Har bir inson hikoya shaklida berilgan ma'lumotni tinglashni yaxshi ko'radi. Inson ongi hikoyalar yaratgan ruhiy muhitda o'zini erkin va qulay his qilganga o'xshaydi. Shu sababli hikoyalar va ularning muallif­lari dunyo jamiyatlarida doimo yuqori qadrlangan. Ko'pincha ijtimoiy tanqidlar eng keng auditoriyaga hikoya vositasida yetib borgan. Masalan, Charlz Dikkens "Devid Kopperfild" asarida Viktoriya davri jamiyatining bolalarni ekspluatatsiya qilishini tanqid qilgan; xuddi shunday, Jorj Oruell "1984" asarida davlatning fuqarolar hayotiga aralashuvi haqida fikr bildirgan. O'tmish odamlari va tsivilizatsiyalari haqidagi hikoyalar ayniqsa qiziqarli, chunki ular hozirgi zamon odamlari uchun sirli bo'lib tuyuladi. Shu bois Qur'on bir qator o'rinlarda o'z xabarini insonga qiziqarli tarzda yetkazish uchun qissa shaklidan foydalangan. Qur'oniy qissalar Payg'ambar (ﷺ)ga va u zotning ummatiga haqiqat oxir-oqibat botil ustidan g'alaba qozonishiga ishonch bag'ishlagan va bugungi mo'minlar uchun ham xuddi shu maqsadni o'tashda davom etmoqda. Shuni ta'kidlash lozimki, eng mashhur hikoyalarning ko'pi muallifлари tomonidan o'ylab topilgan bo'lsa-da, Qur'oniy qissalarning barchasi haqiqatdir. Ular Alloh xabarini yetkazish uchun o'ylab chiqarilmagan, balki xabarning haqiqiy tarixiy misollaridir. Bu haqiqat Qur'onda ko'plab oyatlarda Alloh tomonidan ta'kidlangan, U Haqiqatning timsoli sifatida o'zini tanitadi: {Bu, albatta, haqdir.}

Everyone likes to hear information conveyed in the form of a story. The human mind seems to relax and be comfortable in the psychological environment created by narratives. Conse-quently, stories and their authors have always been held in high esteem by societies throughout the world. Oftentimes, social criticisms have found their widest audiences through the vehicle of the story. For example, in David Copperfield, Charles Dickens attacked the exploitation of children by Victorian society; likewise, in 1984, George Orwell commented on state interference in the lives of its citizens. Stories about people and civilizations of the past are especially interesting because they represent mysteries to the people of the present. Hence the Qur’aan has, in a number of instances, employed the narrative (qissah) format in order to convey its message to man in an intriguing manner. Qur’aanic stories also served to reassure the Prophet (ﷺ) and his followers that the truth would eventually win out over falsehood, and they continue to serve the same purpose for believers today. It should be noted, however, that while many of the most popular narratives are made up by their authors, the Qur’aanic stories are all true. They are not made up by Allaah to convey His message, but are in fact true historical examples of the message. This fact has been emphasized in the Qur’aan in numerous passages by Allaah, Who refers to Himself as the embodiment of Truth:

Alloh Qur'onni haq deb ataydi.

Allaah refers to the Qur’aan as truth

va

and,

Va Alloh aniq bayon qiladiki, U hikoya qilgan qissalar haqiqatdir:

And Allaah specifically states that the stories which He relates are true:

Shuningdek, Alloh ushbu rivoyatlarning o‘ylab topilganligi fikrini rad etadi. Yusuf va uning aka-ukalari haqidagi hikoya yakunida U shunday deydi:

Likewise, Allaah repudiates the idea that these narratives are invented. At the end of the story of Yoosuf and his brothers, He says,

