Monday, March 24, 2008

the quran -3


The Quran was at fi rst an aural revelation before becoming
written in book form. The Prophet fi rst heard the Word
of God and then uttered it to his companions, who memorized
the verses and wrote them on parchments, camel
bones, and skins. According to the Islamic tradition, the
Prophet was unlettered (al-ummī) , which on the highest level
means that his soul was pure and virginal, undefi led by
human knowledge and worthy of receiving the Divine Word.
When the archangel Gabriel fi rst appeared to the Prophet,
the sound of the first verse of the Quran reverberated
throughout the space around him. This aspect of the reality
of the Quran remains very much alive to this day. Not only
is the Quran a book written often in the most beautiful calligraphy
and read throughout one’s life, but it is also a world
of sacred sound heard constantly in Islamic cities and towns. Its sounds reverberate throughout the spaces
within which men and women move and act in their
everyday lives, and there are many who have memorized the
text and recite it constantly without reference to the written
word. The art of chanting the Quran, which goes back to the
Prophet, is the supreme acoustic sacred art of Islam and
moves devout Muslims to tears whether they are Arabs or
Malays.