All praise is for God, the Lord of the Worlds, may His Majesty be exalted, and peace and blessings be upon the Prophet Muhammad, his household, his Companions, and the righteous servants among the inhabitants of the heaven and earth.

The movement of returning to the Qur’ān, which began in the Muslim world around a century ago, is continuing with its ups and downs, and right and wrong aspects. As is known, the Qur’ān was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad over 23 years, 14 centuries ago, mostly on different occasions. This last “version” of the Divine Word, which was planted in the Last Prophet as a seed and, growing swiftly, “raised on its stem, sprouted its shoots (Qur’ān, 48: 29),” came to leaf, blossomed, and yielded fruit in all aspects of life. Almost one third of the world having lived a peaceful life under its calm, serene shade for many centuries, the Qur’ān was veiled by the neglect and unfaithfulness of its “friends” and the hostility of its “enemies.” However, after a few centuries of misery, Muslims all over the Muslim world felt the dire need of returning to the Qur’ān and found that this Word of God is as fresh as when it was first revealed, and “growing younger as time gets older.”

The very essence of their being deeply injured by the poison injected by materialistic trends, humans are in quest of an immediate cure. It is the Word of God which has this cure. However, it is in anticipation of “doctors” who will present it. The future of humanity is dependent on the efforts of these doctors to present this cure. If the Qur’ān had been fully and accurately understood and practiced effectively in life, the poisons produced in modern times would not have been able to find Muslim customers in considerable numbers, no matter if they had been presented in golden cups. However, unfortunately, in addition to these poisons being easily injected in many believing bodies, some so-called Muslim “doctors,” who should have defied them with the Qur’ān, have taken them as if they were an antidote. They even have gone so far as to identify the cure of the Qur’ān with them and, further, have ventured to test it in the tubes of the laboratories where the poisons are produced.

What Is the Qur’ān; How Can It Be Defined?

According to the majority of scholars, the word “Qur’ān” is an infinitive form of the verb QaRaA meaning reading or reciting. Therefore it literally means a thing recited by adding letters and words to one another.

The verb Qa-Ra-A has another infinitive form, qar’u, which means “to collect.” So, some are of the opinion that Qur’ān means “The Thing Which Collects.” It is narrated from ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās that the word Qur’ān in the verse, Surely it is for Us to collect it (in your heart) and enable you to recite it (by heart) (75: 17), means that it is being collected and established in the heart. For this reason, some assert that since the Qur’ān collects and contains in it the “fruit” of the previous Scriptures and the whole of knowledge, it is called the “Qur’ān”.

Some other scholars affirm that the word “qur’ān”  was not derived from any word. It is the proper name given to the Book which God, may His Majesty be exalted, sent to His Last Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings. Imam Shāfi‘ī held this opinion (Abu’l-Baqā, 287; Rāghib al-Isfahānī, 402; as-Sālih [translated], 15–18).

The Qur’ān is the Word of God and, therefore, eternal, and it was not created. But as a book conveyed to the Prophet by the Archangel Gabriel, and composed of letters and words, recited, touched, and listened to, it is not eternal (Çetin, 30–32).

The general definition of the Qur’ān is as follows:

The Qur’ān is the miraculous Word of God which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, written down on sheets, and transmitted to the succeeding generations by numerous reliable channels, and whose recitation is an act of worship and obligatory in daily prayers. (Karaman, 63)

The Qur’ān describes some of its features as follows:

The month of Ramadān, in which the Qur’ān was sent down as guidance for people, and as clear signs of Guidance and the Criterion (between truth and falsehood). (2: 185)

And this Qur’ān is not such that it could possibly be fabricated by one in attribution to God, but it is a (Divine Book) confirming (the Divine origin of and the truths that are still contained by) the Revelations prior to it, and an explanation of the Essence of all Divine Books – wherein there is no doubt,⁸  from the Lord of the Worlds.  (10: 37)

We send it down as a Qur’ān (discourse) in Arabic so that you may reflect (on both its meaning and wording) and understand. (12: 2)

This Qur’ān surely guides (in all matters) to that which is most just and right and gives the believers who do good, righteous deeds the glad tidings that for them, there is a great reward. (17: 9)

And indeed (by revealing it through human language), We have made the Qur’ān easy for remembrance (of God, and taking heed), then is there any that remembers and takes heed? (54: 17)

Most certainly it is a Qur’ān (recitation) most honorable, in a Book well-guarded. (56: 77–78)

The Qur’ān has other titles, each of which describes it in one of its aspects and, therefore, can be regarded as one of its attributes. Some of them are, the Book, the Criterion, the Remembrance, the Advice, the Light, the Guidance, the Healer, the Noble, the Mother of the Book, the Truth, the Admonishment, the Good Tiding, the Book Gradually Revealed, the Knowledge, and the Clear (Çetin, 32–36).

The Qur’ān aims to guide all people to truth and has four main purposes: demonstrating God’s existence and Unity; establishing Prophethood; proving and elucidating afterlife, with all its aspects and dimensions; and promulgating the worship of God and the essentials of justice. The verses of the Qur’ān mainly dwell on these purposes. There are, based on these main purposes, the principles of creed, rules to govern human life, detailed information on the Resurrection and afterlife, prescript for the worship of God, moral standards, direct or indirect information on some scientific facts, principles for the formation and decay of civilizations, outlines of the histories of many previous peoples, and so on. The Qur’ān is also a source of healing; its application in life provides a cure for almost all psychological and social illnesses. It is also a cosmology, epistemology, ontology, sociology, psychology, and law. It was revealed to regulate human life in the world. It is not limited to any time, place or people. It is for all times and for all peoples.

The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, declares:

The Qur’ān is more lovable to God than the heavens and earth and those in them.

The superiority of the Qur’ān over all other words and speeches is like God’s superiority over His creatures.

