Quran

« If We had sent down this Quran upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and breaking asunder from fear of Allah.  And these examples We present to the people that perhaps they will give thought »


Quran Chapter 59, Verse 21
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1. Introduction


The Quran is the direct word of God, sent down through the Angel Jibril (Gabriel), to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him ﷺ). The Prophet ﷺ recited it word-for-word to the people, and it was recorded shortly thereafter as the Quran. This was spread universally, and remains the same Quran today, letter-for-letter, in the same language of the time of the revelation.  Thus, the Quran is unique being the only book in existence which can connect you, with no intermediary, directly to God.
The revelation of the Quran to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ began in the month of Ramadan 609 CE and continued over a period of 23 years. The Quran consists of 114 chapters (surahs) and each chapter is comprised of verses (ayat).
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2. Reading the Quran in English

To read the Quran in both English and Arabic we recommend Quran.com.  Here you can read and search by chapter and verse.    There have been many excellent English translations over the years, some maintaining the old-English style, and others more modernised.  We would recommend two in particular:
1.  Saheeh International:   -  One of the closest translations to the original Arabic text in terms of original meanings.
2.  The Clear Quran (Dr Mustafa Khattab):   -  One of the smoothest and clearest-to-read translations, but rarely at the expense of slightly less direct translation.
We would recommend loading at least two translations while reading the Quran, to attain a more encompassing and comprehensive understanding of each verse.  Steps which we would recommend to read the Quran online:1.  Load Quran.com2.  Click on the desired chapter3.  Select the 'Settings' icon in the top right4.  Scroll down to 'Translation' where the default is Dr Mustafa Khattab.5.  Add Saheeh international, as well as any others which you would like, or your native language if not English.
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3. Arabic Recitation

At the time of revelation, the intellectual wealth of the Arabian peninsula lay in the domain of poetry, prose, eloquence, and elocution.  Allah in his infinite wisdom created a literary masterpiece in the Quran, in which nothing can compare with the linguistical, grammatical, and rhetorical mastery found.  Poets and writers of the time, upon simply hearing the Quran and it's literary genius, embraced Islam immediately in the masses.  
Because a large part of the unparalleled beauty of the Quran is in it's linguistics, we urge new Muslims and non-Arabic speakers to experience and submerge themselves in listening to the Quran in Arabic alongside your native language.  We liken it to a masterpiece painting; no matter how many words are used to 'translate' the image to someone far away, no amount of words can capture the original image and its beauty.  This same challenge is found when translating God's original Word into another language; although it is certainly a means by which non-Arabic speakers can understand Allah's guidance, it can never match the original and pure words of God Himself.
Therefore, practically speaking, for new Muslims who do not speak Arabic, we would strongly recommend that parallel to reading the English translation, one should also listen to the Arabic recitation.  Below are a selection of eight beautiful reciters (Qari); please click on the audio-bar for a sample of the first chapter (Surah Fatiha) to get a taster of their recitation style.  To access their recitation of the whole Quran, just click on their image.  

Yasser 

Al Dosari

Maher 

al-Muaiqly

Abdul-Baset 

Abdul-Samad

Muhammad Siddiq 

al-Minshawi

Mishari Rashid 

Alafasy

Saad 

al-Ghamdi

Hani 

ar-Rifai

Idris

Abkar

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4.  Arabic Recitation - Selected chapters 

Find below hand-selected excerpts of chapters of the Quran with English translations:
⭐ Surah Imran [3] ⭐Story of Mary
(8 mins)
Surah Maryam [19](Mary)
(16 mins)
⭐ Surah al-Ma'idah [5] ⭐Conversation between Jesus and Allah
(7 mins)
Surah Ar-Rahman [55](The Most Merciful)
(8 mins)
Surah Qiyamah [75] (The Resurrection)
(5 mins)
Surah Kahf [18](The Cave)
(29 mins)
Surah al Infitar [82](The Cleaving Asunder)
(30 mins)
Surah At-Takwir [81](the Overthrowing)
(5 mins)
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5. English Recitation

⭐ Kevan Brighting ⭐
Muhammad Awais Malik
Imam Benjamin Bilal 
Unknown Narrator
Safina SocietyUnknown Narrator
Ibrahim walk
Naeem Sultan & Arabic
Abridged detailed narrationUnknown Narrator
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6. Quran Apps

Quran by Quran.com

An excellent app based on the popular website. One of the only apps that allows more than one translation at once. 

👉iOS      👉android

Salam App

Ad-free clean and simple app to suit all your needs. Developed by a grass-roots team with just the user in mind. Entirely free and always will be.👉 Preview Video👉iOS      👉android

Muslim pro

Extensive library translations available, including in most foreign languages. 

👉iOS      👉 android
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7. Tafseer of the Quran

Within Islam exists several compilations of explanations, interpretations, and commentaries of the Quran by qualified scholars over the centuries.  These are called Tafseer, and can be very helpful in understanding the Quran.  
A note for new Muslims; do not get overwhelmed with tafseers.  The Quran is so rich in content and meaning that scholars can often write chapters about a single verse.  This means that tafseers usually exist in large volumes, akin to encyclopaedias rather than direct reading material.  
Therefore, particularly if you are still in the early stages of learning about Islam and interested in reading parts of the Quran, we would suggest starting with the Quran itself, and having a tafseer at hand for verses which you would like to examine more.  Some tafseer recommendations:
1.  Online Tafsir/study tools:
👉 Fussilat.com
👉 Quran.com - Load the chapter and verse, click on the open book symbol 👉 Quran-wiki.com
2.  Al Qurtubi Compilation: 👉 Juz 1 👉 Juz 2 👉 Juz 3 👉 Juz 4
3.  A Word for Word Meaning of the Quran 👉 Vol 1 (Surah 1 - 11) 👉 Vol 2 (Surah 12 - 35) 👉 Vol 3 (Surah 36 - 114) 4. Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - The Meaning of the Qur'an 👉 Link 5.  Nouman Ali Khan (born 1978):  👉 Audio:  Extensive breakdown of each chapter👉 Written:  Summarised here by a student 'The Thinking Muslim'.  - Scroll to the bottom to view the PDFs. Regularly updated.
6.  As-Sa'di (born 1889): An excellent tafseer collection in ten volumes:👉 Written 👉 Audio
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8. Quranic Dictionaries

Books

1.  Dictionary of Quranic Terms and Concepts - Mustansir Mir:
👉 Download


2.  Quranic Keywords A Reference Guide - Abdur Rashid Siddiqui: 👉 Download

Apps

3Quran Hive App:The Quran hive app is a very useful app which has the full Quran as well as individual in-depth definitions/explanations for each word in the Quran. This app is useful for those wanting to grasp a deeper understanding of the words being read in the Quran. 👉 Website 👉 iOS 👉 Android
4QuranicIncredible free app to learn Quranic Arabic from the basics. The app has multiple features/aspects which targets various aspects of the Arabic language. These features include Vocabulary tracking both with quizzes and enables the user to see how much of the Quran they know, grammar lessons, reading/learning rooms with others, and much more!  👉 Website 👉 iOS 👉 Android
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Tips

Tips to use this site: 

- If you're looking for the simplest resources, we've starred these ⭐ just for you!

- Most videos are playlists! Click the top right playlist icon to view the full playlist

- Click on the title of the video or 'Watch on Youtube' in bottom left to open it up in the Youtube app for ease of viewing.