Digital Quran

Last updated

The digital Quran is a text of the Qur'an processed or distributed as an electronic text, or more specifically to an electronic device dedicated to displaying the text of the Qur'an and playing digital recordings of Qur'an readings.

Contents

History

Qur'anic software on CD-ROM has been developed since the early 1990s. [1] Online texts began to be hosted by Islamic websites from the 2000s. [2] Such a device has first been marketed in Indonesia beginning in [ when? ]. [3] These devices were capable of audio playback of recorded recitations of the Qur'an with synchronized on-screen Arabic text. It allowed basic navigation of the Quran with the ability for the user to select a specific surah (chapter) and ayah (verse). [4] Translations of the Quran to other languages were also included, sometimes synchronized with the original Arabic recitations. The products were mass-produced in China at an affordable price; however this was achieved at the sacrifice of expenditure on research and development. Subsequent models introduced color screens.[ year needed ] Since the availability of more powerful mobile devices such as smartphones, focus has shifted on the production of Quranic software for such devices rather than dedicated "digital Quran" devices. [5]

Usage

There is debate surrounding to what degree a digital form of the Qur'an should be treated like a hard copy in terms of etiquette when reciting from it. For example, should the practices of wudu, qibla, or brushing one's teeth with a miswak be observed while reading from a digital Qur'an. [6]

Commenters speculated about how the special barakah or contagion heuristic associated with the Qur'an translates to electronic texts. [7] Other observers noted that this way of thinking is foreign to the devices users, who adopt western digital technology unthinkingly. [8] Myrvold (2010) summarizes the debate on how Qur'anic etexts and the devices holding them should be handled, citing a fatwa issued by the "Ask Imam" website to the effect that ritual purity should only be regarded in connection with such a device during the time Qur'anic text is actually being displayed. [9] Mohammed Zakariah has come to the conclusion that it is because of the digital Qur'an that Islam has been able to spread and diversify among cultures. This has led to the expansion of Islam among people of faith, scholars who are now able to study the book and scientists that see new opportunity arise. [10] Thomas Hoffmann also discusses in his book on new information and technologies that it is because of these new and creative ways of simplifying the Qur'an that the world sees a new wave of "lay" users rather than experts and self proclaimed experts in the field. [11] Another Journal by Engku Alwi went to college campuses to see how the new form of technology, phone and tablet applications were seen by over 200 muslim students. This concluded that it was well received and even had good effects on recitation and memorization but that a large percentage were worried or confused o the rules of recitation when using the device. [12]

As a digital Muṣḥaf

A digital Qur'ān serves as a digital Muṣḥaf, and faces unique challenges because of it. The critical challenges to produce a flawless digital Muṣḥaf are correct encoding, correct computer typography, and facsimile rendering on all browsers, operating systems and devices.

1. Correct encoding is hampered by constraints imposed by the Unicode Standard. For instance, only recently the extra characters were encoded to represent the so-called open tanwīn. Correct encoding is also hampered by the fact that input methods, i.e., keyboard layouts for Arabic, are based on modern everyday orthography, which differs from Qur'ān orthography in many respects: there are more characters used in the Qur'ān and some characters are different in terms of Unicode, such as yā' with or without dots in final position.

2. Correct computer typography is hampered by mechanisms that are lacking because the industry is not aware that they are needed. In particular the category of "amphibious characters", characters that can occur as both main letters and as diacritics depending on context, cannot be handled by conventional font layout engines. Last but not least, correct computer typography should reproduce Islamic script as accurately as possible. Unfortunately, Arabic typography has a bias to adapt or reduce itself to constraints of Western technology that was not designed to handle Arabic at all. This circumstance adds an obvious complication to the task of producing a flawless digital Qur'ān.

3. Facsimile rendering on all devices is de facto impossible with conventional computer typography, because it depends on proprietary operating systems, proprietary font layout engines and often inaccurate and incomplete Arabic typefaces.