The Qur’ān is a definite decree distinguishing between the truth and falsehood. It is not for pastime. Whoever rejects it because of his or her despotism, God breaks his or her neck . It contains the history of previous peoples, the tiding of those to come after you, and the judgment on the disagreements among you. Whoever searches for guidance in something other than it, God leads him or her astray. It is God’s strong rope. It is the wise instruction. It is the Straight Path. It is a book which desires cannot deviate and tongues cannot confuse, and which scholars are not fed up with, never worn-out by repetition, and has uncountable admirable aspects. It is such a book that they could not help but say: “We have indeed heard a wonderful Qur’ān, guiding to what is right in belief and action and so we have believed in it.” Whoever speaks based on it speaks truth; whoever judges by it judges justly and whoever calls to it calls to truth. (at-Tirmidhī, “Thawāb al-Qur’ān,” 14)

We close this topic with the definition of the Qur’ān by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, an illustrious Muslim scholar who started an Islamic revival movement in Turkey during the first half of the twentieth century:

The Qur’ān is an eternal translation of the great book of the universe and the everlasting translator of the various “languages” in which Divine laws of the creation and operation of the universe are “inscribed;” the interpreter of the books of the visible, material world and the world of the Unseen; the discoverer of the immaterial treasuries of the Divine Names hidden on the earth and in the heavens; the key to the truths which lie beneath the lines of events; the tongue of the unseen world in the visible, material one; the treasury of the favors of the All-Merciful One and the eternal addresses of the All-Glorified One coming from the world of the Unseen beyond the veil of this visible world; the sun of the spiritual and intellectual world of Islam and its foundation and plan; the sacred map of the worlds of the Hereafter; the expounder, the lucid interpreter, articulate proof, and clear translator of the Divine Essence, Attributes, Names and acts; the educator and trainer of the world of humanity and the water and light of Islam, which is the true and greatest humanity; the true wisdom of humankind and their true guide leading them to happiness; and for human beings it is both a book of law, a book of prayer, a book of wisdom, a book of worship and servanthood to God, and a book of commands and invitation, a book of invocation, and a book of reflection, a holy book containing books for all the spiritual needs of mankind, and a heavenly book which, like a sacred library, contains numerous booklets from which all the saints and the eminently truthful, and all the purified and discerning scholars have derived their ways peculiar to each, and which illuminate each of these ways and answer the needs of all those with different tastes and temperaments who follow them.

Having come from the Supreme Throne of God, and originated in His Greatest Name, and issued forth from the most comprehensive rank of each Name, the Qur’ān is both the word of God as regards His being the Lord of the Worlds, and His decree in respect of His having the title of the Deity of all Creatures, and a discourse in the name of the Creator of all the heavens and earth, and a speech from the perspective of the absolute Divine Lordship, and an eternal sermon on behalf of the universal Sovereignty of the All-Glorified One, and a register of the favors of the All-Merciful One from the viewpoint of the All-Embracing Mercy, and a collection of messages, some of which begin with a cipher, and a holy book which, having descended from the surrounding circle of the Divine Greatest Name, looks over and surveys the circle surrounded by the Supreme Throne of God.

It is because of all these that the title of Word of God has been, and will always be, given to the Qur’ān most deservedly.  After the Qur’ān come the Scriptures and Pages (or Scrolls) which were sent to some other prophets. As for the other countless divine words, some of them are conversations in the form of inspirations coming as the particular manifestations of a particular aspect of Divine Mercy, Sovereignty, and Lordship under a particular title with particular regard. The inspirations coming to angels, human beings and animals vary greatly with regard to their universality or particularity.

The Qur’ān is a heavenly book, which contains in brief the Scriptures revealed to the previous prophets in different ages, and the content of the treatises of all the saints with different temperaments, and the works of all the purified scholars, each following a way particular to himself; the six sides of which are bright and absolutely free of the darkness of doubts and whimsical thoughts; whose point of support is with certainty Divine Revelation and the Divine Eternal Word, whose aim is manifestly eternal happiness, and whose inside is manifestly pure guidance. And it is surrounded and supported: from above by the lights of faith, from below by proof and evidence, from the right by the submission of the heart and the conscience, and from the left by the admission of reason and other intellectual faculties. Its fruit is with absolute certainty the mercy of the Most Merciful One, and Paradise; and it has been accepted and promoted by angels and innumerable men and jinn through the centuries. (The Words 2, “the 25^th Word,” 388–389 )

The Recording of the Qur’ān and Its Preservation

It is commonly accepted that during human history, God the Almighty sent 124,000 prophets. According to the Islamic definition, a Prophet is one who comes with important tidings, the “the tidings of the Religion,” which are based on faith in the existence and Unity of God and His angels, the mission or office of prophethood and prophets, Revelation and Divine Scriptures, the Resurrection and afterlife and Divine Destiny, including human free will. The “tidings” also include offering a life to be based on this belief and promises and warning with respect to accepting this belief and offering or not. It frequently happened during history that the religion was considerably corrupted, which caused a prophet to be chosen to revive and restore the religion and make some amendments in its rules, or make new laws concerning daily life. This prophet, who was usually given a Book, is called a Messenger, and his mission, Messengership. Five of the Messengers, namely Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, upon them be peace, are mentioned in a verse in Sūrat ash-Shūrā (42: 13) and accepted as the greatest of all Messengers.

The name of the religion which God the Almighty sent to all the Messengers during history is Islam. Just as the laws in the order and operation of the universe are the same and constant, then similarly, there is no difference between the first human being on the earth and all the human beings of today with respect to their being human with the same peculiarities, essential needs, and final destination awaiting them.So, too, it is natural that the religion should be one and the same based on the same essentials of faith, worship and morality. As this religion was corrupted or altered or contaminated with borrowings from false creeds, God sent different Messengers in different epochs of history. He sent Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, as the last of the Messengers, with the perfected and last form of the religion, and “undertook” the preservation of the Book: Indeed it is We, We Who send down the Reminder in parts, and it is indeed We Who are its Guardian (15: 9). After Moses, upon him be peace, the religion he communicated came to be called Judaism; after Jesus, upon him be peace, came Christianity; and Islam has remained as the name of the perfected, preserved form of the Divine Religion which the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, communicated.

