Editing Quran (section)

=== Prophetic era ===
[[Sīrah|Islamic tradition]] relates that [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]] received [[Muhammad's first revelation|his first revelation]] in 610 CE in the [[Jabal al-Nour|Cave of Hira]] on the [[Night of Power]]<ref name="surah al-qadr">{{qref|97|c=y}}</ref> during one of his isolated retreats to the mountains. Thereafter, he received revelations over a period of 23 years. According to {{Transliteration|ar|[[hadith]]}} (traditions ascribed to Muhammad){{Efn|Hadith are primarily from Muhammad but some are from those closest to him. Muslim scholars have worked carefully to authenticate them; see [[Hadith studies#Evaluating authenticity]].}}<ref name="handbook">{{Cite book |last1=Sandıkcı |first1=Özlem |title=Handbook of Islamic Marketing |last2=Rice |first2=Gillian |date=2011 |publisher=Edward Elgar |isbn=978-1-84980-013-6 |page=38}}</ref> and [[History of Islam|Muslim history]], after Muhammad and his followers [[Hijra (Islam)|immigrated to Medina]] and formed an independent Muslim community, he ordered many of his [[sahabah|companions]] to recite the Quran and to learn and teach the laws, which were revealed daily. It is related that some of the [[Quraysh]] who were taken prisoners at the [[Battle of Badr]] regained their freedom after they had taught some of the Muslims the simple writing of the time. Thus a group of Muslims gradually became [[Literacy|literate]]. As it was initially spoken, the Quran was recorded on tablets, bones, and the wide, flat ends of date palm fronds. Most [[Surah|suras]] (also usually transliterated as Surah) were in use amongst early Muslims since they are mentioned in numerous sayings by both [[Sunni]] and [[Shia]] sources, relating Muhammad's use of the Quran as a call to Islam, the making of prayer and the manner of recitation. However, the Quran did not exist in book form at the time of Muhammad's death in 632 at age 61–62.<ref name="Britannica" /><ref name="LivRlgP338">{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=Mary Pat |author-link=Mary Pat Fisher |title=Living Religions: An Encyclopaedia of the World's Faiths |date=1997 |publisher=[[I.B. Tauris Publishers|I. B. Tauris Publishers]] |edition=Rev. |location=London |page=338}}</ref><ref>{{qref|17|106|b=y}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Tabatabae|1988|p=98}}</ref><ref name=watt>{{cite book|last=Richard Bell (Revised and Enlarged by W. Montgomery Watt)|title=Bell's introduction to the Qur'an|year=1970|publisher=Univ. Press|isbn=978-0-85224-171-4|pages=31–51}}</ref><ref name=chi>{{cite book|last=P.M. Holt, Ann K.S. Lambton and Bernard Lewis|title=The Cambridge history of Islam|year=1970|publisher=Cambridge Univ. Press|isbn=978-0-521-29135-4|page=32|edition=Reprint.}}</ref> There is agreement among scholars that Muhammad himself did not write down the revelation.<ref name=denffer>{{cite book|last=Denffer|first=Ahmad von|title=Ulum al-Qur'an: an introduction to the sciences of the Qur an|year=1985|publisher=Islamic Foundation|isbn=978-0-86037-132-8|page=37|edition=Repr.}}</ref>
[[File:Iqra.jpg|thumb|200px|Traditionally believed to be [[Muhammad]]'s first revelation, [[Al-Alaq|Sura Al-Alaq]], later placed 96th in the Quranic regulations, in current writing style]]

{{Transliteration|ar|[[Sahih al-Bukhari]]}} narrates Muhammad describing the revelations as, "Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell" and [[A'isha]] reported, "I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)."{{Efn|"God's Apostle replied, 'Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form of Inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says.' ʻAisha added: Verily I saw the Prophet being inspired Divinely on a very cold day and noticed the Sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over)."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/001-sbt.php |title=Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110054749/http://www.cmje.org/religious-texts/hadith/bukhari/001-sbt.php |archive-date=10 January 2012 |website=Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement |publisher=University of Southern California}}</ref>}} Muhammad's first revelation, according to the Quran, was accompanied with a vision. The agent of revelation is mentioned as the "one mighty in power,"<ref>{{qref|53|5|b=y}}</ref> the one who "grew clear to view when he was on the uppermost horizon. Then he drew nigh and came down till he was (distant) two bows' length or even nearer."<ref name=watt /><ref>{{qref|53|6-9|b=y}}</ref> The Islamic studies scholar Welch states in the ''[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]'' that he believes the graphic descriptions of Muhammad's condition at these moments may be regarded as genuine, because he was severely disturbed after these revelations. According to Welch, these seizures would have been seen by those around him as convincing evidence for the superhuman origin of Muhammad's inspirations. However, Muhammad's critics accused him of being a possessed man, a [[Clairvoyant|soothsayer]], or a [[magician (paranormal)|magician]] since his experiences were similar to those claimed by such figures well known in [[Pre-Islamic Arabia|ancient Arabia]]. Welch additionally states that it remains uncertain whether these experiences occurred before or after Muhammad's initial claim of prophethood.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Buhl |first=Fr. |orig-date=1913–1936 |date=2012 |article=Muhammad |title-link=Encyclopaedia of Islam Online |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam |edition=1 |editor-link1=Martijn Theodoor Houtsma |editor-first1=M. Th. |editor-last1=Houtsma |editor-link2=Thomas Walker Arnold |editor-first2=T. W. |editor-last2=Arnold |editor-first3=R. |editor-last3=Basset |editor-first4=R. |editor-last4=Hartmann |doi=10.1163/2214-871X_ei1_SIM_4746 |isbn=978-90-04-08265-6}} <!--url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-1/muhammad-SIM_4746?s.num=1&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.cluster.Encyclopaedia+of+Islam&s.q=muhammad --></ref>

