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The study of the origins and development of the Qur’an can be said to fall into two major schools of thought, the first being a traditionalist Muslim view and the later being a more skeptic view. A tradition is a story or a custom that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. ... There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ...

According to the traditionalist view, the Qur'an begun with Muhammad's claims of divine revelations in 610 AD. The verses of the Qur'an were written down and memorized during his life and collected immediately after Muhammad's death in 632 AD. Uthman standardized the Qur'an in 653 AD. Slight developments in dotting and other punctuation happened during the seventh and eighth centuries.^[1] The Qur'an in its current form is generally considered by academic scholars to record the words spoken by Muhammad, as the search for variants in Western academia has not yielded any differences of great significance and that historically controversy over the content of the Qur'an was never significant.^[2] A more revisionist view claims that the Qur'an was a later amalgamation of a variety of texts, though this has been largely rejected.^[3] The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... Muhammad in a new genre of Islamic calligraphy started in the 17th century by Hafiz Osman. ... Wahy is the Arabic word for revelation. ... Uthman, Othman, Osman, Usman, or Ozman (Arabic: عثمان) is a male Arabic given name meaning the chosen one amongst the tribe of brave and noble people, honest, caring, sincere, genuine, and attractive. The following people share this name: Uthman Ibn Affan Osman I Uthman I, a Marinid caliph Usman dan Fodio...

Origins

Muslims believe the Qur'an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind and consider the text in its original Arabic to be the literal word of God,^[4] revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over a period of twenty-three years^[5][6] and view the Qur'an as God's final revelation to humanity.^[7][8] Arabic can mean: From or related to Arabia From or related to the Arabs The Arabic language; see also Arabic grammar The Arabic alphabet, used for expressing the languages of Arabic, Persian, Malay ( Jawi), Kurdish, Panjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Urdu, among others. ... Allah is the Arabic language word for God. ... Muhammad in a new genre of Islamic calligraphy started in the 17th century by Hafiz Osman. ... Angel Gabriel can refer to: The Archangel Gabriel The Angel Gabriel (ship). ...

History

This article or section appears to contradict itself. Please help fix this problem.

The origin and development of the Qur'an begun with Muhammad's belief of divine revelations in 610 AD. The verses of the Qur'an were written down and memorized during his life and collected shortly after his death. During the caliphate of Uthman the Qur'an was standardized in 653 AD. Slight developments in dotting and other punctuation happened during the seventh and eighth centuries.^[9] Image File history File links Emblem-contradict. ... The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ...

Muslim and most western scholars hold this account to be true.^[10][11]

Muhammad

See also: Wahy

The Qur'anic revelation began when Muhammad began reciting it one night of Ramadan of 610 AD. Muhammad believed the recitation to have come from angel Gabriel, and considered himself responsible for inscribing these messages from God.^[12] Wahy is the Arabic word for revelation. ... This article is about religious observances during the month of Ramadan. ...

According to some, since Muhammad could neither read nor write, he would memorize the Qur'an by ear, and later recite it to his companions, who also memorized it. Before the Qur'an was written down, speaking it from memory prevailed as the mode of teaching it to others. This fact, taken in the context of seventh century Arabia, was not at all an extra-ordinary feat. People of that time had a penchant for recited poetry and had developed their skills in memorization to a remarkable degree. Events and competitions that featured the recitation of elaborate poetry were of great interest.^[13] Some scholars, like William Montgomery Watt and Maxime Rodinson believe that Muhammad was literate and educated.^[14][15] In Islam, the Ṣaḥābah (Arabic: ‎ companions) were the companions of Muhammad. ... William Montgomery Watt is a English Islamic scholar. ... Maxime Rodinson (26 January 1915–23 May 2004) was a French Marxist historian, sociologist and orientalist. ...

Written text

The initial revelations were written on different sorts of parchments, tablets of stone, branches of date trees, other wood, leaves, leather and even bones.^[16][17]

Sahaba began recording Suras in writing before Muhammad died in 632. Allusions to written copies of the Qur'an can be found in many events. Immediately before his conversion in 615, Umar ibn al-Khattab caught his sister reading the Qur'anic text (Ta-Ha) from parchment. Muhammad said that reading the Quranic text earns a believer twice as much reward as reciting it from memory yet he prohibited carrying written copies of it into battle.^[16] He sent some copies of the Qur'an to different tribes and cities in order to teach people the religion of Islam.^{[citation needed]} In Islam, the Ṣaḥābah (Arabic: ‎ companions) were the companions of Muhammad. ... Events The Edict of Paris grants extensive rights to the Frankish nobility. ... For other uses of the name, see Umar (disambiguation). ... Sura Ta-Ha is the 20th sura of the Quran. ...

