When the Koran appeared. Quran: what is it? History of the Koran. Moral and legal norms

All religious teachings are based on books that tell followers about the rules of life. It is interesting that the authorship, the date of writing and the person who was involved in the translation, most often impossible to establish. The Quran is the basis of Islam and is based on absolutely reliable sources that are the foundation of faith. This is a guide to the right way of life, covering all aspects of activity. Everything is described there, from the moment of appearance to the Day of Judgment.

Holy Bible

The Quran is the Word of Allah. The Lord, with the help of the angel Jibril, conveyed his words to the Prophet Muhammad. He, in turn, told about it to people who were able to reproduce everything in writing. The messages help many to live, healing the soul and protecting them from vices and temptations.

According to the followers, in the sky with Allah there is the original of the Koran on golden tablets, and the earthly scripture is its exact reflection. This book must be read only in the original version, since all translations are a simple semantic transmission of the text, and only aloud. At the moment, this is a whole art, the Koran is read like the Torah in the synagogue, in a singsong voice and recitative. Followers must know most of the text by heart, some have even memorized it completely. The book plays a significant role in public education, sometimes it is the only textbook, as it contains the basics of language learning.

Quran, history of creation

According to Islamic traditions, it is believed that the scripture was sent from Allah on the night of Qadr, and the angel Jibril divided it into parts and passed it on to the prophet for 23 years. During his life, Muhammad delivered many sermons and sayings. When speaking on behalf of the Lord, he used rhymed prose, the traditional form of oracle speech. Since the chosen one could neither write nor read, he gave tasks to his secretary to fix his sayings on bones and pieces of paper. Some of his stories have been preserved thanks to the memory of faithful people, and then 114 suras or 30 perekop appeared, which the Koran contains. No one thought that such a scripture would be necessary, since during the life of the prophet there was no need for it, he could personally answer any incomprehensible questions. But after the death of Muhammad, the widespread faith needed a clearly formulated law.

Therefore, Omar and Abu Bakr instructed the former secretary Zeid ibn Thabit to collect all the reports together. They completed the work very quickly and presented the resulting collection. Together with him, other people were engaged in this mission, thanks to this, four more collections of commandments appeared. Zeid had to collect all the books together and delete the drafts when he was done. The result was recognized as the canonical version of the Koran.

Principles of Religion

Scripture is the source of all dogmas for Muslims, as well as the guide that regulates both the material and spiritual spheres of life. According to religion, it is completely different from the sacred Talmuds of other faiths and has its own characteristics.

This is the last Divine book, after which there will be no others. Allah protects it from various distortions and changes.
Reading aloud, memorizing and teaching others are the most encouraged acts of worship.
It contains laws, the implementation of which will guarantee prosperity, social stability and justice.
The Koran is a book containing truthful information about the messengers and prophets, as well as their relationship with people.
It was written for all mankind to help them get out of unbelief and darkness.

Significance in Islam

This is the constitution that Allah conveyed to his messenger so that everyone can establish a relationship with the Lord, with society and with oneself. All believers get rid of slavery and start a new life to serve the Almighty and receive his mercy. Muslims accept the teachings and adhere to the guidance, avoid prohibitions and do not overstep the restrictions, do what the scripture says.

Sermons bring up the spirit of righteousness, good manners and God-fearing. The best person, as Muhammad explained, is the one who teaches others and knows the Qur'an himself. What it is is known to representatives of many other faiths.

Structure

The Koran consists of 114 suras (chapters) of different lengths (from 3 to 286 verses, from 15 to 6144 words). All suras are divided into verses (verses), they are from 6204 to 6236. The Koran is the Bible for Muslims, which is divided into seven equal parts. This is done for ease of reading throughout the week. It also has 30 sections (juz) to pray evenly throughout the month. People believe that the content of the holy scripture cannot be changed, since the Almighty will protect it until the Day of Judgment.

The beginning of all suras, except for the ninth, sounds with the words "In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful." All parts of the sections are not arranged in chronological order, but depending on the size, at first longer, and then shorter and shorter.

Role in science

Today, it is becoming very popular to study the Quran. That such scripture has become so common should not be surprising. It's very simple, the book, which was written fourteen centuries ago, mentions the facts that were recently discovered and proven by scientists. They prove that Muhammad is a prophet who was sent by Allah the Great.

