In the name of God, the merciful, the giver of mercy:Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. The
merciful, the giver of mercy, Sovereign of the Day of Judgement. You alone we worship. To You alone
we pray for help. Show us the straight path. The path of those whom You have favored.
Not of those who earn Your anger or of those who go astray."
The Qur'an, Sura 1
In Islam, the words of Allah (halam) to Muhammad are considered
the foundations of the faith. These words are incorporated into the Qur'an.
The word qur'an means to recite, hence the words of the Islamic Qur'anare meant to be
recited aloud. The oral imperative is derived from the angel Gabriel's instruction to
Muhammed in 610 CE in Mount Hira to "iqra" or recite the name of Allah. Muslims believe
that the words of the Qur'anare the true words of God, and that these words
cannot in effect be translated. Muslims regard translations into other languages as
paraphrases, or interpretations at best.
Fragment of the Qur'an |
The Qur'an is divided into one hundred and fourteen chapters knowns as suras.
Each chapter in turn is made up of varying number of verses known asayat.Some suras have over two hundred and fifty ayat,while
others may only have five or six.
The Qur'anaddresses a wide range of
subjects from the history of Islam itself and Muhammad's role as prophet, to matters involving
marriage,
divorce, family,
religious and moral conduct,
as well as the regulation of communities of Muslims.
After the death of Muhammad,
the law of the Qur'an was implemented in the
governance of Muslim communities. Islamic law (shari'a) was developed by legal
experts and religious teachers. Eventually, four legal schools of interpretation and enactment
of laws emerged. The laws govern every aspect of life including penalties for crimes, marriage,
divorce, litigation and property rights. Originally, caliphs or successors of Muhammad were entrusted
with legal enactment. With the end of caliphates in the early part of this century, the
independent Islamic nations across the Middle East, and elsewhere
in the world, continue to use Qur'anic law as the basis for all legal decisions.
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