About the Quran…

I. DESCRIPTION and NAMES

There are different opinions about the root from which the word Qur’ân derives. It is possible to categorise these views into two groups: those who argue that the word is without a hemz and those who argue that the word is with a hemz. According to the first view, which is narrated from Imam Shafi’i, who is among those who say that the name Qur’an is without a hemza, and supported by other scholars, the word is “al-qurān” (القرآن) with the letter-ta’rif, and it is neither derived from the verb “kara’e” (قرأ) nor from any other root; it is the special name given by Allah to the book sent for the last religion, such as the Torah and the Gospel (Bayhaqī, I, 277). Ibn Kathīr, one of the ten Qur’ānic imams, reads the word without a hemza, while the others read it with a hemza. According to Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ash’arī and a group of scholars, the word is derived from the root carn and means “to bring one thing closer to another, to add to it”. Yahyā b. Ziyād al-Farrā and al-Qurtubī, on the other hand, show karā’i as the root of the word Qur’ān. Because one of the verses of the Qur’an confirms the other and the verses are similar to each other (Zarqeshi, I, 374).

Scholars such as ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas, Qatāda b. Diāma, Abū ‘Ubaydah Ma’mer b. Musnānā, Ibn Jarīr al-Tabari, Zajjāj, al-Bāqillānī, and the contemporary scholars Almalılı Muhammad Hamdi and Muhammad Tahir b. ‘Ashūr are of the opinion that “al-Qur’ān” is a word with a hemizel derived from the verb “kara’e”. However, there is a dispute among them as to which of the meanings of the verb “kara’e” is “to read”, “to collect” and “to explain” according to its masdar. Ibn ‘Abbas says that the masdar of the word “Qur’an” means “to explain, to declare”, while Qatada b. Diamah and Zajjājāj say that it is the masdar of the verb “kara’tü’sh-sh-shay’e kar’en” or “kara’tü’l-mâe fi’l-havzi” in the sense of “gathering and bringing together”. Although al-Tabari states that both views have their place in the Arabic language, he prefers the one belonging to Ibn ‘Abbas. Many scholars such as al-Jawharî, Râgıb al-Isfahânî, Ibn Atiyya al-Andalusî and others say that the word is a noun from the verb “kara’e” which means “reading” (qiraat, tilâvet). Considering the fact that the Islamic revelation began with the command “ikra'” (read), that the root “kara’e” is used in seventeen places in the Qur’an in the sense of “reading”, and that the Qur’an is a book that is recommended to be read a lot, it seems more correct to accept that the name of the Qur’an derives from the verb “kara’e” meaning “reading”. Frantz Buhl and A. T. Welch state that many Western scholars accept that the word Qur’an is derived from the Syriac root karyânâ, which means “to read a text; a lesson in a church”. Arabic linguists also state that “Kara’e” does not directly mean “recitation” and “recitation” in its root meaning. However, the word has also been used in the sense of “reading, preserving information in the mind” since years before the Qur’an was revealed.

Various definitions have been made regarding the term meaning of the Qur’an, and these have been brought together to a great extent and the following definition has been reached: “The Qur’an is a divine word in Arabic that was revealed by Allah through Jabrâil to the last Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in an unknown way, written in mushafs, transmitted by tawâtur, worshipped by reading, beginning with the sûrah Fâtiha and ending with the sûrah Nâs, and which others are incapable of replicating.” According to this definition, books and pages that were not revealed to the Prophet, translations of the Qur’an or paraphrases of the Qur’an’s meanings in Arabic, recitations that do not conform to the calligraphy of the Prophet ‘Uthman’s mushafs, and sacred hadiths cannot be called the Qur’an (Shawkanî, p. 62).

The lack of consensus on the number of other names and adjectives of the Qur’an stems from the fact that some words that are not actually names are accepted as names or adjectives. Al-Zarqashī and al-Suyūtī note that al-Shayzalah mentions fifty-five names (kitāb, qur’ān, kalām, nūr, huḍā, hudā, mercy, furqān, şifā, maw’iza, dhikr, kerīm, alî, hikmat, hakîm, hakîm, muheymin, mubârek, habl, as-sırâtü’l-mustaqqīm, kayyim, fasl, an-nabû’l-azîm, ahsenü’l-hadîs, tenzîl, rûh, revelation, mesânî, Arabî, kavl, besâir, beyân, ilm, hak, hedy [hâdî], aceb, tezkire, al-urwat al-wüskā, mutashâbih, sıdk, adl, îmân, emr, büşrâ, münâdî, nezîr, mecîd, zabûr, mubīn, ʿaqīr, azīz, belāg, qasas, suhuf, muḥarram, merfūa, mutahhera) and explained their meanings (al-Burhān fī ʿulūm al-Ḳurʾān, I, 370-373; al-Itḳān, I, 159-164). However, although some of these words can be accepted as the name of the Qurʾān, most of them, such as alī, habl, al-sīrāt al-mustaqīm, fasl, and nabāʾun azīm, are not names but words that refer to the Qurʾān in some way or its attributes. The words masānī and mutashābih, on the other hand, refer either to only one sūrah of the Qur’ān or to its various verses. Māwardī says that in the Qur’ān, Allah calls His book by the names “al-qur’ān, al-furqān, al-kitāb, ez-zikr”. According to Muhammad Thāhir b. Āshūr, the most famous names of the Qur’ān are: Qur’ān, tenzīl, kitāb, furqān, dhikr, revelation, kalāmullah.