The first digital Muṣḥaf that takes all these considerations into account is the Omani digital Muṣḥaf: www.mushafmuscat.om, which is described in this webcast by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt. [13]

Recitation

Since the first digital versions of the Qur'an, more digital resources relating to the Qur'an and Islam have emerged as well. One can find videos containing Tajweed (recitation) on sites to equip them in learning recitation. This can be helpful because both beginner and professional resources can be found and used as tools in learning the practice of Tajweed. [14] If the digital content and context of what these followers are using is trustworthy, then listening to Tajweed [15] online can help to provide "spiritual merit" to them. The art of Tajweed is very important in Muslim culture and if followers choose to use these online resources to explore this art, then it can enhance their prayer lives. Through the use of digital resources, a follower of Islam is given the ability to learn even if their life circumstances (work, location, health, etc.) limit them from being able to physically go somewhere to learn about the Qur'an and Islam. [16]

Issues

An issue emerging alongside the growing usage of digital copies of the Qur'an is confirming the authenticity of digital copies. [17] Given that the Qur'an has been maintained in its original, unedited state for fourteen centuries, maintaining this originality against tampering is of the utmost importance for digital Qur'anic content. [18] While hard copies of the Qur'an are meticulously examined to assure accuracy before they are made available for sale, many digital copies that are available for free on the internet are not subjected to same degree of scrutiny. [17] Among online copies of the Qur'an, inaccuracies and tampering that have been found went gone largely unnoticed by readers of the website. [19] Because of this, there are many proposed methods to rectify the issue of authenticity and establish a method to verify the integrity of digital Qur'anic content. [18] One controversial method of verifying and displaying that a piece of digital Qur'anic content is authentic is the usage of digital watermarks on verified digital images of the Qur'an, which some argue is a form of modifying the Qur'an as well. [20] Other proposed methods of ensuring authenticity include cryptography, steganography, and usage of digital signatures. [18] Digital copies of the Qur'an can be found in many different styles of Arabic and in each style the diacritics (symbols or punctuation in Arabic writing) differ. Diacritics being misplaced or altered does not affect everyone's ability to get the correct meaning out of this text, but it does affect non-Arabic speakers' ability. One method used to try to prevent the meaning of the Qur'an from being misconstrued is the use of the Qur'an Quote Algorithm. This algorithm allows people to take a verse and search the true meaning of it by out the diacritics which could be interpreted incorrectly by non-Arabic speakers and evaluates just the words. [21]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quran</span> Central religious text of Islam

The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters which consist of individual verses. Besides its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic language.

Hafiz, literally meaning "protector", depending on the context, is a term used by Muslims for someone who has completely memorized the Quran. Hafiza is the female equivalent.

The mysterious letters are combinations of between one and five Arabic letters that appear at the beginning of 29 out of the 114 chapters (surahs) of the Quran just after the Bismillāh Islamic phrase. The letters are also known as fawātiḥ (فَوَاتِح) or "openers" as they form the opening verse of their respective surahs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mushaf</span> Written copy of Quran

Mushaf is an Arabic word for a codex or collection of sheets, but also refers to a written copy of the Quran. The chapters of the Quran, which Muslims believe was revealed during a 23-year period in Muhammad'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, Uthman ibn Affan, and this collection has formed the basis of all written copies of the Quran to the present day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tajwid</span> Rules governing pronunciation during recitation of the Quran

In the context of the recitation of the Quran, tajwīd is a set of rules for the correct pronunciation of the letters with all their qualities and applying the various traditional methods of recitation (Qira'at). In Arabic, the term tajwīd is derived from the verb جود, meaning enhancement or to make something excellent. Technically, it means giving every letter its right in reciting the Qur'an.

The history of the Quran, the holy book of Islam, is the timeline and origin of the written compilations or manuscripts of the Quran, based on historical findings. It spans several centuries, and forms an important major part of the early history of Islam.

In Islam, Qirāʼah are different linguistic, lexical, phonetic, morphological and syntactical forms permitted with reciting the holy book of Islam, the Quran. Differences between Qiraʼat are slight and include varying rules regarding the prolongation, intonation, and pronunciation of words, but also differences in stops, vowels, consonants, and less frequently entire words. Qiraʼat also refers to the branch of Islamic studies that deals with these modes of recitation.