The Quran describes Muhammad as "{{Transliteration|ar|ummi}}",<ref>{{qref|7|157|b=y}}</ref> which is traditionally interpreted as 'illiterate', but the meaning is rather more complex. Medieval commentators such as [[al-Tabari]] ({{Died in|923}}) maintained that the term induced two meanings: first, the inability to read or write in general; second, the inexperience or ignorance of the previous books or scriptures (but they gave priority to the first meaning). Muhammad's illiteracy was taken as a sign of the genuineness of his prophethood. For example, according to [[Fakhr al-Din al-Razi]], if Muhammad had mastered writing and reading he possibly would have been suspected of having studied the books of the ancestors. Some scholars such as [[W. Montgomery Watt]] prefer the second meaning of {{Transliteration|ar|ummi}}—they take it to indicate unfamiliarity with earlier sacred texts.<ref name=watt /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Günther|first=Sebastian|title=Muhammad, the Illiterate Prophet: An Islamic Creed in the Quran and Quranic Exegesis|journal=Journal of Quranic Studies|year=2002|volume=4|issue=1|pages=1–26|doi=10.3366/jqs.2002.4.1.1| issn=1465-3591}}</ref>

The final verse of the Quran was revealed on the 18th of the Islamic month of [[Dhu al-Hijjah]] in the year 10 [[Hijri year|A.H.]], a date that roughly corresponds to February or March 632. The verse was revealed after [[Event of Ghadir Khumm|the Prophet finished delivering his sermon at Ghadir Khumm]].

According to Islamic tradition, the Quran was revealed to Muhammad in seven different {{Transliteration|ar|[[ahruf]]}} (meaning letters; however, it could mean dialects, forms, styles or modes).<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Origins of the Variant Readings of the Qur'an |url=https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/paper/the-origins-of-the-variant-readings-of-the-quran |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research |language=en}}</ref> Most Islamic scholars agree that these different {{Transliteration|ar|ahruf}} are the same Quran revealed in seven different Arabic [[dialect]]s and that they do not change the meaning of the Quran, the purpose of which was to make the Quran easy for recitation and memorization among the different Arab [[tribe]]s.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Philips |first=Abu Ameenah Bilal |title=Tafseer Soorah Al -Hujurat |publisher=International Islamic Publishing House |year=2006 |isbn=9960-9677-0-0 |edition=New Revised Edition 2 |pages=50–54}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2023-02-15 |title=Qira't and the 7 Ahruf: All You Need To Know |work=Arabian Tongue |url=https://www.arabiantongue.com/qirat-and-the-7-ahruf/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Academy |first=Ulum Al-Azhar |date=2024-08-13 |title=What Is Ahruf And Qirat? {{!}} A Full Guide - Ulum Al Azhar |url=https://ulumalazhar.com/what-is-ahruf-and-qirat/ |access-date=2024-08-15 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Background of 7 Ahruf (Dialects) of the Quran |url=https://www.rizqankareem.com/introduction-to-the-quran-ndash-revelation-compilation-memorization--preservation/the-7-dialects-ahruf-in-which-the-quran-was-revealed |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=Rizqan Kareem - Most Excellent Sustenance |language=en}}</ref> While Sunni Muslims believe in the seven {{Transliteration|ar|ahruf}}, some Shia reject the idea of seven Quranic variants.<ref>{{Cite web |title=معهد الفتح الإسلامي يرحب بكم |url=https://www.alfatihonline.com/en/articles/ahruf.htm |access-date=2024-08-15 |website=www.alfatihonline.com}}</ref> A common misconception is that the seven {{Transliteration|ar|ahruf}} and the {{Transliteration|ar|[[qira'at]]}} are the same.