In this world, God the Almighty acts behind natural or material causes. So He has created, and will create, causes or means to preserve the Qur’ān. One of these means, and one of the reasons why the Almighty allowed His previous Scriptures to be corrupted and “undertook” to preserve the Qur’ān, is that the Companions of the Prophet and the succeeding Muslim generations were devoted to their Book more than any other people being devoted to their own, and tried their utmost to preserve it without the least alteration. With the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, God perfected Islam in a way to be able to address all levels of knowledge of understanding which exist and to solve the problems of humankind which will appear until the Last Day. Therefore, there would be no need for another Prophet to revive or restore the religion and no further Book to be revealed. So, as the first step to preserving the Qur’ān, it was written down during the life of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, under his direct supervision. It is due to this that not one word of its text has been deleted, added or mutilated. There is not a single difference among the copies of the Qur’ān that have been circulating throughout the world during the 14 centuries of Islam.

In considering the fact that, unlike other Scriptures preceding it, the Qur’ān has been preserved in its original form or text, without a single alteration, addition or deletion, the following points are of considerable significance:

• The Qur’ān was revealed in parts. God the Almighty undertook not only the preservation of the Qur’ān but also its due recitation and the arrangement of its parts as a Book. He revealed to His Messenger where each verse and chapter revealed would be placed:
• Move not your tongue to hasten it (for safekeeping in your heart). Surely it is for Us to collect it (in your heart) and enable you to recite it (by heart). So when We recite it, follow its recitation; thereafter, it is for Us to explain it. (75: 16-19)
• Absolutely Exalted is God, the Supreme Sovereign, the Absolute Truth and Ever-Constant. Do not show haste (O Messenger) with (the receiving and memorizing of any Revelation included in) the Qur’ān before it has been revealed to you in full, but say: “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.” (20: 114)
• The Almighty emphasizes that no falsehood can approach the Qur’ān, and there will be nothing to cause doubt about its authenticity as the Book of God:
• It is surely a glorious, unconquerable Book. Falsehood can never have access to it, whether from before it or from behind it (whether by arguments and attitudes based on philosophies to be invented or  by attacks from the past based on earlier Scriptures; it is) the Book being sent down in parts from the One All-Wise, All-Praiseworthy (to Whom all praise and gratitude belong). (41: 41–42).
• The Messenger of God, upon him be peace and blessings, once a year used to review with the Archangel Gabriel the portion of the Qur’ān that had been revealed until that year. In his last year, after the completion of the Qur’ān’s revelation, Gabriel came twice for this purpose. The Messenger concluded from this that his emigration to the other world was near. (Yıldırım, 43, 62–3)
• From the very beginning of its revelation, the Prophet’s Companions, may God be pleased with them, paid the utmost attention to the Qur’ān, and tried their best to understand, memorize and learn it. This was, in fact, the order of the Qur’ān:
• And so, when the Qur’ān is recited, give ear to it and listen in silence so that you may be shown mercy. (7: 204)
• There were few who knew how to read and write in the starting period of the Qur’ān’s revelation. It was decreed after the Battle of Badr, which was the first encounter between the Muslims and the Makkan polytheists, that the prisoners of war would be emancipated on the condition that each should teach ten Muslims of Madīnah how to read and write. Those who learned to read and write first attempted to memorize the Qur’ān. They attempted to do so because the recitation of some portion out of the Qur’ān is obligatory in the prescribed prayers; because the Qur’ān was very original for them; and because it purified their minds of prejudices and wrong assertions, and their hearts of sins, and illuminated them; and because it built a society out of illuminated minds and purified hearts.
• In order to understand the extent of the efforts the Companions exerted to memorize the Qur’ān and the number of those who memorized it, it suffices to mention that in the disaster of Bi’r al-Ma‘ūnah, which took place just a few years after the Emigration, 70 Companions who had memorized the Qur’ān were martyred. Another 70 or so memorizers of the Qur’ān were also martyred in other similar events and battles during the life of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings (as-Sālih, 55). When the Prophet died, there were several Companions who knew the Qur’ān by heart, such as ‘Ali ibn Abī Tālib, ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Amr, Hudayfah ibn al-Yamān, Sālim, Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, Abū’d-Dardā, Ubeyy ibn Ka‘b, as well as Ā’ishah and Umm Salamah, wives of the Prophet. When a person was converted into Islam or emigrated to Madīnah, the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, sent him to a Companion to teach him the Qur’ān. Since a humming sound was raised when the learners of the Qur’ān began reciting, the Prophet asked them to lower their voices not to confuse one another. (as-Sālih, 57 , reporting from az-Zarkānī)
• The Qur’ān was revealed in parts mostly on certain occasions. Whenever a verse or chapter or a group of verses was revealed, it was memorized by many people, and God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, also had it written down. He instructed where it would be placed in the Qur’ān. (The Qur’ān was revealed within 23 years. However, it was called the Qur’ān since the beginning of its revelation.) Those whom the Messenger employed in the writing down of the Qur’ān were called the Scribes of the Revelation. Histories give the names of 40 or so among them. In addition to writing down the parts of the Qur’ān revealed, the Scribes copied them for themselves and preserved them. (as-Salih, 61, reporting from al-Burhān by az-Zarkashī.)
• When the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, died, several Companions, such as ‘Ali ibn Abī Tālib, Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, Abū’d-Dardā, and Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, had already collected the portions of the Qur’ān as a complete book. ‘Ali had arranged them according to the revelation time of the chapters. (M.M. Pūye, 95–8, reporting from al-Itqān by as-Suyūtī, and also from at-Tabarānī and Ibn al-Asākīr.) Following the death of the Prophet, when around 700 memorizers of the Qur’ān were martyred in the Battle of Yamāmah, U‘mar ibn al-Khattāb applied to the Caliph Abū Bakr with the request that they should have an “official” version of the Qur’ān, since the memorizers of the Qur’ān were being martyred in the battles. Zayd ibn Thābit, one of the leading scholars and memorizers of the Qur’ān at that time, was chosen for the task.  After a meticulous work, Zayd prepared the official collection, which was called the Mushaf. (Yıldırım, 62–66; as-Salih, 62–65).
• The Almighty openly declares in Sūrat al-Qiyāmah: “Surely it is for Us to collect it (in your heart) and enable you to recite it (by heart).” (75: 17) All the verses and chapters of the Qur’ān were arranged and collected as a book by the instructions of the Prophet himself, upon him be peace and blessings, as guided by the Revelation. After the Battle of Yamāmah, an official version was brought about and many copies of this version were produced and sent out to all cities during the time of the Third Caliph ‘Uthmān, may God be pleased with him (Yıldırım, 66-70; as-Sālih, 65–73).
• One of the foremost reasons for the Qur’ān coming down to us through many centuries without a single distortion or change is that it has been preserved in its own original language. No one in the Muslim world has ever thought to supersede it with any translation of it, with the result that it has been protected from being exposed to what the previous Scriptures were.