<i>Rasm</i> Arabic writing script

Rasm is an Arabic writing script often used in the early centuries of Classical Arabic literature. Essentially it is the same as today's Arabic script except for the big difference that the Arabic diacritics are omitted. These diacritics include i'jam, consonant pointing, and tashkil, supplementary diacritics. The latter include the ḥarakāt (حَرَكَات) short vowel marks—singular: ḥarakah (حَرَكَة). As an example, in rasm, the five distinct letters ـبـ ـتـ ـثـ ـنـ ـيـ are indistinguishable because all the dots are omitted. Rasm is also known as Arabic skeleton script.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad Siddiq Al-Minshawi</span> Egyptian Hafiz and Qari (1920–1969)

Muhammad Siddiq Al-Minshawi, known simply as Al-Minshawi, was an Egyptian Quranic reciter and Hafiz. Al-Minshawi was born into a Muslim Egyptian famous family. His grandfather, father, and brother were also famous Qurra. Nicknamed Al-Saut Al-Baki, he is part of a quadrumvirate, along with Abdul Basit, Mustafa Ismail, and Al-Hussary, which are considered to be the most important and famous Qurra of modern times to have an outsized impact on the Islamic World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uthman Taha</span> Syrian-Saudi calligrapher

Uthman ibn Abduh ibn Husayn ibn Taha al-Halyabi is a Qazaq descent calligrapher of the Quran in the Arabic language renowned for hand-writing Mushaf al-Madinah issued by the King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qur'an.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahmoud Khalil Al-Hussary</span> Egyptian ḥāfiẓ, qāriʾ, and scholar (1917–1980)

Sheikh Mahmoud Khalil al-Hussary also known as Al-Hussary, was an Egyptian qāriʾ widely acclaimed for his accurate recitation of the Qur'an. Al-Hussary committed the entire Qur'an to memory by age 8 and started reciting at public gatherings by age 12. In 1944, Al-Hussary won Egypt Radio's Qu'ran Recitation competition which had around 200 participants, including veterans like Muhammad Rifat. The quadrumvirate of El Minshawy, Abdul Basit, Mustafa Ismail, and Al-Hussary are generally considered the most important and famous qurrāʾ of modern times to have had an outsized impact on the Islamic world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabily</span> Ubuntu-based operating system

Sabily (Arabic: سبيلي, IPA:[sæˈbiːliː], My Way) is a discontinued Linux distribution based on Ubuntu, designed by and with the intent to be used by followers of Islam. Originally named Ubuntu Muslim Edition (presented as UbuntuME), development for Sabily was active from 2007 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Quran manuscript</span> Hijazi-script Quranic manuscript

The Birmingham Quran manuscript is a single sheet of parchment on which two leaves of an early Quranic manuscript or muṣḥaf have been written. In 2015, the manuscript, which is held by the University of Birmingham, was radiocarbon dated to between 568 and 645 CE. It is part of the Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern manuscripts, held by the university's Cadbury Research Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early Quranic manuscripts</span> Documentary texts in Islamic studies

In Muslim tradition the Quran is the final revelation from God, Islam's divine text, delivered to the Islamic prophet Muhammad through the angel Jibril (Gabriel). Muhammad's revelations were said to have been recorded orally and in writing, through Muhammad and his followers up until his death in 632 CE. These revelations were then compiled by first caliph Abu Bakr and codified during the reign of the third caliph Uthman so that the standard codex edition of the Quran or Muṣḥaf was completed around 650 CE, according to Muslim scholars. This has been critiqued by some western scholarship, suggesting the Quran was canonized at a later date, based on the dating of classical Islamic narratives, i.e. hadiths, which were written 150–200 years after the death of Muhammad, and partly because of the textual variations present in the Sana'a manuscript. With the discovery of earlier manuscripts which conform to the Uthmanic standard however, the vast majority of Western revisionist theories regarding the historical origins of the Quran have fallen out of favor and been described as "untenable".