Some statements of the Qur'an:

the star Sirius is a double star (ayat 53:49);
indicates the presence of layers of the atmosphere (science says that there are five of them);
the existence of black holes is prophesied in the book (ayat 77:8);
the discovery of the layers of the earth is described (five have been proven to date);
the emergence of the Universe is described, it is said that it arose from non-existence;
indicated the division of earth and heaven, the world was at first in a state of singularity, and then Allah divided it into parts.

All these facts were presented to the world by the Quran. That such a presentation of facts has existed for 14 centuries, surprises scientists today.

Impact on the world

There are currently 1.5 billion Muslims who read and apply the teachings in their lives. It should be noted that the worshipers of the Holy Scriptures still praise God in prayers on any given day and bow down to the ground 5 times a day. The truth is that every fourth person on earth is an admirer of this faith. The Koran in Islam plays a very important role, it leaves a huge imprint in the hearts of billions of believers.

Difference from the Bible

In the revelations of Muhammad, posthumous messages for the faithful and punishment for sinners are described in detail and accurately. Paradise in the book is described in the smallest detail, it is told about golden palaces and sunbeds made of pearls. The display of torment in hell can amaze with its inhumanity, as if the text was written by a notorious sadist. There is no such information in the Bible, nor in the Torah, only the Koran reveals this information. What is scripture is known to many - not surprisingly, Islam has many followers.

Russia is a multinational state. This causes a large number of religions that are officially registered on the territory of the Russian Federation. Due to ignorance of elementary things about other religions and the Holy Scriptures, conflict situations often arise. It is possible to resolve such a situation. In particular, you should familiarize yourself with the answer to the question: “The Koran - what is it?”

The word "Quran" is of Arabic origin. Translated into Russian, it means "recitative", "reading aloud". The Koran is the main book of Muslims, which, according to legend, is a copy of the Holy Scriptures - the first book that is stored in heaven.

Before answering the question of what the Qur'an is, a few words should be said about the origin of Scripture. The text of the main book of Muslims was sent to Muhammad through an intermediary - Jabrail - by Allah himself. During the secular period, Muhammad recorded only individual notes. After his death, the question of the creation of the Holy Scriptures arose.

The followers of Muhammad reproduced sermons by heart, which were later formed into a single book - the Koran. What is the Quran? Primarily an official document of Muslims written in Arabic. It is believed that the Koran is an uncreated book that will exist forever, like Allah.

Who wrote down the Quran?

According to historical data, Muhammad could not read and write. That is why he memorized the Revelations received from Allah, after which he recited them aloud to his followers. They, in turn, learned the messages by heart. For a more accurate transmission of the Holy Texts, the followers used improvised means for fixing revelations: some resorted to parchment, someone to wooden planks or pieces of leather.

However, the most proven way to preserve the meaning of Scripture was to retell it to specially trained readers who could memorize long sunnahs - verses. The Hafiz later unmistakably conveyed the Revelations narrated to them, despite the stylistic complexity of the fragments of the Koran.

The sources recorded about 40 people who were engaged in writing Revelations. However, during the life of Muhammad, the suras were little known and practically not in demand. This is due to the fact that there was no need for a single Holy Scripture. The first copy of the Qur'an created after the death of the Prophet was kept by his wife and daughter.

Structure of the Quran

The holy book of Muslims consists of 114 chapters, fragments, which are called "sura". Al-Fatiha - the first sura - opens the Koran. It is a prayer of 7 verses, which is read by all believers. The content of the prayer is a summary of the essence of the Qur'an. That is why believers say it every time, making five prayers daily.

The remaining 113 chapters of the Quran are arranged in Scripture in descending order, from largest to smallest. At first, the suras are large, they are real treatises. At the end of the book, the fragments consist of several verses-verses.

Thus, we can answer the question: Qur'an - what is it? This is a clearly structured religious book that has two periods: Meccan and Medina, each of which symbolizes a certain stage in the life of Muhammad.

What language is the Muslim Holy Book written in?

As noted above, the recognized language of the Quran is Arabic. However, to understand the essence of Scripture, the book can be translated into other languages. But in this case, we should talk about the subjective transmission of the meaning of the Holy Scripture by the translator, who was able to convey his own interpretation to the readers. In other words, the Koran in Russian is just a kind of Holy Scripture. The only true option is considered to be only the Koran, written in Arabic, which appeared on earth by the will of Allah.

The Koran in Russian takes place, however, any righteous believer must come to read the scripture in the source language.

