AlQuran4K
Quran
| The Quran | |
|---|---|
| القرآن al-Qurʾān | |
 | |
| Information | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Language | Classical Arabic |
| Period | 610–632 CE |
| Chapters | 114 (list) |
| Full text | |
 The Quran at Arabic Wikisource | |
| Quran at English Wikisource | |
The Quran (/kʊrˈɑːn/, kuurr-AHN;[i] Arabic: القرآن al-Qurʾān [alqurˈʔaːn],[ii] 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran,[iii] is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God.[11] It is widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature.[12][13][iv][v] It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: سور suwar, sing.: سورة sūrah), which consist of verses (pl.: آيات ʾāyāt, sing.: آية ʾāyah, cons.: ʾāyat).
Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final prophet, Muhammad, through the archangel Gabriel[16][17] incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning in the month of Ramadan,[18] when Muhammad was 40; and concluding in 632, the year of his death.[11][19][20] Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important miracle; a proof of his prophethood;[21] and the culmination of a series of divine messages starting with those revealed to Adam, including the Torah, the Psalms and the Gospel. The word Quran occurs some 70 times in the text itself, and other names and words are also said to refer to the Quran.[22]
The Quran is thought by Muslims to be not simply divinely inspired, but the literal word of God.[23] Muhammad did not write it as he did not know how to write. According to tradition, several of Muhammad's companions served as scribes, recording the revelations.[24] Shortly after the prophet's death, the Quran was compiled by the companions, who had written down or memorized parts of it.[25] Caliph Uthman established a standard version, now known as the Uthmanic codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today. There are, however, variant readings, with mostly minor differences in meaning.[24]
The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Biblical and apocryphal scriptures. It summarizes some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events.[26][27] The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance for mankind (2:185). It sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence.[28] Supplementing the Quran with explanations for some cryptic Quranic narratives, and rulings that also provide the basis for Islamic law in most denominations of Islam,[29][vi] are hadiths—oral and written traditions believed to describe words and actions of Muhammad.[vii][29] During prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic.[30]
Someone who has memorized the entire Quran is called a memorizer. A verse is sometimes recited with a special kind of elocution reserved for this purpose, called tajwid. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during tarawih prayers. In order to extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, Muslims rely on exegesis, or commentary rather than a direct translation of the text.[31]
ecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah (Arabic: مكة المكرمة, romanized: Makkat al-Mukarramah, lit. 'Makkah the Noble' Hejazi pronunciation: [makːa almʊkarːama]) and commonly shortened to Makkah (Arabic: مكة, romanized: Makkah Hejazi pronunciation: [makːa]),[a] is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam.[2] It is 70 km (43 mi) inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley 277 m (909 ft) above sea level. Its last recorded population was 1,578,722 in 2015.[3] Its estimated metro population in 2020 is 2.042 million, making it the third-most populated city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh and Jeddah. Pilgrims more than triple this number every year during the Ḥajj pilgrimage, observed in the twelfth Hijri month of Dhūl-Ḥijjah.
Mecca is generally considered "the fountainhead and cradle of Islam".[4][5] Mecca is revered in Islam as the birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Hira cave atop the Jabal al-Nur ("Mountain of Light") is just outside the city and where Muslims believe the Quran was first revealed to Muhammad.[6] Visiting Mecca for the Hajj is an obligation upon all able Muslims. The Great Mosque of Mecca, known as the Masjid al-Haram, is home to the Ka'bah, believed by Muslims to have been built by Abraham and Ishmael. It is one of Islam's holiest sites and the direction of prayer for all Muslims (qibla).[7]
Muslim rulers from in and around the region long tried to take the city and keep it in their control, and thus, much like most of the Hejaz region, the city has seen several regime changes. The city was most recently conquered in the Saudi conquest of Hejaz by Ibn Saud and his allies in 1925. Since then, Mecca has seen a tremendous expansion in size and infrastructure, with newer, modern buildings such as the Abraj Al Bait, the world's fourth-tallest building and third-largest by floor area, towering over the Great Mosque. The Saudi government has also carried out the destruction of several historical structures and archaeological sites,[8] such as the Ajyad Fortress.[9][10][11] Non-Muslims are strictly prohibited from entering the city.[12][13]
Muslims from around the world visit the city, not only for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages but also as tourists to visit regional landmarks such as the 'Aisha Mosque (Masjid 'Aisha) and the sites visited by pilgrims in the Hajj and 'Umrah. Mecca is now home to two of the most expensive buildings in the world, the Masjid al-Haram, valued at 100 billion US dollars, and the Abraj al-Bait complex, valued at 15 billion US dollars.