Qur’on qissalari uch asosiy turga bo‘linadi. Birinchisi — payg‘ambarlar haqidagi hikoyalar. Bunday hikoyalarda Alloh ularning odamlarini Unga da’vat qilish uchun qo‘llagan turli usullarini, ularga berilgan mo‘jizalarni, xalqlarining ularga nisbatan tutgan holatini hamda iymon bilan kufr o‘rtasidagi kurashning yakuniy natijasini bayon qiladi. Bunga misollar Nuh, Ibrohim (Abraham), Muso (Moses), Horun (Aaron) va Iso (Jesus) payg‘ambarlar haqidagi hikoyalarda uchraydi — ularning barchasiga Allohning salomi va barakalari bo‘lsin. Ikkinchi tur — payg‘ambar ekani ma’lum bo‘lmagan kishilar va voqealar haqidagi hikoyalar, masalan, Tolut (Saul) va Jolut (Goliath) qissasi, Odam o‘g‘illari, G‘or ahli, Zulqarnayn, Qorun (Korah), Iso onasi Maryam va boshqalar. Uchinchi tur — Payg‘ambarimiz Muhammad ﷺ davrida sodir bo‘lgan voqealar. Masalan, Oli Imron surasidagi Badr va Uhud jangлari, Tavba surasidagi Hunayn va Tabuk jangлari, Ahzob surasidagi Ahzob (Qabilalar) jangi, Isro surasidagi Isro (Tungi sayohat) va boshqalar.

The qissahs in the Qur’aan may be divided into three main categories, the first being narratives about the prophets. In such narratives, Allaah explains the various methods which they used to call their people to God, the miracles which they were given, the position of their people towards them, and the end result of the struggle between belief and disbelief. Examples of this type can be found in the stories of the Prophets Nooh (Noah), Ibraaheem (Abraham), Moosaa (Moses), Haaroon (Aaron), and ‘Eesaa (Jesus), may Allaah’s peace and blessings be on all of them. The second category is that of narratives concerning events and people not known to be prophets, such as the stories of Taaloot (Saul) and Jaaloot (Goliath), the sons of Aadam, the People of the Cave, Thul-Qarnayn, Qaaroon (Korah), Mary, the mother of Jesus, and so on. The third category is that of events which occurred during Prophet Muhammad’s (ﷺ) era. For example, the Battles of Badr and Uhud in Soorah Aal ‘Imraan, the Battles of Hunayn and Tabook in Soorah at-Tawbah, the Battle of the Clans (Ahzaab) in Soorah al-Ahzaab, and the Night Journey (Israa’) in Soorah al-Israa’, and so on

Qur’on hikoyalarining ba’zilari Qur’onning turli bo‘limlarida takrorlanadi. Biroq, hikoyalar odatda turlicha bayon qilinadi. Ba’zan hikoyaning faqat qisqacha mazmuni keltiriladi, ba’zan esa hikoyaning bir yoki boshqa jihati batafsil zikr qilinadi. Aslida, hikoyalarning tafsilotlari ko‘pincha faqat xabarni yetkazish uchun zarur darajada keltiriladi.

Some of the Qur’aanic stories are repeated in different sections of the Qur’aan. However, the stories are usually repeated in different ways. Sometimes, only a brief summary of a story is given, while at other times, one aspect of the story or another is related in detail. In fact, the details of stories are often mentioned only to the degree necessary for the message to be conveyed.

Bunday tarzda hikoyaning takrorlanishi o‘quvchi ongida uning saboqini mustahkam o‘rnatadi. Ba’zan esa hikoyaning turli jihatlari turli chuqur saboqlarga ega bo‘ladi. Bunday takrorlash Qur’onning mo‘jizaviy tabiatini ham kuchaytiradi: bunda bir tushuncha turli usullarda ifodalanadi, biroq arablar ulardan birortasiga ham o‘xshash narsa yarata olmadilar.

Repetition of a story in this fashion firmly establishes its lesson in the mind of the reader. Sometimes, however, different aspects of the story have different underlying lessons. This type of repetition also reinforces the Qur’aan’s miraculous nature, whereby a concept may be expressed in a variety of ways, yet the Arabs were unable to duplicate any of them.