In conclusion, the authenticity and genuineness of the copy of the Qur’ān now in our hands, in the sense that it is in the very words which were uttered by God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, is so evident that no Muslim scholar of any standard has ever doubted its genuineness or the fact that each and every letter, word or sentence, verse or chapter was uttered by the Messenger, as part of the Qur’ān. In other words, the version we have in our hands is undoubtedly the Qur’ān as recited by the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings. (For further explanations, see sūrah 15, note 3.)

The Qur’ān’s Styles

The Qur’ān is a book conveyed by the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, as the Word of God and which testifies to his prophethood. It is also his greatest miracle, which challenges not only the Arabs of his time but all people to come until the Last Day to produce one like it, not just of the whole, but even of a single chapter of it. The Qur’ān is also unparalleled among the Divine Scriptures in being preserved and transmitted to the later generations without the slightest alteration. There is not a single difference among the copies of the Qur’ān which have been circulating in the world since its first revelation.

Although there is no problem of any theological value which the Qur’ān has not dealt with, and it surpasses all scriptural records of pre- or post-Islamic ages in the abundant variety of its contents, yet its method of approach, presentation and solution is exclusively unique in itself. Rather than dealing with any topic in the common, so-called systematic way used by any author of theology or by an apostolic writer, it expressly says that it has adopted a special manifold method of its own which may be called “tasrīfī.” That is, it displays various or changing topics, shifting from one subject to another, or reverting to the previous one and repeating deliberately and purposefully one and the same subject in a unique and peculiar rhythmic and recitative form, to facilitate the understanding, learning and remembering of it.

Look, how We set out the signs (of God’s Existence and Unity and other truths of faith) in diverse ways, so that it may be that they will penetrate the essence of matters and understand. (6: 65)

 The Qur’ān exhibits the order of the universe. As almost all varieties of existing things present themselves side-by-side or mingled before our eyes, the Qur’ān displays varieties linked together with a rhythm of peculiar pitch. This is to show forth the signs of the Unity of God. Although itself openly expresses that this changing attitude will cause some opponents of it to put forth doubts about its Divine Authorship (6: 106), it gives the reason for this, so as to stir up the depth of human intellect to reflect on the unity in variety, and the harmony in diversity. As a matter of fact, the Holy Qur’ān deals in each chapter of particular rhythm with various topics in various ways. This variety adds only to its unique beauty and matchless eloquence. An attentive reciter, or an intelligent audience, of the Holy Qur’ān while passing through these varieties of rhythmical pitch, enjoys these to the extent that the Qur’ān itself declares:

God sends down in parts the best of the words as a Book fully consistent in itself, and whose statements corroborate, expound and refer to one another. The skins of those who stand in awe of their Lord tingle at (the hearing and understanding of) it. Then, their skins and their hearts come to rest in the Remembrance of God (the Qur’ān). This is God’s guidance, by which He guides whomever He wills. And whomever God leads astray, there is no guide for him. (39: 23)

In addition to this unique style of the Qur’ān, the arrangement of its verses and chapters does not follow a chronological order. You find some verses that were revealed together and put in the same place in the Qur’ān but are preceded and followed by other verses. Some chapters and verses are lengthy, while some others are very short. Although this arrangement is one of the aspects of the Qur’ān’s miraculousness, one of the most important reasons why many orientalists and their imitators in the Muslim world venture to criticize the Qur’ān on the pretext that there is not consistency among its verses, is this:

The Qur’ān exhibits the order of the universe. Just as there is both a whole-part and holistic-partial or universal-particular relation among the things or elements in the universe, the same relation is also true for the verses of the Qur’ān. That is, a body is a whole and the head, arms, legs and other organs are its parts. Any of these parts cannot wholly represent the body because whatever there is in the body is not to be wholly found in any of its parts. However, each part is a whole in itself. Similarly, humankind and every species in existence is holistic or universal. That is, each species is composed of members wherein each contains all of the features of the species, and therefore represents the species. Thus, a human being is an exact specimen of humankind in structure.

It is just like this that each of the Qur’ānic verses is a whole in itself and also has an independent existence. Most of them can be put in any place in the Qur’ān without harming either the composition or the meaning. In addition, there is an intrinsic relation among all the verses of the Qur’ān, and between a verse and all the others. In the words of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi: “The verses of the Qur’ān are like stars in a sky among which there are visible and invisible ropes and relationships. It is as if each of the verses of the Qur’ān has an eye which sees most of the verses, and a face which looks towards them, so that it extends to them the immaterial threads of a relationship to weave a fabric of miraculousness. A single sūrah can contain the whole ‘ocean’ of the Qur’ān, in which the whole of the universe is contained. A single verse can comprehend the treasury of that sūrah. It is as if most of the verses are each a small sūrah, and most of the sūrahs, each a little Qur’ān. And it is a commonly accepted fact that the whole of the Qur’ān is contained in Sūrat al-Fātihah, and Sūrat al-Fātihah in the Basmalah” (The Words, “the 25^th Word,” 394).