II. HISTORY
When the Prophet Muhammad approached the age of forty, he began to experience some unprecedented phenomena. He was having dreams that he had never experienced before in his life, hearing voices that he did not understand where they came from, and noticing lights (Musnad, I, 279). Again at this age, he started to go to the cave of Hira with the desire to be alone and immerse himself in contemplation, and he stayed there until he ran out of food. Here he tried to understand the new states that emerged in him and worshipped Allah. After this period of preparation, which is estimated to have lasted for four or five years (Ibn Hishām, I, 263-267; Hamīdullah, The Prophet of Islam, I, 77-84), the angel of revelation Jabrāil came to him for the first time and told him to “read”. When he replied, “I do not know how to read,” the angel grasped him and squeezed him tightly and released him. Then he said “read” again. When Muhammad again said, “I do not know how to read,” the angel squeezed him again and let him go. Upon the same reply, Jabrâil squeezed and released him a third time and said, “Read in the name of your Lord, the Creator. He created man from a fertilised egg. Read! Your Lord is infinitely gracious. He is the One who teaches with the pen. He taught man what he did not know” (al-Alaq 96/1-5) and went away. The terrified Prophet Muhammad returned to his house and said to his wife Khadija, “Cover me”, rested for a while, and when he got up, he told her what had happened to him. Khadija reassured him that Allah would not make him a liar. Then they went together to Waraqa b. Nawfal, the son of Khadija’s uncle. Waraqa told the Messenger of Allah that it was “nâmûs” (Jabrâil) who had come to the Prophet Moses and that he would follow and help him if he was alive when he began his prophecy (Musnad, VI, 232; Bukhârî, “Bedʾü’l-vaḥy”, 3; Muslim, “Îmân”, 252). Thus, Prophet Muhammad understood that he had been commissioned as a prophet, and Khadijah believed in him and gained the honour of being the first Muslim. According to the narrations on the subject and the relevant verses of the Qur’an (al-Baqara 2/185; al-Qadr 97/1), the Qur’an began to descend to the Prophet when he was forty years old on the 27th night of Ramadan in the year 610 (Hamīdullah, The Prophet of Islam, I, 80). If the expression “rü’yâ-yı sâdıka” in the narration from the Prophet ‘A’isha (Musnad, VI, 232; Bukhārī, “Bedʾü’l-vaḥy”, 3; Muslim, “Îmān”, 252) is considered as the developments that prepared the Prophet Muhammad for prophethood, this narration does not contradict the information that the first verses began with the command to “read”. The narrations that the revelation came while the Prophet Muhammad was asleep in the cave of Hira (Ibn Hishām, I, 267-269; Ibn Sa’d, I, 194-195) do not seem reliable enough in the face of the narrations of Bukhārī and Muslim. In addition, there is no clear evidence that any of the verses in the Qur’ân al-kerîm were revealed through dreams during sleep (Muhammad b. Muhammad Abū Shahba, p. 58). It should not be inferred from the life of seclusion on Mount Hira that Prophet Muhammad was expecting a prophethood. As a matter of fact, the Qur’an states that he did not expect prophethood (al-Qasas 28/86).

Hadith sources give different information about the descent of the Qur’an. Suyūtī categorised the related narrations into three main groups. According to the first group, the Qurʾān descended collectively on the night of al-Qadr from the lev al-mahfūz to the firmament of the world (or “bayt al-izzāt”), and then it was revealed to the Prophet piece by piece over a period of twenty or twenty-three years. Sujūtuṭī finds the content of these narrations, whose senadīs he considers to be authentic, more appropriate and consistent. According to the second group of narrations, the Qur’an was sent down to the heavens on Laylat al-Qadr night of each year in the amount that would be revealed in that year, and then as much as was necessary was revealed to the Prophet when necessary. According to the third group of narrations, the Qur’an began to descend for the first time on the night of Qadr, and then continued to descend for twenty-odd years. However, the fact that almost all of the narrations quoted by al-Suyūṭī on the subject are the sayings of the Companions, especially Ibn ‘Abbas, shows that these are largely personal opinions and makes it possible to look at the view of the descent of the Qur’an to the world sky at once or more than once with scepticism. Moreover, considering that a verse or a sūrah in a book is also called the Qur’ān, it is not necessary to infer from the statements that the Qur’ān was revealed in the month of Ramadan (al-Baqarah 2/185) and on the night of Qadr (al-Qadr 97/1) that all of it descended in this month and night.

