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The sacred book of theMuslims, by whom it is regarded as therevelation of God. Supplemented by the so-calledHadith, or traditions, it is the foundation ofIslam and the final authority indogma andbelief, injurisprudence, worship,ethics, and in social,family, andindividual conduct.
The nameKoran, or betterQur'an, from the Arabic stemQara'a, "to read", "to recite", means the "Reading", the "Recitation", i.e. the "Book",par excellence. It is also called — to select a few of many titles — "Alkitab" (The Book), "Furquan" ("liberation", "deliverance", of therevelation), "Kitab-ul-lah" (Book of God), "Al-tanzil" (The Revelation). It consists of one hundred and fourteensuras or chapters, some being almost as long as theBook of Genesis, others consisting of but two or three sentences. It is smaller than theNew Testament, and in its present form has no chronological order orlogical sequence.
The Koran containsdogma, legends, history, fiction, religion andsuperstition, social andfamilylawsprayers, threats,liturgy, fanciful descriptions ofheaven,hell, thejudgment day,resurrection, etc. — a combination of fact and fancy often devoid of force and originality. The most creditable portions are those in whichJewish andChristian influences are clearly discernible. The followinganalysis is based on Sir William Muir's chronological arrangement (op. cit.infra).
Suras 103, 91, 106, 101, 95, 102,104, 82, 92, 105 — rhapsodies, which may have been composed beforeMohammed conceived theidea of a Divine mission, or of arevelation direct fromHeaven.
Sura 96, the command to "recite in the name of theLord"; sura 113, on the unity andeternity of theDeity; sura 74, the command to preach, the denunciation of one of the chiefs ofMecca who scoffed at theresurrection, unbelievers threatened withhell; sura 111, Abu Lahab (theProphet's uncle) and his wife arecursed.
Suras 87, 97, 88, 80, 81, 84, 86, 90, 85, 83, 78, 77, 76, 75, 70, 109, 107, 55, 56, descriptions of theresurrection,paradise, andhell, with references to the growing opposition of the Koreish tribe.
Suras 67, 53, 32, 39, 73, 79, 54, 34, 31, 69, 68, 41, 71, 52, 50, 45, 44, 37, 30, 26, 15, 51, narratives from theJewish Scriptures and fromrabbinical andArab legends; the temporary compromise withidolatry is connected with sura 53.
Suras 46, 72, 35, 36, 19, 18, 27, 42, 40, 38, 25, 20, 43, 12, 11, 10, 14, 6, 64, 28, 22, 21, 17, 16, 13, 29, 7, 113, 114. The suras of this period contain some narratives from the Gospel, enjoin therites ofpilgrimage, refute the cavillings of the Koreish, and contain vivid descriptions of theresurrection, judgment,heaven, andhell, withproofs ofGod's unity, power, andprovidence. Gradually the suras become longer, some of them filling many pages. In the later suras of the fifth period Medina passages are often interpolated.
This period includes the following suras:
Thedoctrine of the Koran will be fully discussed in the article on the religion ofIslam. It is sufficient to note here that thedoctrine may be classified under four categories:
Various efforts have been made byMuslim writers andEuropean scholars to arrange the suras chronologically, but Noldeke's arrangement is generally considered the most plausible. He divides the suras into Meccan and Medinian, namely those delivered atMecca before the Flight or Hegira, and those delivered at Medina after the Flight. The Meccan suras are divided into three periods. To the first (from the first to the fifth year ofMohammed's mission) belong the following suras — 96, 74, 111,106, 108, 104, 107, 102, 105, 92, 90, 94, 93, 97, 86, 91, 80, 68, 87, 95, 103, 85, '73, 101, 99, 82, 81, 53, 84,100, 79, 77, 78, 88, 89, 75, 83, 69, 51, 52, 56, 55, 112, 109, ll3, 114, and 1. To the second period (the fifth and sixth year of his mission) are assigned suras 54, 37, 71, 76, 44, 50, 20, 26, 15, 19, 38, 36, 43, 72, 67, 23, 21, 25, 17, 27, and 18. To the third period (from the seventh year to the Flight) belong the following suras: 32, 41 45, 16, 30, 11, 14,12, 40, 28, 39, 29, 31, 42, 10, 34, 35, 7, 46, 6, and 13. The Medina suras are those which remain, in the following order: 2, 98, 64, 62, 8, 47, 3, 61, 57, 4, 65, 59, 33, 63, 24, 58, 22, 48, 66, 60,110, 9, and 5.
The characteristic features of the various suras and of the periods in which they were delivered is described by Mr. Palmer as follows:
In the Meccan SurasMohammed's one and steady purpose is to bring his hearers to abelief in the one onlyGod; this he does by powerful rhetorical displays rather thanlogical arguments, by appealing to their feelings rather than theirreason; by setting forth the manifestation ofGod in His works; by callingnature to witness to His presence; and by proclaiming His vengeance against those who associate other gods with Him, or attributeoffsprings to Him. The appeal was strengthened by glowing pictures of thehappiness in store for those who shouldbelieve, and by frightful descriptions of theeverlasting torments prepared for the unbelievers. In the earlier chapters, too, the prophetic inspiration, the earnest conviction of thetruth of his mission, and theviolent emotion which his sense of responsibilitycaused him are plainly shown. The style is curt, grand, and often almost sublime; the expressions are full of poetical feeling, and the thoughts are earnest and passionate, though sometimes dim and confused, indicating themental excitement anddoubt through which they struggled to light.