There are verses in the Qur’ān which, at first glance, seem to be contradictory. However, there is not a single contradiction in the Qur’ān. As mentioned above, the “tasrīfī” arrangement of the verses may cause such an “apparent” contradiction. However, the Qur’ān is like an organism, all parts of which are interlinked with one another. Both because of this arrangement, and due to the whole-part and wholistic-partial relationship among the verses, in most cases, a correct understanding of a verse is dependent upon an understanding of the whole of the Qur’ān. This is another characteristic particular to the Qur’ān which is another aspect of its miraculousness and demonstrates its Divine Authorship. This characteristic is very important in the interpretation of the Qur’ān, since the Qur’ān is the written counterpart of the universe and humanity. According to Muslim sages, the Qur’ān, the universe, and humanity are three “copies” of the same book – the first being the “revealed” and written universe and humans, as the second and third, are each a “created Qur’ān”; this also teaches us how we can view humanity  and the universe. Therefore, what a careless human being sees as a contradiction in the Qur’ān is, in reality, the contradiction in his or her viewpoint. One whose being has been unified with the Qur’ān will see no contradiction in it, as such a one has been freed from all contradictions. If one views the Qur’ān from the windows of one’s particular world, full of contradictions, he or she will absolutely see contradiction in it. This is why first a human being who attempts to approach the Qur’ān must be freed from all kinds of contradictions.

The Qur’ān was revealed in the language of Arabic. The Qur’ān’s language is its outer body. It should not be forgotten that religion does not solely consist of either a philosophy or a theology. It is a method of unifying all the dimensions of our being. Therefore, as pointed out above, the language of the Qur’ān is one of the essential, inseparable elements of the Qur’ān. It was revealed in Arabic, and not only because the Arabs of the time of its revelation could understand it. Rather, a universal religion must have a universal language. The Qur’ān views the world as the cradle of human brotherhood and sisterhood. It envisages uniting all races, colors, and beliefs as brothers andsisters, and as servants of One God. Its language is one of the basic factors that helps a human being not only to ponder over religious realities but also to unite all the dimensions of his or her being according to the divine standards. Translations of the Qur’ān cannot be recited in prescribed prayers, since any of its translations is not identical with it. Without Arabic, one can be a good Muslim but one  can understand only a little of the Qur’ān.

The Qur’ān is the source of all knowledge in Islam, not only the religious and spiritual, but also social and scientific knowledge and good morals, law and philosophy.

Understanding the Qur’ān

The first step to understanding the Qur’ān is understanding its language. The language has the same meaning for a text as the bodily features have for a human being. The essential existence of a text lies in its meaning, as that of a human being in his or her spirit. The bodily features are the externalized form which the spirit of a human being has taken on, and therefore serve as a mirror in which to see into his or her character. It is like this that the language and styles of the Qur’ān are the form of its meaning and therefore cannot be separated from it.

The second step to understanding the Qur’ān is penetrating its meaning, which requires practicing it in daily life. Although its language constitutes its outer form and structure, and is therefore very important in penetrating its meaning, restriction to its language in understanding the Qur’ān means restriction to the form or formalism. One can penetrate the meaning of the Qur’ān, in which its essential existence lies, through his or her “heart,” which is the seat of his/her spirit. This requires that the heart should be purified by refraining from sins and evils, doing the necessary acts of worship, and living a pious life.

The Qur’ān is, in the words of the late Professor Haluk Nurbaki, a Turkish scientist, “like a rose which continuously grows petals in the womb of time.” As sciences develop and contribute to penetrate through its depths of meaning, the Qur’ān blooms more and more and grows younger and fresher. This is why, besides having sufficient knowledge of topics such as “abrogation of laws, laws and principles dependent on certain conditions and unconditional, general and particular rules, and the occasions on which the verses were revealed,” knowing the general principles of natural sciences is also of great importance. In addition, since it is the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, who received the Qur’ān and taught and practiced it first of all in daily life as an infallible authority, knowing his Sunnah, the way he practiced the Qur’ān, and the example he set in living Islam, is indispensable to understanding the Qur’ān.

The Qur’ān is not a book of sciences, nor a book of history, nor a book of morality, only. Nor is it a book in the sense that the word “book” signifies. It is a book to be practiced; it came to guide people to truth, to educate people both intellectually and spiritually, and to govern their life in both the individual and social realm. Therefore, it can be understood by practicing it in the daily life. This point can be better understood when we consider that the Qur’ān was not revealed on one occasion only; it was revealed on many diverse occasions during the 23 years of Muhammad’s prophethood. Separating the Qur’ān and our practical lives means reducing the Qur’ān to being only a book to be read. It does not unfold itself much to those who approach it as if it were only a book to “read.”

Another point to stress concerning the understanding of the Qur’ān is this:

The Qur’ān is a book of a moderate size and, at first glance, contains repetitions. However, it declares that there is nothing “wet or dry” that is not recorded in a “Manifest Book,” that is, in the Qur’ān itself (6: 59). As stated in a prophetic saying, it contains the history of previous peoples, the tidings of those to come after its revelation, and the solutions to the disagreements between people. It addresses all levels of understanding and knowledge in all places at all times, and satisfies them. Hundreds of interpreters who have written commentaries on it during the 14 centuries of Islam have derived different meanings from it, but none of them has ever claimed that he or she has been able to comprehend the whole of it. Thousands of jurists have inferred laws from it and based their juridical reasoning on it, but no one among them has ever asserted that he or she has been able to infer all the laws contained in it or understand all the reasons behind its injunctions and prohibitions. All the pure, exacting scholars who have been able to “marry” the mind and heart; all the revivers – the greatest, saintly scholars who have come at certain times to revive and restore Islam – have found their ways in it; all saints have derived from it their sources of inspiration and ways of purification; and all the paths of Sufism have depended on it. But like a source of water which increases as it flows, it has remained as if untouched.

It is due to its miraculous eloquence that the Qur’ān has such depth and richness of meaning. One of the elements on which the Qur’ān’s eloquence is based is its creative style, rich in the arts. It frequently speaks in parables and adopts a figurative, symbolic rhetoric using metaphors and similes. This is natural because it contains knowledge of all things and addresses all levels of understanding and knowledge.

Ignoring the symbolic and artistic style of the Qur’ān, in mere contentment with the outward meaning of its expressions, caused the appearance of a superficial, narrow-minded current called Zāhiriyah. Just the opposite this is another current called Bātiniyah (esotericism), which searches for the whole of truth in symbols in negligence of the outward meaning of the expressions. Both currents are harmful. The middle way is always preferable.

