What is The Qur'an ?
The Qur'an is the last scripture that has been
revealed to mankind by the Lord Creator and Protector.
It was through the last messenger, Muhammad (pbuh),
that the world first heard of it. It certainly the
Divine scripture that is to be accepted by all, up to
the very last man.
The term ‘Qur'an’ has the meanings of ‘the
recitation’, or ‘that which is to be recited’ and of
‘that which is recited.’ Indeed, the Qur'an itself has
employed the connotation ‘the scripture that is
recited’ in connection with this term (13:31). Unlike
the earlier scriptures, the Qur'an is never a
compilation of legal pronouncements or code of laws (Taurat),
or hymns (Zaboor) or a collection of Gospel of good
news (Injeel). It is highly probable that the Qur'an
has been named as the last scripture because each one
of its words is to be repeatedly read by thousands
upon thousands of its believers and is to be so etched
into their hearts as to mould their very lives
according to its guidelines. As for the actual reason,
it is the Lord Who sent it Who knows the answer
As far as its believers are concerned, the Qur'an is
but the criterion to distinguish truth from falsehood.
They understand that all that has been commanded
therein constitute the good and all that has been
prohibited therein constitute evil. In fact, the
Qur'an introduces itself as Furqaan (2:53, 2:185, 3:4,
25:1) which means ‘the criterion to distinguish
between truth and falsehood.’
The Qur'an also describes itself as Kitab (book),
Dhikr (guidance), Burhaan (evidence), Shifa (cure),
Kayyim (that which is pure), Muhaymin (that which
preserves the previous scriptures) and the like.
Through these attributes the reader of the Qur'an is
exposed to the clear picture of the morality enshrined
within. What is the meaning of ‘Book of Vedas’? The
term Veda is a sanskrit word which means knowledge,
learning etc. According to the vedic vision, the Vedas
signify Shruthi (or ‘that which is heard’). It is
believed that the contents of the Vedas comprise the
words of the Lord Creator as heard by the Rishis. The
RigVeda states that the Vedas originate in the
Parampurush (10:90:9). In any event, the term Veda has
been used in India to mean Divine Scripture. In due
course of time, even the followers of the semitic
religions in India have tended to describe their own
religious scriptures as Vedas.
The term which the Qur'an has employed to refer to
revealed scripture is Al-Kitab which, in turn, simply
means ‘the Scripture’. The Qur'anic view is that the
religious scripture consists of the revelations made
to the messenger by the Lord Creator Himself. Divine
revelations have been referred to as Wahy and as far
as a revealed scripture is concerned, it contains wahy
alone. However, it is not necessary that all Wahy made
to all messengers should find mention in the
scripture. In fact, it is only that portion of the
Wahy which has been received with the special command
for its inception in the scriptural text, that
ultimately finds expression in it.
What is the purpose of the Revealed Scripture?
The Qur'anic view contends that the primary purpose of
revealed scripture is to unite mankind. Look at what
the Holy Qur'an has to say: ‘Mankind was one single
nation. And Allah sent Messengers with glad tidings
and warnings; and with them He sent the Book in truth,
to judge between people in matters wherein they
It becomes evident from this that religious scriptures
were revealed in order that a divine ruling, of a
final nature, may be made in the matters in which
mankind differed. Thus, the Qur'an declares that it,
too, was revealed so that mankind may be freed of the
dissensions that were rife amongst themselves. ‘And We
sent down the Book to thee so that That thou shouldst
make clear to them those things in which they differ,
and that it should be a guide and a mercy to those who
In order that the fate of the people of the book, who
had boasted of their own high status, by which they
were ultimately led to dissension and anarchy, not
fall upon its believers, the Qur'an exhorts them to
stick fast to the last of the scriptures as well as to
its practical manifestation as enshrined in the life
and conduct of the prophet. "And hold fast, All
together, by the Rope which Allah (stretches out for
you), and be not divided among yourselves." (3:103)
The commentators are unanimous in their opinion that
the ‘rope of Allah’ mentioned here indicates the
In short, therefore, the first and foremost duty of
the Scripture is to lead people unto the truth and to
eliminate, thereby, all dissension and anarchy.
What does the Qur'an say about the Scriptures that preceded it?
The Qur'an recognizes all the scriptures that had been
revealed before its own time. However, the Qur'an does
not, in an explicit fashion, state the total number of
all such revealed scriptures. There is only the
mention of the names of four other scriptures in the
Qur'an. These include the Taurat which was revealed to
the prophet Moosa (a), the Zaboor which was revealed
to the prophet Dawood (a) the Injeel which was
revealed to the prophet Isa (a) and the Qur'an itself
which was revealed to the prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The
Qur'an further highlights the fact that besides these
four scriptures, other edicts, too, were revealed by
the Lord Creator.
