|| Allah and the holy books What is the Qur’an? The Qur’an, written in Arabic, is the word of Allah. The original Qur’an is preserved in heaven. When the Angel Jibril spoke to Muhammad, he was reading from the heavenly copy. This means that the Qur’an carries Allah's full authority. In what language is the Qur’an written? The surahs ‘There are 114 chapters in the Qur’an. They are called surahs. All of them, except one, begin with the words: ‘In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.’ Each of the surahs come from Allah. They could not be created by human hands. ‘The surahs are not written down in the order in which they were revealed to Muhammad. They are arranged in the order in which they were collected by Muhammad's companions. Within twenty years of Muhammad's death, the Qur’an existed as one book. Each surah has its own title. The titles come from some word or subject in that chapter. So, for example, the second surah is called ‘The Cow’. This is because it contains a story about Musa (Moses) asking the people to sacrifice a cow. The surah which Muslims know best is the first. They recite it five times every day. You can read this surah on the opposite page. ‘¢ Why is the Qur’an special? ¢ Whats a surah? ¢ What is in the Qur’an?The teachings of the Qur’an The teachings of the Qur’an guide every Muslim. They tell them how to live day by day as they submit themselves to Allah. They also explain how they can get themselves ready for the Day of Judgement. For example, it tells them: © to share their wealth. © to treat women and orphans with love and respect. © not to drink alcohol or to gamble, © not to lend money (except at very low rates of interest) The Qur’an contains stories about the many great prophets of the past, including Ibrahim (Abraham), Yusuf (Joseph), Isa (Jesus) and Musa. Why do you think children and young people are taught to know he Qur'an off by heart? [1] Copy out these sentences and fill in the missing words as you go: a The Qur'an is the word of _ and was transmitted to - bythe b Each____inthe___begins with the words ‘In the Nameof_____jthe a The Qur’an contains stories about many great___of the past, including and {[2] This is the opening surah of the Qur'an: ‘Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe, The Compassionate, the Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Judgement! You alone we worship, and to You alone we turn for help. Guide us to the straight path, The path of those whom You have favoured, Not of those zoho have incurred Your wrath [made you angry], Nor of those who have gone astray. (Surah 1) a Several titles and names are given to Allah in this extract. Make a list of them. b_ What does each worshipper ask Allah to do for them? For your dictionary [ ] ‘A:surah is a chapter in the Quran. | Allah (page 5) Angel jibril (page 7) Heaven (page 13) Muhammad (page 5) Muslim (page 5) Prophet (page 5) Quran (page 5)