Is a Full, Exact Translation of the Qur’ān Possible?

The question “Is a full, exact translation of the Qur’ān possible?” has been the cause of hot debates in the Muslim world for almost a century. This is a question asked without due consideration. For, first of all, a language is not a set of molds made up of letters and words. As his or her style of speech or writing gives a human being away, the language of a nation is a mirror to that nation’s character, as molded by its culture, history, religion, and even the land where its people live. It is almost impossible for any word used in a language to have an exact counterpart in another language. For that word has different connotations and associations particular to each people using it and different impressions on each. For example, according to the majority of Muslim scholars, the word “qur’ān” is derived from the verb qirā‘ah, meaning reading or reciting, and it means recitation. Although “qur’ān” has been the proper name for the book sent to the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, even as a common noun in the infinitive form, it is not the exact counterpart of “reading” or “recitation” in English, or another word used for the same meaning in another language. A language, with all its words, is a living entity changing forms and undergoing adaptations during the history of the people using it.

Second, Arabic is a strictly grammatical language. The rules of its grammar are established. It is the richest language of the world in conjugation and derivation. For example, there are three different types of infinitive in Arabic, and, in addition, a verb has 35 different infinitive forms, each of which has different connotations and implications. Again, the tenses do not always have the same meaning and usage in every language. For instance, the Qur’ān describes the events of Judgment Day in the past tense, although Judgment Day will come in the future. Besides other reasons for this usage, the simple past tense in Arabic is also used to give the meaning that a future event will doubtlessly take place. Also, the present tense is not the same in Arabic and in English. Aside from such differences between any two languages, there are also differences in using the present perfect tense between British and American English. As another characteristic of language, while in Arabic nouns are classified into two genders (masculine and feminine), in English there are three forms of gender. And in English, nouns have two forms of number, singular and plural, while adjectives and verbs do not have plural forms. As for Arabic, it has three forms of number for nouns, adjectives and verbs: singular, dual, and plural. In addition, in Arabic, nouns have many plural forms, each of which has different implications.

The Qur’ān has another, important peculiarity which makes its exact translation into another language almost impossible.

The Qur’ān has made many of its words each into a concept. Besides the word “Qur’ān”, many other words such as Rabb (the Lord), ilāh (deity), malik (sovereign), kitāb (book), wahy (revelation), dīn (religion), millah (nation, way), sharī‘ah, ‘ibādah (worship, adoration), taqwā (piety and righteousness), ihsān (perfect goodness or excellence, doing something fully aware that God is seeing His servants), waliyy (friend, saint), nūr (light), nabiyy (prophet), rasūl (messenger), islām, īmān (faith, belief) and other words, with the addition that the words which gave rise to a branch of knowledge or science called the Sciences of the Qur’ān, such as muhkam (the established, the decisive), mutashābih (the parabolical, the allegorical), tafsīr (interpretation), ta’wīl (exegesis), nāsikh (the abrogator) and mansūkh (the abrogated) are each a concept which is impossible to render in another language without necessary explanations.

The reasons why the exact translation of the Qur’ān into another language is not possible are not limited to those mentioned here. That is why no rendering of the Qur’ān can be substituted for it nor recited in the prayers.

On This Study of Interpretation

So far, many studies have been made to be able to render the meaning of the Qur’ān in other languages. Each study surely is superior to others in many respects, yet in many others inferior to them. Nevertheless, it is also true that in many of those studies, in addition to many shortcomings, there may be mistakes of understanding.

We do not have any claim that this study, which is partly based on the interpretation of venerable Suat Yıldırım, the renowned professor of the Qur’ānic interpretation in Turkey, is superior to others. However, it differs from them in the following, important points:

• As mentioned earlier, as almost every verse of the Qur’ān has an independent existence, it also has an intrinsic relation with every other verse and with the totality of the Qur’ān. Therefore, understanding and interpreting a verse requires having a complete knowledge and understanding of the Qur’ān as a whole and considering the totality of it. It should not be forgotten that the main interpreter of the Qur’ān is the Qur’ān itself; as verses interpret one another, the Qur’ān as a whole also interprets each of them. We have tried to strictly observe this unique feature of the Qur’ān.
• Bediüzzaman Said Nursi frequently draws the attention to the depths of meaning which the wording of the Qur’ān has as one of the aspects of its being miraculous. For example, since in Arabic, the definite article “al” adds inclusiveness to the word, he interprets “al-hamdu – the praise” at the beginning of Sūrat al-Fātihah: “All praise and thanks that everyone has given to others since the beginning of human life on the earth for any reason on any occasion and will give until the Last Day, are for God.”
• Also, from the characteristics of the words used and the word-order in the sentence, Out of what We have provided for them (of wealth, knowledge, power, etc.,, they spend (to provide sustenance for the needy, and in God’s cause purely for the good pleasure of God and without placing others under obligatio n.), that comes in the third verse of Sūrat  al-Baqarah, the second sūrah, he infers the following rules or conditions of giving alms:

1. In order to make their alms-giving acceptable to God, believers must give out of their belongings such an amount that they themselves will not have to need to receive alms. Out of  in the expression Out of what expresses this condition.
2. Believers must not transfer to the needy from another’s goods, but they must give out of their own belongings. The phrase, what We have provided for them points to this condition. The meaning is: “Believers give out of what We have provided for them (not out of what We have provided for others).” 
3. Believers must not remind those to whom they have given something of the kindness they have done to them. We in We have provided indicates this condition, for it means: “It is We who have provided for you wealth out of which you give to the poor as sustenance. Therefore, by giving to a servant of Ours out of Our property, you cannot put them under obligation.” 
4. Believers must not fear that they may become poor because they give others. The pronoun We in We have provided points to this. Since it is God Who provides for us and commands us to spend for others, He will not cause us to become poor because of giving to others.
5. Believers must give to those who will spend it for their livelihood. It is not acceptable to give to those who will dissipate it. The phrase, They spend (to provide sustenance for the needy), points to this condition.
6.  Believers must spend for God’s sake. We have provided for them states this condition. It means: “Essentially, it is Our property out of which you spend, therefore you must spend in Our Name.”
7.  The word what in Out of what signifies that whatever God provides for a person is included in the meaning of rizq (provision.) Therefore, one must spend not only out of one’s goods, but also out of whatever one has. Therefore a good word, an act of help, a piece of advice, and teaching are all included in the meaning of provision and spending as sustenance for others (İshârâtü’l-Îcâz, 40).