Under the Saudi government, Mecca is governed by the Mecca Regional Municipality, a municipal council of 14 locally elected members headed by the mayor (called Amin in Arabic) appointed by the Saudi government. As of May 2015, the mayor of the city is Osama bin Fadhel Al-Barr.[14][15] The City of Mecca amanah, which constitutes Mecca and the surrounding region, is the capital of the Mecca Province, which includes the neighboring cities of Jeddah and Ta'if, even though Jeddah is considerably larger in population compared to Mecca. The Provincial Governor of the province from 16 May 2007 is Prince Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud.[16]
Medina,[a] officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (Arabic: المدينة المنورة, romanized: al-Madīnah al-Munawwarah, lit. 'The Enlightened City', Hejazi pronunciation: [almadiːna almʊnawːara]) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (المدينة, al-Madina, Hejazi pronunciation: [almadiːna]), is the second-holiest city in Islam and the capital of the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia. As of 2020, the estimated population of the city is 1,488,782,[2] making it the fourth-most populous city in the country.[3] Located at the core of the Medina Province in the western reaches of the country, the city is distributed over 589 square kilometres (227 sq mi), of which 293 square kilometres (113 sq mi) constitutes the city's urban area, while the rest is occupied by the Hejaz Mountains, empty valleys, agricultural spaces and older dormant volcanoes.
Medina is generally considered to be the "cradle of Islamic culture and civilization".[4] The city is considered to be the second-holiest of three key cities in Islamic tradition, with Mecca and Jerusalem serving as the holiest and third-holiest cities, respectively. Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (lit. 'The Prophet's Mosque') is of exceptional importance in Islam and serves as burial site of the last Islamic prophet, Muhammad, by whom the mosque was built in 622 CE. Observant Muslims usually visit his tomb, or rawdhah, at least once in their lifetime during a pilgrimage known as Ziyarat, although this is not obligatory.[5] The original name of the city before the advent of Islam was Yathrib (Hebrew: יתריב; Arabic: يَثْرِب), and it is referred to by this name in Chapter 33 (Al-Aḥzāb, lit. 'The Confederates') of the Quran. It was renamed to Madīnat an-Nabī (lit. 'City of the Prophet' or 'The Prophet's City') after Muhammad's death and later to al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (lit. 'The Enlightened City') before being simplified and shortened to its modern name, Madinah (lit. 'The City'), from which the English-language spelling of "Medina" is derived. Saudi road signage uses Madinah and al-Madinah al-Munawwarah interchangeably.[5]
The city existed for over 1,500 years before Muhammad's migration from Mecca,[6] known as the Hijrah. Medina was the capital of a rapidly-increasing Muslim caliphate under Muhammad's leadership, serving as its base of operations and as the cradle of Islam, where Muhammad's Ummah (lit. '[Muslim] Community')—composed of Medinan citizens (Ansar) as well as those who immigrated with Muhammad (Muhajirun), who were collectively known as the Sahabah—gained huge influence. Medina is home to three prominent mosques, namely al-Masjid an-Nabawi, Masjid Qubaʽa, and Masjid al-Qiblatayn, with the Masjid Quba'a being the oldest in Islam. A larger portion of the Qur'an was revealed in Medina in contrast to the earlier Meccan surahs.[7][8]
Much like most of the Hejaz, Medina has seen numerous exchanges of power within its comparatively short existence. The region has been controlled by Jewish-Arabian tribes (up until the 5th century CE), the ʽAws and Khazraj (up until Muhammad's arrival), Muhammad and the Rashidun (622–660 CE), the Umayyads (660–749 CE), the Abbasids (749–1254 CE), the Mamluks of Egypt (1254–1517 CE), the Ottomans (1517–1805 CE), the First Saudi State (1805–1811 CE), Muhammad Ali Pasha (1811–1840 CE), the Ottomans for a second time (1840–1918), the Sharifate of Mecca under the Hashemites (1918–1925 CE) and finally is in the hands of the present-day Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (1925–present CE).[5]