"Say : We believe in Allah and what is revealed to us
and what was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac
and Jacob and the tribes, and what was entrusted to
Moses and Jesus and the prophets from their Lord."
"And this is in the Books of the earliest
(Revelations), The Books of Abraham and Moses."
The Qur'an attests the truth of all the previous
scriptures. "It is He Who sent down to thee (step by
step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before
it; and He sent down the Torah (Of Moses) and the
Gospel (Of Jesus)." (3:3)
It is the compulsory duty of the Muslim to believe in
all the scriptures that were revealed by Allah.
Indeed, the Qur'an views the disbelief in the Divine
nature of any of the previous scriptures as a gross
"O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger,
and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger
and the Scripture which He sent to those before (him).
Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His
Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far,
far astray." (4:136)
Are the Tauraat, the Zaboor, and the Injeel the Torah (Pentateuch), Psalmsand the Gospels mentioned in the Bible?
Tauraat is the scripture that was given to Moosa (a).
Similarly, the Zaboor and the Injeel are the books
that were given to Dawood (a) and Isa (a). The Qur'an
introduces the scriptures as those that were revealed
by the Lord Creator Himself. "It was We who revealed
the Tarah (to Moses): therein was guidance and light."
"And in their footsteps We sent Jesus the son of Mary,
confirming the Torah that had come before him: We sent
him the Gospel: therein was guidance and light."
From this it is abundantly clear that these scriptures
were all in fact, revealed by the Lord Creator
Himself. But this is not the case with the books of
the Bible. They were all written centuries after the
messengers. Indeed, there is extant not even a single
book in the Bible which can reasonably be believed to
have been revealed to the messengers. It is the
traditional belief of the Jews that Moses (a),
himself, had written the Pentateuch (Torah); not that
it was revealed by God. However, modern research
indicates that even the traditional belief that Moses
had written the Pentateuch is, in itself, baseless. It
is the opinion of the scholars that since the death of
Moses, and the events that followed his death, have
been described in the Pentateuch (Deuteronomy
34:5-10), it can never be that Moses (a) had written
the book himself. Similar is the case of the Book of
Psalms. In actual fact, there is not in it, a single
Psalm that can be authoritatively said to have been
written by David. In the Gospels, too, although there
is mention, therein, of the true Gospel of God which
Jesus had actually preached (Mark 1:14,15), there is
no clear picture about this Gospel in the four
accounts in the Bible. As for the Gospel in the New
testament, it was written at least five decades after
Jesus. The gospels give but vastly differing and
contradictory accounts of the life of Jesus. It is now
clear that none of these was the true scripture that
was revealed to Jesus. In short, therefore, even
though the various books of the Bible do quote certain
ideas from the Tauraat, the Zaboor and the Injeel, it
cannot be said that they are present in the Bible in
all their fullness and purity.
What does the Qur'an say about the Hindu Vedas?
Messengers have been sent to all communities among
mankind. The Qur'an makes it so explicitly clear as to
leave behind not a shadow of a doubt, that "there has
not gone by a single nation wherein a warner was not
sent." (35:24) Therefore, as an ancient land in which
had thrived a civilization and a culture, India, too,
must have had been the destination of the messengers.
Further, some among those messengers must have been
the recipients of scriptures also. It is not for the
Muslim to take any of these messengers or their
scriptures lightly or with indifference. For the
Qur'an has sternly warned against showing partiality
with respect to the messengers (4:150). The Qur'an
therefore reveres the messengers who had come to
India, as also the scriptures which were revealed to
But can it be said that any of the existing books on
the Shruthi (the vedic compilations, Brahmanas,
Aaranyas, Upanishads) has been revealed to the
messengers by the Lord Creator? It is believed that
these have been referred to as Shruthi because they
had been heard of from God Himself.
The concept of Shruthi makes it clear that it was also
the belief of the Hindus that mankind does, indeed,
receive messengers from God. Even though all the above
mentioned books are all Shruthis in themselves, the
question as to which amongst them forms the more
authoritative text is one over which there is much
difference of opinion. While Dayanand Saraswathi, the
founder of the Aarya Samaaj, accorded the status of
authority only to the four compilation of the Vedas,
others like Swami Vivekananda gave prime importance to
There were also scholars of Hinduism who opined that
even the most authentic of the Books of Shruthi can be
prone to error. The stand of Dr. Radhakrishnan that
"the Vedas are neither infallible nor
all-encompassing" (Indian Religions, Page 22) and of
Swami Vivekananda that "To the extent that they are
supported by sound reasoning all portions of the Vedas
are acceptable to me. However, some portions of the
Vedas are, at first sight, self contradictory"
(Vivekananda Sahitya Sarwaswam vol. 4, Issue 55) will
serve in breaking the spear-head of the claim that the
Vedas comprise, in their totality, the Divine message.
