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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful...
The Bismillah, the opening invocation to all but one chapter of the Qur'an.

The Qur'an (القرآن, Al Qur'an, literally "the recitation") is a holy text of the Islamic faith, the first and smallest text in the Islamic trilogy with the Siranote  and the Hadithsnote  being the other eighty-four percent of it. The Qur'an differs from the Jewish and Christian Bible, in that the work is not a collection of various other works, but rather a collection of sayings in verse attributed to Allah/God-given to The Prophet Muhammad via the Archangel Gabriel. Think of it as God: The Collected Poems, or perhaps as the Psalms of Islam.

The sections of the Qur'an are ordered by (mainly) lengthnote , not by theme (as in the Christian Bible) or chronologically (as in the Tanakh).

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     The 114 Surahs 
There are a total of 114 chapters (سورة, surah, plural سور, suwar) in the Qur'an, all of varying degrees of length and the number of verses (آية, ayah). Because the Qur'an is ordered by length, there is no specific theme between each surah. The Qur'an, is however, divided into 30 juz (جزء, plural أجزاء, ajza, literally "parts"), which are mainly useful when one is about to read the Qur'an a specific order each day/week/month; an imam can read one juz per tarawih prayer during the 28-30 nights of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month.

In addition, the chapters are also stamped on whether they originate pre-Hijrahnote  and post-Hijrahnote . The pre-Hijrah chapters are generally short in verses and length, but they are more numerous in number, while the post-Hijrah chapters are the exact opposite: long, winded, but small in number. Each type is denoted by these symbols: (MC) denotes the pre-Hijrah chapters, while (MD) denotes the post-Hijrah chapters.

  • 1. Al-Fatihah (الفاتحة) ‎~ The Opening (MC) - 7 verses.
  • 2. Al-Baqarah (البقرة‎) ~ The Cow (MD) - 286 verses.
  • 3. Al 'Imran (آل عمران)note ~ The House of Imran (MD) - 200 verses.
  • 4. An-Nisa' (النساء) ~ The Women (MD) - 176 verses.
  • 5. Al-Ma'idah (المائدة‎) ~ The Repast (MD) - 120 verses.
  • 6. Al-An'am (الأنعام‎) ~ The Cattle (MC) - 165 verses.
  • 7. Al-A'raf (الأعراف‎) ~ The Heights (MC) - 206 verses.
  • 8. Al-Anfal (الأنفال‎) ~ The Spoils of War (MD) - 75 verses.
  • 9. At-Tawbah (التوبة) ~ The Repentance (MD) - 129 verses.
  • 10. Yunus (يونس‎) ~ Jonah (MC) - 109 verses.
  • 11. Hud (هود‎) ~ Hud (MC) - 123 verses.
  • 12. Yusuf (يوسف‎) ~ Joseph (MC) - 111 verses.
  • 13. Ar-Ra'd (الرعد) ‎~ The Thunder (MD) - 43 verses.
  • 14. Ibrahim (إبراهيم‎) ~ Abraham (MC) - 52 verses.
  • 15. Al-Hijr (الحجر‎) ~ The Rocky Tract (MC) - 99 verses.
  • 16. An-Nahl (النحل) ~ The Honeybee (MC) - 128 verses.
  • 17. Al-Isra' (الإسراء)~ The Night Journey (MC) - 111 verses.
  • 18. Al-Kahf (الكهف) ~ The Cave (MC) - 110 verses.
  • 19. Maryam (مريم) ~ Mary (MC) - 98 verses.
  • 20. Ṭa Ha (طه)~ Ta Ha (MC) - 135 verses.
  • 21. Al-Anbiya' (الأنبياء) ~ The Prophets (MC) - 112 verses.
  • 22. Al-Hajj (الحج) ~ The Pilgrimage (MD) - 78 verses.
  • 23. Al-Mu'minun (المؤمنون) ~ The Believers (MC) - 118 verses.
  • 24. An-Nur (النور) ~ The Light (MD) - 64 verses.
  • 25. Al-Furqan (الفرقان) ~ The Standard (MC) - 77 verses.
  • 26. Ash-Shu'ara' (الشعراء) ~ The Poets (MC) - 227 verses.
  • 27. An-Naml (النمل) ~ The Ant (MC) - 93 verses.
  • 28. Al-Qasas (القصص) ~ The Stories (MC) - 88 verses.
  • 29. Al-'Ankabut (العنكبوت) ~ The Spider (MC) - 69 verses.
  • 30. Ar-Rum (الروم) ~ The Romans (MC) - 60 verses.
  • 31. Luqman (لقمان) ~ Luqman (MC) - 34 verses.
  • 32. As-Sajdah (السجدة) ~ The Prostration (MC) - 30 verses.
  • 33. Al-Ahzab (الأحزاب) ~ The Confederates (MD) - 73 verses.
  • 34. Saba' (سبأ) ~ Sheba (MC) - 54 verses.
  • 35. Fatir (فاطر) ~ Originator (MC) - 45 verses.
  • 36. Ya Sin (يس) ~ Ya Sin (MC) - 83 verses.
  • 37. As-Saffat (الصافات) ~ Those Who Set the Ranks (MC) - 182 verses.
  • 38. Sad (ص) ~ Sad (MC) - 88 verses.
  • 39. Az-Zumar (الزمر) ~ The Crowds (MC) - 75 verses.
  • 40. Ghafir (غافر) ~ Forgiving (MC) - 85 verses.
  • 41. Fussilat (فصلت) ~ Explained (MC) - 54 verses.