In addition to visiting for Ziyarah, tourists come to visit the other prominent mosques and landmarks in the city that hold religious significance such as Mount Uhud, Al-Baqiʽ cemetery and the Seven Mosques among others. Recently, after the Saudi conquest of Hejaz, the Saudis carried out a demolition of several tombs and domes in and around the region because of their Wahhabi beliefs within Sunni Islam.[9]
Al-Aqsa Mosque
| Al-Aqsa Mosque | |
|---|---|
ٱلْمَسْجِد ٱلْأَقْصَىٰ, Al-Masjid al-'Aqṣā | |
.jpg) | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Leadership | Imam Muhammad Ahmad Hussein |
| Location | |
| Location | Old City of Jerusalem |
  Location within the Old City of Jerusalem | |
| Administration | Jerusalem Islamic Waqf |
| Geographic coordinates | 31.77617°N 35.23583°ECoordinates: 31.77617°N 35.23583°E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | Mosque |
| Style | Early Islamic, Mamluk |
| Date established | 705 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | north-northwest |
| Capacity | 5,000+ |
| Dome(s) | two large + tens of smaller ones |
| Minaret(s) | four |
| Minaret height | 37 meters (121 ft) (tallest) |
| Materials | Limestone (external walls, minaret, facade) stalactite (minaret), gold, lead and stone (domes), white marble (interior columns) and mosaic[1] |
-Aerial-Temple_Mount-(south_exposure).jpg)
Al-Aqsa Mosque (Arabic: ٱلْمَسْجِد ٱلْأَقْصَىٰ, romanized: al-Masjid al-ʾAqṣā, IPA: [ʔælˈmæsdʒɪd ælˈʔɑqsˤɑ] (
listen), "the Farthest Mosque"), located in the Old City of Jerusalem, is the third holiest site in Islam. The mosque was built on top of the Temple Mount, known as the Al Aqsa Compound or Haram esh-Sharif in Islam, several decades after Muhammad's death. Modern Muslims believe that Muhammad was transported from the Great Mosque of Mecca to this location during the Night Journey. Islamic tradition holds that Muhammad led prayers towards this site until the 16th or 17th month after his migration from Mecca to Medina, when Allah directed him to instead turn towards the Kaaba in Mecca.[2]
The covered mosque building was originally a small prayer house erected by Umar, the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the early 7th century. It was rebuilt and expanded by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik and finished by his son al-Walid in 705. The mosque was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 746 and rebuilt by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 754. It was rebuilt again in 780. Another earthquake destroyed most of al-Aqsa in 1033, but two years later the Fatimid caliph Ali az-Zahir built another mosque whose outline is preserved in the current structure. The mosaics on the arch at the qibla end of the nave also go back to his time.[citation needed]
During the periodic renovations undertaken, the various ruling dynasties of the Islamic Caliphate constructed additions to the mosque and its precincts, such as its dome, facade, its minbar, minarets and the interior structure. When the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, they used the mosque as a palace and the Dome of the Rock as a church. The structure was also the headquarters of the religious order of the Knights Templar. After the area was recaptured by Saladin in 1187, the structure's function as a mosque was restored. More renovations, repairs and additions were undertaken in later centuries by the Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, the Supreme Muslim Council, and Jordan. Today, the Old City is under Israeli control, but the mosque remains under the administration of the Jordanian/Palestinian-led Islamic Waqf.[3]
The mosque is located in close proximity to historical sites significant in Judaism and Christianity, most notably the site of the Second Temple, the holiest site in Judaism. As a result, the area is highly sensitive, and has been a flashpoint in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[4
