Quran

The Quran is the sacred book of the Muslims. It is considered as the word of God and infallible. The Word ‘Quran’ in Arabic means ‘to recite’. This is because in AD 610 Mohammed received revelations in a cave in Mount Hira. He was told to recite the revelations he received to his followers and they recorded the revelations which was compiled as Quran after his death.

It is believed that Quran existed eternally in heaven in Arabic language in the present form and has been revealed to Mohammed by the angel Gabriel. Quran is considered as a holy book and is handled only after ceremonial cleansing. Some Muslims memorise the whole Quran and the title ‘Hafiz’ is given to such Muslims. The Quran is divided into thirty parts to enable Muslims to read it completely in the month of Ramadan. Muslims will not drink or smoke or make noise, when the Quran is read aloud. 

The Quran is about four-fifths the length of the New Testament. The Quran contains 114 Suras (chapters) and they are arranged according to the length. The long Sura comes first and the short one later. The first sura is a prayer addressed to God and it is used in the five daily prayers. The largest chapter has 286 ‘ayat’ (verses) and short one has only three verses. The chapters are not arranged in the chronological order or by the subject. They are the compilation of verse written by Mohammed at various periods of his life.

All the Suras start with the words (Bismillah), ‘in the name of God, the Merciful, the compassionate’, except the ninth Sura which may be part of the eight sura.

It is believed that Quran was originally written on palm leaves, shoulder-blade bones of camel and on stones. After the death of Mohammed, the writings were collected and arranged in the form of a book. But the authorised version of Quran was the one revised and edited by the third caliph Othman.

The Quran calls Christians and Jews as ‘the people of the Book’ and accepts the Pentateuch, the Psalms of David and the Gospel of Jesus as the revelation of God. It also says in the latter part, that the Jews, and Christians had corrupted their scriptures. The Quran accepts virgin birth, sinless nature of Jesus, His ascension and His second coming. But in Sura 4:156 the Quran says, ‘they slew him not and they crucified him not, that they had only his likeness… They really did not slay him”.

So it is very important for us to know the teachings and content of the Quran to present the Gospel effectively and intelligently to the Muslims.