QUR'AN
QURAN
KORAN
CORAN

In Syraic (= Christian Aramaic) qeryaanaa: scriptural reading. Occurs 66 times in the Qur'an. See also ARABIC, WORD OF GOD.


Etymology of the word "Qur'an"

According to Dr. Sobhy as-Salih, this word is not Arabic but Aramaic. He said: "Allah chose to His revelation new names different from those used by the Arabs, in general and in detail." (Sobhy as-Salih, Mabahith fi 'Ulum al-Qur'an, Dar al-'Ilm lel-Malayeen, Beirut, 1983, p. 17) He also said, "When the Arabs before Islam used the word (qara') it meant 'to be pregnant or to have a child'. But the word qara' as 'to recite' is of an Aramaic origin." (ibid, p. 19). [Aside: If the latter is true, then those Muslims who try to show that Muhmmad was illiterate will find this funny. Of course, when Gabriel told him to "be pregnant or have a child," it must be he cannot, a perfectly logical and correct answer!]

Further reference for this etymological derivation (in German): Christoph Luxenberg, Die syro-aramäische Lesart des Koran: ein Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung der Koransprache, Berlin 2000 (ISBN 3-86093-274-8). Luxenberg gives the complete etymology of qur'aan from qeryaanaa in detailed steps.

The Qur'an is also called al-Furqan. According to Dr. Sobhy as-Salih, this word is also not Arabic but Aramaic (ibid, p. 20). The Qur'an was also called Mushaf meaning "sheets or leaves". According to Dr. Salih, "when the Qur'an was collected and written on paper they wanted to give it A NAME. The word, Sifr, was suggested by some. It was rejected on the grounds that this is what the Jews call their books. Some suggested the word Mushaf because this is what the Ethiopian [Christians] call their holy books." (ibid, p. 78)

It seems strange that for all the titles of the Qur'an, none of them were actually Arabic, especially when the Qur'an says that Allah sent it down in Arabic (Yusuf 12:2; ar-Ra`d 13:37; an-Nahl 16:103; ash-Shu`ara' 26:195; az-Zumar 39:28; Ha Mim Sajdah 41:3; ash-Shura 42:7; az-Zukhruf 43:3; al-Ahqaf 46:12).

The Qur'an was not written down in full, but revealed piecemeal over the period of 22 years.


The Message of the Qur'an

Recommendation: A Topical Study of the Qur'an


Summary of Qur'an details

Some surahs have alternative names. They are given in a new line [and in brackets]. However, the list of alternative names is not complete yet.