The style in which the Quran is written

It is believed that the style in which the Qur'an is written is unique, unlike either the Old or the New Testaments. Reading the Qur'an reveals abrupt transitions from first-person to third-person narrative and vice versa. In addition, in the suras, believers can find various rhythmic patterns, which complicates the study of the message, but gives it originality, leads to a change in topic, and also gives a small hint of the discovery of secrets in the future.

Fragments of suras that have a complete thought are mostly rhymed, but do not represent poetry. It is impossible to refer fragments of the Koran to prose. While reading the Holy Scriptures in Arabic or Russian, a large number of images and situations arise, which are reflected with the help of intonation and the meaning of phrases.

The Quran is not just a book. This is the Holy Scripture for all Muslims living on Earth, which has absorbed the basic rules for the life of righteous believers.

Thousands of people have studied the connection between the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad. Islamic scholars have discussed this issue in detail and have provided hundreds of proofs that the Qur'an is a creation of divine origin. Here are some facts below.

The prophet was illiterate

First, among the early Arabs of Mecca, those who surrounded the prophet, the fact was known that he was illiterate and could neither read nor write. The Qur'an says this and none of his ill-wishers tried to argue with it:

“Say: “O people! I am the Messenger of Allah to all of you. To Him belongs dominion over the heavens and the earth. There is no god but Him. He resurrects and kills. Believe in Allah and in His Messenger, the illiterate (not able to read and write) Prophet, who believed in Allah and His Words. Follow him so that you follow the straight path.", Quran (7:158)

As recorded in the biography of the prophet, when the archangel Gabriel came to him for the first time at the age of 40 and showed him the first words of the Koran - “Read!” The prophet replied that he could not read. Thus, even at the beginning of the revelation, the prophet was unable to write the book.

“You have never read a single Scripture before and copied it with your right hand. Otherwise, the adherents of lies would fall into doubt., - says the Koran (29:48).

Secondly, whenever a problem arose during the prophet's lifetime, he could not find a solution to it until God's revelation "came" to him. If the prophet himself made decisions, then why did he need to wait for revelation?

Here are a few examples: One day, a group of people accused the beloved wife of the prophet Aisha of adultery. Critical accusations shocked the Muslim community, and the prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, parted from his wife for a while. It was a very difficult test for him, he didn't know what to do. Finally, a revelation was sent down, which said that Aisha was innocent, and where Allah rebuked those who built false accusations against Aisha.

Somehow, the leaders of the Quraysh tribe once asked a few questions to the prophet in order to make sure that he was really the messenger of Allah. A week passed, and Muhammad did not give any answer, because he did not know what to say. As a result, he was accused of lying by his tribe. After that, the prophet, peace and blessings of the Almighty be upon him, received as a revelation a whole chapter of the Koran, Surah “The Cave”, there were answers to all the questions that the Quraysh asked the prophet.

In the early days of the prophecy, Muslims stood in prayer facing Jerusalem. The Prophet, on the other hand, wanted to change this direction towards Mecca, but he could not do it arbitrarily, and therefore he was waiting for a command from his Lord, raising his head to the sky in anticipation. The Qur'an says about this: “We saw how you turned your face to the sky, and We will turn you to Qiybla, with which you will be satisfied. Turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque. Wherever you are, turn your faces in her direction. Indeed, those who have been given the Scripture know that this is the truth from their Lord. Allah is not ignorant of what they do.” Qur'an (2:144). After that, the direction of prayer was changed, all prayers began to be performed in the mosque in the direction of Mecca, from north to south. And in this case, and in all others, the prophet did not begin to act until a revelation from God or His command came to him. This was even the case when the prophet was accused of false prophecy. Think for yourself, if the Qur'an was written by Muhammad, he would have shown the "verses" earlier, and would not have waited for revelation while he was reproached and slandered. All this indicates that the Qur'an is a revelation from God and not from the imagination of Muhammad.

Quran Language

Another important point is the huge difference between the language style of the Qur'an and the style of the presentation of the prophet's speech. The Qur'an is very different from hadith (sayings of the prophet). Even when translated into other languages, one can see a tangible difference between the Hadith and the Qur'an.

Thirdly, there is a marked difference between the surviving statements of the prophet and the Qur'anic verses. The revelations were also different in that they spoke about some global issues that were never known to the prophet. When the verses of God were sent to Muhammad, he sweated, even on cold days, his face turned red, he began to breathe heavily, etc. How could he have initiated this for 23 years! Of course not.