Abu Sa'id Uthman Ibn Sa‘id al-Qutbi, better known as Warsh (110-197AH), was a significant figure in the history of Quranic recitation (qira'at), the canonical methods of reciting the Qur'an. Alongside Qalun, he was one of the two primary transmitters of the canonical reading method of Nafi‘ al-Madani. Together, their style is the most common form of Qur'anic recitation in the generality of African mosques outside of Egypt, and is also popular in Yemen and Darfur despite the rest of Sudan following the method of Hafs. The method of Warsh and his counterpart Qalun was also the most popular method of recitation in Al-Andalus. The majority of printed Mushafs today in North Africa and West Africa follow the reading of Warsh.

According to Islamic tradition, the Quran was revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel (Jibril) in seven ahruf, translated variously as "styles", "ways", "forms" and "modes". Islamic scholars agree that the ahruf were styles used by the early Muslims to recite the Quran.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitab kuning</span>

In Indonesian Islamic education, Kitab kuning refers to the traditional set of the Islamic texts used by the educational curriculum of the Islamic seminary in Indonesia, especially within the madrasahs and pesantrens. Coverage of kitab kuning extends from the principles of Islamic jurisprudence, Islamic creeds (aqidah), Islamic ethics (akhlaq), science of Islamic mysticism (tasawwuf), sciences of Arabic language, science of Qur'anic recitations (tajwid), hadith studies, tafsir, Qur'anic studies to social sciences. It is also known as kitab gundul due to the content in the Arabic language does not employ vowel marks (harakat), unlike the Qur'an. Therefore, mastering of kitab kuning is considered to require a substantial amount of time. Collections of the Islamic texts employed as kitab kuning may vary, depending on the type of institution, individual schools, kyai, and region, with certain prerequisite materials such as Tafsir al-Jalalayn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Husain Burhanuddin</span> Indian Qari and Islamic Scholar

Shahzada Husain Burhanuddin, also known as Husain Mufaddal Saifuddin, is the third and youngest son of Mufaddal Saifuddin, the current incumbent of the office of the 53rd Da'i al-Mutlaq. He is a Qāriʾ and an honorary member of Naqabāt Qurrāʾ al-Quran in Cairo. He is currently the Chairman of Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust.

The Qur'an is meant to be recited. Its verses are divided according to the rhythm of the language. The Qur'anic punctuation is, therefore, not only based on the structure or the syntax of the sentence, but also on the need to pause, for breath or for effect. Pickthall observes, when a certain sound which marks the rhythm recurs, there is a strong pause and the verse ends naturally, although the sentence may go on to the next verse. Thus the Qur'anic punctuation affects the pronunciation of the words, rhythm, intonation and syllable separation.

The Cairo edition, or the King Fu'ād Quran or the Azhar Quran, is an edition of the Quran printed by the Amiri Press in the Bulaq district of Cairo on July 10, 1924. It is the first printed Quran to be accepted by a Muslim authority, this authority being Al-Azhar.

