Quran facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Quran
Information
Religion	Islam
Language	Quranic Arabic
Period	609–632
Chapters	114 (list)

The Qur'an (also spelled Koran) is the holy book for people who follow Islam. Muslims believe the Qur'an is the exact "Word of Allah (God)". It is special because Muslims believe God gave these words directly to the prophet Muhammad. Some Muslims call it the Final Testament.

For over 1,400 years, the Qur'an has been written and read only in Arabic. Many Muslims around the world do not understand Arabic. So, the meaning of the Qur'an is also explained in other languages. These books help readers understand what the Arabic words mean. They are like dictionaries for the Qur'an. Muslims believe these translations are not the true Qur'an itself. Only the original Arabic copy is considered the true Qur'an. The Qur'an is used with the Hadith (sayings and actions of Muhammad) to help understand Islamic law.

The Qur'an's History

The first chapter of the Qur'an, written in Arabic.

Muslims believe the Qur'an was first given to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel. This happened in a cave on the mountain of Hira in Mecca. The messages were then given to Muhammad over 23 years until his death.

The Qur'an was not written as one book while Muhammad was alive. People remembered the messages by heart. Some short notes were also written down. Prophet Muhammad could not read or write. But his cousin, Ali ibn abi Talib, and others wrote down the messages. They wrote them on different materials when Muhammad was alive. After Prophet Muhammad died, Ali ibn abi Talib collected all the parts. He then wrote them down to create the book we know as the Qur'an.

Parts of the Qur'an

The Qur'an has 30 main parts. These parts make up 114 "suras" (which are like chapters). Each sura has a different number of verses.

Oldest Pieces of the Qur'an

Some of the world's oldest pieces of the Qur'an were found. They were in the library of the University of Birmingham in England.

Scientists used Radiocarbon dating to check their age. They found that the parchment (animal skin used for writing) was from between 568 and 645 AD. This means the pieces are at least 1,370 years old. They are among the very first copies ever made.

The pieces are written in ink on sheep or goat skin. They are placed on modern paper to help keep them safe. These old pieces were shown at the Barber Institute in Birmingham in October 2015.

Images for kids

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  Muhammad's first message, Surah Al-Alaq, later placed 96th in the Qur'an.

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  A Qur'an in Mashhad, Iran, believed to be written by Ali.

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  The right page of the Stanford '07 manuscript. The top layer shows verses 265–271 of the surah Bakara.

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  During prayers, Muslims say the first chapter of the Qur'an, al-Fatiha.

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  The first sura of the Qur'an, Al-Fatiha, which has seven verses.

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  A Qur'an manuscript from the 12th century at Reza Abbasi Museum.

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  A verse about the month of Ramadan, from a Qur'an manuscript dated to 1510.

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  Boys studying the Qur'an in Touba, Senegal.

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  A page from the Qur'an with marks to help with pronunciation.

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  The Qur'an divided into 6 books.

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  A page from a large Qur'an from around 1400.

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  Beautiful writing (calligraphy) from the 18th century.

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  Qur'anic writings on a wall at the Bara Gumbad mosque, Delhi, India.

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  A typical mosque lamp with the Ayat an-Nur or "Verse of Light" (24:35).

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  Qur'anic verses at the Shahizinda mausoleum, Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

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  Qur'an page decoration art from the Ottoman period.

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  Pages from a Qur'an written in gold ink.

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  A manuscript of the Qur'an at the Brooklyn Museum.

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  Qur'anic text in bold writing with Persian translation.

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  An Arabic Qur'an with Persian translation from the Ilkhanid Era.

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  The first printed Qur'an in a European language, 1647.

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  The title page of the first German translation (1772) of the Qur'an.

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  Verses 33 and 34 of surat Yā Sīn in a Chinese translation of the Qur'an.

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  A page from the "Blue" Qur'an.

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  A page in kufic writing from the 8th or 9th century.

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  A Qur'an manuscript in maghribi writing, 13th–14th centuries.

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  muhaqqaq writing, 14th–15th centuries.

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  shikasta nastaliq writing, 18th–19th centuries.

See also

In Spanish: Corán para niños