At Medina, about forty companions are believed to have acted as scribes for the Qur'an. Twenty two such persons are mentioned by name in the Hadith. Among them were well known persons, such as Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Ibn Masud, Abu Huraira, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As, Aisha, Hafsa and Umm Salama.^[16] Others went over the contents of the Qur'an with the Prophet before his death This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ... In Islam, the SÌ£aḥābah (Arabic: ‎ companions) were the companions of Muhammad. ... Abu Bakr As Siddiq (Arabic ابو بكر الصديق, alternative spellings, Abubakar, Abi Bakr, Abu Bakar) (c. ... For other uses, see Umar (disambiguation). ... Uthman, Othman, Osman, Usman, or Ozman (Arabic: عثمان) is a male Arabic given name meaning the chosen one amongst the tribe of brave and noble people, honest, caring, sincere, genuine, and attractive. The following people share this name: Uthman Ibn Affan Osman I Uthman I, a Marinid caliph Usman dan Fodio... For other uses, see Ali (disambiguation). ... Abd-Allah ibn Masud (Arabic: ‎) (d. ... `Abdul-Rahman bin Sakhr Al-Azdi [AKA Abu Hurairah, Abu Hurayrah or even Abu Horaira. ... Abd-Allah ibn Abbas (Arabic: عبد الله ابن عباس ) was a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad. ... Abd-Allah ibn Amr (Arabic: ‎) was the son of the famous Sahaba and military leader Amr ibn al-Aas and also a tranmiter of Hadith [1] ^ see Sunan Abu Dawud 2877 Categories: | | ... For other uses, see Aisha (disambiguation). ... Hafsa bint Umar (Arabic: حفصة بنت عمر) was the daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab and wife of Muhammad. ... Hind bint Abi Umayya (c. ...

Narrated Qatada: I asked Anas bin Malik: 'Who collected the Quran at the time of the prophet?' He replied, "Four, all of whom were from the Ansar: Ubai bin Ka'b, Muadh bin Jabal, Zaid bin Thabit and Abu Zaid".^{[Bukhari 6:61:525]}

The revelations given to Muhammad were written down by Sahabas under his own (Muhammad's) guidance: Qatada ibn al-Numan (Arabic: ‎) was one of the Sahaba of Muhammad and a Ansar. ... Ubayy ibn Kab (d. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Zayd ibn Thabit (Zaid Ibn Thabit) (زيد بن ثابت ) was the personal scribe of Muhammad and an Ansar[1]. // Zayd Ibn Thabit was 13 years old when he asked permission to participate in the Battle of Badr the battle. ... The authentic collection (Arabic: الجامع الصحيح, al-Jaami al-Sahih [1]) or popularly al-Bukharis authentic (Arabic: صحيح البخاري, Sahih al-Bukhari) is one of the Sunni six major Hadith collections (Hadith are oral traditions recounting events in the lives of the Islamic prophet Muhammad ). Sunni view this as their most trusted collection. ...

Narrated al Bara: There was revealed 'Not equal are those believers who sit and those who strive and fight in the cause of Allah' ^{[Qur'an 4:95]}. The prophet said: 'Call Zaid for me and let him bring the board, the ink pot and the scapula bone.' Then he said: 'Write: Not equal are those believers..."^{[Bukhari 6:61:512]}

Muslim scribes believed that they would receive heavenly reward by writing down the Qur'an.^[17] The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... The authentic collection (Arabic: الجامع الصحيح, al-Jaami al-Sahih [1]) or popularly al-Bukharis authentic (Arabic: صحيح البخاري, Sahih al-Bukhari) is one of the Sunni six major Hadith collections (Hadith are oral traditions recounting events in the lives of the Islamic prophet Muhammad ). Sunni view this as their most trusted collection. ...