References

  1. ↑ quran.com (October 1996) "Al-Quran Al-Kareem on CD-ROM software is developed by Mirco Systems International, a company based in Champaign, Illinois, U.S.A. This program is the original Quran on CD software. Micro Systems has been continually improving features and other aspects of the program since 1990, making it the best multimedia tool for learning the Quran today."
  2. ↑ muttaqun.com had a transliteration of the Arabic text alongside GIF graphics of the text in Arabic script online in 2000. searchtruth.com had an electronic text online in 2004. quran.com (2007) hosted the Yusuf Ali English translation, adding the Arabic text in 2008. qurany.net and quranexplorer.com had the Arabic text online from 2006. quranflash.com followed in 2007 using Adobe Flash to show animations of turning pages.
  3. ↑ Indonesians tune in to digital Koran Reuters SEPTEMBER 21, 2007; introduced in [ when? ] by the Korean company; Penman Corporation
  4. ↑ Example of Digital Qur'an for Smartphones
  5. ↑ Living the Information Society in Asia; Erwin Alampay
  6. ↑ Alwi, Engku Ahmad Zaki Engku; Anas, Norazmi; Ibrahim, Mohd. Syahril; Dahan, Ahmad Fadhir Mat; Yaacob, Zuriani (2014-07-11). "Digital Quran Applications on Smart Phones and Tablets: A Study of the Foundation Programme Students". Asian Social Science. 10 (15). doi: 10.5539/ass.v10n15p212 . ISSN   1911-2025.
  7. ↑ "there may be a place on a separate portion of a believer's hard drive, apart from other forms of content of a nonreligious nature, for a digital Qur'an" Gary R. Bunt, iMuslims, 2009, p.87
  8. ↑ "But this perception is a 'western' one and not that of the Arab reader, to whom modern technology is something strange and foreign, technological containers which can be imported and used without any analysis of their actual content (Example: Digital Koran)." The Almost Complete Lack of the Element of "Futureness" Heise Online
  9. ↑ Kristina Myrvold, The Death of Sacred Texts: Ritual Disposal and Renovation of Texts in World Religions, 2010, p. 47, citing a 2008 fatqa at "askimam.com" phrased "Do You Have to Have Wudu When Handling a Digital Quran?"
  10. ↑ Zakariah, Mohammed; Khan, Muhammad Khurram; Tayan, Omar; Salah, Khaled (August 2017). "Digital Quran Computing: Review, Classification, and Trend Analysis". Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering. 42 (8): 3077–3102. doi:10.1007/s13369-017-2415-4. S2CID   63594225. ProQuest   1919663740.
  11. ↑ Hoffmann, Thomas (2013). Muslims and the New Information and Communication Technologies Notes from an Emerging and Infinite Field. Springer Netherlands: Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands : Imprint: Springer. ISBN   978-94-007-7247-2.
  12. ↑ ProQuest   1551172691 [ full citation needed ]
  13. ↑ http://webcast.bibalex.org/Cast/Details.aspx?ID=11438
  14. ↑ Bunt, Gary (2018). Hashtag Islam. The University of North Carolina Press: The University of North Carolina Press. pp. 39–40. ISBN   9781469643151.
  15. ↑ "learn Quran with tajweed online". BeinQuran. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  16. ↑ Bunt, Gary (2018). Hashtag Islam. The University of North Carolina Press: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 36. ISBN   9781469643168.
  17. 1 2 Zakariah, Mohammed; Khan, Muhammad Khurram; Tayan, Omar; Salah, Khaled (August 2017). "Digital Quran Computing: Review, Classification, and Trend Analysis". Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering. 42 (8): 3077–3102. doi:10.1007/s13369-017-2415-4. ISSN   2193-567X. S2CID   63594225.
  18. 1 2 3 Hakak, Saqib; Kamsin, Amirrudin; Tayan, Omar; Idna Idris, Mohd. Yamani; Gani, Abdullah; Zerdoumi, Saber (2017). "Preserving Content Integrity of Digital Holy Quran: Survey and Open Challenges". IEEE Access. 5: 7305–7325. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2017.2682109 . ISSN   2169-3536.
  19. ↑ Kurniawan, Fajri; Khalil, Mohammed S.; Khan, Muhammad Khurram; Alginahi, Yasser M. (December 2013). "Exploiting Digital Watermarking to Preserve Integrity of the Digital Holy Quran Images". 2013 Taibah University International Conference on Advances in Information Technology for the Holy Quran and Its Sciences. Madinah, Saudi Arabia: IEEE. pp. 30–36. doi:10.1109/NOORIC.2013.18. ISBN   9781479928231. S2CID   13993235.
  20. ↑ Kamaruddin, Nurul Shamimi; Kamsin, Amirrudin; Hakak, Saqib (2017). "Associated diacritical watermarking approach to protect sensitive arabic digital texts". American Institute of Physics Conference Series. AIP Conference Proceedings. 1891 (1). Kedah, Malaysia: 020074. Bibcode:2017AIPC.1891b0074K. doi: 10.1063/1.5005407 .
  21. ↑ Abukhir, Khir Zuhaili; Idris, Mohd Yamani Idna; Tayan, Omar; Palaiahnakote, Shivakumara; Kamsin, Amirrudin; Hakak, Saqib (2018-06-20). "Residual-based approach for authenticating pattern of multi-style diacritical Arabic texts". PLOS ONE. 13 (6): e0198284. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1398284H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198284 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   6010264 . PMID   29924810.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.