  • 42. Ash-Shura (الشورى) ~ The Consultation (MC) - 53 verses.
  • 43. Az-Zukhruf (الزخرف) ~ The Gold Ornaments (MC) - 89 verses.
  • 44. Ad-Dukhan (الدخان) ~ The Smoke (MC) - 59 verses.
  • 45. Al-Jathiyah (الجاثية) ~ The Kneeling Down (MC) - 37 verses.
  • 46. Al-Ahqaf (الأحقاف) ~ The Sand Dunes (MC) - 35 verses.
  • 47. Muhammad (محمد) ~ Muhammad (MD) - 38 verses.
  • 48. Al-Fath (الفتح) ~ The Victory (MD) - 29 verses.
  • 49. Al-Hujurat (الحجرات) ~ The Inner Apartments (MD) - 18 verses.
  • 50. Qaf (ق) ~ Qaf (MC) - 45 verses.
  • 51. Adh-Dhariyat (الذاريات) ~ The Winds That Scatter (MC) - 60 verses.
  • 52. At-Tur (الطور) ~ The Mount (MC) - 49 verses.
  • 53. An-Najm (النجم) ~ The Star (MC) - 62 verses.
  • 54. Al-Qamar (القمر) ~ The Moon (MC) - 55 verses.
  • 55. Ar-Rahman (الرحمن) ~ The Most Gracious (MD) - 78 verses.
  • 56. Al-Waqi'ah (الواقعة) ~ The Inevitable (MC) - 96 verses.
  • 57. Al-Hadid (الحديد) ~ The Iron (MD) - 29 verses.
  • 58. Al-Mujadilah (المجادلة) ~ She Who Pleads (MD) - 22 verses.
  • 59. Al-Hashr (الحشر) ~ The Exile (MD) - 24 verses.
  • 60. Al-Mumtahanah (الممتحنة) ~ She Who is Examined (MD) - 13 verses.
  • 61. As-Saff (الصف) ~ The Ranks (MD) - 14 verses.
  • 62. Al-Jumu'ah (الجمعة) ~ Friday (MD) - 11 verses.
  • 63. Al-Munafiqun (المنافقون) ~ The Hypocrites (MD) - 11 verses.
  • 64. At-Taghabun (التغابن) ~ The Loss (MD) - 18 verses.
  • 65. At-Talaq (الطلاق) ~ The Divorce (MD) - 12 verses.
  • 66. At-Tahrim (التحريم) ~ The Prohibition (MD) - 12 verses.
  • 67. Al-Mulk (الملك) ~ The Dominion (MC) - 30 verses.
  • 68. Al-Qalam (القلم) ~ The Pen (MC) - 52 verses.
  • 69. Al-Haqqah (الحاقة) ~ The Reality (MC) - 52 verses.
  • 70. Al-Ma'arij (المعارج) ~ The Ascending Stairways (MC) - 44 verses.
  • 71. Nuh (نوح) ~ Noah (MC) - 28 verses.
  • 72. Al-Jinn (الجن) ~ The Jinn/The Hidden One (MC) - 28 verses.
  • 73. Al-Muzzammil (المزمل) ~ The Enshrouded One (MC) - 20 verses.
  • 74. Al-Muddathir (المدثر) ~ The Cloaked One (MC) - 56 verses.
  • 75. Al-Qiyamah (القيامة) ~ The Day of Resurrection (MC) - 40 verses.
  • 76. Al-Insan (الإنسان) ~ The Human (MD) - 31 verses.
  • 77. Al-Mursalat (المرسلات) ~ The Emissaries (MC) - 50 verses.
  • 78. An-Naba' (النبأ) ~ The Tidings (MC) - 40 verses.
  • 79. An-Nazi'at (النازعات) ~ Those Who Tear Out (MC) - 46 verses.
  • 80. 'Abasa (عبس) ~ He Frowned (MC) - 42 verses.
  • 81. At-Takwir (التكوير) ~ The Overthrowing (MC) - 29 verses.
  • 82. Al-Infitar (الانفطار) ~ The Cleaving Asunder (MC) - 19 verses.
  • 83. Al-Mutaffifin (المطففون) ~ The Defrauders (MC) - 36 verses.
  • 84. Al-Inshiqaq (الانشقاق) ~ The Splitting Asunder (MC) - 25 verses.
  • 85. Al-Buruj (البروج) ~ The Constellation (MC) - 22 verses.
  • 86. At-Tariq (الطارق) ~ The Piercing Star (MC) - 17 verses.
  • 87. Al-A'la (الأعلى) ~ The Most High (MC) - 19 verses.
  • 88. Al-Ghashiyah (الغاشية) ~ The Overwhelming (MC) - 26 verses.
  • 89. Al-Fajr (الفجر) ~ The Dawn (MC) - 30 verses.
  • 90. Al-Balad (البلد) ~ The City (MC) - 20 verses.
  • 91. Ash-Shams (الشمس) ~ The Sun (MC) - 15 verses.
  • 92. Al-Lail (الليل) ~ The Night (MC) - 21 verses.
  • 93. Ad-Dhuha (الضحى) ~ The Morning Hours (MC) - 11 verses.
  • 94. Al-Inshirah (الشرح) ~ The Consolation (MC) - 8 verses.
  • 95. At-Tin (التين) ~ The Fig Tree (MC) - 8 verses.
  • 96. Al-'Alaq (العلق) ~ The Clot (MC) - 19 verses.
  • 97. Al-Qadr (القدر) ~ The Power (MC) - 5 verses.
  • 98. Al-Bayyinah (البينة) ~ The Clear Evidence (MD) - 8 verses.