After the revelation of the first five verses of al-‘Alaq, revelation ceased for a while (al-Bukhārī, “Bedʾ al-vaḥy”, 3). There are different reports about the duration of this period, ranging from fifteen days to three years. However, a long period of three years does not correspond to the reality, and it comes to mind that this understanding is due to the confusion with the three-year period of secret revelation. The first revelation that came after the period of fate was the first verses of Surat al-Muddat al-Qudsir (Bukhārī, “Bedʾ al-vaḥy”, 4, “Bedʾ al-ḫalḳ”, 7, “Tafsīr”, 74, 96: Muslim, “Îmān”, 73, 161; Ibn Saʿd, I, 195). After a long period of time, a second interruption occurred before the revelation of the Surah al-Duhā (see: DUHĀ Sūrah).

Scholars have emphasised the wisdom of the successive revelation of the Qurʾān and mentioned its benefits for the Prophet and his ummah (al-Suyūṭī, al-Itḳān, I, 129-138). Some of these benefits include keeping the society’s interest in revelation alive, maintaining loyalty to the Messenger of Allah until his death, observing gradualism in judgements to ensure ease of education and implementation, determining the priorities in the life of society, and winning the hearts of those who were hostile to revelation by giving them time (Bukhārī, “Feżāʾil al-Ḳurʾān”, 6; Atesh, Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān, XII, 104-105).

Although it is unanimous that the first five verses of al-‘Alaq are the first verses of the Qurʾān, there is disagreement as to which sūrah was the first to be revealed. It is highly probable that al-Fatiha is the first revealed sūrah of the Qur’an (Elmalılı, I, 7; VIII, 5943-5944). It is also clear that Suras al-Muddatessir, al-‘Alaq, al-Qalam, and al-Musammil were among the first revealed suras (al-Suyūṭī, al-Itḳān, I, 76-83). The first sura revealed in the Medinan period was al-Baqarah. The last verse to be revealed is also disputed. Those who say that the 281st verse of Surat al-Baqarah was the last verse to be revealed have reported that the Messenger of Allah passed away nine or eighty-one nights after the revelation of this verse. It is generally accepted that the last verses to be revealed were in Surat al-Tawbah (verses 128, 129) (Musnad, V, 134). The claim that the verse of Surat al-Ma’idah which was revealed in Arafat during the Farewell pilgrimage, “Today I have completed your religion for you …” (5:3) was the last verse to be revealed is not accepted because the verses on borrowing (al-Baqarah 2/282), interest (al-Baqarah 2/278), and the inheritance of a person who does not have usul and fürûu (an-Nisâ 4/176) were revealed after this verse. According to a narration from Ibn ‘Abbas, Surah al-Nasr was the last surah to be revealed (Muslim, “Tafsīr”, 21). It is also narrated that Surah al-Tawbah was the last to be revealed (for different narrations and evaluations, see al-Zarqashī, I, 29). Zarqashī, I, 298-300; Suyūṭī, al-Itḳān, I, 87-91).

The most widely accepted view is that the verses and suras that were revealed before the Hijrah should be considered Makkī and those that were revealed after the Hijrah should be considered Madī, regardless of the place of their descent. Because these two concepts refer to two different periods with their own conditions. According to al-Zarqashī, eighty-five of the suras are Makkī and twenty-nine are Madīnī (al-Burhān fī ʿulūm al-Ḳurʾān, I, 281), while according to al-Suyūṭī, eighty-two are Makkī, twenty are Madīnī, and twelve are disputed (al-Itḳān, I, 33). However, according to the current popular view, eighty-six of the suras are Makkī and twenty-eight are Madīnī. Some Makkī suras contain Madanī verses and some Makkī suras contain Makkī verses. In the Makkan verses of the Qur’an, issues of belief, the contradictions that the polytheists fell into, the events that happened to the past nations, moral and human values are mostly mentioned, and these verses are mostly short and poetic. Nevertheless, it is also observed that some of the Madanic suras, such as Surah Rahmān, carry the style of the Meccan suras.