Generally speaking, the Shruthi form the books which
present the actual and existing beliefs and practices
that once prevailed in India. However, the dim light
of the message of the prophets who were sent to India
will may be seen in them. But the claim that these are
completely Divine is, however, without foundation.
What is the theme of the Qur'an?
The theme of the Qur'an is the salvation of man.
As the only creation capable of independent
action, man is to follow certain laws for his very
survival and progress. All things in the universe
follow the Divine laws of their own accord.
Indeed, they do not possess the option of straying
from this set course. In fact, the systemic
functioning of the human body itself compulsorily
follows the Divine laws. However, man has been
granted freedom of action in certain limited
domains. Even in these spheres he can attain
salvation if, and only if, he obeys the Divine
It is to mankind that the Qur'an speaks. It is to
his salvation that the Qur'an beckons. It
convinces him of the existence of the Lord Creator
by turning his attention to the varied and
incredible phenomena of nature. It speaks to him
of the impermanence of the life of this world and
of the utter meaninglessness of wasting an entire
lifetime in pursuit of the comforts herein. It
makes clear to him the path which must be followed
in order that he be of that blessed group which
becomes worthy of the entry into Paradise as of
the safety from the confines of Hell.
It invites his attention to the history of those
who purchased the punishment of Hell in exchange
for the comforts of this world. It tells him of
those who were granted the entry into Paradise for
having led a life of purity.
Briefly put, the Qur’an prepares man for attaining
salvation both in this world and the next through
obedience to the Divine commandments
The Qur'an’s style of presentation....?.
The Qur'an contains within itself the words of the
Lord Creator. Mankind is the subject of its
exhortation and address. It is not the discursive
style of the other ordinary books which the Qur'an
adopts. The style the Qur'an does adopt is not merely
the assertive style of scientific books or the
discursive style of the history books or the
expressive style of the books of literature. However,
the Qur'an does accept all of these styles. The Qur'an
does not assert the required point by elaborating on
the branches and sub-branches of a selected central
topic. The Qur'an’s has not been a method in which the
subject is first determined on the foundations of
which is then divided the various chapters and
sub-tittles. It is in a very haphazard manner that a
varied assortment of subjects are dealt within its
It can be safely said that the style of the Qur'an is
one by which it successfully communicates with those
who are being addressed by it. The Qur'an teaches man
the path of salvation. To that end, it does employ the
lessons of science and history. Glad tidings as well
as stern warnings - both find their way in between its
other verses. It convinces one of the reward which is
to be had in following the true path and of the dire
consequences that ensue from going against it. It
calls for man’s recognition of the truth of its
message by way of his casting his eyes over his
surroundings and of employing the faculties of his
intelligence and reasoning. It is in an entirely mixed
form that all of these injunctions have come together.
It is in the interest of those who are addressed that
the Lord Himself has adopted this style. Indeed, this
style has proved effective in making its appeal felt
within the human society which consists of both the
intellectuals as well as the ordinary people. To
approach the Qur'an as one would a book of science or
history, without proper appreciation of this special
and particular style, would be to do little justice to
the satisfactory comprehension of its contents.
On the wordings and chapters of the Qur'an...?
The Qur'an consists of 114 chapters. A chapter is
called a Surah. Each chapter has been given a
different name. The first wordings of certain chapters
have been used to name the chapter itself. Other
surahs derive their name from a particular reference
somewhere in its middle portion. There are yet other
surahs which are named after the main theme therein.
Some other surahs have names which highlight the basic
issue discussed in them.
There is also much difference in the size of each
surah. Indeed, there are surahs which vary in length
from three small verses to lengthy surahs which have
nearly three hundred.
Each verse of the surahs is called an aayath. In the
length of the aayaths, too, there exists much
disparity. The aayaths range from very short ones,
which comprise a combination of a few sounds, to very
lengthy ones indeed. Many aayaths are in themselves
complete words. Then there are other aayaths which
form full sentences only if put together. Similarly,
there are aayaths which are a combination of complete
words. The structure and length of the aayaths have
all been decided by God Almighty Himself.
What are the evidences in favour of the Qur'an being a Divine Sripture?
Given below is a list of some of the evidences in
support of the Divine nature of the Qur'an:
1. It , itself, declares that it is a Divine
2. It remains unchanged upto the Last Day.
3. The path of right conduct that it prescribes
4. It is practicable.
5. The history that it teaches is unadulterated
6. Its literature is incomparable.
7. The prophecies made in it can be seen to have
8. The references in it to the varied phenomena
of nature, as representing the signs of God, are free
9. There is no reference, whatsoever, of an
unscientific nature in it.
10. It is free of all contradictions.
11. None has been able to face the challenge it poses
when it calls forth all, and any, to produce an
equivalent of at least one of its chapters.
12. The person who was appointed with it in the
world was himself of a truthful and selfless nature.