Koran

A copy of the Qur'an opened for study.

The Qur'an, also called the Koran (القرآن in Arabic), is the sacred scripture of Islam.

The Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad in the 7th century AD, through the angel Gabriel. The scripture is organized (roughly) according to the length of the chapters. There are 114 suras (or chapters). The Prophet's first revelations were received in Mecca. He was exiled from Mecca after commanding the people to repent of polytheism and join the One True God, (in Arabic, his name is Allah). The Prophet Muhammad then travelled to Medina and converted the entire city. He led them to a victory over the polytheists at Mecca.

The verses are of two kinds: Meccan and Medinan. Meccan verses are characterized by praise of a monotheistic God and condemnation of polytheism. Medinan verses reflect divine laws and commandments that would help Muhammad in his new role as a leader of men; that is to say, the verses are concerned more with the social laws and obligations of Muslims.

The Qur'an has influenced a great number of people over the centuries, especially in the Middle East. The text of the Qur'an can be found at www.quranexplorer.net.

Sources

Scolars and theologians have identified six main sources for the contents of the Qur'an. The Catholic Encyclopedia states: "The sources of the Koran be reduced to -

• The Old Testament (canonical and apocryphal) and the hybrid Judaism of the late rabbinical schools. During Mohammed's time the Jews were numerous in many parts of Arabia, especially around Medina. Familiarity with them is undoubtedly responsible for many Old Testament stories alluded to in Koran. Later Judaism and Rabbinism are equally well represented (Geiger, "Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthum aufgenommen?", Wiesbaden, 1833; tr. "Judaism and Islam", Madras, 1898).
• The New Testament (canonical and apocryphal) and various heretical doctrines. On his journeys between Syria, Hijaz, and Yemen, Mohammed had every opportunity to come in close touch with Yemenite, Abyssinian, Ghassanite, and Syrian Christians, especially heretics. Hence, while the influence of orthodox Christianity upon the Koran has been slight, apocryphal and heretical Christian legends, on the other hand, are one of the original sources of Koranic faith. (See Muir, op. cit. infra, 66-239; Tisdall, "The Original Sources of the Qur'an", London, 1905, 55-211.)
• Sabaism, a combination of Judaism, Manicheism, and old disfigured Babylonian heathenism.
• Zoroastrianism. On account of Persia's political influence in the north-eastern part of Arabia, it is natural to find Zoroastrian elements in the Koran.
• Hanifism, the adherents of which, called Hanifs, must have been considerable in number and influence, as it is known from contemporary Arabian sources that twelve of Mohammed's followers were members of this sect.
• Native ancient and contemporary Arabian heathen beliefs and practices. Wellhausen has collected in his "Reste des arabischen Heidentums" (Berlin, 1897) all that is known of pre-Islamic Arabian heathen belief, traditions, customs, and superstitions, many of which are either alluded to or accepted and incorporated in the Koran. From the various sects and creeds, and Abul-Fida, the well-known historian and geographer of the twelfth century, it is clear that religious beliefs and practices of the Arabs of Mohammed's day form one of the many sources of Islam. From this heathen source Islam derived the practices of polygamy and slavery, which Mohammed sanctioned by adopting them."