Abu Bakr

During the life of Muhammad, parts of the Qur'an, though written, was scattered amongst his companions, much of it as private possession. After Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr initially exercised a policy of laissez faire as well. This policy was reversed after the Battle of Yamama in 633 AD.^[18] During the battle, 700 Muslims who had memorized the Qur'an were killed. The death of Sālim, however, was most significant, as he was one of the very few who had been entrusted by Muhammad to teach the Qur'an. Consequently, upon Umar's insistence, Abu Bakr ordered the collection of the hitherto scattered pieces of the Qur'an into one copy.^[19] In Islam, the SÌ£aḥābah (Arabic: ‎ companions) were the companions of Muhammad. ... Abu Bakr As Siddiq (Arabic ابو بكر الصديق, alternative spellings, Abubakar, Abi Bakr, Abu Bakar) (c. ... Laissez-faire (pronunciation: French, ; English, IPA: ) is a French phrase meaning let do. From the French diction first used by the 18th century physiocrats as an injunction against government interference with trade, it became used as a synonym for strict free market economics during the early and mid-19th century. ... Combatants Muslims Rebel Apostates Commanders Khalid ibn al-Walid MusailimaThe lair Strength 13,000 40,000 Casualties 1200 21,000 The Battle of Yamama was fought in December 632 A.C in the plain of Aqraba near Yamama. ... For other uses, see Hafiz (disambiguation). ... Muhammad in a new genre of Islamic calligraphy started in the 17th century by Hafiz Osman. ... For other uses, see Umar (disambiguation). ...

Zaid ibn Thabit, Muhammad's primary scribe, was assigned the duty of collecting all of the Quranic text. This was his reaction: Zayd ibn Thabit (Zaid Ibn Thabit) (زيد بن ثابت ) was the personal scribe of Muhammad and an Ansar[1]. // Zayd Ibn Thabit was 13 years old when he asked permission to participate in the Battle of Badr the battle. ...

"...By Allah, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Quran... So I started locating the Quranic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men.^{[Bukhari 6:60:201]}]

The task required ibn Thabit to collect only written copies of the Qur'an, with each verse having validated with the oral testimony of at least two companions. Usually the written copies were verified by himself and Umar - both of who had memorized the Qur'an. Thus, eventually the entire Qur'an was collected into a single copy, but it still wasn't given any particular order.^[18] The authentic collection (Arabic: الجامع الصحيح, al-Jaami al-Sahih [1]) or popularly al-Bukharis authentic (Arabic: صحيح البخاري, Sahih al-Bukhari) is one of the Sunni six major Hadith collections (Hadith are oral traditions recounting events in the lives of the Islamic prophet Muhammad ). Sunni view this as their most trusted collection. ... For other uses, see Umar (disambiguation). ...

This compilation was kept by Umar, who on his deathbed gave them to Hafsa bint Umar, his daughter and one of Muhammad's widows.^[18] For other uses, see Umar (disambiguation). ... Hafsa bint Umar was the daughter of Umar ibn al-Khattab and wife of Muhammad. ...

Ali ibn Abu Talib

According to Shia as well as some Sunni scholars Ali compiled a mushaf, a complete version of Quran,^[20] within six months after the death of the Prophet. When the volume was completed it was brought to Medina, where it was shown. The order of chapters of Ali's volume were rejected by some and Ali would later accept the standard version.^[21] ... The Quran (Arabic al-qurʾān أَلْقُرآن; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and less commonly Alcoran) is the holy book of Islam. ... This article is about the city in Saudi Arabia. ...

Standardization

By the time of the caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan, there was need for the standardization of the Qur'an. First, large numbers of Muslims who had memorized the Qur'an were dying. Secondly, the expansion of Islam brought into its fold many new converts. These converts spoke a variety of languages but were not well learned in Arabic, so rather than reciting the Qur'an as it originally had been (in full Arabic as some Muslims claim it is composed of) used substitute words.^[12] For other uses of the name, see Uthman. ...

Uthman is said to have commissioned a committee (including Zayd and several prominent members of Quraysh) to produce a standard copy of the text. Some accounts say that this compilation was based on the text kept by Hafsa. Other stories say that Uthman made his compilation independently, Hafsa's text was brought forward, and the two texts were found to coincide perfectly. Still other accounts omit any reference to Hafsa.^{[citation needed]}

Until this time there was only one written text of the Qur'an. According to Islamic accounts, this text was faithful to its original version. Non-Muslim scholars believe that, while this is entirely possible, there must have been slight variations produced from some corruptions.^[12]

Thus, this became known as al-mushaf al-Uthmani or the "Uthmanic codex".^[22]

Uthman's reaction in 653 AD is recorded in the following Hadith:

"So 'Uthman sent a message to Hafsa saying, "Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you." Hafsa sent it to 'Uthman. 'Uthman then ordered Zaid bin Thabit, 'Abdullah bin AzZubair, Said bin Al-As and 'AbdurRahman bin Harith bin Hisham to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. 'Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, "In case you disagree with Zaid bin Thabit on any point in the Qur'an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur'an was revealed in their tongue." They did so, and when they had written many copies, 'Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. 'Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt. Said bin Thabit added, "A Verse from Surat Ahzab was missed by me when we copied the Qur'an and I used to hear Allah's Apostle reciting it. So we searched for it and found it with Khuzaima bin Thabit Al-Ansari. (That Verse was): 'Among the Believers are men who have been true in their covenant with Allah.' (^{[Qur'an 33:23]})"^{[Bukhari 6:61:510]}

Although the order of his earlier script differed from the Uthmanic codex, Ali accepted this standardized version.^[21] The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Koran, or Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. ... The authentic collection (Arabic: الجامع الصحيح, al-Jaami al-Sahih [1]) or popularly al-Bukharis authentic (Arabic: صحيح البخاري, Sahih al-Bukhari) is one of the Sunni six major Hadith collections (Hadith are oral traditions recounting events in the lives of the Islamic prophet Muhammad ). Sunni view this as their most trusted collection. ...

It is an increasing claim made by some Muslim and non-Muslim scholars that early Uthmanic texts of the Quran differed in terms of punctuation from the version traditionally read today. It is believed that early versions of the text did not contain diacritics, markers for short vowels, and dots that are used to distinguish similarly written Arabic letters such as r[ر] & z[ز] or t[ت] & ṭ[ث] or f[ف] & q[ق]. One claim is that dots were introduced into the writing system sometime about half a century after the standardization of the Uthmanic text around 700 A.D.^[23]

When the compilation was finished, sometime between 650 and 656 CE, Uthman sent copies of it to the different centres of the expanding Islamic empire. From then on, thousands of Muslim scribes began copying the Qur'an.^[17]

He ordered the destruction of all other copies.^{[citation needed]}

Oldest copy known today

This article or section appears to contradict itself. Please help fix this problem.

An extract of a page from the Quran found at the site

Main article: Sana'a manuscripts

Fragments from a large number of Qur'an codexes were recently discovered in the Yemen. They are now lodged in the House of Manuscript in Sana'a. Carbon-14 tests applied to one of the most complete manuscripts date it to 645-690 CE.^[24] In all at least forty manuscripts or fragments at Sana'a are believed to date from the 1st century AH (622 – 719 CE).^[25] Image File history File links Emblem-contradict. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (600 × 900 pixels, file size: 131 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This page has probably been written by two different copyists as the script in the first half is different from the second. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 × 600 pixelsFull resolution‎ (600 × 900 pixels, file size: 131 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This page has probably been written by two different copyists as the script in the first half is different from the second. ... An extract of a page from the Quran found at the site In 1972 a large collection of many manuscripts was found in an ancient mosque in the Yemen. ... Sanaá (Arabic صنعاء, romanized as , and also known as Sana or Sanaa), population 1,303,000 (2000), is the capital of Yemen. ... 2nd century AH is a year in the Islamic calendar that corresponds to X – X CE. Battle of Badr Dhu al-Qidah: Treaty of Hudaybiyyah[1]. Safar: Battle of Khaybar [citation needed] Dhu al-Qidah: The first pilgrimage [2] Jumada al-awwal: Battle of Mutah [3] Jumada...

Also worthy of note are the 240 metres length of Qur'anic inscriptions from the founding of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem in AH 72/CE 692.^[26] The Dome of the Rock in the center of the Temple Mount, or Mount Moriah The Dome of the Rock (Arabic: مسجد قبة الصخرة, translit. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ...

12th century Andalusian Qur'an

Several manuscripts, including the Samarkand manuscript, are claimed to be the original copies sent out by Uthman^[27] in the 7th century CE. Some non-Muslim scholars, however, doubt that any of the Uthmanic originals remain. Download high resolution version (576x672, 265 KB)12th century Quran page, from http://faculty. ... Download high resolution version (576x672, 265 KB)12th century Quran page, from http://faculty. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... For other uses, see Andalusia (disambiguation). ... The term Samarkand manuscript, currently kept in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), refers to a manuscript of Quran, and the manuscript is believed to be one of the original copies of the Quran sent out by the Uthman. ...