In the second period of the Meccan Suras,Mohammed appears to have conceived theidea of still further severing himself from theidolatry of his compatriots, and of giving to the supremedeityAllah another title, Ar-Rahman, "the merciful one". The Meccans, however, seem to have taken these for the names of separatedeities, and the name is abandoned in the later chapters.
In the Suras of the second Meccan period we first find the long stories of theprophets of olden times, especial stress being laid upon the punishment which fell upon their contemporaries for disbelief, themoral is always the same, namely, thatMohammed came under precisely similar circumstances, and that a denial of thetruth of his mission would bring on his fellow-citizens the self-same retribution. They also show the transition stage between the intense and poetical enthusiasm of the early Meccan chapters and the calm teaching of the later Medinah ones. This change is gradual, and even in the later and most prosaic we find occasionally passages in which the old prophetic fire flashes out once more. The three periods are again marked by theoaths which occur throughout the Koran. In the first period they are all frequent and often long, the whole powers ofnature being invoked to bear witness to the unity ofGod and the mission of His Apostle; in the second period they are shorter and of rarer occurrence; in the last period they are absent altogether.
To understand the Medinah Suras we must bear in mindMohammed's position with respect to the various parties in that city. InMecca he had been aprophet with littlehonour in his own country, looked on by some as amadman, and by others as animpostor, both equally grievous to him, while his following consisted of thepoorest and meanest of his fellow townsmen. His own clansmen, for the reason that they were his clansmen and for no other, resented the affronts against him. In Medinah he appears as a military leader and a prince, though as yet possessing far from absolute authority. Around in the city were, first, thetrue believers who had fled with him El Muhagerin; next, the inhabitants of Yathrib, who had joined him and who were called El Ansar, "the helpers"; and lastly, a large class who are spoken of by the uncomplimentary name of Munafiqun or"hypocrites", consisting of those who went over to his side fromfear or compulsion, and lastly those "in whose heart is sickness", who, thoughbelieving in him, were prevented by tribal orfamily ties from going over to him openly. Abdallah ibn Ubai was a chief whose influence operated strongly againstMohammed, and the latter wasobliged to treat him for a longtime almost as an equal, even after he had lost his political power.
The other party at Medinah was composed of the Jewish tribes settled in and around the city of Yathrib. TheJews were at first looked to as the most natural and likely supporters of the new religion, which was to confirm their own. These various parties together with thepaganArabs ofMecca and the Christians are thepersons with whom the Medinah Suras chiefly deal. The style of the Medinah Suras resembles that of the third period of the Meccan revelations, the more matter-of-factnature of the incidents related or theprecepts given accounting in a great measure for the more prosaic language in which they are expressed.
In the Medinah Suras theprophet is no longer trying toconvert his hearers by examples, promises, and warnings; he addresses them as their prince in general, praising them or blaming them for their conduct, and giving themlaws andprecepts as occasion required. (The Qur'an in "Sacred Books of the East", I, Oxford, 1880, pp. LXI, LXII, and LXIII).
The sources of the Koran be reduced to six:
It is generally admitted that the Koran is substantially the work ofMohammed. According to the traditionalists, it contains the purerevelation he could neither read nor write, but that immediately afterwards he could do both; othersbelieve that even before therevelation he could read and write; while others, again, deny that he could ever do so. Thus it is uncertain whether any of the suras were written down by theProphet himself or all delivered by him orally and afterwards writen down by others frommemory.
The Koran is written in Arabic, in rhymed prose, the style differing considerably in the various suras, according to the various periods of theProphet's life. The language is universally acknowledged to be the most perfect form ofArab speech, and soon became the standard by which other Arabic literary compositions had to be judged — grammarians, lexirographers, and rhetoricians presuming that the Koran, being theword of God, could not be wrong or imperfect.
Mohammed's hearers began by trusting theirmemories to retain the words of therevelation they had received from him. Later, those who could write traced them in ancient characters on palm leaves, tanned hides, or dry bones. After theProphet's death all these fragments were collected. Zaid ibn Thabit,Mohammed'sdisciple, was charged by Abu Bekr, the caliph, to collect all that could be discovered of the sacred text in one volume. The chapters were then arranged according to their length and without regard to historical sequence. The revision made twenty years later affected details of language of the text.
The best and most accessible edition of the Koran is that of Flugel, "Al-Qoran: Corani textus Arabicus" (Leipzig, 1834 and since). Maracci's famous Latin translation of the Koran, with a refutation and commentary, is still unique and useful: "Alcorani textus universus" (Padua, 1698). The standard English versions are those of Sale (London, 1734) with a still useful introductory essay; Rodwel (London, 1861), arranged in chronological order; and Palmer in "Sacred Books of the East" (Oxford, 1880).
APA citation.Oussani, G.(1910).Koran. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08692a.htm
MLA citation.Oussani, Gabriel."Koran."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 8.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1910.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08692a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph P. Thomas.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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