History of the Holy Quran

The basic tenets of belief in Islam surround the words Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad within the holy text the Koran (Qur'an in Arabic). Muslims do not believe that Muhammad was the originator of Islam, but that it was he who brought back the original monotheism of Abraham, Moses, Jesus of Nazareth, and other Prophets from the Christian and Judaic Old Testament. Islam holds that these Prophets were seminal instruments of God's word, but that both the Judaic and Christian traditions have misinterpreted the meaning of the word of God, altered the texts given to man by

Muhammad’s father-in-law Abu Bakr took over leadership of the umma as the successor (caliph) of Muhammad. Abu Bakr faced two main tasks: standardization of the Islamic religion and consolidation of the Islamic state. Abu Bakr successfully re-established Muslim authority over the Arabs and oversaw the compilation and organization of the Quran in book form.

Dreading for his life he ran off to an urban area in Medina. Muhammad was able to construct the first Islamic temple and started to divide Islam from Christianity and Judaism. These visions formed the foundation of a poetic text known as the “Qur’an”, that holds the principles of Islam. Muhammad went into to many battles against his people, he commanded to turn most of the Arabian headland to the new religion and constructed a new empire. After Muhamad’s death the battle over control has separated Muslims till

The Qur’an was an important educational source for newly converted Muslims. It influenced their beliefs and their behaviors towards others. It changed the way the people of lower status, such as the poor and women, were treated. It also promoted equal treatment for everyone and claimed that people would be rewarded for their good deeds to others. This caused life for the poor and women to be greatly improved in places that converted to Islamic faith. In addition to bettering the lives of these people the Qur’an however also limited the freedom of them.

Paper 4 Islam changed in many ways over time, and these alterations led to one of the most evolved, developed, and influential religions to this day. Islam materialized in 610 B.C by the prophet Muhammad, a boy raised by an uncle in Mecca since his parents passed early in his childhood. He matured and married at the age of twenty-five and bore six children. As he grew older he retreated into the Arid Mountains to meditate daily and find peace within himself.

In comparison, the Holy Quran, written after the Old Testament, remains in its original form. Written in Arabic, Quran means “recitation” and contains Islamic teachings believed to bring guidance, direction, and “IS the word of God,” whom they call Allah. It is against Islamic law to change the text in any way because Muslims believe Mohammad, founder of Islam, wrote the verses as revealed to him by the angel Gabriel. Muslims view Mohammad not as the creator of the religion, but as the restorer of the original the Hebrew Bible. Islam teaches Mohammad was not only a religious prophet but also a political and military leader. He was human, but not without sin, so he is not God. Although there have been several language translations, a good follower must read and memorize its teaching in its native Arabic language. For a follower to live by Islam he must completely submit (to God). In looking at its history,

The Islamic religion and belief system is very solely focused on the teaching derived from its core spiritual texts, also when confronted with the ethical issues situated with bioethics, religious Authority is very influential in the decision process of the issue, e.g. with abortion and euthanasia a member of religious authority would refer to the spiritual texts of Islam to whether the issue at hand is “wajib” (mandatory), “mustahabb” (advised), “mubah” (either way/unbiased), “makruh” (advised against), “haram” (illegal/prohibited). The main core spiritual texts are as follows: The Qur’an, Sunnah and the Hadith. The Quran is the central text of the Islamic religion as a whole and can be interpreted in many different ways, it is believed to be the revelation of God written by the prophet Muhammad. The Quran is the primary source for Islamic law, ethical teachings and values. There are known to be 350 legal verses out of the 6235 verses that make up the Quran, meaning that it is fairly scattered and hard to follow. It is used with the Hadith to clarify Shari’a Law. The Sunnah is a written version of the teachings and sayings of the prophet Muhammad who is known to be the perfect role model for a Muslim, this meaning that the Sunnah is referred to as the perfect way in which a Muslim must live and it influences every aspect of their daily life. The Hadith is another sacred Islamic text, which is basically one of many reports that followed the

The Quran had served as the cornerstone of the Islamic society. They spread the message of

The rise and expansion of Islam has had a significant impact on the role and rights of women throughout history. Since its origin in the seventh century until modern times, the Muslim faith has somewhat broadened, but has mostly restricted women’s rights in numerous Islamic communities. The history of Muslim women is complex, as it involves many advances and declines in numerous locations, such as Egypt, Afghanistan, and Iran, concerning several subjects, including both civil and social rights. Thus, in general, the rights of Islamic women did not improve significantly over time, instead, conditions remained the same or became worse for women as Islam evolved and spread as a world religion.

