All these writings were collected in the caliphate of ‘Uthman and the canonical text was established around 650 A.D.

At different times in Muhammed’s life the recitations would come to him he would then repeat what he had heard, and these would be memorized by certain people trained in remembering verses some of these verses were written down on whatever was at hand. The people of God, that is, the Jews and the Christians, were going astray the purpose of the Arabic Recitation was to restore God’s faithful to the proper path. 1 The Prophetįrom that point on, Muhammad believed himself to be a prophet and messenger of God, the last in a line of seven prophets (beginning with Abraham and ending with Jesus Christ, who was prophet number six) and responsible for inscribing the last and most important of God’s direct messages to the world, the Arabic Recitation, which is the full name of the work. And according to the Quran, this is when God determines the course of the world for the following year. This night is called the Laylat-al-Qadr (Night of Power). Islamic scholars believe that the first revelation occurred on the night of the 27th day of Ramadan. The Angel called out to him with the command, “Recite! Recite! Recite!” Muhammad responded, “I am not a reader.” The angel recited three verses to him and when he awoke, he had these verses, as he said, inscribed in his heart. Muhammad was sitting alone in the wilderness near Mecca when the Angel Gabriel appeared to him. The recitation began one night in the year 610 A.D.

For all practical purposes, to be Muslim, then, means almost universally to be able to read and understand classical Arabic, despite what one’s native language is.

The Muslim community tolerates this but just barely. Nevertheless, the Qur’an has been translated into Turkish and Farsi (the language of Iran) in this century and is recited in these languages in religious services in Turkey and Iran.

When reading the Qur’an, you should realize that, for all Muslims, the text you are reading is quite literally the voice of God because the Qur’an is the direct speech of God in Arabic, translation of the work is seen as blasphemy, as an unforgivable tampering with God’s own speech. The Qur’an (in Anglicized form: Koran) is certainly the greatest literary work in classical Arabic and for all Muslims stands as the definitive word of God (in Arabic: Allah) spoken to the prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. Religion: Table of Contents| The Tanach| King James Bible

The satanic verses quran