  • 99. Az-Zalzalah (الزلزلة) ~ The Earthquake (MD) - 8 verses.
  • 100. Al-'Adiyat (العاديات) ~ The Courser (MC) - 11 verses.
  • 101. Al-Qari'ah (القارعة) ~ The Great Calamity (MC) - 11 verses.
  • 102. At-Takathur (التكاثر) ~ The Rivalry (MC) - 8 verses.
  • 103. Al-'Asr (العصر) ~ The Time (MC) - 3 verses.
  • 104. Al-Humazah (الهمزة) ~ The Scandalmonger (MC) - 9 verses.
  • 105. Al-Fil (الفيل) ~ The Elephant (MC) - 5 verses.
  • 106. Quraysh (قريش) ~ Quraysh (MC) - 4 verses.
  • 107. Al-Ma'un (الماعون) ~ The Small Kindness (MC) - 7 verses.
  • 108. Al-Kawthar (الكوثر) ~ The Abundance (MC) - 3 verses.
  • 109. Al-Kafirun (الكافرون) ~ The Disbelievers (MC) - 6 verses.
  • 110. An-Nasr (النصر) ~ The Assistance (MD) - 3 verses.
  • 111. Al-Masad (المسد) ~ The Palm Fiber (MC) - 5 verses.
  • 112. Al-Ikhlas (الإخلاص) ~ The Sincerity (MC) - 4 verses.
  • 113. Al-Falaq (الفلق) ~ The Dawn (MC) - 5 verses.
  • 114. An-Nas (الناس) ~ The Mankind (MC) - 6 verses.

The Qur'an provides examples of:

    A–D 

  • Alternative Calendar: QS 9:36-37 explicitly forbids Nasi', postponing time to fit the calendar with the seasons, hence why the Islamic calendar is purely lunar and rotates through the seasons.
  • Always Chaotic Evil: Averted. Iblis/Satan was given a choice to obey or disobey Allah, and he chose to disobey, thus ensuring his fate. This doesn't apply to his race, the Djinni, who are as capable of being good or evil as the humans, and thus can enter Paradise if they do good. That being said, there are some texts which say that he weeps during the Hajj, as he regrets not taking advantage of God's forgiveness when he could, while mankind is able to do it all the time.
  • Amputative Sentencing: Surah 5, verse 38 specifies that the punishment for theft is to have the thief's hand cut off.
  • Anachronic Order: Since the surah are organized by length, not when they were revealed (which took place over a couple of decades). It is widely believed that the first verses to be written are QS 96:1-5,note  while the last to be written is QS 5:3.note 
  • Ancient Egypt: Some part of Prophets Yusuf'snote  and Musa's stories. In the case of Musanote , it seems that the more interesting parts happen when he's outside Egyptian territory, such as the marriage, meeting with Allah, and looking for a land for his people.
  • Ancient Rome: There is a whole surah (chapter) titled Rome, foretelling the victory of the monotheistic (Byzantine) Romans against the polytheistic Sassanid Empire of Persia. The Sassanids did not consider themselves polytheists; despite recognizing several figures worthy of worship they only recognized one of them as God. Still, this "ascribing of false partners" was unacceptable to Muhammad.
  • And I Must Scream: The fate of people cast down to Hell(s). You burn for eternity in Hellfire, drink boiling hot water, and eat horrible fruit from the tree of Zaqqum which neither nourishes you nor abates your hunger. Once your skin is burned up, Allah wills that another layer be grown so you can burn again. Verse 87:13 says succinctly: "Therein he does not die, neither does he live."
  • Archangel Gabriel: One of, if not, the most important angel, as the one who revealed God's revelations to all prophets. It is also understood to be the "Ruh" and "Ruhl al-Quds"note , blessed to people in the time of uncertainty.
  • Archangel Michael: Mentioned once, as part of the host who will be the enemy of the people who reject God. Its other exploits are explored in the hadiths and other traditions.
  • Arc Words:
    • "[God urged His people to] give prayer and pay alms-tax" (bishalaati wazzakaati) is repeated many times throughout the book.
    • The 55th surah, Ar-Rahman, has a phrase that is repeated 31 times, out of the chapter's 78 verses: "Then which of your Lord's favors will you both deny?" (fabiayyi aalaa'i rabbikumaa tukadhdhibaan).
  • Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Go there and back again, actually. Muhammad was called to meet Allah, received the order for salah (daily prayers, said five times a day), and then returned to the world so he could bring the order to the people.
  • Badass Army: Subverted! The Army of Muslims attributed their victories (and defeats) in war to the will of Allah, never due to their own might. The one time they believed that victory is assured, archers on a strategic hill went for loot instead of manning their post, resulting in the enemy countering by attacking the hill and killing the few archers left, and reversing the course of the battle, resulting in Muhammad being seriously injured.
  • Bedouin Rescue Service: The Bedouin have a rather negative portrayal in the Qur'an. They are generally conflated with the pagans in their opposition to the early Muslim community.
  • Big Bad: Subverted. Sure, there is a Satan and he's unable to be defeated until the Day of Judgment, but ultimately he can't do anything Allah doesn't permit him to do. The majority of the bad people in the stories do bad things due to their own vices, not due to some kind of invisible capital-E evil.
  • Big Good: Allah is stated to be this. Also Muhammad, by proxy, since everything he does is the will of Allah.
  • Bury Your Gays: The fall of Sodom and Gomorrah was caused by many reasons, one of which was homosexuality, although other vices such as depravity and decadence were also cited as equally responsible. Traditional interpretation, though, leans to flanderize the homosexuality part, hence why most hadiths and laws promulgated by ulema tend to scapegoat it the most.