Having studied early Quran manuscripts John Gilchrist states: "The oldest manuscripts of the Quran still in existence date from not earlier than about one hundred years after Muhammad's death." ("Jam' Al-Qur'an", page 153) He comes to this conclusion because two of the oldest manuscripts, the Samarqand and Topkapi codices are both written in the Kufic script. It "can generally be dated from the late eight century depending on the extent of development in the character of the script in each case." (Ibid. page 146) Surah Al-Baqarah written in Kufic form. ...

As for the copies that were destroyed, Islamic traditions say that Abdallah Ibn Masud, Ubay Ibn Ka'b, and Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, had preserved versions that differed in some ways from the Uthmanic text. Muslim scholars record certain of the differences between the versions; those recorded consist almost entirely of orthographical and lexical variants, or different verse counts. All three (Ibn Masud, Ubay Ibn Ka'b, and Ali) are recorded as having accepted the Uthmanic text as authoritative. Abd-Allah ibn Masud (Arabic: ‎) (d. ... Ubayy ibn Kab (d. ... Ali ibn Abu Talib (Arabic: علي بن أبي طالب translit: ‘Alī ibn Abu Ṭālib Persian: علی پسر ابو طالب) ‎ (599 – 661) is an early Islamic leader. ...

Uthman's version was written in an older Arabic script that left out most vowel markings; thus the script could be interpreted and read in various ways. This basic Uthmanic script is called the rasm; it is the basis of several traditions of oral recitation, differing in minor points.The Quran is always written in the Uthmanic Rasm(Rasm al Uthman). In order to fix these oral recitations and prevent any mistakes, scribes and scholars began annotating the Uthmanic rasm with various diacritical marks indicating how the word was to be pronounced. It is believed that this process of annotation began around 700 CE, soon after Uthman's compilation, and finished by approximately 900 CE. The Quran text most widely used today is based on the Rasm Uthmani(Uthmanic way of writing the Quran) and in the Hafs tradition of recitation, as approved by Al-Azhar University in Cairo in 1922. (For more information regarding traditions of recitations, see Quranic recitation, below.) Rasm is an Arabic term that signifies: drawing, sketch, trace, graph, pictures, outline, pattern, mark, notes, design, regulation, form, rate. ... Rasm is an Arabic term that signifies: drawing, sketch, trace, graph, pictures, outline, pattern, mark, notes, design, regulation, form, rate. ... Example of a letter with a diacritic A diacritic or diacritical mark, also called an accent, is a small sign added to a letter to alter pronunciation or to distinguish between similar words. ... Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo Egypt Al-Azhar University (Arabic: الأزهر الشريف; al-Azhar al-Shareef, the Noble Azhar), is a premier Egyptian institution of higher learning, world-renowned for its position as a center of Islamic scholarship and education. ...

Views

Traditionalists

Most secular scholars accept something like the traditional Islamic version; they say that Muhammad put forth verses and laws that he claimed to be of divine origin; that his followers memorized or wrote down his revelations; that numerous versions of these revelations circulated after his death in 632 CE, and that Uthman ordered the collection and ordering of this mass of material in the time period (650-656).^{[citation needed]} These scholars point to many characteristics of the Qur'an — the repetitions, the scientific mentions, the arbitrary order, the mixture of styles and genres — as indicative of a human collection process that was extremely respectful of a miscellaneous collection of original texts. Examples of traditionalists would be Richard Bell, Montgomery Watt, and Andrew Rippin. Richard Bell (1859, Merthyr Tydfil—1 May 1930) was one of the first two British Labour Members of Parliament elected after the formation of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900. ... William Montgomery Watt is a English Islamic scholar. ... Andrew Rippin is Professor of History and Dean of Humanities at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. ...

Sceptical scholars

Secular scholars, such as John Wansbrough and his students Michael Cook and Patricia Crone, were less willing to attribute the entire Qur'an to Muhammad, arguing that there is no real proof that the text of the Qur'an was collected under Uthman, since the earliest surviving copies of the complete Qur'an are centuries later than Uthman. (The oldest existing copy of the full text is from the ninth century.^[28]) They alleged that Islam was formed slowly, over the centuries after the Muslim conquests, as the Islamic conquerors elaborated their beliefs in response to Jewish and Christian challenges..^[29] John Edward Wansbrough (19 February 1928, Peoria Illinois - 10 June 2002, Montaigu-de-Quercy France) was a historian of Islam who taught at SOAS in London. ... Michael Cook is an American historian and scholar of Islamic history. ... Patricia Crone, Ph. ...

