this wise ancient book. The Koran is written in the 7th century by the prophet Muhammad (Mohammed).

According to followers of Islam, the Creator of the Universe sent the Archangel Gabriel (Jabrail) to convey his message through Muhammad to all humanity. According to the Koran, Mohammed is not the first prophet of the Most High, but the last one whom Allah ordered to convey his word to people.

The writing of the Koran lasted for 23 years, until the death of Muhammad. It is noteworthy that the prophet himself did not collect all the texts of the message - this was done after the death of Mohammed by his secretary Zeid ibn Thabit. Before this, followers memorized all the texts of the Koran and wrote them down on anything that came to hand.

There is a legend that in his youth the Prophet Mohammed was interested in Christianity and even intended to be baptized himself. However, faced with the negative attitude of some priests towards him, he abandoned this idea, although the very ideas of Christianity were close to him. Perhaps there is a kernel of truth in this, since some of the storylines of the Bible and the Koran are intertwined. This suggests that the prophet was clearly well acquainted with the holy book of Christians.

Like the Bible, the Koran is at the same time a philosophical book, a collection of laws, and a chronicle of the Arabs.

Much of the book is written in the form of a debate between Allah, opponents of Islam and those who have not yet decided whether to believe or not.

Thematically, the Quran can be divided into 4 blocks.

• Basic principles of Islam.
• The laws, traditions and rituals of Muslims, on the basis of which the moral and legal code of the Arabs was subsequently created.
• Historical and folklore data of the pre-Islamic era.
• Legends about the deeds of Muslim, Jewish and Christian prophets. In particular, the Koran contains such biblical heroes as Abraham, Moses, David, Noah, Solomon and even Jesus Christ.

Structure of the Quran

As for the structure, here too the Koran is similar to the Bible. However, unlike it, its author is one person, so the Qur'an is not divided into books according to the names of the authors. Moreover, the holy book of Islam is divided into two parts, according to the place of writing.

The chapters of the Koran written by Mohammed before the year 622, when the prophet, fleeing the opponents of Islam, moved to the city of Medina, are called Meccan. And all the others that Muhammad wrote in his new place of residence are called Medina.

How many suras are in the Koran and what are they?

Like the Bible, the Koran consists of chapters, which the Arabs call suras.

In total, this holy book consists of 114 chapters. They are not arranged in the order in which they were written by the prophet, but according to their meaning. For example, the very first chapter written is considered to be Al-Alaq, which talks about the fact that Allah is the Creator of everything visible and invisible, as well as about man’s ability to sin. However, in the holy book it is recorded as the 96th, and the first one is Surah Fatiha.

The chapters of the Qur'an are not equal in length: the longest is 6,100 words (Al-Baqarah), and the shortest is only 10 (Al-Kawthar). Starting from the second chapter (Bakara Sura), their length becomes shorter.

After the death of Mohammed, the entire Koran was evenly divided into 30 juzes. This is done so that during the holy day, reading one juza per night, a devout Muslim can read the Koran in full.

Of the 114 chapters of the Koran, 87 (86) are suras written in Mecca. The remaining 27 (28) are Medina chapters written by Mohammed in the last years of his life. Each sura from the Koran has its own name, which reveals a brief meaning of the entire chapter.

113 of the 114 chapters of the Quran begin with the words “In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful!” Only the ninth sura, At-Tawba (from Arabic means “repentance”), begins with a story about how the Almighty deals with those who worship several gods.

What are verses

Having found out how many surahs are in the Koran, it is worth paying attention to another structural unit of the holy book - an ayat (analogous to a biblical verse). Translated from Arabic, “ayat” means “signs.”

The length of these verses varies. Sometimes there are verses that are longer than the shortest chapters (10-25 words).

Due to problems with dividing surahs into verses, Muslims count different numbers of them - from 6204 to 6600.

The smallest number of verses in one chapter is 3, and the maximum is 40.

Why the Quran should be read in Arabic

Muslims believe that only words from the Koran in Arabic, in which the sacred text was dictated by the archangel to Mohammed, have miraculous powers. That is why any, even the most accurate translation of the holy book, loses its divinity. Therefore, it is necessary to read prayers from the Koran in the original language - Arabic.

Those who do not have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Koran in the original, in order to better understand the meaning of the holy book, should read tafsirs (interpretations and explanations of holy texts by the companions of Muhammad and famous scholars of later periods).