  • But I Can't Be Pregnant!: At least three separate cases:
    • Ibrahimnote 's first wife didn't believe, though she thought that would be wonderful, that she would have a child when she was already in her nineties, but the angel sent to her told her that it's God's will. So she gave birth to Ishaknote .
    • Zakariyanote  couldn't believe that God actually answered to his beg for an heir and asked how He would provide him that, seeing that his wife was barren. God thought otherwise, and enter Yahyanote .
    • Maryamnote  thought that having a child was ridiculous, since not a single man had touched her. The angel who gave her the news responded that when God willed, so be it. And unto her, Isanote  was born.
  • Cain and Abel: Though they are not named, but the original Cain and Abel are here.
  • Can't Refuse the Call Anymore: Yunusnote  was swallowed whole because he did not want to preach God's message to his people again, thinking that they were beyond saving. After a The Reason You Suck speech courtesy of God and repentance, he was allowed out.
  • Celibate Hero:
    • Yusuf refused the seduction of his master's wife and when she accused him of false adulteries (twice), he correctly gave his master evidence that he did not do so. His master believed him, but he was jailed anyways, partly due to his low-status, partly to further protect his chastity. And that's not even mentioning the situation he got in with Al-Aziz's wife and the other women of the city (see False Rape Accusation below).
    • Then there's Maryam. Having a son while remaining chaste and a virgin was quite a feat.
  • Character Title: Some chapters in the Qur'an are titled according to the figures they explored, including Hud, Ibrahim, Luqman, Maryam, Muhammad, Nuhnote , Yunusnote , and Yusuf.
  • Chick Magnet: Yusuf. Sweet God, Yusuf. The fact that he was a Celibate Hero (see above) didn't help things one bit.
  • Continuity Nod: So, so many, towards the Injilnote  and Tauratnote . In fact, it's stated in the Qur'an itself that one of its purposes is to give Continuity Nod to the aforementioned books, so as to give good news to the faithful.
  • Continuity Snarl: The Christian Trinity and the status of Jesus as divine are specifically denied. The Jewish concept of God's covenant with Israel and its status as "the Chosen People" is ignored in light of a more universal message to humanity, rather than to Israel, though the Qur'an does recognize that the Israelites received more messengers and miracles from God than any other nation.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: The Qur'an teaches its believers not to fear darkness or night. In fact, people should be grateful when darkness came, because that means you can finally put your work at the desk and either dedicatedly pray to God, who will accept prayers at nighttime more intently, or, if you are too tired, get some sleep. See The Sacred Darkness below.
  • Deal with the Devil: You can make a deal with djinns to cast a spell upon your enemies, but it's a very grave sin. It doesn't help that the aforementioned djinns tend to have god-complexes, which is yet another offense to Allah.
  • Decisive Battle: Several, leading to the re-capture of Mecca by the Muslim army. Entering Mecca itself was an anti-climax, though.
  • Distracted by the Sexy: When Aziz's wife is mocked by other Egyptian women for trying to seduce her slave, Yusuf, she retaliates by inviting them to a party where Yusuf makes a surprise appearance. Yusuf is called to meet the women when they are peeling fruits...cue injuries and blood.
  • Domestic Abuse: A man is allowed to beat his disobedient wife. (IV, 38)note  However, it is forbidden for men to act like thugs and deal a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on his wife whenever he doesn't like her way of thinking. Punishment must be given sparsely, like gently hitting her with a stick note  three times for example, as Prophet Ayubnote  did to his wife when she left him.
  • Double Standard:
    • One about polygamy actually has a reason behind it: it's believed that the original reason for allowing men to take additional wives was that in an age of constant tribal warfare, men were often killed and their widows left without a means of support. Polygamy was a way of addressing this gender imbalance in towns that had been ravaged by war.
    • According to 2:282, two women are required to give testimony for trials concerning interest of the monetary kind, whereas one man is enoughnote . Nowhere else in the Qur'an does the gender of the witness matter.
    • 2:228: "Women who are divorced shall wait, keeping themselves apart, three (monthly) courses. And it is not lawful for them that they should conceal that which Allah hath created in their wombs if they are believers in Allah and the Last Day. And their husbands would do better to take them back in that case if they desire a reconciliation. And they (women) have rights equal to those (of men) over them in kindness, and men are a degree [of responsibility] above them. Allah is Mighty, Wise."

    E–M 

  • Easily Forgiven: God will forgive, but will never forget. Anyone who sin will have to pay for it in the afterlife. Sins, however, can be negated by doing good deeds.
  • Evil Chancellor: Haman, an adviser in the Pharaoh's court during Musa's time.
  • The Exile: Quite a few.
    • Satan was expelled from the Heavenly Garden because he refused to bow down to God's newest creation: Adam.
    • Adam and his wife were banished from the Heavenly Garden because they transgressed God's rule of not eating the forbidden fruit.
    • Muhammad and his followers were forced to migrate to Medina because of the increasingly volatile situation in Mecca (specifically, the Meccans refused to accept his teachings and threatened to kill him). They would not reclaim Mecca until years later.