Fourth, a significant portion of the Qur'an includes stories about previous Prophets and their peoples. The Prophet knew absolutely nothing about their history, at least the historical events of that time, especially in the smallest detail. For example, the story concerning the Pharaoh: “You were not on the western slope when We entrusted our orders to Musa (Moses), and you were not among those present. But We created generations after Musa (Moses), and the time was long for them. You were not among the inhabitants of Madyan, and you did not recite Our verses to them, but We sent messengers”, Koran (28:44,45).

The Quran also says about Jesus and Maryam: “This is part of the stories about the hidden, which We tell you in revelation. You were not with them when they threw down their writing sticks to decide which of them would take care of Maryam (Mary). You weren't with them when they bickered.", Quran (3:44).

After that, the story of Yusuf: “What We told you, O prophet, from the news of the distant past, became known to you only by Our suggestion. After all, you were not with Yusuf's brothers when they plotted against him. You learned about it only through Our suggestion., Koran (12:102).

There are a lot of historical facts in the Koran, and if the prophet could learn about them from Jews and Christians, then why did he then attribute them to God? This truth would eventually be revealed anyway, and his "teachers" would "float" out.

Fifthly, the Qur'an also contains criticism of the prophet himself. The Prophet was once sitting and talking with the leaders of his tribe, when suddenly a blind man approached him. He was also a Muslim and approached the prophet by asking a few questions regarding Islam. But the prophet did not pay attention to him, as he was engaged in important people, calling them to Islam. After that, the Almighty addressed him: “(The Prophet) frowned and turned away because a blind man approached him. How do you know, Perhaps he wants to cleanse his soul?, Koran (80:1, 2, 3).

The Prophet was very fond of honey, but one day he refused it because the wives also did not like it. To which the Almighty said: “O Prophet, why do you forbid yourself what Allah has allowed you to please your wives? Allah is Forgiving, Merciful", Koran (66:1).

There are so many moments in the Qur'an when the Almighty shows that the prophet was wrong. Why would Muhammad write such things against himself? It's damaging his reputation, isn't it? Logical reflections and facts show that the prophet is not the author of the Qur'an.

And, finally, sixthly, the main idea that the Qur'an was sent down by God is indicated in the Qur'an: “If he attributed some words to Us, then We would grab his right hand (or grab him tightly), and then cut his aorta…”, Koran (69:44-46).

If the prophet really wrote the Qur'an, then why did he do all this? If this were revealed, the threat to his life would not be avoided. The Prophet was one of the most honest people, he never deceived anyone. Before his prophecy, even pagan idolaters spoke of him as a "reliable" and "truthful" person. Has he really changed at the age of 40 and started telling lies, especially against God? Logical reasoning and history refute this.

Translated specifically for "Info-Islam", onislam.net

Russia is a multinational state. This causes a large number of religions that are officially registered on the territory of the Russian Federation. Due to ignorance of elementary things about other religions and scriptures, it is often possible to resolve such a situation. In particular, you should read the answer to the question: "Quran - what is it?"

What is the essence of the Quran?

Before answering the question of what the Koran is, a few words should be said about the origin of Scripture. The text of the main book of Muslims was sent to Muhammad through an intermediary - Jabrail - by Allah himself. During the secular period, Muhammad recorded only individual notes. After his death, the question of the creation of the Holy Scriptures arose.

The followers of Muhammad reproduced sermons by heart, which were later formed into a single book - the Quran. What is the Quran? Primarily an official document of Muslims written in Arabic. It is believed that the Koran is an uncreated book that will exist forever, like Allah.

Who wrote down the Quran?

Structure of the Quran

The holy book of Muslims consists of 114 chapters, fragments, which are called "sura". Al-fatiha - the first sura - opens the Koran. It is a prayer of 7 verses, which is read by all believers. The content of the prayer is a summary of the essence of the Qur'an. That is why believers say it every time, making five prayers daily.

What language is the Muslim Holy Book written in?

As noted above, the recognized language of the Qur'an is Arabic. However, to understand the essence of Scripture, the book can be translated into other languages. But in this case, we should talk about the subjective transmission of the meaning of the Holy Scripture by the translator, who was able to convey his own interpretation to the readers. In other words, the Koran in Russian is just a kind of Holy Scripture. The only true option is considered to be only the Koran, written in Arabic, which appeared on earth by the will of Allah.