Russian translations of the Koran

Currently, there is a wide variety of translations of the Koran into Russian. However, they all have their drawbacks, so they can only serve as an initial introduction to this great book.

Professor Ignatius Krachkovsky translated the Koran into Russian in 1963, but he did not use commentaries on the holy book of Muslim scholars (tafsir), so his translation is beautiful, but in many ways far from the original.

Valeria Porokhova translated the holy book in poetic form. The suras in Russian in its translation rhyme, and when read, the holy book sounds very melodic, somewhat reminiscent of the original. However, she translated from Yusuf Ali's English interpretation of the Qur'an, not from Arabic.

Quite good, although containing inaccuracies, are the currently popular translations of the Koran into Russian by Elmira Kuliev and Magomed-Nuri Osmanov.

Surah Al-Fatiha

Having figured out how many suras are in the Koran, we can consider several of the most famous of them. The chapter of Al-Fatihah is called by Muslims the “mother of Scripture”, since it opens the Koran. Surah Fatiha is sometimes also called Alham. It is believed that it was the fifth written by Mohammed, but scientists and companions of the prophet made it the first in the book. This chapter consists of 7 verses (29 words).

This surah in Arabic begins with the traditional phrase for 113 chapters - “Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim” (“In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful!”). Further in this chapter, Allah is praised and also asked for His mercy and help on the path of life.

Surah Al-Baqarah

The longest surah from the Koran is Al-Baqarah - it contains 286 verses. Translated, its name means “cow”. The name of this sura is associated with the story of Moses (Musa), the plot of which also appears in the 19th chapter of the biblical book of Numbers. In addition to the parable of Moses, this chapter also tells about the progenitor of all Jews - Abraham (Ibrahim).

Surah Al-Baqarah also contains information about the basic tenets of Islam: the unity of Allah, pious life, and the upcoming Day of God's Judgment (Qiyamat). In addition, this chapter contains instructions on conducting trade, pilgrimage, gambling, age for marriage and various nuances regarding divorce.

Bakara Sura contains information that all people are divided into 3 categories: believers in Allah, those who reject the Almighty and His teachings, and hypocrites.

The “heart” of Al-Bakara, and indeed the entire Quran, is the 255th verse, called “Al-Kursi”. It talks about the greatness and power of Allah, His power over time and the Universe.

Surah An-Nas

The Koran ends with Surah Al Nas (An-Nas). It consists of only 6 verses (20 words). The title of this chapter translates as “people.” This surah talks about the fight against tempters, regardless of whether they are people, jinn (evil spirits) or Shaitan. The main effective remedy against them is to pronounce the Name of the Almighty - in this way they will be driven to flight.

It is generally accepted that the final two chapters of the Qur'an (Al-Falak and An-Nas) have protective powers. Thus, according to Mohammed’s contemporaries, he advised reading them every evening before going to bed, so that the Almighty would protect them from the machinations of dark forces. The prophet’s beloved wife and faithful comrade-in-arms said that during his illness, Muhammad asked her to read the final two suras aloud, hoping for their healing power.

How to read the Muslim holy book correctly

Having learned how many suras are in the Koran, as the most famous of them are called, it is worth familiarizing yourself with how Muslims usually treat the holy book. Muslims treat the text of the Koran as a shrine. So, for example, from a board on which the words from this book are written in chalk, you cannot erase them with saliva, you must use only clean water.

In Islam, there is a separate set of rules regarding how to behave correctly when reading surahs. Before you start reading, you need to perform a short ablution, brush your teeth and dress in festive clothes. All this is due to the fact that reading the Quran is a meeting with Allah, for which you need to prepare with reverence.

While reading, it is better to be alone so that strangers do not distract you from trying to comprehend the wisdom of the holy book.

As for the rules for handling the book itself, it should not be placed on the floor or left open. In addition, the Qur'an should always be placed on top of other books in the stack. Leaves from the Qur'an cannot be used as wrappers for other books.

The Koran is not only the holy book of Muslims, but also a monument of ancient literature. Every person, even those very far from Islam, after reading the Koran, will find in it a lot of interesting and instructive things. In addition, today this is very easy to do: you just need to download the appropriate application from the Internet to your phone - and the ancient wise book will always be at hand.