The Koran

“Read in the name of your Sustainer, who created, created man from a clot. For your Sustainer is the most Bountiful One, who has taught man the use of the pen—taught man what he did not know.” (96: 1-5)

Muhammad was 41 years old when he first received what he believed to be the first five verses of The Koran.

                                                                                          

Muhammad was in the Cave of Hira when he received the first verses of The Koran.

                                                                                          

Muhammad at first thought that he might be demon-possessed, but his wife told him he had been chosen as a prophet to receive The Koran, the final word from God..

The Angel Gabriel spoke to Muhammad the words of The Koran and Muhammad memorized them.

The Angel Gabriel always appeared during the 9th month, the month of Ramadan to give more messages for The Koran.

After the first 13 years of receiving The Koran in Mecca, Muhammad had to flee to Medina because of persecution.

During the journey from Mecca to Medina Muhammad and his converts slept the first night in a cave. Satan, in blue, led the soldiers from Mecca after them. But the cave was protected by Allah who put a spider's web and a dove's nest in front of the entrance suggesting that no one was inside.

Muhammad continued to receive The Koran in stages over a span of 23 years (610-632 AD).

After his first wife, Khadija, died, Muhammad married ten other wives, making a total of eleven, even though The Koran says that men cannot have more than four wives.

Three of Muhammad’s wives memorized the complete Koran, and the youngest one, Aishah, became a leader in the religion after his death.

During his lifetime, Muhammad had 29 scribes write down his prophecies, which later became The Koran.

The Koran has 114 surahs (chapters), 6, 616 ayas (verses), 77,943 words, and 338,606 Arabic letters.

There are thirty Juz’ (parts) of The Koran so that it can be recited in its entirety in thirty days during Ramadan.

According to The Koran, Muslims must pray five times a day (dawn, noon, late afternoon, sunset, and before midnight), facing towards Mecca.

Since The Koran was given over 23 years, some parts contradict others, but Muslims use a process called abrogation to decide which parts to follow now.

For example:

Surah 73: 1-4 commands:

“O thou enfolded in thy mantle, stand up all night, except a small portion of it, for prayer: half; or curtail the half a little—or add to it: And with measured tone intone the Koran, for we shall devolve on thee weighty words.”

While verse 20 of the same Surah commands:

“Of a truth, thy Lord knoweth that thou prayest almost two-thirds, or half, or a third of the night, as do a part of thy followers. But God measureth the night and the day: He knoweth that ye cannot count its hours aright, and therefore, turneth to you mercifully. Recite then so much of the Koran as may be easy to you.”

Abrogation here is when older commands are replaced with newer commands.

A Muslim must be pure in order to touch The Koran; most Muslims place it on the highest shelf in the house.

The Hadith is a record of Muhammad’s sayings and the Sunna is the prophet’s deeds, words, and approvals, but they are not considered to be the word of God like The Koran.

Sharia is the codification of law coming from The Koran and the Hadith and Sunna.

The Koran is based in oral tradition, which is the primary method of preserving it, even after 1,400 years.

Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the United States and perhaps the world, and The Koran is the basis of that faith system.