Such an approach to the Qur'an is generally not accepted as true by western scholars. Professor A. Jones (from Oxford) asserts that such views are a product of prejudice and speculation.^[11]

Wansbrough wrote in a dense, complex, almost hermetic style, and has had much more influence on Islamic studies through his students than he has through his own writings. His students Crone and Cook co-authored a book called Hagarism (1980), which was extremely controversial at the time, as it challenged not only Muslim orthodoxy, but the prevailing attitudes among secular Islamicists. Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World, 1977, is a book by scholars and historiographers of early Islam Patricia Crone and Michael Cook. ...

Crone, Wansbrough and Nevo argue that all the primary sources which exist are from 150–300 years after the events which they describe, and thus are chronologically far removed from those events ^{[30] [31][32]}

The absence of any Islamic corroborating material for the first century of the alleged time line of Islam has raised numerous questions as to the authenticity of the material provided by traditionalist sources. Secular scholars point out that the earliest account of Muhammad's life by Ibn Ishaq was written more than a century after Muhammad died and all later narratives by Islamic biographers contain far more details and embellishments about events which are entirely lacking in Ibn Ishaq's text. ^[33] Muhammad ibn Ishaq ibn Yasar, or simply Ibn Ishaq (Arabic: , meaning the son of Isaac) (died 767, or 761 (Robinson 2003, p. ...

Another school of secular study of the origins of the Qur'an has focused on the examination of the vast body of the Greek, Armenian, Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac and Coptic accounts of non-Muslim neighbors the 7th and 8th centuries which in many cases contradict the traditional Islamic narratives. Historian Patricia Crone for instances argues that the consistency of the non-Muslim sources spread over a large geographic area would tend to rule out a non-Muslim anti-Islamic motive to these sources.^[34] The word Hebrew most likely means to cross over, referring to the Semitic people crossing over the Euphrates River. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... Coptic is an adjective referring to the original inhabitants of Egypt, the Copts. ...

Of course these sources are hostile, and from a classical Islamic view they have simply got everything wrong; but unless we are willing entertain the notion of an all-pervading literary conspiracy between the non-Muslim peoples of the Middle East, the crucial point remains that they have got things wrong on very much the same points. That might not, it is true, have impressed the medieval Muslims who held the Jews and Christians capable of having maliciously deleted from their scriptures precisely the same passages relating to the coming of Islam; but as the Jews and Christians retorted, given their wide geographical and social distribution, they could scarcely have vented their anti-Muslim feelings with such uniform results. It is because there is agreement between the independent and contemporary witnesses of the non-Muslim world that their testimony must be considered; and it can hardly be claimed that they do not help: whichever way one chooses to interpret them, they leave no doubt that Islam was like other religions the product of a religious evolution..^[35]

The anti-traditionalist banner dropped by Crone and Cook has been taken up by scholars such as Christoph Luxenberg, who supports claims for a late composition of the Qur'an, and traces much of it to sources other than Muhammad. Luxenberg in particular is well-known for his claims that the Qur'an is merely a re-working of an earlier Christian text, a Syriac lectionary. See also Gerd R. Puin.^[36] Christoph Luxenberg is the pseudonym of the author of the 2000 book Die Syro-Aramäische Lesart des Koran: Ein Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung der Koransprache (in English: The Syro-Aramaic reading of the Quran: a contribution to the decipherment of the Quranic language). ... The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Koran English Edition of 2007 (Die syro-aramäische Lesart des Koran: Ein Beitrag zur Entschlüsselung der Koransprache (2000) is a book by German philologist and professor of ancient Semitic and Arabic... Syriac ( Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... A Lectionary is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings for Christian worship. ... Gerd Rüdiger Puin is a European scholar and the world foremost authority on Quranic paleography, the study and scholarly interpretation of ancient texts. ...

Fred Donner has argued for an early date for the collection of the Qur'an, based on his reading of the text itself. He points out that if the Qur'an had been collected over the tumultuous early centuries of Islam, with their vast conquests and expansion and bloody incidents between rivals for the caliphate, there would have been some evidence of this history in the text. However, there is nothing in the Qur'an that does not reflect what is known of the earliest Muslim community.^[37] This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...

In 1972, during the restoration of the Great Mosque of San'a, in Yemen, laborers stumbled upon a "paper grave" containing tens of thousands of fragments of parchment on which verses of the Qur'an were written. Some of these fragments were believed to be the oldest Qur'anic texts yet found. Sanaá (Arabic صنعاء, romanized as , and also known as Sana or Sanaa), population 1,303,000 (2000), is the capital of Yemen. ...

