With all the attention on the Quran planned burning this week, you might have been wondering what’s the big deal and why is this act by a 50-member church in a small town in Florida is causing all this commotion. Here are information about the Quran that might help explain:
The Quran is the holy book of the Muslims, who believe it to be God’s word. Muslims also believe that the Bible and the Torah were also sent from God, but the current versions of these holy books are not the same as the ones that God sent to Jesus and Moses because they were not preserved and actually changed throughout time and translation.
There is only one version of the Quran that is used by all Muslims. So whether you find the Quran in the US, China, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia, or any other country, it is always the same book.
Muslims believe that the Quran was revealed from God to Prophet Mohammad orally via the angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years. The Quran was memorized by Mohammad and his companions and written down during Mohammad’s life. The Quran was assembled into a single written book by Mohammad’s companions shortly after his death. The Quran we have today is this same exact book.
The Quran was revealed in the Arabic language. Muslims believe that the Quran loses a lot of its power when translated. This is because Arabic words have range of meanings depending on context, which makes accurate translation very difficult. In addition, the Quran has beautiful and distinctive rhymes and rhythms. These can only be heard when the Quran is recited in Arabic.
Muslims believe that the Quran is the miracle of Prophet Mohammad and the proof of his prophecy. Actually, the Quran itself challenges that if someone were in doubt of the Quran’s divine source, to come up with a verse that is like the Quran. This challenge has never been met.
The Quran consists of 114 chapters of various lengths. Each chapter is divided into verses (ayat in Arabic). There are 6,236 verses in the Quran. As amazing as it is, many Muslims memorize the whole Quran word-by-word! Some even memorize it by the age of 12. This memorization started with the Prophet Mohammad and his companions and continued through out the ages until today. The fact that the Quran was both memorized and written contributed to its preservation.
One of the Chapters of the Quran is called “Miriam”, and tells the story of the miraculous virgin birth of Jesus. Actually, the word “Jesus” (عيسى) appears 25 times in the Quran! The word Moses (موسى) appears 136 times. While the word “Mohammad” (محمد ) only appears 4 times! The Quran tells many stories of other prophets including Noah, Jacob, and Abraham. Muslims believe in all these prophets and consider them equal messengers of God.
Muslims recite parts of it at each of their five daily prayers. The book of the Quran is always revered and is carefully handled by Muslims. This is why the thought of burning the Quran is deeply disturbing to all Muslims.