  • False Rape Accusation: When Yusuf (= Joseph in the Bible; surah 12) is the slave of a rich Egyptian (only referred to as Al-´Aziz, "Mighty One" a.k.a. Potiphar from the Bible), the wife of his master tries to seduce him. Yusuf refuses her and tries to run away, and as the wife is trying to hold him back, she rends his shirt. Her husband comes by and she explains the situation as Yusuf assaulting her. However, Al-'Aziz does not believe her, because he notices that Yusuf's shirt is torn from the back, not from the front. As a result, 'Aziz' wife is mocked by the other women of the city for being in love with a slave. She retaliates by inviting the other women to their house so they can see Yusuf themselves, with the effect that all of them now want Yusuf. Yusuf again rejects them and is eventually thrown into prison on account of the scorned women (although the Qur'an does not say under what accusation he is imprisoned). More so than the Bible, the Qur'an is somewhat sympathetic to 'Aziz' wife because it makes clear that Yusuf is incomparably beautiful, and that Yusuf is also attracted to her in turn and rejects her only because adultery is a sin.
  • Fantastic Racism: Iblis the jinn refused to bow before Adam, because Adam was made of clay and Djinn were made of fire, which somehow made them superior according to him. Though, if you're a Muslim, you're gonna drop the "fantastic" part.
  • Faux Fluency: The Qur'an is customarily read in the original Arabic, even by non-Arabic-speaking Muslims. This came from the belief that the book was handed over straight from God, so reading it through translations will distort the message. As a result, many Muslims can recite verses from the Qur'an in fluent Arabic, but will have difficulty recalling its meanings. It doesn't help that local translation of the Qur'an is a relatively new fad (before then, the common people had to refer to clerics to interpret the verses) and restricted to those who are well-to-do, since providing translation will double the number of pages and therefore make it more expensive; the vast majority of Qur'an sold these days are still in Arabic only.
  • The Federation: During the Medina era. Muhammad was the leader of the people of Medina, which also included Jews. The details of the Battle of the Trench showed cracks in the Federation, though prior to it, the Medina Constitution showed ideals of federation and mutual respect, even though it eventually failed in reality.
  • Fire and Brimstone Hell: A noted below with "Hell", the way the abode of the damned is described is rather graphic in the way unbelievers will be tormented.
  • Freak Out: Muhammad, the first time Jibril/Gabriel visited him. A surah were descended to assure him that things are going to be okay.
  • Friend to All Living Things: Muhammad. Also Allah. Anyone who kills a sparrow or anything bigger unjustly will be held accountable. In some interpretation, anyone who kill anything unjustly, will be held accountable, period.
  • The Great Flood: Nuh was given a warning that a flood would wipe his land, so he tried to tell his wicked people to come with him in his Ark, to no avail. Even his wife and one of his sons abandoned him for it.
  • A God Am I: If humans or djinni call themselves gods, then they're a very bad person. Examples include the Fir'aun of Egypt during Prophet Musa's era, it's explicitly for this sin that he was punished severely. And then Allah made sure his dead body remains to this day, to serve as a warning and a proof of historicity.
  • Heaven: Usually called the Garden (Jannah), there are 7 layers of them. It is said that night doesn't exist in Heaven, there are fruits and meats of every kind, four rivers that contain different drinks: pure water, wine, honey, and milk, two clear springs called Salsabil and Tasnim, companions who will be perfect for everyone, and young servants tending to their every need. It is in Heaven that the faithful will finally meet with God.
  • Heavenly Concentric Circles: The Quran and the Hadith describe the samāwātnote  as made of seven heavenly spheres surrounding the mortal realm.
    • Raqi'a, the innermost heaven, is made of water and hosts Adam, Eve, and the star angels. It's also where Muhammad meets the angel Habib.
    • Araqlun is made of white pearls and houses prophets like Isa (Jesus) and Yahya (John the Baptist).
    • Qaydum is made of iron (other sources say it's pearls or similar stones) and where the Angel of Death Azrael and Joseph reside.
    • Ma'una is made of brass (or white gold) and the place that the Angel of Tears Idris calls home.
    • Di'a is made of silver and ruled by the high priest Aaron. The guardian of hellfire occasionally visits it.
    • Daqua is made of gold (other sources say it's garnets and rubies) and the heaven where Moses ascended to.
    • Ariba, the outermost heaven, is made of either emerald or a madness-inducing holy light. Sidrat al-Muntaha(a mysterious Lote tree) marks the frontier. Abraham dwells here.
  • Hell: As with Heaven, there are 7 layers of them. There are also many names and Deadly Euphemisms, like the Fire (An-Nar), the Blaze (Jahim), the Crusher (Al-Huthamah), and the Abyss (Hawiyah). Hell is guarded by an angel called Malik, who will question its visitors whether they have heard the message from the Prophet and why they did not heed them. The tormented's only "nourishment" in Hell is the fruit of a tree called Zaqqum, which neither nourishes them nor abates their hunger, and boiling hot water to drink. The Qur'an in general is rather obsessed in telling the unbelievers, infidels (or at least those of them who deny God's signs) and hypocrites about what fiery punishment will await them after death if they don't repent to God, almost to the point of a Broken Record.
  • High-Heel–Face Turn: The first person in the Fir'aun's court to care and nurture Moses and then realize his prophethood was the Fir'aun's wife.
  • Historical Hero Upgrade: Lutnote  already got some in the New Testament compared to the Old, being described as a well meaning victim of circumstance but he gets even more heroic treatment here by vocally denouncing the ways of Sodom and Gomorrah.
    • In general, prophets are more virtuous than they are in the Bible. Dawud'snote  adultery never mentioned nor is Nuh getting drunk. It explicitly states that Sulaimannote  did not worship other gods and Harunnote  did not make the Golden Calf (instead, the calf was attributed to an unnamed Samaritan).
  • Honor Thy Parent: According to 17:23-24: "Your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him, and that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of contempt,note  nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say: 'My Lord! Bestow on them your Mercy even as they cherished me in childhood.'"