The European scholar Gerd R. Puin has studied these fragments and published some preliminary findings: Gerd Rüdiger Puin is a European scholar and the world foremost authority on Quranic paleography, the study and scholarly interpretation of ancient texts. ...

"My idea is that the Koran is a kind of cocktail of texts that were not all understood even at the time of Muhammad. Many of them may even be a hundred years older than Islam itself. Even within the Islamic traditions there is a huge body of contradictory information, including a significant Christian substrate; one can derive a whole Islamic anti-history from them if one wants. The Qur’an claims for itself that it is ‘mubeen,’ or clear, but if you look at it, you will notice that every fifth sentence or so simply doesn’t make sense. Many Muslims will tell you otherwise, of course, but the fact is that a fifth of the Qur’anic text is just incomprehensible. This is what has caused the traditional anxiety regarding translation. If the Qur’an is not comprehensible, if it can’t even be understood in Arabic, then it’s not translatable into any language. That is why Muslims are afraid. Since the Qur’an claims repeatedly to be clear but is not—there is an obvious and serious contradiction. Something else must be going on.” ^[38]

The variations from the received text that he found seemed to match minor variations in sequence reported by some Islamic scholars, in their descriptions of the variant Qur'ans once held by Abdallah Ibn Masud, Ubay Ibn Ka'b, and Ali, and suppressed by Uthman's order.^[39][40] Ali ibn Abu Talib (Arabic: علي بن أبي طالب translit: ‘Alī ibn Abu Ṭālib Persian: علی پسر ابو طالب) ‎ (599 – 661) is an early Islamic leader. ...

Early influence on the Qur'an

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia,^[41] the text in the Qu'ran is traced to six sources: This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

• The Old Testament canonical and apocryphal and the hybrid Judaism of the late rabbinical schools. During Muhammad's time the Jews were numerous in many parts of Arabia, especially around Medina. Later Judaism and Rabbinism are equally well represented. Abraham Geiger finds parallels between parts of the Koran and Jewish Agadot including Medrashim such as the Medrash Tanchuma. He posits that some of the other parts of the Koran may come from Medrashim that were lost. He cites stylistic connections between the Medrashim and the Koran ^[42][43]

• The New Testament (canonical and apocryphal). On his journeys between Syria, Hijaz, and Yemen, Muhammad had opportunity to come in close touch with Yemenite, Abyssinian, Ghassanite, and Syrian Christians, especially heretic.^{[citation needed]}

• Sabaism, a combination of Judaism, Manichaeism, and Babylonian polytheism.^{[citation needed]}

• Zoroastrianism. One suggestion of Zoroastrian influence on Islam is based on the conclusion by the Jewish orientalist, Ignaz Goldziher, in his book "Islamisme et Parsisme",^[44] that the incident of Isra and Mai'raj in Islam (Muhammad's ascension to the heavens) resembles the Iranian "Divina Commedia" called Arda Wiraz Namag. Ibn Warraq quoted the Christian missionary, Tisdall, on this, claiming that the book Arda Wiraz Namag was composed 400 years after Muhammad.

However, in this regard, Encyclopaedia Iranica states that: "The Arda Wiraz-namag, like many of the Zoroastrian works, underwent successive redactions. It assumed its definitive form in the 9th-10th centuries AD".^[45] Gignoux says the following about the same: "It is known that the whole of the Pahlavi literature was written tardily, roughly speaking after the Muslim conquest, and that it however transmitted extremely old traditions to us, from Sassanide and even pre-Sassanide times".^[46]

• Hanifism, the adherents of which, called Hanīfs, must have been considerable in number and influence, as it is known from contemporary Arabian sources that twelve of Muhammad's followers were members of this sect.^{[citation needed]}

• Native ancient and contemporary Arabian polytheistic beliefs and practices. Wellhausen has collected in his "Reste des arabischen Heidentums" (Berlin, 1897) all that is known of pre-Islamic Arabian religious belief, traditions, customs, and superstitions, many of which are either alluded to or accepted and incorporated in the Qu'ran. From the various sects and creeds, and Abul-Fida, the well-known historian and geographer of the thirteenth century, it is clear that religious beliefs and practices of the Arabs of Muhammad's day form one of the many sources of Islam. From this source Islam derived the practices of polygamy and slavery, which Muhammad sanctioned by adopting them.^{[citation needed]}

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Similarities to the Bible

Main article: Biblical narratives and the Qur'an

Skeptical scholars account for the many similarities between the Qur'an and the Jewish and Hebrew scriptures by saying that Muhammad was teaching what he believed a universal history, as he had heard it from the Jews and Christians he had encountered in Arabia and on his travels. These scholars also disagree with the Islamic belief that the whole of the Qur'an is addressed by God to humankind. They note that there are numerous passages where God is directly addressed, or mentioned in the third person, or where the narrator swears by various entities, including God.^{[citation needed]} The Quran, the central religious text of Islam, contains references to over fifty people also found in the Bible, typically in the same or similar narratives. ...

