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Dictionary Of Christian Words, Copyright, all rights
reserved.
Koran (Quran, Qur'an,
al-Qur'an)
Noun
| Name of the Islamic Bible. |
| Etymology: From a primitive ancient semitic root qara
developing in Arabic to Qaran, Quran, Koran. Through
the idea of accosting a person met; to call out to (i.e. properly, address
by name, but used in a wide variety of applications):--bewray (self), that
are bidden, call (for, forth, self, upon), cry (unto), (be) famous, guest,
invite, mention, (give) name, preach, (make) proclaim(- ation), pronounce,
publish, read, renowned, say.
Modern scholars have chosen not to give the etymology of the word providing the following: the book composed of sacred writings accepted by Muslims as revelations made to Muhammad by Allah through the angel Gabriel ( Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary). It is called the "holy Qur'an", the Muslim scriptures, the Islamic Bible, the Koran of Mohammed, and the Word of Allah (God). Origin: According to sources, the words of Mohammed were copied down by those who heard him. These were later collected and compiled into a book. They were not collected during his life time. There are no original copies of the Koran in existence. The oldest Koran in existence is the Othman Koran compiled in Medina by Othman, the third caliph. Hadiths (traditions) tell that Zaid bin Thabit compiled the Koran and that Caliph Uthman later had an official version prepared. There have been many revisions, corrections, alterations, interpolations, and changes in wording. The present day Koran cannot be checked for validity against an original since no original exists. Christoph Luxenberg, a scholar of ancient Semitic languages in Germany, argues that the Koran has been misread and mistranslated for centuries. His work, based on the earliest copies of the Koran, maintains that parts of Islam's holy book are derived from pre-existing Christian Aramaic texts that were misinterpreted by later Islamic scholars who prepared the editions of the Koran commonly read today. Arab scholar Suliman Bashear reported that Islam developed as a religion gradually rather than emerging fully formed from the mouth of the Prophet. John Wansbrough of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, insisted that the text of the Koran appeared to be a composite of different voices or texts compiled over dozens if not hundreds of years. After all, scholars agree that there is no evidence of the Koran until 691 — 59 years after Muhammad's death — when the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem was built, carrying several Koranic inscriptions. Patricia Crone, a scholar from the School for Oriental and African Studies at London, insists that the Koran and the Islamic tradition present a fundamental paradox. The Koran is a text soaked in monotheistic thinking, filled with stories and references to Abraham, Isaac, Joseph and Jesus, and yet the official history insists that Muhammad, an illiterate camel merchant, received the revelation in Mecca, a remote, sparsely populated part of Arabia, far from the centers of monotheistic thought, in an environment of idol-worshiping Arab Bedouins. Unless one accepts the idea of the angel Gabriel, Ms. Crone says, historians must somehow explain how all these monotheistic stories and ideas found their way into the Koran. Purpose: It appears the purpose of the Qur'an was to replace both the Old Testament used by Jews and the New Testament used by Christians. Mohammed replaced Moses and Jesus and was claimed to be God's final prophet to the world. It's intended purpose was to place into the minds of Muslims the teaching of Mohammed that could be verified by their own holy book. Muslims were then prohibited from having copies of the Old Testament or the New Testament to check the validity of Mohammed's teachings. The Qur'an became the only holy book allowed in Muslim controlled countries. Christians were prohibited from evangelizing Muslims. Christian Bibles containing the Old and New Testaments are censored and prohibited in Muslaim controlled nations. Jews were considered the primary enemy because in the Old Testament the promised seed of Abraham was to flow through Isaac and not Ishmael. The promised seed of Abraham flowing through Ishmael down to Arabs and to Mohammed was the original purpose of the Qur'an. Mohammed was then a replacement of Moses and Jesus, the sources of both the Old and New Testaments. The Koran of Moses and the Koran of Jesus were replaced by the Koran of Mohammed. Contradictions with Jewish and Christian Bible:
Adam created from a blood clot.
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| The meaning of the word Koran
appears to mean: That which is spoken (pronounced), That which is published, That which is preached, The call of God to come forth, i.e. separate; Greek ekklesia, the invitation of God. |