Introduction to the Quran

The Quran is the last revelation from Almighty God to mankind; The text of The Quran consists of the literal words of God, transpired by angel Gabriele to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).The Quran was revealed little by little over a period of twenty-three years. Whenever some verse were revealed, Prophet (PBUH) himself and some of his companions would memorize these revelations, while some of the other companions of Prophet (PBUH) would write it down as instructed by the Prophet (PBUH). During the life-time of the Prophet (PBUH), the entire Quran was preserved on separate scrolls, parchments, and in memories of countless companions. However, the Quran was compiled into the book form sometime after the departure of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) for heavenly abode.

The Quran is fully preserved word for word since it was revealed more than 1,440 years ago. This is an extremely important strength of the Quran and sort of miracle, since for most of the earlier scriptures there are doubts about their integrity.

The Quran is forthright, consistent, and without any conflict; it is from divine knowledge, perfect and ultimate. The Message of the the Quran is universal and directed towards all of humanity for all time to come, it’s guidance and commands are immortal and conclusive.

God (Allah – [SWT]) describes the Quran as criterion which differentiates between right and wrong, “Blessed is He who sent down the Criterion upon His Servant that he may be to the worlds a warner -25:1. Anyone who studies the Qur’an properly will gain very good knowledge and understanding about numbers of questions pertaining to our existence, life and its purpose, the universe, The Creator and His creations etc. The Qur’an simplifies the complex questions with very sound logical arguments and proofs.

The central theme of the Qur’an is the guidance on how to know and establish a relationship with our Creator. The Qur’an provides detailed information about The Creator, His attributes, details about various creations (including humans), and the purpose of the creation. To prove a point the Qur’an provides numbers of explanations and challenges a person to think.

The Quran deals mainly with theology (for guidance), but when necessary it does dive into  history, philosophy, psychology, worship, law, family, social behavior, and sciences like marine science, topography, oceanology, astrology, medical science,  etc. In short the Quran deals with all of the subjects that concern human beings.

The Quran is the constitution of life for a Muslim. The Quran calls for not only knowledge but action.

The Quran is not structured in a book format like other books, with different chapters dealing with different topics. The Quran contains 114 sections called Surahs, each surah containing of varying numbers of verses called ayahs. Each section is a kind of collection of one or more orations given at different occasions, for this reason sections of the Quran do not deal with a particular topic, every section contains multiple topics and any given topic is spread over many sections. An ayah may consist of single letter or it may consist few sentences.

The style seems random in tone and flow, the subject of discussion and to whom it is addressed also changes frequently, this makes the Quran is a little challenging book to understand initially. Many passages are simple and self-explanatory but some passages require some study of the background and knowledge of the context in which they were revealed, before meaning and purpose of a verse becomes clear.

But as one study it more and more, a beautiful and coherent pattern emerges, subjects and wordings become more familiar and captivating. The Language of the Quran is very compact, succinct, and powerful, wordings are very appealing, meaningful, and they make a person ponder deeper and deeper. A true seeker of knowledge will never get tired of reading the Quran repeatedly; he will always find deeper meaning at every effort. The Quran brings awareness and awakening as to who we are, it informs us of the purpose of this life is and provides us guidance on how should we deal with our life.

When someone reads the Quran with an open heart, seeking true guidance from the Creator, he will get guidance. Qualities that will help in understanding the Quran are a desire to seek truth, inclination to contemplate, and an absence of prejudice. The Quran is the biggest gift of God to humankind; it consists of advice and guidance that can be cure for diseases of the heart. Arrogance and greed are the biggest barriers that keep the true light from entering our heart; the heart needs to be soft, humble and receptive. “Verily in the remembrance of God do hearts find rest.” 13:28

The Quran is also called the Book of Signs and this term describes one very important character of the Quran. It describes various signs through which God has manifested Himself. This book explains at length signs of The Creator within this universe and within us. Paying attention to these signs will lead the reader to comprehend and acknowledge the existence and Oneness of God. The main subject of the Quran is to introduce the Creator to mankind and to show how we can connect ourselves to our Lord, our Creator and our Sustainer. The Quran also shows us how to deal with other fellow humans and other creations around us.

The Quran deals with vast numbers of topics in varying degrees of depth. We have chosen few topics to show the style of the Quran. We have provided short commentary and a few verses from The Quran to give a glimpse of style of the Quran. The Quran contains many more topics than we have covered and for each topic, there are many verses scattered over the Quran that are not covered in this here.