What is the Quran?

5 min read

The Quran is the book Muslims believe is the word of God. You do not need to believe that to read this lesson. It simply explains what the book is and how people read it.

Where it comes from

How Muslims say it reached people

God
God, the Creator, speaks His words.
Gabriel
The angel Gabriel (Jibril) carries them.
Muhammad
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, hears and recites them.
People
He teaches them, and those around him learn and write them down.

It did not come all at once. It came a few verses or a chapter at a time, over about 23 years, often as an answer to what was happening in his life.

How it is arranged

The Quran at a glance

114 surahs
A surah is a chapter. Some are long, some only three verses.
Verses
Each surah is made of ayat (verses). Al-Baqarah is the longest, Al-Kawthar the shortest.
Not a story in order
It is not arranged by date or as one story. The surahs are mostly placed from longer to shorter.

Arabic and translations

The Quran

The Arabic words as they were revealed
Muslims recite it in Arabic

A translation

A person's attempt to give the meaning in English
Helpful, but not the Quran itself

Arabic words often carry more than one shade of meaning, so every translation is a little different. This is why Muslims say a translation gives the meaning of the Quran, not the Quran itself.

A taste: Al-Fatiha

Al-Fatiha (The Opening) is the first surah, only seven verses. Muslims recite it in every prayer. Here is its center.

Arabic: إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ وَإِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ

How to say it: Iyyaka na'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in

Meaning: It is You we worship and You we ask for help.

Read all seven verses

In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
Quran 1:1 (Saheeh International translation)

[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Quran 1:2 (Saheeh International translation)

The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful,
Quran 1:3 (Saheeh International translation)

Sovereign of the Day of Recompense.
Quran 1:4 (Saheeh International translation)

It is You we worship and You we ask for help.
Quran 1:5 (Saheeh International translation)

Guide us to the straight path.
Quran 1:6 (Saheeh International translation)

The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.
Quran 1:7 (Saheeh International translation)

In short: it praises God, calls Him merciful, reminds us of a Day when everyone is answered for their life, and asks Him for guidance.

How to start reading

A gentle way in

Tick each step as you do it.

Pick a respected English translation. Saheeh International is a common, plain one. Many editions put the Arabic beside it.

Begin with Al-Fatiha, then a few short surahs near the end of the book.

Read a little each day, such as one page. You do not need to start at page one and push through.

Pause on what you do not understand. Write your questions down.

You do not have to agree with anything. Reading is just reading.

0 of 5 done

The Quran itself invites you to think about it:

Then do they not reflect upon the Qur'an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah, they would have found within it much contradiction.
Quran 4:82 (Saheeh International translation)

Quick check

What is an English translation of the Quran?

Remember

The Quran has 114 surahs, was revealed in Arabic over about 23 years, and a translation gives its meaning, not the Quran itself.

Next, you will see how the Quran was kept safe from the Prophet's time to today.

Sources (9)