s/no name English Names #verses place chronological order
1 Al-Fatihah The Opening 7 Mecca 5
2 Al-Baqarah The Cow 286 Madina 87
3 Âl 'Imran The Family of 'Imran 200 Madina 89
4 An-Nisa' Women 176 Madina 92
5 Al-Ma'idah The Table 120 Madina 112
6 Al-An`am The Cattle 165 Mecca 55
7 Al-A`raf The Elevated Places 206 Mecca 39
8 Al-Anfal The Spoils of War 75 Madina 88
9 At-Taubah Repentance 129 Madina 113
  [Bara'ah] [Immunity / Disavowal]      
10 Yunus Jonah 109 Mecca 51
11 Hud Hud 123 Mecca 52
12 Yusuf Joseph 111 Mecca 53
13 Al-Ra`d The Thunder 43 Madina 96
14 Ibrahim Abraham 52 Mecca 72
15 Al-Hijr The Rock 99 Mecca 54
16 An-Nahl The Bee 128 Mecca 70
17 Bani Isra'il The Israelites 111 Mecca 50
  [Al-Isra'] [The Night Journey]      
18 Al-Kahf The Cave 110 Mecca 69
19 Maryam Mary 98 Mecca 44
20 Ta Ha Ta Ha 135 Mecca 45
21 Al-Anbiya' The Prophets 112 Mecca 73
22 Al-Hajj The Pilgrimage 78 Madina 103
23 Al-Mu'minun The Believers 118 Mecca 74
24 An-Nur The Light 64 Madina 102
25 Al-Furqan The Criterion 77 Mecca 42
26 Ash-Shu`ara' The Poets 227 Mecca 47
27 An-Naml The Ant 93 Mecca 48
28 Al-Qasas The Narrative 88 Mecca 49
29 Al-`Ankabut The Spider 69 Mecca 85
30 Ar-Rum The Romans 60 Mecca 84
31 Luqman Lukman 34 Mecca 57
32 As-Sajdah The Adoration 30 Mecca 75
33 Al-Ahzab The Allies 73 Madina 90
34 Saba' Sheba 54 Mecca 58
35 Fatir The Creator 45 Mecca 43
36 Ya Sin Ya Sin 83 Mecca 41
37 As-Saffat The Rangers 182 Mecca 56
38 Sad Sad 88 Mecca 38
39 Az-Zumar The Companies 75 Mecca 59
40 Al-Mu'min The Forgiving One 85 Mecca 60
41 Ha Mim Ha Mim 54 Mecca 61
  [Ha Mim as-Sajdah] [Ha Mim, Adoration]      
  [Al-Fussilat] [(Revelations) Well Expounded]      
42 Ash-Shura The Counsel 53 Mecca 62
43 Az-Zukhruf The Embellishment 89 Mecca 63
44 Ad-Dukhan The Evident Smoke 59 Mecca 64
45 Al-Jathiyah The Kneeling 37 Mecca 65
46 Al-Ahgaf The Sandhills 35 Mecca 66
47 Muhammad Muhammad 38 Madina 95
  [Al-Qital] [War / Fighting]      
48 Al-Fath The Victory 29 Madina 111
49 Al-Hujurat The Chambers 18 Madina 106
50 Qaf Qaf 45 Mecca 34
51 Adh-Dhariyat The Scatterers 60 Mecca 67
52 At-Tur The Mountain 49 Mecca 76
53 An-Najm The Star 62 Mecca 23
54 Al-Qamr The Moon 55 Mecca 37
55 Ar-Rahman The Merciful 78 Madina 97
56 Al-Waqi`ah That Which is Coming 96 Mecca 46
57 Al-Hadid The Iron 29 Madina 94
58 Al-Mujadilah She Who Pleaded 22 Madina 105
59 Al-Hashr The Exile 24 Madina 101
60 Al-Mumtahanah She Who is Tested 13 Madina 91
61 As-Saff The Ranks 14 Madina 109
62 Al-Jum`ah The Day of Congregation 11 Madina 110
63 Al-Munafiqun The Hypocrites 11 Madina 104
64 At-Taghabun The Cheating 18 Madina 108
65 At-Talaq The Divorce 12 Madina 99
66 At-Tahrim The Prohibition 12 Madina 107
67 Al-Mulk The Kingdom 30 Mecca 77
68 Al-Qalam The Pen 52 Mecca 2
69 Al-Haqqah The Inevitable 52 Mecca 78
70 Al-Ma`arij The Ladders 44 Mecca 79
71 Nuh Noah 28 Mecca 71
72 Al-Jinn The Jinn 28 Mecca 40
73 Al-Muzammil The Mantled One 20 Mecca 3
74 Al-Mudathir The Clothed One 56 Mecca 4
75 Al-Qiyamah The Resurrection 40 Mecca 31
76 Ad-Dahr The Time 31 Madina 98
  [Al-Insan] [The Man]      
77 Al-Mursalat The Emissaries 50 Mecca 33
78 An-Naba' The Tidings 40 Mecca 80
79 An-Naziat Those Who Pulled Out 46 Mecca 81
80 `Abasa He Frowned 42 Mecca 24
81 At-Takwir The Cessation 29 Mecca 7
82 Al-Infitar The Cleaving Asunder 19 Mecca 82
83 At-Tatfif The Defrauders 36 Mecca 86
84 Al-Inshiqaq The Rending 25 Mecca 83
85 Al-Buruj The Constellations 22 Mecca 27
86 At-Tariq The Night-Comer 17 Mecca 36
87 Al-A`la The Most High 19 Mecca 8
88 Al-Ghashiyah The Overwhelming Calamity 26 Mecca 68
89 Al-Fajr The Dawn 30 Mecca 10
90 Al-Balad The City 20 Mecca 35
91 Ash-Shams The Sun 15 Mecca 26
92 Al-Layl The Night 21 Mecca 9
93 Ad-Duha The Early Hours 11 Mecca 11
94 Al-Inshirah The Expansion 8 Mecca 12
95 At-Tin The Fig 8 Mecca 28
96 Al-`Alaq The Clot 19 Mecca 1
97 Al-Qadr The Majesty 5 Mecca 25
98 Al-Bayyinah The Proof 8 Madina 100
99 Al-Zilzal The Shaking 8 Madina 93
100 Al-`Adiyat The Assaulters 11 Mecca 14
101 Al-Qari`ah The Terrible Calamity 11 Mecca 30
102 At-Takathur Worldly Gain 8 Mecca 16
103 Al-`Asr Time 3 Mecca 13
104 Al-Humazah The Slanderer 9 Mecca 32
105 Al-Fil The Elephant 5 Mecca 19
106 Al-Quraysh The Quraish 4 Mecca 29
107 Al-Ma'un The Daily Necessaries 7 Mecca 17
108 Al-Kauthar Abundance 3 Mecca 15
109 Al-Kafirun The Unbelievers 6 Mecca 18
110 An-Nasr The Help 3 Madina 114
111 Al-Lahab The Flame 5 Mecca 6
112 Al-Ikhlas Purity (of Faith) 4 Mecca 22
  [At-Tauhid] [Unity]      
113 Al-Falaq The Daybreak 5 Mecca 20
114 An-Nas Mankind 6 Mecca 21

