The name of the sacred scripture of Islam by which it has
become famous, especially in the West, is the Quran, or
Koran, from the Arabic al-Qur’ān , which means “The Recitation.”
But the sacred text has many other names, each
referring to an aspect of it. It is also known as al-Furqān ,
“The Discernment,” for it contains the principles for both
intellectual and moral discernment. Another of its wellknown
names is Umm al-kitāb , “The Mother Book,” for it is
the ultimate source of all knowledge and the prototype of
the “book” as container of knowledge. It is also known as
al-Hudā , “The Guide,” for it is the supreme guide for people’s
journey through life. In traditional Islamic languages,
it is usually referred to as the Noble Quran (al-Qur’ān almajīd
or al-karīm) and is treated with the utmost respect as
a sacred reality that surrounds and defi nes the life of Muslims
from the cradle to the grave. The verses of the Quran
are the very fi rst sounds heard by the newborn child and the
last the dying person hears on his or her way to the encounter
with God.
In a sense, the soul of the Muslim is woven of verses and
expressions drawn from the Quran. Such expressions as
inshā’ Allāh , “If God wills,” al -.h amdu li’Llāh , “Thanks be
to God,” and bismi’Llāh , “In the Name of God,” all used by
Arab as well as non-Arab Muslims alike, punctuate the
whole of life and determine the texture of the soul of the Muslim. Every legitimate
action begins with a bismi’Llāh and ends with an al-
.h
amdu li’Llāh , while the attitude toward the future is always
conditioned by the awareness of inshā’ Allāh , for all depends
on the Divine Will. These and many other formulas drawn
from the Quran determine the attitude toward the past, the
present, and the future and cover the whole of life. The daily
prayers that punctuate the Muslim’s entire life, from the age
of puberty until death, are constituted of verses and chapters
from the Quran, while Islamic Law has its root in the sacred
text. Likewise, all branches of knowledge that can be legitimately
called Islamic have their root in the Quran, which
has served over the centuries as both the fountainhead and
the guiding principle for the whole of the Islamic intellectual
tradition.
