First Impressions

A few things may strike as odd a reader who turns open the first few pages of the Quran for the very first time.  There is no author listed, for one thing, and there is no dedication.  There is also no introduction.  The Quran just...begins, and it begins with blazing confidence.  There are no signs of writers’ insecurity (a common affliction of some of the best writers the world has known), and there is no humble explanation of the intent of the text that follows.  There is also no semblance of the beginnings of a storyline.

The Quran is arranged thematically, not chronologically.  Whereas the Old Testament starts in Genesis with the story of creation, the Quran’s story of creation is scattered throughout its 114 “chapters” (although one part of the creation narrative appears relatively early on in the Quran).  In all but one case (the story of Joseph), the narrative stories in the Quran appear embedded in the context of a larger thematic narrative about particular matters, and it seems that the stories are told not so much to give historical records of their accounts but to make supporting points with respect to the broader message being delivered by that chapter.  For the Quran, it doesn’t seem to matter so much that so-and-so was the son of what’shisname or that so-and-so’s cousin begat five children.  The Quran mentions individuals for the purpose of giving descriptive accounts of actions from which morals, messages and spiritual lessons can be derived (although, to be clear, I do not presume to know the extent of the entire intent behind the Quran’s mention of particular individuals).

 The arrangement of the Quran is completely unlike any book you will ever encounter.  The reason the word “chapter” is in quotation marks in the previous paragraph is because it is a grossly inadequate translation of the Arabic word “Surah” (soo’ rah).  Surah literally means “Degree” or “Step.”  As A.Y. Ali explains, “if you examine the order [in which the Surahs appear in the Quran] you will find that [every] Surah is a step in a gradation.”  The different Surahs are of varying sizes, ranging from very short to very long.  Each Surah is comprised of “verses” called “Ayahs” (plural, or “Ayah,” singular) in Arabic.  “Ayah” also means “a sign” in Arabic, as in “a sign from God.”  Thus, the very nomenclature native to Quranic discourse assumes that each verse of the Quran is a sign from God guiding humanity to God’s ultimate truth.  The Quran is further split into roughly equal “parts,” each called a “Juz’” in Arabic.  Some Juz’s include multiple Surahs, while some Surahs stretch over several Juz’s.  The first Juz’ starts with the first Surah of the Quran and ends less than halfway through the second Surah.

Our blogging journey starts at the beginning of the first ayah of the first Surah, and with the words spoken by Muslims the world over multiple times daily:  “In the name of God...”

Comments

[Open-minded(I think)]

I would first like to thank you for sharing your reflections on the Quran. I wanted to share another definition of the word "Soorah". Surah comes from the root word "soor" which means fence or boundry. It is believed by some scholars that the name was inspired by the boundaries of Madinah.

[Moustafa]

I remember hearing how a convert's interest in Islam came from the very point you mention about how the Quran starts. He says he was struck by the extreme confidence in the opening "This is the book, in it is guidance sure, without doubt" and that his first thought was that no man would start a book in such a fashion.