Textual evidence

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. This section has been tagged since December 2007.

The Qur'an has much common theology, narratives, and commands as the Bible as well as non-canonical Jewish and Christian documents that have no historical validity. (See Legends and the Qur'an.) Critics write that Muhammad did not know these documents were faulty and used them. Because they are not historically accurate, the Qur'an cannot be historically accurate. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ... This article or section seems to contain too many quotations for an encyclopedia entry. ...

"Created" versus "uncreated" Qur'an

The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. This section has been tagged since December 2007.

The most widespread varieties of Muslim theology consider the Qur'an to be eternal and uncreated. Given that Muslims believe that Biblical figures such as Moses and Jesus all preached the same message as Islam, the doctrine of an unchanging, uncreated revelation implies that contradictions between the statements of the earlier divine revelations (the Torah and then the Bible), and the final revelation from God, the Qur'an, must be the result of human corruption of the earlier texts. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existing for an infinite, i. ... Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Template:Jews and Jewdaism Template:The Holy Book Named TorRah The Torah () is the most valuable Holy Doctrine within Judaism,(and for muslims) revered as the first relenting Word of Ulllah, traditionally thought to have been revealed to Blessed Moosah, An Apostle of Ulllah. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ...

Some Muslims have criticized the doctrine of an eternal Qur'an as diluting the doctrine of tawhid, or unity of God. Holding that the Qur'an is the eternal uncreated speech of Allah, speech that has always existed alongside Him, may be a step in the direction of a more plural concept of God's nature (which leads to what Muslims consider the sin of shirk, the association of something with God). This interpretation echos the Christian concept of God's eternal word or logos, some Muslims (e.g. Mu'tazilis and Shi'a) reject the notion of the Qur'an's eternality. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Shirk is the Islamic concept of the sin of idolatry. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... This article is about logos (logoi) in ancient Greek philosophy, mathematics, rhetoric, Theophilosophy, and Christianity. ... Mutazilah (Arabic المعتزلة al-mu`tazilah) is a theological school of thought within Islam. ... Shia Islam ( Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite or Shiite) is the second largest Islamic denomination; some 20-25% of all Muslims are said to follow a Shia tradition. ...

Some modern-day Muslim scholars touch on the doctrine of the eternal Qur'an when they question common conceptions of Islamic law. Reza Aslan has argued that such laws were created by God to meet the particular needs and circumstances of Muhammad's community. Likewise, Nasr Hamid Abu Zaid has claimed that the verses of the Qur'an that talk about Islamic law cannot be understood outside their historical context. However, other Muslim scholars assert that the Qur'an is eternal and is uncreated, while acknowledging that some verses in the Quran were revealed in response to specific historical circumstances. This view has been supported by notable Islamic scholars in the past, such as Ahmed ibn Hanbal. Sharia (Arabic شريعة also Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. ... Reza Aslan (Persian: , born 1972 in Tehran) is an Iranian-American writer [1] and scholar of religions, a regular commentator for American Public Medias Marketplace, and the Middle East Analyst for CBS News. ... Professor Nasr (Hamid) Abu Zayd (in Arabic: نصر حامد ابو زيد) was born in Tanta, Egypt on October 7, 1943 and currently works and resides in The Netherlands. ... Sharia (Arabic شريعة also Sharia, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. ... Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal (780 - 855) was an important Muslim scholar and theologian. ...

Completeness

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (September 2007)

There are three arguments which suggest that the Qur'an is not complete.^[47] Most Muslims, Sunni and Shia alike, believe that the Quran itself was never abrogated, but instead that the Quranic verse ^{[Qur'an 2:106]} is referring to Muhammad's recitations being abrogations of the Torah and the Injil. This is demonstrated further in the Quran which states that "...There hath come to you our Apostle, revealing to you much that ye used to hide in the Book..." ^{[Qur'an 5:15]}. This is a verse directed at