''Mushaf'' (, ; plural ) is an Arabic word for a
codex
The codex (: codices ) was the historical ancestor format of the modern book. Technically, the vast majority of modern books use the codex format of a stack of pages bound at one edge, along the side of the text. But the term ''codex'' is now r ...
or collection of sheets, but also refers to a written copy of the
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
.
The chapters of the Quran, which
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
s believe was revealed during a 23-year period in
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
's lifetime, were written on various pieces of paper during Muhammad's era. Two decades later, these papers were assembled into one volume under the third
caliph
A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...
,
Uthman ibn Affan
Uthman ibn Affan (17 June 656) was the third caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate, ruling from 644 until Assassination of Uthman, his assassination in 656. Uthman, a second cousin, son-in-law, and notable Companions of the Prophet, companion of ...
, and this collection has formed the basis of all written copies of the Quran to the present day.
In Arabic, ''al-Qur’ān'' means 'the
Recitation', and Islam states that it was recited orally by Muhammad after receiving it via the angel
Gabriel
In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...
. The word ''muṣḥaf'' is meant to distinguish between Muhammad's recitations and the physical, written Quran. This term does not appear in the Quran itself, though it does refer to itself as a ''kitāb'' (كِتَابٌ), or book or writings, from yaktubu (يَكْتُبُ) or to write, in many verses.
Some Islamic scholars also use the term ''muṣḥaf'' to refer to all the revelations contained within the book itself, while using ''al-Qur’ān'' to refer to all verses revealed to Muhammad during his lifetime, including those
abrogated and removed from the ''muṣḥaf'' prior to its final written form, as mentioned in some
hadith
Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...
. For this reason, these scholars say that there is only one possible version of the Quran, but multiple possible versions of the ''muṣḥaf''.
See also
*
Digital Quran
*
Mushaf of Ali
*
Ibn Mas'ud's arrangement
*
Uthman's Quran
References
External links
{{Authority control
Arabic words and phrases
Quran
Islamic terminology