The Qur’an uses the words “al-qur’an” and “al-kitāb” in many places when referring to itself. These names indicate that it is a revelation that is both read and written. The Prophet first communicated the revelations to the people and then dictated them to the scribes. The Arabs, who were far from written culture, had no difficulty in memorising the verses and suras that were revealed thanks to their strong memorisation abilities. Writing was limited to a small number of Muslims due to the primitive nature of Arabic script and the scarcity of literate people. From the end of the Meccan period onwards, the number of those who learnt to read and write increased, and especially in the Medinan period, both the writing material and the number of those who knew how to write increased. The number of literate people was higher among the Meccans, who were engaged in trade, especially inter-country trade, than among the Medinans. As a matter of fact, most of the forty scribes of revelation were from Mecca. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) appointed literate Companions in Medina to teach writing. Abdullah b. Saīd b. ʿĀs, Ubāda b. Sāmit (Musnad, V, 215) and Hafsa bint ʿUmar (Musnad, VI, 372; Abū Dāwūd, “Ṭib”, 18) are among those who were assigned for this purpose. There is evidence in the Qur’an itself that the revealed verses were written down from the early years of the Meccan period (cf. Al-Furqān 25/5; al-Tūr 52/1-3; ‘Abasa 80/11-16; al-Bayyine 98/2) and hadith sources (Musnad, III, 12, 21, 39, 65; Bukhārī, “Jihād”, 129, “Feżāʾil al-Ḳurʾān”, 4; Muslim, “Imāra”, 24/92-94, “Zuhd”, 16/72; Ibn Māja, “Jihād”, 45; Tirmidhī, “Tafsīr”, 10) and history books. Even if it is thought that the revelation may not have been dictated in the first few years when Muslims were few in number, this did not constitute a drawback. Because the suras that came down in this period were easily memorised and recited by the Messenger of Allah and his Companions due to their shortness and stylistic features. One of the most important evidences that the revelation was written down from the early periods is the incident of the Prophet ‘Umar’s conversion to Islam. While his sister and brother-in-law were reciting Surah al-Tahā’a from a written text, ‘Umar entered the room, asked for the text they were reciting, and recited it after performing ghusl ablution (Ibn Hishām, I, 370-373).

The scribes of revelation appointed by the Prophet wrote the revealed verses on the available materials (Bukhārī, “Feżāʾil al-Ḳurʾān”, 4). These materials are very diverse and the most famous ones are the shoulder blades and rib bones of camels (azm), pieces of tanned leather (edīm), leaf stones (lihāf), suitable parts of date palm branches (asib), ceramic pieces (hazef), wood (qatāb), parchment (rāq) and papyrus (qurtās; for the material on which the revelation was written, cf. Musnad, V, 185; al-Suyūṭī, al-Itḳān, I, 185-186; Hamīdullah, History of the Holy Qurʾān, p. 43). Although there are different opinions as to whether the written texts were kept in the presence of the Messenger of Allah or the scribes of revelation, it is understood that the Messenger of Allah allowed the scribes of revelation to keep the written revelation so that it could be written and learnt by others (al-Haythamī, I, 152).

There is no information that the verses of the Qur’an were gathered together into a book during the Prophet’s lifetime. The main reason for not putting the Qur’an between two covers at that time was that it was not known when the revelation would cease since the Messenger of Allah was alive. However, the practice of the Messenger of Allah and Jabrāil reciting to each other the verses that had been revealed up to that day during Ramadan (arza) (Bukhārī, “Bedʾ al-ḫalḳ”, 6) suggests that the Qurʾān was on its way to taking the form of a book. Some narrations indicate that Companions such as Zayd b. Sābit and Ubay b. Ka’b closely followed these readings (Musnad, V, 117; Hakim, II, 225). Especially the last recitation in the month of Ramadan in the year of the Messenger of Allah’s death took place two times each, and thus the mushaf emerged (Bukhārī, “Bedʾ al-vaḥy”, 5, “Feżāʾil al-Ḳurʾān”, 7, “Iʿtikāf”, 17, “Menāḳib”, 25; Muslim, “Feżāʾil,” 50, “Feżāʾil al-ṣaḥāba,” 98, 99; al-Nasāʾī, “Ṣıyām,” 2). There are different narrations about the number of people who memorised the entire Qur’an during the Prophet’s lifetime. Although one narration from Anas b. Mālik states that there were four or five of them, it is understood from other narrations that this number exceeded ten (see: HāFIZ).