  • Humans Are the Real Monsters: The angels believe we are, and they actually questioned God of why He would create beings that could only cause destruction and harm everywhere. God's response is a very polite form of saying "shut up".
  • Humans Are Special:
    • The angels and the Jinns were ordered to bow down to us. One of the Jinn, Iblis, refused to bow down and was banished for this.
    • Two surahs are dedicated to humans, the 76th (Al-Insan) and the last, 114th (An-Nas). The former means "The Human", the later means "The People".
  • Inconsistent Spelling: There is no universally agreed upon-romanization of Classical Arabic, so application of this trope is in spades. Jews might be familiar with this, since Classical Hebrew also has no universally agreed upon-romanization (hence (C)han(n)ukka(h)). For one thing, Arabic has a lot of consonants and vowels that English simply cannot do justice without diacritics, which can be cumbersome to write.
  • Invisible to Normals: Angels and Jinns.
  • Jewish Complaining
    • Al Baqarah 67 - 71 recounts how the Children of Israel were commanded by Allah to sacrifice a cow, but they kept asking for more and more details about the cow, making the task difficult for themselves.
    • Verse 61 of Surah Al-Baqarah describes how the Children of Israel complained to Prophet Musa (Moses) about the food they were given, expressing their desire for more varied meals. They asked Musa to pray to Allah to provide them with herbs, cucumbers, garlic, lentils, and onions. Musa reprimanded them for their lack of gratitude and reminded them that they were given manna and quails from Allah.
  • Law of Inverse Fertility: Ibrahim and his wife lived through so many years together without any heir, so the latter decided to gave her husband her handmaiden. A single night with the handmaiden, and a son: Ismailnote , was born. Ibrahim's promised son with his wife (Ishaq) wouldn't be realized until Ismail was already an adult.
  • Light Is Good:
    • In keeping with the Abrahamic belief that God created the world by separating light from darkness. Also, one verse in An-Nur (The Light) chapter compares God to a majestic light:
      24:35: "Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is a niche wherein is a lamp—the lamp is in a glass, the glass as it were a glittering star—lit from a blessed olive tree, neither eastern nor western, whose oil almost lights up, though fire should not touch it. Light upon light. Allah guides to His Light whomever He wishes. Allah draws parables for mankind, and Allah has knowledge of all things.
    • Angels are beings made of pure light. They can only do what God orders them to do. In short, they cannot sin.
  • Look on My Works, Ye Mighty, and Despair: The Qur'an mentions the ruins of civilizations belonging to wicked people that predated the Arabs, such as Ad, Thamud, and Midian, as something "which you can see [today]". This is because, historically, the Arabs traded as far as Syria and Yemen and it just so happened that these ruins are located on these routes, between the destination and the Arabian homeland.
  • Make an Example of Them: God continuously reiterates the fall of ancient peoples such as Sodom, Ad, Thamud, and Midian as an example for Arab pagans those who swerved from the rightful path.
  • Maligned Mixed Marriage: The scripture forbids Muslims from marrying non-Muslims, except for the "People of the Book" who belong to anterior revelations i.e. Jews and Christians. Contrary to popular belief, nowhere in the scripture forbids Muslim women from marrying Jews or Christians like their male counterparts. In both Islam and Christianity, there are verses that explicitly state that there is virtually no racial or national border for marriage but if a non-Muslim is interested to marry a Muslim, they must convert to Islam.
  • Magic Is Evil: Magic exists, and it's invariably a bad thing. The Qur'an also explicitly states that Prophet Sulaiman did not use magic: he indeed had djinn servants, but his mastery over them was granted by Allah, not because he knew spells that bind them to servitude.
  • Messianic Archetype: Isa also known as Jesus.
  • Moral Event Horizon: invoked Shirk or idolatry is the only sin that God won't forgive the Last Day if the person didn't ask forgiveness during his lifetime.
  • Morality Pet: Binyamin note  towards his family. All of them, his father Yaqubnote , his full brother Yusuf, even his wicked half-brothers all loved him to such an extent that they were reluctant when Yusuf (whom they did not recognize at the start) ordered his half-brothers to take Binyamin personally to Egypt.
  • My Friends... and Zoidberg: 2:98 "Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Jibril and Mikailnote ... "
  • Mystical Pregnancy: Isa (Jesus) is recognized as being born from a virgin, Maryam (Mary). He's also identified as the Messiah (al-Masih) who will come back to defeat Dajjal (Antichrist) at The End of the World as We Know It.

    N–S 
  • Nephewism: Maryam lived most of her life with her uncle, Zakariya, since her duty as a temple caregiver meant that she did not have much time home. Also, Muhammad, who was raised by his uncle, Abu Talib, after the deaths of his parents and grandfather.
  • Never Learned to Read: Muhammad was illiterate. This comes as an inversion to Chekhov's Skill: Muhammad's proponents were unable to deny his prophethood because he knew the lore of the monotheists. This was in the ~600 C.E., where such knowledge was restricted to and heavily controlled by the clergy.
  • No Name Given: Unlike the name/genealogy-loving Bible, many characters in the Qur'an are not named and instead are characterized by their professions or how they relate to other characters who are named. This extends to the Biblical characters, who already had names during the time that the Qur'an was written. It is most obvious in the case of women; the only women who is named in the Qur'an is Isa's mother, Maryam. So for the rest we have Adam's wife but not Eve, Ibrahim's wives who mothered Ismail and Ishaq but not Hagar and Sarah, Yaqubnote 's wife who mothered Yusuf and Binyaminnote  but not Rachel, etc... (though popular legends gave them names, most of them based on the Biblical ones, anyway).