The Koran in Russian takes place, however, any righteous believer must come to read the scripture in the source language.

The style in which the Quran is written

It is believed that the style in which the Qur'an is presented is unique, unlike either the Old, or the Reading of the Qur'an reveals sharp transitions from the narration in the first person to the third and vice versa. In addition, in the suras, believers can find various rhythmic patterns, which complicates the study of the message, but gives it originality, leads to a change in topic, and also gives a small hint of the discovery of secrets in the future.

The Quran is not just a book. This is the Holy Scripture for all Muslims living on Earth, which has absorbed the basic rules for the life of righteous believers.

About the Quran

The Quran is the Muslim Scripture, that is, the Holy Scripture of the followers of Islam. Islam is a religion formed among the Arabs - a people until then largely limited to the Arabian Peninsula - by the Prophet Muhammad at the beginning of the seventh century. The Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the Almighty through the Archangel Gabriel; this was partly in Mecca, his hometown, and partly in Medina, where he succeeded in establishing a state in a formerly stateless tribal society. The message was revealed in Arabic, the language of the people to whom it originally addressed, despite the fact that the message was ultimately for all mankind. The Qur'an specifically mentions that Muhammad was a messenger to all mankind and that he is the last messenger to be sent. Thus, the Qur'an is the final message that partly replaces, partly confirms the basic tenets of the religion of the Lord, ordained for Jews and Christians as well as Muslims. Today, the total number of Muslims in the world is over a billion, which is almost one-fifth of the world's population. For all Muslim communities, no matter what language they speak or where they live, the Quran is their Holy Scripture.

Basics

The first thing to know about the Quran is its form. The Arabic word "Quran" literally means "recitation" and "reading". Similarly, the Qur'an was both spoken orally and written down in book form. The true power of the Qur'an remains in oral recitation, as it is intended to be recited aloud and melodiously, but nevertheless the verses were written down on available materials to aid memorization and preservation, and they were collected and arranged in book form privately, and in a later period institutionally. The Qur'an was not intended to be a chronological retelling of history, and thus the Qur'an should not be viewed as a sequential story like the book of Genesis. An Arabic book called the Quran, approximately the size of the New Testament. Most editions have about 600 pages.

Unlike the Jewish Bible and the New Testament, the Koran came out of the mouth of one person, retelling what the archangel Gabriel informed him about. On the other hand, both the Jewish and Christian testaments are collections of many books that have been written by a large number of people, and opinions differ greatly as to their status as revelations.

How is the Koran organized?

The Koran consists of 114 chapters of unequal length. Each chapter is called sura in Arabic, and each sentence of the Qur'an is called verse, literally meaning ‘a sign.’ Like the Bible, the Koran is divided into separate units, called verses in Russian. These verses are not standard in length, and where each one begins and the other begins was decided not by humans, but dictated by God. Each of them is a certain act of expressing a closed meaning, or "sign", denoted by the word verse in Arabic. The shortest sura has ten words, and the longest contains 6100 words. First sura, Fatih(“Opening”), relatively short (twenty-five words). Starting from the second suras, length sur gradually decreases, although this is not a hard and fast rule. last sixty sur take up the same space as the second one. Some of the long verses much longer than the shortest sura. Everything sura, except for one, start with bismillah ar-rahman ar-rahim, ‘In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.’ Each sura has a name that usually refers to the keyword within it. For example, the longest surah, al-Baqarah, or "Cow", is named after the story of Moses ordering the Jews to slaughter a cow. This story begins with the words: “And when Musa (Moses) said: “Allah orders you to slaughter a cow”…’”(Quran 2:67)

Since different chapters have different lengths, the Qur'an was divided by the scholars of the first century after the death of the Prophet into thirty approximately equal parts, each part is called juz in Arabic. This division of the Qur'an was made for people to memorize or read it in a more organized way, and it has no effect on the original structure as it is just marks on the side of the pages denoting the part. In the Muslim fasting month, Ramadan, one juz usually recited every night, and the reading of the full Qur'an is completed in thirty days of the month.

Quran translation

The beginner should be aware of several aspects regarding translations of the Qur'an.