While the Qurʾān, the order of which was determined in the last recitation and which was written down and memorised in this final form by many of the Companions, continued to be recited, the martyrdom of some of the scribe Companions in the Battle of Yemāma and some other battles (Bukhārī, “Feżāʾil al-Ḳurʾān”, 3) alarmed Hz. Umar and prompted him to take action. As narrated at length in al-Bukhārī’s al-Jāmiʿu’ṣ-ṣaḥīḥ, ‘Umar brought the idea of collecting the Qurʾān (jamʿ) to Caliph Abū Bakr and convinced him, and Abū Bakr assigned this task to Zayd b. Sābit. With the announcement, those who had written copies and fragments of the Qur’an with them were asked to apply to the committee in charge with two witnesses that these texts were Qur’anic verses. Zayd and the other members of the committee checked and wrote down the written texts brought by the companions, taking into account the last reading. The last two verses of Surat al-Tawbah (9/128-129) and the 23rd verse of Surat al-Ahzāb (9/128-129) were found only in the possession of Hudhaymah b. Sābit al-Ansārī, and since the Prophet equated his testimony with the testimony of two people, only these verses were accepted with one witness (Bukhārī, “Aḥkām”, 37; “Tafsīr”, 22/3). However, since these two verses in Surat al-Tawbah were among the last verses to be revealed, they were fresh in the memory, and the other Companions supported the existence of these verses with their memorisation. Thus, the Qur’an was collected in its entirety with the help of written material and memorisation and handed over to Hazrat Abu Bakr. This compilation between two covers was called “mushaf”, and this book was passed on to ‘Umar after Abū Bakr and to his daughter Hafsa, who was also the wife of the Messenger of Allah (Bukhārī, “Feżāʾil al-Ḳurʾān”, 3, 4, “Tawbah”, 20; Ibn Abū Dāwūd, pp. 6, 8, 30-31). The Qurʾān compiled on the orders of Abū Bakr received the approval (ijmā) of all the Companions, especially Abū ‘Umar and ‘Ali, and no one raised any objection (Abū ‘Abdullah al-Sayrafī, pp. 355-357). Although the fact that Hazrat ‘Ali did not leave his house after the death of the Messenger of Allah and collected the Qur’an with his personal effort has been interpreted differently, it is known that Hazrat ‘Ali appreciated the work carried out by Abu Bakr (Ibn Abū Shaybah, VI, 148; Ibn Abū Dāwūd, p. 10), and the moderate branches of Shīʿa believe that there is no difference between the Qur’an compiled during the time of Abū Bakr and the text that descended to the Messenger of Allah (M. Husayn Tabātabāʾī, pp. 130-133; Karatash, pp. 55-71, 221-228). This mushaf of Abu Bakr was preserved as a precautionary measure, and the Companions continued to recite according to their own copies and memorisation. However, it is certain that towards the end of the Messenger of Allah’s life, memorisations were made according to the order formed and some personal copies were created.

In the Islamic geography, which expanded with increasing conquests during the reigns of Hazrat ‘Umar and ‘Uthman, Muslims outside the Arabs learnt and recited the Qur’an with the mushaf and qiraat of the Companions who were famous in their own regions, and probably made special copies for themselves from these mushafs. While this practice continued, those who could not correctly evaluate some of the differences in the Qur’anic recitation that emerged due to the “seven letters” licence and the structure of the Arabic language saw this as an important cause of dispute and started serious discussions (Makkī b. Abū Ṣālib, pp. 48-49). According to al-Bukhārī’s narration from Anas b. Mālik, Hudhayfah b. Yemān, the commander of the army that participated in the conquest of Azerbaijan and Armenia, became concerned when he saw the differences between the Syrian and Iraqi soldiers; he came to Caliph ‘Uthman and asked him to find a solution to the issue. Uthman, probably considering other complaints and disputes (see, e.g., Dānī, al-Muḳniʿ, p. 17; al-Suyūṭī, al-Itḳān, I, 187-188), decided to reproduce the Abū Bakr mushaf in Hafsa’s possession and send it to the major centres. He appointed a committee consisting of ‘Abdullah b. Zubayr, Sa’id b. ‘As, and ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Khāris b. Hishām, again headed by Zayd b. Sābit, and ordered them to take the Quraysh dialect in which the Qurʾān was revealed as a basis when they disagreed in writing. The committee, whose members reached twelve including the assistants, successfully completed their work and the original copy was returned to Hafsa. At the end of this work, which took place between 25-30 (646-651) (Keskioğlu, pp. 161-162), seven (or four, five, eight) copies of the Qurʾān were sent to Mecca, Kufa, Basra, Damascus, Yemen, and Bahrain with a kāri, and one copy was left in Medina (Dānī, al-Muḳniʿ, p. 19; Zarqashī, I, 334; Suyūṭī, al-Itḳān, I, 189-190). Hazrat Uthman ordered the destruction of the Qurʾānic pages and private mushafs (Bukhārī, “Feżāʾil al-Ḳurʾān,” 2, 3). One of the two important issues in the reproduction of the Qurʾān was that the order of the suras was based on the form of the last recitation, and the other was that the Quraysh dialect was taken as the basis by abandoning the dialectal differences that were suitable for different recitations (see KIRAAT).

