A Textual Analysis Of The Concepts Laid Down In The First Verses Of Qur'anic Revelation: Language And Meaning

A Textual Analysis Of The Concepts Laid Down In The First Verses Of Qur'anic Revelation: Language And Meaning

In order to understand and comprehend a religion, it is necessary to grasp and understand the written text of that religion thoroughly. When the religion and its Holy book Qur'an are in question, it is necessary to understand the language, meaning integrity and historical background.

The book will focus on an analysis of the first Qur'anic verses from the perspectives of language and meaning. Over time, as with any historical text, interpretations of verses in the Qur'an have varied, sometimes radically, beginning with the word Iqra', the very first word of what is generally believed to be the first verses revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, that is, the first five verses of the 96^th Surah in the Quran. This study will analyze changes in these initial verses, especially the words Iqra' (read, recite, proclaim), Pen (pen), and Alaq [a clot (of concealed blood) or the early stage of the embryo]. The contested meanings of these verses are significant for their contribution to the construction of theories of Islamic knowledge and science. For this reason, an exploration of the factors — linguistic, theological, social, political, and scientific — contributing to differing interpretations can help modern scholarship better understand the interpretation of the Qur'an as a response to existing pressures, especially that of the West and of science in modern times.

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