There are at least a dozen different theories on the chronological sequence of suras or parts of suras. The above given ordering is the popular "Egyptian Chronology" that is found on many pages on the web (both Muslim and secular) and which is apparently endorsed by Al-Azhar, the top Islamic university (*). It is also the chronology taught in The History of the Quran by ‘Allamah Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Zanjani (pp. 37-38; source; cf. this page). Another detailed discussion on the chronology of the suras (or parts of suras) is found in The Historical Development of the Qur'an by Rev. Canon Sell, which also has a table with three proposed chronologies, different from the above. A comparative chart of the Egyptian Standard Chronology vs. the chronology proposed by Nöldeke-Schwally is found here. Some more background discussion. And here are 13 different chronology proposals in one chart.

Notes:

  1. Traditionally, the first BISMILLAH before Sura Fatiha is counted as a verse, all other "Bismillahs" are treated as headings for various suras and therefore not counted as verses.
  2. Sura 9 does not commence with the Bismillah.
  3. The verse numbers in translations may not always tally since some translations split some of the verses. Some editions, particularly on the Indian subcontinent, count the Bismillahs in all suras as full verses (verse 1) which shifts all others by one.
  4. Surahs are classified into Meccan or Madinan, i.e., according to where it was supposed to be revealed. No. of Meccan Suras = 86; No. of Madinan Suras = 28. Total = 114
  5. Total No. of Verses 6236 (in the standard verse division system)


Challenge from the Qur'an

The Qur'an issued a challenge to unbelievers to produce a sura like it (bani Isra'il 17:88). The implication is that if others cannot produce a sura like it, then the Qur'an is true. However, this challenge of the Qur'an to anyone to produce a verse like it is in strange land. Muslims have often said that it refers to the eloquence and beauty of the verses. Unfortunately, however, there is no objective criteria by which one can judge this. Interestingly enough, no Muslim has ever put up an objective criteria by which to judge such a contest. Secondly, there is no concensus as to who will be the judge of such a contest. In other words, there are no rules and no judge. At the same time, there are others who have pointed out grammatical errors in the Qur'an. Some Muslims responded that the Qur'an is the final arbitar of correct Arabic, and if the grammar books do not conform to the Qur'an, then the grammer books have to be changed. But clearly, that is not acceptable, for the Qur'an was supposedly revealed in the midst of a people who were masters of eloquence and poetry, and the challenge was issued to them. (Do we not remember that Muhammad originally thought that he was becoming one of the poets after the first revelation (see Muhammad))?

see here for more details.


Codices of the Qur'an

three other codices were in existence before the official Uthmanic codex compiled by Zaid ibn Thabit, the more famous ones being Ubayy b. Ka'ab, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and Abu Musa. Some allege even more. These codices had some significant variants with the Uthmanic codex. see The Collection of the Qur'an - from the Hadiths for more details from the hadiths.

see "Material for the history of the text of the Qur'an: the old codices: the Kitab al-masahif of Ibn Abu Dawud together with a collection of the variant readings of the codices of Ibn Ma'sud, Ubai, 'Ali, Ibn 'Abbas, Anas, Abu Musa and other Qur'anic authorities which present a type of text anterior to that of the canonical text of 'Uthman," by Arthur Jeffery, Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1937.


Collection of the Qur'an

see The Collection of the Qur'an - from the Hadiths and Uthman.

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