Together with all these conditions, the meaning of the expression, the original of which comprises three words, becomes: “Out of whatever We have provided for them of wealth, knowledge, power, etc., believing that it is We Who provide and therefore without feeling any fear that they may become poor because of giving and without putting those to whom they give under obligation, they spend both in God’s cause and to provide sustenance for the needy who are sensible enough not to dissipate what is given to them, such amount that they themselves will not have to need to receive alms.” 

In this study of interpretation, we have tried to consider such depths of meaning to the extent that the scope of the study allows.

• It is of considerable significance that the Qur’ān was revealed within 23 years on certain occasions. Therefore its due, correct understanding caused the birth of an important science called the Sciences of the Qur’ān, which includes a wide range of topics such as abrogation of a law or verse by others, generalization or particularization of the meaning because of certain occasions or conjuncture, and the occasions on which verses were revealed. If these points are not given due consideration in interpreting the Qur’ān, one with a superficial view can have the impression that there are contradictions in the Qur’ān. In order to prevent such an impression, we have tried to take these points into consideration. For example:

O you who believe! If you follow those who disbelieve (the hypocrites and Jews in Madīnah who spread negative propaganda concerning the events at Uhud), they will drive you back on your heels (into unbelief), and you will turn utter losers (in both this world and the next). (3:149) 

This verse commands that the believers should not obey the unbelievers. However, like many commandments in the Qur’ān, this one has also relative aspects according to time and conditions. Besides, the verse must have a connection with the verses before and after it. To see this connection sometimes requires knowing the reason for its revelation.

After the Battle of Uhud the hypocrites and Jews began to propagate that had Muhammad been a true prophet, he would not have suffered the reverse at Uhud. They tried to persuade the Muslims to turn back into their former state of unbelief. The Muslims this verse addressed in Madīnah knew what specifically it was about. For this reason, in order to clarify the meaning and the direct purpose for the verse’s revelation, it requires having an interpretation with explanations. However, in doing this, we should never forget that with respect to its meaning and connotations and commandments it contains, a verse can in no way be restricted to the occasion on which it was revealed. “It does not prevent the commandment a verse contains from having a general, inclusive area of enforcement that is beyond what  was revealed on a certain occasion” is a rule in both the Qur’ānic interpretation and Islamic Jurisprudence.    

• The structure and character of the words used in the Qur’ān are the source of diverse meanings. For example, the being that refused to prostrate before Adam was Iblīs, but it was “Satan” when it approached Adam to deceive him in the Garden. It is possible to deduce from this word what happened between its refusal to prostrate before Adam and its approaching to deceive him, and this should be shown in a study of interpretation. So the shortest meaning of the verse 2: 36 is as follows:

(Iblīs was inherently devoid of good, and defeated by his vainglory, disobeyed God’s command and was driven out from the Garden, becoming Satan despairing of God’s mercy and the accursed Satan. Tempting Adam and Eve to the forbidden tree despite Our pre-warning,) Satan caused them both to deflect therefrom and brought them out of the (happy) state in which they were; and We said, “Descend, all of you, (and henceforth you will live a life,) some of you being the enemies of the others. There will be for you on the the earth (where you have already been appointed as vicegerent) a habitation and provision until an appointed time.

Unfortunately, we have not been able make the whole of this study with such broadness.

• ·         The explanatory words that we have had to put (usually in brackets) before or within the translations of the verses are not additions to, nor any sort of adaptations of, the meaning of the verses. They express the full normal meaning of the words, understood individually and in context. By “context,” we mean both the context of the passage or the sūrah or the Qur’ān as a whole, and also the historical context, the situation that is the background to the verses. Also, we should be aware that the Qur’ān is miraculous in its power of concision, of conveying much in few words. Sometimes this concision is achieved through the powerful compactness of the structures and syntax of Arabic, raised to inimitable perfection in the Qur’ān. A relatively uninflected language like English simply cannot reproduce the full meaning without explanations to convey the meaning that is carried in the words in Arabic by their inflection, position in the sentence, etc. Sometimes the concision of the Qur’ān is achieved through ellipsis, that is, through the omission of what is already known or easily knowable to one familiar with the language and the subject-matter (see the next point).

The occasions on which the verses were revealed require explanatory additions (as well as notes) because the historical context is not known to us in the way that it was known to the first addressees of the Qur’ān. However, it is important to clarify that, while the historical context is important for the meaning of the verses and, equally important for the links between them, it does not restrict their meaning. Everyone should respond to the Qur’ān as if its words and meanings were being revealed to them as the first addressees of the Revelation. Knowing the historical context of certain verses or passages, in fact, enhances the understanding of their present and permanent relevance, but it does not diminish or restrict it.

• It is impossible to find a single ample word in the Qur’ān. While narrating the events, without getting into detail, it gives the main points and refers the detail to the mind. The listener or reader can supply what is missing from familiarity with the story and/or ordinary common sense. For example, in the verse 2: 35, the Divine command to Adam and Eve not to approach the (forbidden) tree is followed by Satan’s causing them to “stumble.” Several incidents happened between these two events. These should be given in a study of interpretation.

To cite another example:

Now after all that time, of the two (prisoners), the one who had been delivered remembered (what Joseph had asked him to remember) and he said: “I will inform you of its meaning, so send me forth!” “Joseph, O man of truth!...” (12: 45–46)

Between so send me forth and Joseph, O man of truth!, there are several events that the narrative omits: So send me forth to Joseph so that I may ask him about the dream’s interpretation. They sent him, so he left the king’s court to get to the prison. He arrived there and, on receiving permission from the prison guard to enter, did so. He came to Joseph and, after exchanging greetings with him, said: “Joseph, o man of truth!” By omitting these events, the Qur’ān narrates briefly and to the point without any loss of clarity. However, in this study we have tried to mention some such omitted events in brackets to make it easier for the reader to understand.