No one from the companions and tâbiîn objected to the work of Prophet ‘Uthman in reproducing the mushaf. According to the narration related to ‘Abdullah b. Mas’ūd, Ibn Mas’ūd did not approve of the appointment of Zayd b. Thabit as the chairman of the committee rather than the work done, but later followed the practice of Hazrat ‘Uthman (Musnad, I, 389; Tirmidhī, “Tafsīr”, 10; Abū ‘Abdullah al-Sayrafī, pp. 361-374; Zehebī, I, 487-488). Contrary to the opinion of some Shiʿite groups, the Prophet ‘Ali also approved and defended Caliph ‘Uthman’s action (Ibn Abū Dāwūd, pp. 21-22; Makkī b. Abū Thālib, p. 52; Dānī, al-Muḳniʿ, p. 18; Zarqashī, I, 329, 334). The copies of the Qurʾān that were copied and sent to various towns were widely accepted, Qurʾānic teaching was carried out according to these copies, and some Qurʾān copies and recitations based on the seven-letter licence, which did not conform to the official mushaf calligraphy, were labelled shāz qirāt and abandoned.

However, despite these mushafs, from time to time there were reading difficulties and serious reading mistakes. The main reason for this was the lack of dots and the absence of the gesture in Hazrat ‘Uthman’s mushafs. The first administrator to take action to solve this problem was Ziyād b. Abīh, the governor of Iraq under Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwān. Ziyâd asked Abū al-Aswad al-Düelī to find a solution to prevent misreading. He, together with a scribe assigned to his command, had the mushāf moved from beginning to end, a dot was placed above the letter with red ink for fatha, a dot was placed below it for esra, a dot was placed in front of it for aftra, and tenvin was shown with two dots (Ibn al-Nadīm, pp. 45-47; Dānī, al-Muḥkem, p. 3). Even though the Qurʾān’s being labelled brought ease of reading to a great extent, mistakes could not be completely prevented. Because new learners of the Arabic language and the Qur’an continued to have difficulties in distinguishing similar letters from each other. Hajjāj, the governor of Iraq, appointed Ibn Ya’mer and Nasr b. Āsim to find a solution to this problem, and they applied the punctuation marks they had learnt from Abū al-Aswad to the Qur’an. The mushafs written in this way spread rapidly throughout the Islamic world (Dānī, al-Muḥkem, pp. 6-7). Khalīl b. Aḥmad, on the other hand, finalised these works by developing the gestures and other punctuation marks used today (al-Zarqāshī, I, 349-350; see also ARAB [Writing]; MUSHAF).

III. TERMINATION
The Qur’ân al-kerîm consists of verses and suras with different numbers of verses. Some verses are called by special names, the most famous of which is the âyat al-kursî (al-Baqarah 2/255). The names such as âyat al-dain, âyat al-ribâ, âyat al-gambling are mostly related to the subject of the verse. In the verses revealed during the Meccan period, the words “verse” and “sūrah” are used (see M. F. ʿAbd al-Bālāqī, al-Muʿjam, articles “verse” and “sūrah”). For example, the polytheists are challenged to bring a sūrah similar to the Qurʾān (Yūnus 10/38). It is understood from this that the determination of the chapters of the Qur’anic revelation in the form of verses and sūrahs took place in the early years of the prophethood. According to the mushafs of Hazrat Uthman, there are 114 sūrahs in the Qur’an. All sūrahs, except al-Tawbah, have a besmela at the beginning. Although there are narrations about the absence of the besmel at the beginning of al-Tawbah that this surah is a continuation of al-Anfal, the more consistent view is that since al-Tawbah begins with an ultimatum to the polytheists and unbelievers, the besmel, which declares emancipation, would contradict this ultimatum. The fact that some of the Companions, such as Ibn Mas’ûd and Ubayy b. Ka’b, did not have Surahs al-Fatiha, al-Falaq and al-Nâs in their personal mushafs, and that some others had the prayers of kunut in theirs has led to different interpretations, especially by observant scholars, but these mushafs are based on the personal judgements of the people concerned and do not have the scientific value to make a judgement on them. The shortest surahs of the Qur’an are Asr, Kevser and Nasr with three verses each, and the longest surah is al-Baqarah with 286 verses.

