It is the 17th day of the holy month Ramadhan. This is a historical day due to the very fact that the first ayat of the Quran was revealed today to the Prophet Muhammad S.A.W. through the angel Jibrail A.S.
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
[1] Proclaim! (or Read!) In the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created,
[2] Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
[3] Proclaim! and thy Lord is Most Bountiful,
[4] He Who taught (the use of) the Pen,
[5] Taught man that which he knew not.
[6] Nay, but man doth transgress all bounds,
[7] In that he looketh upon himself as self-sufficient.
[8] Verily, to thy Lord is the return (of all).
[9] Seest thou one who forbids,
[10] A votary when he (turns) to pray?
[11] Seest thou if he is on (the road of) Guidance?
[12] Or enjoins Righteousness?
[13] Seest thou if he denies (Truth) and turns away?
[14] Knoweth he not that Allah doth see?
[15] Let him beware! If he desist not, We will drag him by the forelock,
[16] A lying, sinful forelock!
[17] Then, let him call (for help) to his council (of comrades):
[18] We will call on the angels of punishment (to deal with him)!
[19] Nay, heed him not: but bow down in adoration, and bring thyself the closer (to Allah)!
Facts and Figures Summary
The literal meaning of "Qur’ân" is "recitation." It is the most sacred and most read book in the entire world. It was revealed upon the Prophet through the Angel Jibra'îl beginning during the month of Ramadân. Its revelation took about 23 years to complete.
It contains in total 323,760 hurûf (letters); 105,685 nuqtâh (dots); 86,430 words; 6236 âyât (verses) [6666 according to alternate numbering]; 558 rukû’ât (sections); 114 sûrahs (chapters); 30 ajzâ (parts); 7 manâzil; and 14 verses of prostration.
There are 87 Makkan and 27 Madani sûrahs.
The longest sûrah is Sûrah al-Baqarah and the shortest is Sûrah al-Kawthar.
The greatest and most revered verse is Âyat-ul-Kursiy, which is also called the Chief of all Verses.
In chronological order, Sûrah al-‘Alaq was the first and Sûrah an-Nasr was the last to be revealed.
Sûrah Yâ-Sîn is the “heart of the Qur’ân.”
Sûrah ar-Rahmân contains the most number of repeated âyât: 31.
The are 14 sets of hurûf muqatti’ât (abbreviated letters) and 29 surahs that begin with these – of which only Sûrah ash-Shûrâ begins with a pair of these: .
The names of 25 prophets are mentioned in the Qur’ân, 6 of which are title of a sûrah: Muhammad, Yusuf, Ibrahim, Yunus, Hud .
There are 4 places in the Qur’ân where saktah (pause without breaking breath) is essential.
There are three Tawâsîn (sûrahs starting with : ) and seven Hawâmîm (sûrahs starting with ).
Hadrat Maryam is the only woman whose name is explicitly mentioned in the Qur’ân and her name is also the title of a sûrah.
Three mosques are referred to in the Qur’ân: Masjid-ul-Harâm (Makkah), Masjid-ul-Aqsa (Jerusalem), Masjid Qubaa (near Madînah).
Also mentioned is Masjid-ud-Dirâr, the “mosque” constructed by the hypocrites of Madînah for the purpose of causing trouble.
The Qur’ân mentions the following land and sea animals, birds, insects, and plants: camel, cow, ram, sheep, goat, horse, mule, donkey, wolf, elephant, dog, monkey, pig, salwâ (type of partridge), crow, hoopoe, swifts, honeybee, ant, fly, mosquito, termites, fish, grain, garlic, onion, manna (type of herb), date, olive, grape, pomegranate, and fig.
Wallahu a'lam bissawab!