  • The Omniscient: Consider this: it's stated that if humankind craft every trees in the world into pens and use so much ink that the volume can fill the ocean, it still won't be enough to write down the knowledge that Allah has.
  • Omniscient Morality License: God forgives who He wants to and punishes who He wants to, though He forbade injustice for humans as for Himself.
  • One-Word Title: Depending on if the "The" is omitted. Its original title in Arabic is Al-Qur'an, which is technically a compound word, so it fits.
  • Our Angels Are Different: The angels of The Qur'an are definitely of the Eldritch Abomination variety. They are described as having anywhere from two wings to thousands, and they do not eat or drink. They are also huge. It would take 700 years to go the distance between the ear-lobes and shoulders of the angel who carries Allah's throne, and the Archangel Gabriel has 600 wings which span from the Eastern to the Western horizon. They're invisible to humans but animals can see them. If they do show up to humans (mostly towards Prophets and Messengers), they assume human form. Angels are the servents of Allah. It is impossible for an angel, no matter how powerful, to disobey Allah, because they have no free will. They carry out Allah's will by doing things like praising and worshiping him, testing people by giving them wealth or healing their illnesses, and throwing the wicked into hell and mercilessly tormenting them for all of eternity. Belief in them is considered one of the five Articles of Faith in Islam, and Gabriel is said to have revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad.
  • Our Genies Are Different: Well, they were made from smokeless fire for one thing. Like humans, they have free will, which means they can be good or evil, follow different religions, marry, etc... They are usually invisible to humans. The Qur'an's stance on them is essentially Leave 'em Alone, You Idiot!
  • Out of Focus: While the Twenty-Five Messengers are equal messengers of the people from God, some of them are given more details about their exploits at the expense of others. In particular, we know next to nothing about Dhulkiflnote , Ilyasnote , Ilyasanote , except that their contributions are great and genuine.
  • Persona Non Grata: Non-Muslims are barred from entering Mecca, the holy city that holds the Black Stone. The law is still held to this very day.
  • Polyamory: Well, polygamy. The Qur'an allows a limited polygamy, one of whose requirements is, essentially, that it be polyamorous as well (the man is required to treat all his wives equally in all respects). The Muslims originally frowned on polygamy—Muhammad himself was faithful to his first wife and did not marry again until after her death—and it was only allowed when war had created a lot of widows. Contemporary Muslims for the most part regard polygamy with as much or only slightly less disgust than contemporary...well...almost anyone, really.
  • Pretty Boy: Yusuf. It took a degree of handsomeness/prettiness to make women distracted to you so much that they peeled their fingers instead of fruits that they held, without any pain felt whatsoever. It was a huge factor in making him a Chick Magnet, to the point of making him So Beautiful, It's a Curse.
  • Pride: Satan believes he's superior to humans because he was made from smokeless fire and humans were made from clay.
  • Reflexive Remark of Reverence: *It's customary to follow the name of a prophet, especially Muhammad with "Peace be upon him" as a show of respect. (The Other Wiki devotes a whole article to this.)
  • Rejected Apology: The unbelievers apologies won't be accepted during the Last Day.
  • Retcon: Called abrogation, which means later verses that supposedly contradict earlier ones invalidate those before them. This is because the Qur'an was recorded under a twenty three year period and during that time Muhammad's instructions changed according to circumstance. Since the Qur'an is not listed in chronological order what exactly is abrogated is not clear without help from other text such as those in the Hadith. It is obvious the whole Qur'an abrogates the Old and New Testaments however.
  • Riddle for the Ages:
    • The Muqattaat is a series of seemingly meaningless Arabic letters chained and placed at random points in the Qur'an. Four of them even made it as chapter titles (Ta Ha, Ya Sin, Sad, and Qaf). There are several combinations, but there is one thing that ties them together: mysteriousness. Since the Qur'an's inception, nobody could figure just what the letters are supposed to represent, let alone mean. Not even Prophet Muhammad himself. And no one will probably ever know, except for God.
    • The People of the Book include Jews, Christians, and Sabians. We know a great deal about the first two, but we have almost no information about the last. Some have suggested that the Sabians are either followers of the Gnostic religions of Mandaeism or Manichaeism, or possibly Hermeticism.
  • Rip Van Winkle: The Christian tale of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus is the namesake for the 18th surah, Al Kahf. The Qur'an notes that there are discrepancies regarding the numbers of the sleepers and that, in addition to the humans, there is also a dog who guards the cave entrance.
  • Royal "We": God refers to Himself as "We" all the time, despite Islam being stringently monotheistic.
  • The Sacred Darkness: Nights and their associated things (moon, stars, darkness, etc.) are heavily praised in Qur'an as well as in Islam in general. There are just so much events that happened during the night that its importance cannot be denied, including but not limited to: providing Bani Isra'ilnote  escape from the Pharaoh, providing Muhammad and his followers relieve during their exile to Medina, the Night of Power, etc. There are also at least four chapters with a night theme in the series. Then there's the fact that the Islamic calendar is lunar and measures each day from dusk to the next dusk; by this system, this means that the days for the believers to pray are concentrated at night, while daytime is allocated for work. Understandable, given that, being desert-dwellers, the nights are the only time when the Arabs and indeed the other Middle Eastern people (the Jews included, hence why their calendar is also lunar) can rest and look away from the harsh sun.
  • Satan: He's a Jinn called Iblis, Satan (or Shaytan) translates as "adversary" or "astray".
  • Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: The Qur'an is written in a version of Arabic that was archaic even in Muhammad's time. One of his proponents bashed him for using words that were hard to understand, just to have another proponent appeared and bashed him incorporating those very same words.
  • Speaks Fluent Animal:
    • Sulaiman is capable of speaking with animals. His conversation with the hudhud bird (Eurasian hoopoe) leads him to meet with the Queen of Sheba.
    • In Sunni and Shi'a accounts, Muhammad is said to have conversations with camels, birds, and other animals.
    • Alternate romanizations include the Koran, Al-Qur'an, Alcoran etc.
    • And Muhammad vs. Mohammed vs. Mohammad vs. Mohamad, etc...
    • Gabriel, Jibra'il, Jibreel
    • Mika'il = Archangel Michael
  • Spell My Name with a "The": The name Allah is a contraction of Al-illa meaning not just God, but the God (the one and only). You will find a lot of these contractions in Arabic texts, even before the Qu'ran and many of them relate to the God, such as Astaghfirullah, "I ask the God's forgiveness".
  • Spotlight-Stealing Squad:
    • Ishmael over Isaac. Most of the important things that Isaac is attributed to in the Bible are assigned to Ishmael in the Qur'an, including being their father's favorite and the human sacrifice story. The Qur'an also adds another feat to Ishmael, namely assisting his father in building the Kaaba. Isaac has almost no role in the Qur'an other than being the father of Jacob.
    • Maryam is mentioned a lot more in the Qur'an than her son, Isa is, even though the latter is recognized as the last prophet before Muhammad and indeed will play a great role during the Last Days. Maryam had two chapters named after her ("The House of Imran", which is titled after her family pre-virgin birth, and the eponymous "Maryam"), Isa did not have even one.
  • Sublime Rhyme: Full of it, but especially obvious at the last juz. Sometimes a page-long paragraph rhymes. Traditions exist that bring reciting The Qur'an to a whole new level of art, as encouraged by Muhammad himself.

    T–Z 
  • Take That!: Even though The Qur'an has a lot of Continuity Nods towards the Gospels and the Torah, no love is lost toward those who exploited or--Allah forbid!--altered the texts just to gain political power. There are also a lot of Take Thats toward the Hypocrites amongst Muslims. Muslims consider hypocrites even worse than infidels, since the infidels are at least honest about their opinion regarding Islam.
  • Temporary Blindness: Yaqub cried himself to blindness upon hearing about Yusuf's apparent death. His sight was restored by Yusuf himself, after all said and done.
  • Title Drop: Each chapter's name is almost always namedropped somewhere. Noteworthy that many chapters have verses which don't actually have much to do with the titles, being essentially tacked in.
  • Ungrateful Townsfolk: One of the stories in the Qur'an tell of the Bani Isra'il (children of Israel, the Jews) after they fled Egypt. Food were hard to come by in the desert, so Allah sent them salwa and manna. However, the Bani Isra'il wanted vegetables and other stuffs they had in Egypt, and some actually dared return there. Those who did got deeply humiliated for their efforts.
  • Unwanted False Faith: In the Qur'an, Jesus tells God he never asked men to worship him nor his mother.
  • Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Subverted. Adam's wife was enticed to eat the forbidden fruit and convinced Adam to do the same, but she was not held solely responsible. Instead, both of them were. The human's "ills" (death, childbirth, sickness, etc.) are not punishments for the transgression, but because, well, life on earth is not the same as life in paradise. We are also not doomed with the sin of Adam and his wife, either, because: 1. God already forgave Adam and his wife, and 2. No one can be held accountable for others' sin.
  • True Companions: The people who immediately believed when Muhammad told them that he just became a prophet. They didn't make that decision lightly: at that time, the Arabs were deeply polytheistic, tribal deity and all, and saying that there is only One True God would invite serious repercussions, even from your own tribe.
  • Vicious Cycle: The fall of Nuh's people, Ibrahim's people, Sodom and Gomorrah, Ad (Hud's people), Thamud (Salih's people), Midian (Shuaib's people), and the Pharaoh are often recited one after another, to show that, before Muhammad arrived, humans always forgot to worship God despite having continuously received messengers over the years.
  • Virtuous Bees: Bees are the namesake for the 16th surah, An-Nahl. It is said that bees received guidance from God to congregate and build colonies and their secretion (i.e. honey) provides nourishment for humans.
  • Warrior Poet: The Arab men of the pre-Islamic age prided themselves on two things: fighting prowess, and skill at composing poetry. They were greatly shocked when the illiterate Muhammad start reciting the Qur'an, which is beautiful as it's lengthy.
  • Wise Beyond Their Years: Isa could talk just a short time after his birth. That alone should convey how wise he was for his age.
  • Yank the Dog's Chain: Almost. After years of no heir, Ibrahim was finally given a son through his second spouse: Ismail. But then, God ordered him to sacrifice the latter, and both resigned over God's command. Only for God, through an angel, to offer a cattle for sacrifice, because He was impressed by both individuals' faith to Him, turning this into a happy ending.note 
  • You Cannot Grasp the True Form:
    • Moses asks to see God, who replies that the sight of Him to a living mortal would be too much... but He will reveal Himself to that mountain over there — which immediately crumbles to dust.
    • Prophet Muhammed was so frightened when he saw the true form of Angel J'ibreel, that he ran home to his wife Khadija and begged her to cover him with a cloak. This caused the Surah of "Al Muddathtir" (The Cloaked Person) to be revealed.

Alternative Title(s): Quran, Koran, The Koran

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