• The Qur’ān’s verses interpret one another, so in order to understand the exact and complete meaning of a verse, we should consider the verses particularly related to it. For example, verse 2: 42, should be interpreted by taking into consideration verses 2: 71, 79, 140, 174, 179; 3: 167; 4: 13, 46; and 5: 106:

Do not confound the truth by mixing it with falsehood, and do not conceal the truth while you know (the meaning and outcome of what you do, and that what you strive to hide is true, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, the Messenger whose coming you have been anticipating).

In many of the Qur’ānic interpretations, interpreters are content with making a literal translation. For example, in this verse, they do not mention what it is that the Children of Israel know and conceal. However, we have tried to make the meaning as clear as possible either through annotations or putting explanations in brackets.

• The tenses used, the passing from one tense to another, the nouns being definite or indefinite, the kinds of the clauses (noun or verb – a clause beginning with a verb is a verb clause), and the adressee being in the second or the third person (the person in absence) – all of these make important contributions to the meaning. For example, from verse 2: 30 downward, God addresses Adam directly, but in verse 2: 37, coming after the verse telling about his approaching the forbidden tree, He addresses him in the third person. This means that Adam got into a new relationship with his Lord. Also, the verb telaqqā used in the meaning of “receiving” connotes perceiving to be inspired. So the shades of meaning which all such features of the Arabic language contribute to the verses should be given in a study of Qur’ānic interpretation. Thus the shortest rendition of this verse is as follows:

(Aware of his lapse, and in the hope of retrieving his error, rather than attempting to find excuses for it,) Adam received from his Lord, (with Whom he got into a new way of relationship,) words (that he perceived to be inspired into him because of his remorse), and (asked for God’s forgiveness through them.) In return, He accepted His repentance. He is the One Who truly returns repentance with liberal forgiveness, the All-Compassionate.

• Another important point:

The shortest meaning of verse 2: 27 provided by the character of the words is as follows:

(Those) who break God’s covenant (which is a rope of light woven of the threads of Divine Will, Wisdom and Favor, and responsible for the order in the universe, and able to establish peace, order and harmony in human life) after its solemn binding, and sever the bonds God commanded to be joined (among the relatives as a requirement of blood relationship, and among people as required by human social needs), and (in an attempt to spread their vices in the whole community, even in the whole world, like one who, having caught a contagious disease, desires to pass it to others) cause disorder and corruption on earth. Such are those who are the losers (in both this world and the next.)

The meanings given in brackets are not commentary; they are the meanings provided by the words used in the verse and their order, as well as the grammar rules and styles. For example, the original word translated as “break” is NeQaDa, which means  raveling a thick, strong rope. This implies that God’s Covenant is a strong rope binding people together and humanity to God. The word mīthāq translated as binding corroborates this meaning. God’s Covenant is a rope of light woven of His Will, Wisdom, Knowledge, and Favoring, and which extends from eternity in the past to eternity in the future. Being responsible for the magnificent order in the universe and establishing the relationship among all creatures, one of its ends was given to the hand of humanity. The present environmental pollution and the state of things in the world are the result of breaking God’s Covenant. The verse uses God’s Covenant, which is a rope binding people together and humanity to God, together with the bonds (among people, including particularly among the relatives) to be joined.

In this study, we have preferred to give these meanings, sometimes in brackets and sometimes as notes.

• While narrating the series of events or God’s blessings, the Qur’ān follows such a style that it provokes minds to ask questions, and the suceeding event or the blessing provides an answer to them. For example, while mentioning the blessings of Paradise in verse 2: 25, one who lives in a palace surrounded by trees among which rivers flow will not be saved from feeling lonely and needing a companion. The Qur’ān presents to the view pure spouses. If there is something to cloud such a blessing, it is death, and the Qur’ān removes this worry by immediately adding that life in Paradise is eternal. So, the meaning of this verse is as follows:

Give glad tidings to those who believe and do good, righteous deeds: for them are Gardens beneath (the palaces and through the trees of) which rivers flow. Every time they are provided with fruits (of different color, shape, taste, and smell and that are constantly renewed) therefrom, they say, “This is what we were provided with before.” For they are given to them in resemblance (to what was given to them both in the world, and just before in the Gardens, familiar in shape and color so that they may not be unattractive because unknown). Furthermore, for them are spouses eternally purified (of all kinds of worldly uncleanliness.) They will abide there (forever).

• ·         As mentioned before, the verses of the Qur’ān intperpret each other and make references to one another through the same words and expressions. Besides, there are words and conceptions functioning as the frame of the Qur’ān’s meaning, such as Rabb (Lord), taqwā (piety and righteousness), ihsān (perfect goodness or excellence, doing something fully aware that God is seeing His servants), ‘ibādah (worship), Islām (submission to God), kufr (unbelief; concealing the truth willingly and rejecting it), and so on. Although these conceptions should be interpreted in their full meaning, we haven’t been able to do so, thinking that it would be too long for the readers to follow, making it difficult to concentrate on. 

To sum up, the features of the Qur’ān’s style and aspects of its miraculousness caused paranthetical explanations in this study. They are all the meanings the verses contain, not our additions.

• Another point to mention is that some of the precepts or practices in Islam – such as slavery, jihād (holy strife in the way of God), permission to war and women’s share in inheritance – have been made the subject of biased criticism by its enemies and of hot debate by both its friends and defenders. During this study, we have tried to clarify these points.

During the study, despite his failing health and numerous preoccupations,  venerable Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi never refrained from extending  his encouragement, support, guidance, and corrections. Therefore, I am very grateful to him and other friends because of their generous help. I also thank Mr. Jamil Qureshi from Oxford, England, and Mrs. Zeynep Kandur for editing the English text.

It is on us to strive, and it is the Almighty Who will give success, if He wills. I close with a request for prayers from all believers for this humble servant for sincerity, purity of intention, conviction in the pillars of faith, and the grant of the approval and good pleasure of our Lord, our Creator.