First, there is a difference between the Qur'an and its translation. For Christians, the Bible is always the Bible, no matter what language it may be read in. But the translation of the Qur'an is not the word of God, because the Qur'an is the exact Arabic words spoken by God, revealed to Prophet Muhammad Gabriel. The Word of God is only the Arabic Quran as God says:

“Verily, We have sent down the Qur’an in Arabic.” (Quran 12:2)

The translation is simply an explanation of the meanings of the Qur'an. That is why in modern Russian translations it is written: “Translation of meanings and comments”, because they only strive to convey the meaning as close as possible, like any translation, without reproducing the form of the Holy Book. The translated text loses the inimitable quality of the original, differing to a large extent from it. For this reason, everything that is regarded as a "recitation" of the Qur'an must be in Arabic, such as the recitations of the Qur'an in the five daily prayers of Muslims.

Secondly, there is no perfect translation of the Qur'an and, being human works, everyone almost always has errors. Some translations are better in their linguistic quality, while others are more accurate in describing the meaning. Many inaccurate and sometimes misleading translations, which are generally not considered reliable translations of the Qur'an by most Muslims, are sold on the book market.

Third, although a review of all Russian translations is beyond the scope of this article, some translations are preferred over others. The widespread translation of Professor Krachkovsky is literal, since the professor treated the Koran as a literary monument, and not Holy Scripture. He did not use common tefsirami(explanations of prominent scientists), hence the large errors in translation. Professor Porokhova's translation, popular among Russian Muslims, is distinguished by the beauty of the syllable with which she tried to convey the beauty of the divine Book. However, in translating she used the English version of Yusuf Ali, which is generally acceptable, but his comments in the footnotes, useful at times, may be incorrect and sometimes inadmissible. Russian-speaking (non-Russian) Muslims prefer Kuliev's translation, which is easier for them to understand, because it is written in a simpler language, like Osmanov's translation. A very good translation of the Russian Muslim Boguslavsky, made more than a hundred years ago, has preserved the language of its era. Tefsirny the translation by Abdel Salam Mansi and Sumaya Afifi is the only translation made from Arabic. A tefsir translation can be literal, unlike a regular translation, because further down on the same page, explanations are given for each incomprehensible word. This translation quickly became a bibliographic rarity.

Interpretation ( Tefsir in Arabic)

Although the meanings of the Qur'an are easy and clear to understand, one must be careful when making statements about religion without relying on an authentic commentary. Prophet Muhammad not only transmitted the Qur'an, he also explained it to his companions, and these sayings have been collected and preserved to this day. God says:

“And We have sent you a Reminder so that you can clearly explain to people what has been revealed to them…” (Quran 16:44)

To understand some of the deeper meanings of the Qur'an, one must rely on the comments made about them by the Prophet and his Companions, and not on what is understood from the text, as their understanding is limited by their prior knowledge.

There is a certain methodology for interpreting the Qur'an to extract the direct meaning. Qur'anic science, as it is called, is an extremely specialized area of Islamic knowledge that requires mastery in many disciplines such as exegesis, recitation, scripts, comparison, circumstances giving rise to revelation or its replacement, Qur'anic grammar, knowledge of unusual terminology, religious rulings, Arabic language and literature. According to the scholars of Qur'anic interpretation, the proper method to explain the verses of the Qur'an is:

(i) Tefsir the Quran by the Quran itself.

(ii) Tefsir Sunnah of the Prophet of the Quran.

(iii) Tefsir of the Quran by the Companions.

(iv) Tefsir Quran in Arabic.

(v) Tefsir Qur'an by the "opinion" of the scholars if it cannot be explained by any of the above methods.

The Qur'an Islam appeared in the form of a book - the Qur'an. For Muslims, the Koran is the Word of God in Arabic, sent down through the Archangel Gabriel Muhammad in the form of Divine revelations that the Prophet conveyed to people. Muslims believe that the Qur'an replaces the early revelations - it is their summing up and completion. The Qur'an is the last revelation, and Muhammad is the "Seal of the Prophets".

In the true meaning of the word, the Quran is a teacher for millions of Muslims, both Arab and other nationalities. It defines their daily lives, provides a unique legal system, and provides inspiration for guidance and principles.