There are some minor disagreements about the order of the verses and suras in the mushafs of Hazrat ‘Uthman. Based on the hadith that the arrangement of the verses in the suras was a matter of the Prophet’s discretion and that he did so at the request of Jabrāil (Musnad, I, 57), scholars agree that the arrangement of the verses was based on revelation (tawḥīfī) (M. Zāhid al-Qawsari, p. 6). Although some Western scholars, especially Western scholars, have argued that there are some errors of jurisprudence in the order of the verses by citing the existence of verses in some suras that are alleged to be disconnected from the preceding and following verses, this approach does not carry any value since it is largely based on the indicial views on the relationship between the verses. Since some of these verses are included in the suras whose revelation was completed in Mecca and were recited by the Prophet for almost twenty years (see, for example, al-Qiyāma 75/16-19), there is no possibility of error about their place in the sura. The most important evidence for the order of the verses is the mutual recitation of the Qur’an between Jabrāil and the Messenger of Allah. Because it is unthinkable to read and follow a text that does not have a certain order. However, this reading took place every year and was recited in this order during prayers. During the fifteen-year period until the Prophet ‘Uthman had the Qur’an copied and copied, the order determined before the Prophet’s death was taken as basis in prayers and memorisation of the Qur’an, and there is no information in the sources that there was any disagreement among the Companions on this issue (for detailed information, see Ibn al-Zubayr, ibid. Ibn al-Zubayr al-Saqafī, p. 183; al-Suyūtī, Tertīb al-Ḳurʾān, pp. 31-36; see also ibid. ĀYET; MÜNĀSEBAT al-ĀYAT wa’s-SÜVER; Sūrah).

Author: ABDULHAMIT BİRIŞIK

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Al-Jawharī, al-Ṣıḥāḥ, “ḳrʾe” md.

Rāgıb al-Isfahānī, al-Mufradāt, “ḳrʾe” md.

M. F. ʿAbd al-Bālāqī, al-Muʿjam, “âyat”, “sūrah” mds.

Musnad, I, 57, 279, 389; II, 222, 325; III, 12, 21, 39, 65, 108, 113; IV, 107, 129, 161; V, 117, 134, 185, 215; VI, 158, 163, 232, 372.

Dārimī, “Rūʾyā”, 12.

Bukhārī, “Bedʾ al-vaḥy”, 1-5, “Bedʾ al-ḫalḳ”, 6-7, “Tafsīr”, 22/3, 33/3, 74, 96, “Feżāʾil al-Ḳurʾān”, 1-4, 6-7, 14, “Jihād”, 129, “Iʿtikāf”, 17, “Menāḳib”, 25, “Aḥkām”, 37, “Tawbah”, 20.

Muslim, “Îmân,” 1, 73, 161, 252, “Feżāʾil,” 23, 50, “Feżāʾil al-ṣaḥāba,” 98, 99, “Imāra,” 24/92-94, “Zuhd,” 16/72, “Masājid,” 166, 167, “Tafsīr,” 2, 21, “Ṣalāt al-musāfirīn,” 42, 46.

Ibn Māja, “Iḳāmat al-ṣalāt,” 178, “Ticārāt,” 2, “Jihād,” 45.

Abū Dāwūd, “Ṭāb,” 18, “Ṣalāt,” 2, 126.

Tirmidhi, “Tafsīr”, 10, 48.

Nasa’i, “Ṣıyâm”, 2.

Ibn Hishām, al-Sīrat al-nabawiyyah (ed. ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Salām Tedmürī), Beirut 1410/1990, I, 263-269, 370-373.

Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaḳāt, I, 194-195.

Ibn Abū Shaybah, al-Muṣannaf (ed. Kamāl Yūsuf al-Khūt), Beirut 1409/1989, VI, 148.

Tabari, al-Jāmiʿ al-bayān, Cairo 1388/1968, I, 42-43.

Ibn Abū Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Meṣāḥif (ed. A. Jeffery), Cairo 1355/1936, pp. 6, 8, 10, 21-22, 30-31, 165-184.

Ibn al-Nadīm, al-Fihrist (Tajaddud), pp. 45-47.

Abū ‘Abdullah al-Sayrafī, Nukat al-Intiṣār li-naḳli al-Ḳurʾān li al-Imām al-Bāḳillanī (ed. M. Zaghlūl Sellām), Alexandria, ts. (Münşeet al-maārif), pp. 355-374.

Hakim, al-Mustadrek, II, 225.

Makkī b. Abū Ṣālib, al-Ibāna (ed. Muhyiddin Ramadan), Damascus 1399/1979, pp. 48-49, 52.

