Texts of Islam

Islam: Chapter One: The Qur’ān: The Word of God: Introduction

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This is an expository introduction, likely from an anthology or survey of world religions or Islamic texts, presenting the foundational premise of Islam: that God's final and definitive revelation to humanity was delivered through the prophet Muhammad in the form of the Qur'an. The piece traces the Islamic understanding of prophetic history — from Adam through successive prophets whose messages were corrupted — culminating in the Qur'an as an uncorrupted, permanent record. A central and emphatic claim is the untranslatability of the Qur'an: because it is of divine origin and Arabic is uniquely suited to its expression, no translation can capture its full power, and the author supports this with a quote from scholar H.A.R. Gibb comparing its effect to a singular musical instrument played with unmatched mastery. The piece is distinctive for its frank aesthetic advocacy — it does not merely describe the Qur'an's religious significance but argues forcefully for its literary and emotional force, calling its language "terse, rich and forceful" and its effect neurologically overwhelming. It closes by recommending A.J. Arberry's English translation as the only one to approach the original's qualities. Someone considering the full text would find this a brief but rhetorically committed gateway into Qur'anic selections, written from a position of scholarly appreciation rather than confessional belief.

Islam: Chapter One: The Qur’ān: The Word of God: Introduction

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