The text of the Qur'an was proclaimed by the Prophet Muhammad to his followers as revelations were sent down. The first verses were revealed to him around the year 610, and the last revelation dates from 632, the last year of his life. At first, his followers memorized the Qur'an, and then, on the instructions of Muhammad, they began to write it down. Work on the complete content of the Qur'an, the arrangement of its verses and the classification of chapters originates from the time of the Prophet. Since Muhammad received revelations throughout his life, all parts of the Holy Message could be finally collected into a single set - "between two covers" - only after his death. After the battle at Al-Yamamah in 633 and the tragic death of many companions of the Prophet Omar ibn al-Khattab, who later became the second caliph, informed Abu Bakr, the first caliph, that there was a real danger of losing the text of the Holy Quran, kept by devout Muslims in memory only in scattered and fragmentary fragments. Abu Bakr recognized the danger and entrusted the task of collecting the revelations to Zayd ibn Thabit, to whom, as the chief scribe of the Prophet, Muhammad frequently dictated revelations during his lifetime. Despite great difficulties, the work was completed, and the first complete manuscript was compiled from "pieces of parchment, white stones - oyster shells, leafless palm branches." Later, during the time of the third Caliph Osman, the preparation of the last authentic authenticated text of the Qur'an was completed in 651. Since then, it has remained unchanged.

The Holy Quran differs from the Old and New Testaments both in form and in content. Instead of the precise historical narrative found in the Gospels and historical books of the Old Testament, the Qur'an, in a symbolic and allegorical style, touches on spiritual and material topics as much as historical ones.

The Quran is divided into 114 suras or chapters. Traditionally, the surahs are divided into two broad categories: those that were revealed to the Prophet in Mecca, and those that were revealed in Medina. Meccan suras are those that were sent down to Muhammad at the beginning of his mission. They tend to have a small number of verses; with bright and bold images, they affirm the unity of God, the need for faith, the punishment for those who stray from the true path, and the Judgment of God, when all the deeds and beliefs of a person will be judged according to their dignity. Medinan suras are longer in size. They deal in detail with specific legal, social and political situations. At times, a correct understanding of them is possible only on condition of full knowledge of all those circumstances that preceded the revelation. All suras are divided into verses or verses. For educational and public reading purposes, the entire Qur'an is divided into three parts, which in turn are divided into smaller sections of almost equal length.

The size of the surahs varies greatly from each other, ranging from the longest - Sura No. 2, which has 282 verses, to the shortest 103rd, 108th and 110th, each of which has only three verses. With a few exceptions, the suras are arranged in the Qur'an according to their size: long suras come first, then suras with a gradually decreasing number of verses.

Muslims believe that the Koran cannot be translated, because the language in which the revelation was sent down is inseparable from the Message, and therefore Muslims everywhere, regardless of what language is native to them, must learn Arabic in order to read the Holy Book and perform prayers. Of course, the Qur'an is available in many languages, but such versions of its text are considered more interpretations of the meanings contained in it than a translation - in part because the Arabic language is unusually concise and symbolic, so it is impossible to perform a mechanical translation by substituting word for word. The notion of the unsurpassed Qur'an eventually took shape in the Muslim rule "and" jazz, "or the impossibility, according to which a person is not able to reproduce the Divine style of the Qur'an, because every such attempt is doomed to failure.

Knowing the circumstances of each revelation seemed very important for its correct interpretation, therefore, at the very beginning of the history of Islam, the community came to the conclusion that it was necessary to collect as many hadiths as possible, or traditions about the life and deeds of the Prophet, so that a correct understanding of the Qur'an became possible. These hadiths provided scientists not only with knowledge of the historical environment in which many suras descended, thus contributing to an accurate explanation of the meaning imprinted in them, but also with a lot of additional information about the life, activities and legal norms of the Prophet and his companions.

These materials became the basis of what was later called the Sunnah of the Prophet - the deeds, speeches and takrir (unspoken approval) of Muhammad. Together with the Quran, the Sunna, which embodied the canonical collection of hadith, formed the basis of Sharia, the sacred law of Islam.

Unlike Western legal systems, Sharia makes no distinction between religious and civil matters; it is a record of Divine Law, and affects all aspects of social, political, economic and religious life. Islamic law is thus different from any other legal system. Its difference from church law lies in the fact that it is not controlled by church hierarchs. There is nothing in Islam that could be referred to as "church" in the Christian sense of the word. Instead, Islam has an ummah - a community of believers whose unity is guaranteed by sacred law. Every act of a righteous Muslim, therefore, is determined by the instructions contained in the Qur'an, the precedents (deeds and deeds) of the Prophet and the practices of the early Muslim community, carefully preserved in Sharia.