Qur’an—The Sacred Book of Islam

JULY 8 Qur’an—The Sacred Book of Islam The Qur’an, according to Muslim belief, is a revealed book: it is not authored by a human being, but is the true word of God in human language. A mediumsized book so far as its volume is concerned, it comprises 114 chapters or surahs (77,439 words). Its revelation to the Prophet Muhammad, may peace be upon him, through the angel Gabriel, began in A.D. 610, while the Prophet was sitting in seclusion in the cave of Hera at the top of the Mountain of Light, two miles from Makkah. The scriptures were not revealed at one point of time. Their various parts were revealed as and when the occasion demanded. The entire process was completed over a period of 23 years, the last passage being revealed to the Prophet while he was addressing a gathering at Mount Arafat on the occasion of his last Hajj in A.D. 622. The entire volume was later compiled in Madinah during the last days of the Prophet. Since the Qur’an came into existence long before the days of the printing press, there were only two ways of preserving it: either by committing the entire text to memory, or writing it down on paper or other materials. That is why there have always been a great number of hafiz (those who committed the entire Qur’an to memory) in every age, right from the Qur’an’s first revelation. The earliest written copies are still available in different museums, one of these being in Tashkent. The Qur’an, addressed directly to mankind, tells us of God’s scheme for human existence: that man is placed on this earth for the purpose of being tested. The freedom he has here has not been given him as a matter of right, but as a means to allow him to prove his moral fibre. It is the outcome of this test which will ultimately decide man’s eternal fate. It is asserted in the holy book that human beings are eternal creatures, yet only an infinitesimal part of their lifespan has been assigned to the present world, while the remainder has been ordained for the Hereafter. As we learn from the scriptures, all the previously revealed books had been sent by God so that man might be informed of the nature of his life. The Qur’an, the last of the revealed books, endorses all the revealed books which preceded it. But this endorsement applies to them only in their original, pristine versions. The religious scriptures preceding the Qur’an were—as is claimed by their followers