The Religions Book

259

portions of the Qur’an, and some
are even able to commit the entire
book to memory.
To learn the entire Qur’an by
heart brings great prestige and
blessing, and a Muslim who has
achieved this is known as a hafiz
or a guardian of the Qur’an. A hafiz
keeps God’s holy book alive, and is
often called shaykh, a mark of
great respect. Such Muslims often
become reciters of the Qur’an, a
role that is undertaken during daily
prayers and other important rituals
and ceremonies. This skill
is so highly prized that auditoriums
are often filled to capacity for
recitation contests.
The Qur’an has a preeminent
place both in Islam and within
God’s plan for the world. It is
considered the divine miracle
brought by the Prophet Muhammad
—the only miracle, in fact, as
Muhammad himself did not perform
them. Muslims believe that the
Qur’an is based on a heavenly
prototype, a book written in Arabic
and existing with God in heaven.

ISLAM

This means that, even though the

Qur’an was given to Muhammad in

the form of oral recitations and only

later written down, the physical

book itself is regarded as sacred.

Respect for the Qur’an

The Muslim belief that the Islamic

holy scripture exists in heaven

makes the handling of its earthly

representations a matter of great

care and delicacy, and there are

several guidelines regarding how

Muslims should treat their sacred

book. The Qur’an, and the Arabic

text in particular, should never be

left on the floor or in any unclean

place. When displayed among

a pile of books, it should always

be positioned on top; and when

placed on a bookshelf, it should

rest on the highest shelf, with

nothing else beside or above it.

In addition, before handling

the Qur’an, Muslims should make

certain that they are ritually clean

by washing themselves, just as

they would before worshipping

God. The Qur’an should also be

carried with care, and for this ❯❯

Reading, learning, and reciting
portions of the Qur’an are central
to Islamic education, and remain
an everyday activity for Muslims
thoughout their adult lives.

...recite the Qur’an

in slow, measured

rhythmic tones.

Sura 73:4

The Qur’an and the Bible

Readers of the Qur’an and

both the Hebrew Bible and

the Christian Bible will find

many characters and stories

in common. The words of the

Qur’an appear to assume some

familiarity with Jewish and

Christian texts, while offering

some gentle correctives in

certain details. In the Qur’an,

for example, Adam and Hawwa

(Eve) are forgiven by God before

being sent from paradise,

because they begged for His

mercy, rather than cast out and

cursed as in the Bible. Jesus

(as prophet, rather than divine

figure) appears several times,

but nowhere near as often as his

mother Mary, spoken of in the

Qur’an with a special fondness.

In a miracle unreported in the

Bible, the infant Jesus speaks

up from the crib to defend his

mother’s honor when ill-wishers

accuse her of fornication.