However, the Quran did not exist in book form at the time of Muhammad’s death in 632. Most suras were in use amongst early Muslims since they are mentioned in numerous sayings by both Sunni and Shia sources, relating Muhammad’s use of the Quran as a call to Islam, the making of prayer and the manner of recitation. As it was initially spoken, the Quran was recorded on tablets, bones, and the wide, flat ends of date palm fronds. Thus a group of Muslims gradually became literate. It is related that some of the Quraysh who were taken prisoners at the Battle of Badr regained their freedom after they had taught some of the Muslims the simple writing of the time. According to hadith and Muslim history, after Muhammad immigrated to Medina and formed an independent Muslim community, he ordered many of his companions to recite the Quran and to learn and teach the laws, which were revealed daily. Thereafter, he received revelations over a period of 23 years. Islamic tradition relates that Muhammad received his first revelation in the Cave of Hira during one of his isolated retreats to the mountains. Main article: History of the Quran Prophetic era The term mus’haf (‘written work’) is often used to refer to particular Quranic manuscripts but is also used in the Quran to identify earlier revealed books. Another term is al-kitāb (‘The Book’), though it is also used in the Arabic language for other scriptures, such as the Torah and the Gospels. The Quran describes itself as “the discernment” ( al-furqān), “the mother book” ( umm al-kitāb), “the guide” ( huda), “the wisdom” ( hikmah), “the remembrance” ( dhikr), and “the revelation” ( tanzīl something sent down, signifying the descent of an object from a higher place to lower place). Other related words include: dhikr (‘remembrance’), used to refer to the Quran in the sense of a reminder and warning and ḥikmah (‘wisdom’), sometimes referring to the revelation or part of it. In the large majority of contexts, usually with a definite article ( al-), the word is referred to as the waḥy (‘revelation’), that which has been “sent down” ( tanzīl) at intervals. Such terms include kitāb (‘book’), āyah (‘sign’), and sūrah (‘scripture’) the latter two terms also denote units of revelation. Each synonym possesses its own distinct meaning, but its use may converge with that of qurʼān in certain contexts. The term also has closely related synonyms that are employed throughout the Quran. Its liturgical context is seen in a number of passages, for example: “So when al-qurʼān is recited, listen to it and keep silent.” The word may also assume the meaning of a codified scripture when mentioned with other scriptures such as the Torah and Gospel. In other verses, the word refers to ‘an individual passage recited ’. An important meaning of the word is the ‘act of reciting’, as reflected in an early Quranic passage: “It is for Us to collect it and to recite it ( qurʼānahu).” Regardless, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammad’s lifetime. While some Western scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, the majority of Muslim authorities hold the origin of the word is qaraʼa itself. The Syriac equivalent is qeryānā ( ܩܪܝܢܐ), which refers to ‘scripture reading’ or ‘lesson’. It is a verbal noun ( maṣdar) of the Arabic verb qaraʼa ( قرأ) meaning ‘he read’ or ‘he recited’. The word qurʼān appears about 70 times in the Quran itself, assuming various meanings.
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