Moomtaz Emrith
(Windsor, ON, Canada)
The QUR’AN, as the world knows, is the sacred book of Islam. It is in the Arabic language and was revealed piece-meal to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) during a period of twenty-three years (609-632 C.E.). The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was in a cave in Mount Hira, (now known as Jabal-al-Nour/the Mountain of Light), which is located near the City of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Prophet often used to retire to that cave to have some quiet time for himself and to meditate and reflect … when, one day, in 609 C.E., he was visited by the Archangel Gabriel, who revealed to him the very first ayat/verse of what would be the 
Muslims’ Holy Book called the Qu’ran, the Sacred Book of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur’an is “the Word of God/Allah”. Its contents have remained intact, unaltered since it was revealed. In fact, it is attested strongly that not a single dot or comma has been added or changed to it since it was revealed to the Prophet (pbuh), who, as history tells us, was himself “an unlettered man”. Besides, in this regard, the Qur’an itself offers that guarantee. Also, it challenges any human to produce even one ayat (verse) would match Qur’an’s. Indeed, the Holy Book as we know it, has remained intact and has gloriously stood the test of time.
Moreover, it is a well-known fact that among the followers of Islam, there are countless Muslims, young and old, who carry the complete text of the Qur’an in their heart having memorized the entire book, and, that since the very beginning of Islam. These privileged Muslims are known as Hafiz-ul Qur’an. And, they are a prized bunch in their communities, much respected and revered. Huffaz-ul Qur’an have always existed in the Islamic world and that since the dawn of Islam. During their training, the students in Hafiz-ul Qur’an also receive instructions in the history and culture of Islam. Religious institutions in the field abound in the Islamic world and the graduates are known as Alims or Maulanas (scholars) and are often addressed respectfully as “Sheikh”.
The Qur’an, as a religious book of guidance to Muslims, is supreme. Its style, its prose and poetry, are unequalled in excellence in beauty and, as a literary work, it has nothing that compares to in the entire history of Islamic literature. As a matter of fact, there is nothing that compares to the Qur’an in terms of its style and grandeur. It is the epitome of literary perfection. The loftiness of its language, the beauty, the melody and the rhythm of its style remain, as one connoisseur of Arabic language puts it to me: “… it is out of this world! It’s just fabulous … divine!” The Qur’an is unique and a supreme literary masterpiece in Arabic in its own right!
Prof. J. A. Arberry, great Orientalist, who has authored several books about Eastern literature and philosophy, including the Sufis and Sufism, has also published a translation of the Qur’an in English in two volumes under the title “The Koran Interpreted.” It is all in verse.
Writing in the Preface of his work on the lofty style and rhythm of the Qur’an, he transcribes herewith, the feelings of a native Arab friend of his – a devout Muslim — about the melody and the extasy that the chanting of the divine verses of the Qur’an creates in him whenever he listens the Holy verses being chanted and to which he subscribes wholeheartedly. Prof. Arberry writes:
–… first let us look at the rhythm; for it is to the rhythm that I constantly return as I grope for a clue to the arresting, the hypnotic power of Muslim scriptures.”
And, he goes on to talk about a conversation he had with an Arab friend of his, who expressed what he (Arberry) himself had felt about it all:
— “‘Whenever I hear the Koran chanted, it is as though I am listening to music; underneath the flowing melody there is sounding all the time the insistent beat of a drum.’”
The Qur’ran’s style is inimitable and has been so for fourteen hundred years. There is nothing to compare to it in Arabic literature, the more so when we consider the fact that the Qur’an came at a time when Arabic poetry was at its peak in pre-Islamic times. But the Qur’an is the Word of God/Allah. Who can match Allah’s creativity and greatness? He is ever Supreme!
Another point of interest about Arabic as a language is the fact that all believers in Islam, that is, all Muslims: boys and girls; men and women, all learn the Arabic language in their life in order to be able to, at least, to read the Qur’an in its original. It matters little whether the Muslim is Arabic-speaking or of Arab origin. The majority of Muslims learn Arabic in order to be able to read the Qur’an in its original Arabic and to say their daily prayers to Allah and make invocations to Him in the language of the Qur’an! There are nowadays, more than one billion Muslims in the world — and it is the world’s fastest growing religion. However, it is a known fact that only some thirty-five (35%) per cent of the Muslim population in the world are Arabs or Arabic-speaking. Yet it is a known fact that all Muslims pray in Arabic although the big majority of them do not speak or understand the language. That, in itself, is a miracle – the miracle of Islam, the miracle of the Qur’an.
To Muslims, the Qur’an is the perfect book of Guidance and spiritual living. Islam, it is well known, is not only a religion but also a way of life. It tells its followers how to live and practice their religion and how to live their life as Muslims. In other words, the Qur’an tells Muslims how to regulate their earthly life and, they have a perfect role-model in the life of their Prophet’s (pbuh) Seerah and Sunnah – that is, his way of life and his teachings) to follow. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is the perfect example for all Muslims to follow and imitate in their temporal lives. Indeed, the Qur’an and the Sunnah and the Seerah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) are at the heart of what it means to be a Muslim. To overlook or ignore this cardinal precept is to deny one’s belief in Islam altogether. 
To sum up, the Qur’an is a unique product of its kind revealed to humanity. It was revealed fourteen hundred years ago in the desert of Arabia to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who was also told by Archangel Gabriel that he was a Prophet – the last one – of God/Allah and also His Messenger. The revelations would eventually change the history of humanity. When Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) told people of his clan of his encounter with Archangel Gabriel, at first only four people believed him: his wife Khadijah, his uncle and trusted friend and companion Abu Bakar Siddique and his young nephew, Ali ibn Talib. But Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was never deterred from his mission. To-day, Islam is the second largest faith on earth and is still growing. The influence of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the book of revelations he was given, changed the course of human history.
To quote one ayat/verse from the Qur’an is enough to feel the hypnotic impact of its Message on the followers of Islam. The ‘Verse from the Throne’ (Ayat-ul Khursi), is among the most powerful verses in the Qur’an. Millions of believers carry it in their heart and recite it all the time, in joy and sorrow; in success and failure – indeed, it is a verse that fills the believer with hope, comfort, happiness, peace and spiritual strength in the face of good times or bad times.
Here is a rendition (in verse) of the Powerful Verse by A. J. Arberry as laid out by him in his version of the Qur’an he translated in English (Surah/Chapter 2 Baqara,: Verse 255):
“God
There is no god but He, the
Living, the Everlasting.
Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep;
To Him belongs
All that is in the heavens and the earth.
Who is there that shall intercede with Him
Save by His leave?
He knows what lies before them
And what is after them
And they comprehend not anything of His knowledge
Save such as He wills.
His Throne comprises the heavens and earth;
The preserving of them oppresses Him not;
He is the All-high, the all-glorious.”
Allah/God’s Glory and Majesty is ever omniscient and Omnipresent. The Qur’an is one tangible proof of that!