The Qur’an is believe to the ultimate source of God by many Muslim believers. It contains 114 suras for the believers as the core practices of the Islamic religion and Muslims throughout the world recites its verses (Chang, Lecture. 1/21/14). They believed the prophet of Allah was Muhammad, who received the words of Allah through Angel Gabriel, and was passed on with the Qur’an during Ramadan. Angel Gabriel one night came to Muhammad “in clear human form” (“Scripture and Tradition in Islam- The Qur’an and Hadith” 104), and gave the messages from Allah to him. From the establishment of the Qur’an, Muslims have viewed the book as the last revelation of their god Allah, and thus are the true words from God for their ways of life and in

(Book: “The Story of the Qur 'an, its history and place in Muslim life.” Second edition. Author: Ingrid Mattson. Page 95) When looking at this passage in broader historical context you must start with the events leading up to this point. Muhammad was seen as god 's messenger. He would recite passages of the Quran and the word of god from memory which had been given to him by the Angel Gabriel. He would recite these passages orally, as he was illiterate and could not write. Many of Muhammad 's Sahaba(companions) were able to memorize the whole Quran by heart after Muhammad recited the passages. Once the Prophet died in 632 AD many wanted to complete the Quran and add the finals surahs(chapters of Quran). Many believe that this process was completed in two stages (Mattson, pg 94). The first stage was when Umar the Sahabi or senior companion of muhammad, went to Abu Bakr(father in-law) (the first caliph) and told him, he was concerned that many qurra(reciters) died in the battle of Yamama. He also worried that these qurra would also die in future battles and not be able to provide information on the Quran. In turn, Abu Bakr eventually agreed with Umar and gave the task of collecting the Quran to Zayd Ibn Thabit(one of prophets most reliable scribes). Zayd then proceeded to collect the Qur 'an passages from parchments, chest of men, and from the other companions themselves. (Mattson, pg 95). The general rule he followed was that the passages had to be verified by two witnesses.

The Quran asserts to be highly inimitable and usually challenges its rivals to offer works that are similar to it. According to Sell (24), the individuality was later created in literary terms which made the theologians believe in the matchlessness of the book popularly used by the Muslim community. During its historical exhibition, the inimitability doctrine made the Koran literal study a handmaiden to the scriptural, theological aspect. Nonetheless, the set of guidelines neglects an essential fact because the Quranic challenge was primarily addressed to the unbelievers. It was not considered a denunciation of the infidels but entailed an invitation for them to scrutinize the book and ascertain if it was a publication of possessed human

The center stage text for the Muslim community is the Qu’ran, which is a direct record of the revelations given to Muhammad in 610 C.E., by the angel Gabriel (Palmer, 1990). This text stands as the word of God and the proof of Muhammad’s prophethood. Originally, the words that were given to Muhammad were memorized and repeated word for word, then preached to others. Eventually, they were collected and record; therefore, the Qu’ran is the exact verbiage of God. Moreover, the Qu’ran has no reflection of the prophet Muhammad or his own personal thoughts, rather the text is considered “other than” (Palmer, 1990) Muhammad and represent the mind and will of Allah. As a result, muslims place divine authority and power in the words of the Qu’ran.

It explains the reality of life, the good and evil, the lawful and unlawful, the righteousness and unrighteous, moral teachings and all other aspects of life. The holy Quran also provides detailed information about the life in the hereafter and discusses its importance very effectively. The holy Quran impacts basic teachings about man’s individual and collective life, his rights and duties in society and his economic matters. It also educates man comprehensively in the fields of politics and international affairs and morality. In short, holy Quran is a treasure of information and guidance covering all the aspects of human life. It elaborately explains all the things which a common man must know and there is no other source for him to get the required knowledge (Rahman, Fazlur

The Quran or Koran is the sacred text of Islam, believed to contain the revelations made by Allah to Muhammad. All Muslims study the Quran. The Quran is the final evidence of the Divine origin of the Prophet’s mission (Phipps, 9).