Dānī, al-Taysīr (ed. O. Pretzl), Istanbul 1930, p. 79.

ibid., al-Muḳniʿ (ed. M. Sādiq Kamhāwī), Cairo, ts. (Mektebet al-kulliyyāti al-Azhariyya), pp. 14-15, 17-19, 124.

a.mlf., al-Muḥkem fī naḳṭi al-maṣāḥif (ed. Izzat Hasan), Damascus 1379/1960, pp. 3, 6-7.

al-Māwardī, al-Nuqṭat wa’l-ʿuyūn (ed. Ḥidr Muhammad Ḥidr), Kuwayt 1402/1982, I, 34-35; ibid. (ed. Sayyid b. ʿAbd al-Maṣṣūd b. Abdur-Rahīm), Beirut 1412/1992, I, 23.

Bayhaqī, Menāḳib al-Shāfiʿī (ed. Sayyid Aḥmad Sakr), Cairo 1391/1971, I, 277.

Ibn Atiyya al-Andalusī, al-Muḥarrer al-wajīz, Muhammadiyah 1403/1982, I, 45.

Abū Shāma al-Maqdisī, al-Murshid al-wajīz (ed. Tayyar Altıkulaç), Ankara 1406/1986, p. 44.

Ibn al-Zubayr al-Saqafī, al-Burhān fī tātīb al-Ḳurʾān (ed. Muhammad Shaʿbānī), Muhammadiyah 1410/1990, p. 183.

Zeḥabī, Aʿlâm al-nubalāʾ, I, 487-488.

Zarqashī, al-Burhān fī ʿulūm al-Ḳurʾān (ed. Yūsuf ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Mar’ashlī et al.), Beirut 1415/1994, I, 281, 298-300, 328, 329, 329, 331, 333, 334-337, 345, 349-350, 370-373, 374.

Al-Haythamī, Majmaʿ al-zawāʾid, I, 152; VII, 177.

Ibn al-Jazari, al-Nashr, I, 414.

al-Suyūṭī, al-Itḳān (Bugā), I, 33, 76-83, 87-91, 129-138, 159-164, 167-171, 185-190, 197-205, 209-218, 222-228.

a.mlf., Tertīb al-Ḳurʾān (nşr. Sayyid al-Jumaylī), Beirut 1986, pp. 31-36.

Shawkanī, Irshād al-fuḥūl (ed. Abū Mus’ab M. Saīd al-Badrī), Beirut 1412/1992, p. 62.

Elmalılı, The Religion of Truth, I, 7, 996; VIII, 5943-5944.

A. Jeffery, The Foreign Vocabulary of the Qur’ān, Baroda 1938, pp. 233-234.

Osman Keskioğlu, The History of the Qur’ān and Encyclopaedic Information on the Qur’ān, Istanbul 1953, pp. 161-162.

M. Tāhir Ibn Āshūr, al-Taḥrīr wa’t-tanwīr, [no place and date of printing] (al-Dār al-Tūnisiyya li’n-neşr), I, 72.

M. Zāhid al-Kawsari, Maḳālāt, Cairo 1388/1968, pp. 5-6.

W. Montgomery Watt, Bell’s Introduction to the Qur’ān, Edinburgh 1970, pp. 136-137.

Hamīdullah, The Prophet of Islam, I, 77-84.

a.mlf., History of the Qur’ān (tr. Salih Tuğ), Istanbul 1993, p. 43.

Gānim Kaddūrī al-Hamed, Resm al-muṣḥaf, Bagdad 1402/1982, pp. 496, 540.

M. Husayn Tabātabāʾī, The Qurʾān in Islam (tr. Ahmet Erdinç), Istanbul 1988, pp. 130-133.

Muhammad b. Muhammad Abū Shahba, al-Madḫal li-dirāseti al-Ḳurʾānī al-Qarīm, Cairo 1412/1992, p. 58.

Şaban Karataş, The History of the Qur’an in Shia and Sunni Sources, Istanbul 1996, pp. 55-71, 221-228.

Suleyman Ates, Encyclopaedia of the Qur’an, Istanbul, ts. (Kuram publication), XII, 104-105.

Abdurrahman Çetin, “The Names and Attributes of the Qur’ân according to the Qur’ân”, Journal of UU Faculty of Theology, V, Bursa 1993, pp. 67-103.

F. Buhl, “Qur’an”, IA, VI, 995.

A. T. Welch, “al-Ḳurʾān”, EI2 (Eng.), V, 400.

This part of the article was included in the TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam, volume 26, published in Ankara in 2002, pages 383-388.