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INTRODUCTION

THE HOLY QURAN

is

Divided into

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│

Ú

 JUZU (Section)

(Total of 30 Sections)

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│

Ú

Each Juzu contains whole or part of:

SURAH (Chapter)

(Total of 114 Chapters)

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│

Ú

Each Surah is divided into

AYAHS (Verses)

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      The Quran is Allah's Word to Mankind.  It is Holy and Supreme, and it was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, Allah's last Messenger.  Unlike other Holy Books, the Holy Quran has the distinc­tion of being absolutely unchanged from its original form.  It is today in the same form as originally revealed without any changes being made to it.  The Holy Quran is not a book of history.  It is exclusively a book of Divine Guidance to humanity.

For the sake of convenience, the Quran is usually printed in thirty sections. 

Each section is called a Juzu         

The Holy Quran is also divided into 114 chapters.

Each chapter is called a Surah.     

Each Surah consists of a number of verses.

Each verse is called an  Ayah.       

This book contains selections from seven Surahs.  The method is as follows:

Ø   The selection is written in the Arabic lan­guage and is translated into English.

Ø   Each Ayah of the selection is explained.

Ø   The whole selection is presented briefly.

Ø   Vocabulary appears at the end.

      If a student studies conscientiously he will develop a modest command of the meaning of some Arabic words which will become the basis of his Quranic vocab­ulary.

Ø   It is proper to emphasize that the word Allah is the Arabic synonym of the word God in English.

Ø   In the Quran, Allah refers to Himself in the plural as "WE" (to express reverence to Him, the Most High).

Ø   The Holy Quran often speaks directly to Muhammad (pbuh) yet the Ayahs are indirectly speaking to us.

The Holy Quran is Allah's Book of Guidance for all humanity and for all time.  It doesn't matter what language the person may speak.  It was revealed in an eloquent Arabic form and is written in such an exquisite and elegant style that it has been impossible to duplicate.  It is for this reason that it is so difficult to translate into other languages.  No matter how hard the translator tries, his translation will not do justice to the original Arabic text.

      Because of the combination of the depth of its meaning, eloquence, style, and rhythm the Quran is called the Miracle of the Miracles, or the Perpetual Miracle.

      This book is suitable not only for adults but also for youth, and it may be used in the Islamic weekend schools as it is in ours.  The main purpose of this book, however, is to be of help to students of Islam whose primary language is not Arabic.

      It should be noted here that this book emphasizes the general meaning of the Quranic selection rather than its literal transla­tion.  This is necessary, because certain words in the Arabic have broad meanings that are difficult to translate literally.  This is why some of the words of a particular selection will appear with a slightly different meaning in another selection of the Holy Quran.  May Allah bless you all.

      A. S. Hashim, M.D.