从词源上讲,“Qur’an”(古兰经)一词的意思是“诵读”,后来被用来指“被诵读的文本”。《古兰经》也称自己为“al-kitab”,从字面上看就是指一部成文的书。因此,书写、阅读和思考《古兰经》的重要性从伊斯兰教一开始就得到了强调。《古兰经》的内容被分为“suwar”[2],在阿拉伯语中意为“章”。据历史学家菲利普·希蒂(Phillip Hitti)所说,成集的《古兰经》成文本是最年轻的划时代书籍之一,也是有史以来被阅读得最广泛的书。[3]

Linguistically the word Qur’an means ‘reading’ and came to be referred to as ‘the text which is read’. The Qur’an also calls itself al-kitab, which lexically implies a written book. Thus the significance of writing, reading and reflecting upon the Qur’an has been emphasised from the very beginning of Islam. The qur’anic material is divided into suwar 2., meaning ‘chapters’ in Arabic. According to the historian Phillip Hitti, the collected written text of the Qur’an is one of the youngest epoch-making books and the most widely read book ever written.3.

《古兰经》在伊斯兰教中拥有至高无上的权威,因为它是伊斯兰信仰、伦理、律法和指引的根本与核心来源。对穆斯林而言,《古兰经》源于神圣的启示。它是造物主的言语,而非先知穆罕默德ﷺ的话语。相反,它是启示给他的,并借由他,以词语和含义的形式传达给全人类。9世纪的《古兰经》学者祖尔卡尼(Az-Zarqani)总结了对这部经典的描述。他写道:

The Qur’an is the supreme authority in Islam as it is the fundamental and essential source of the Islamic creed, ethics, laws, and guidance. For Muslims, the Qur’an is of Divine origin. It is the speech of the Creator and not the word of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ 4. Rather, it was revealed to him, and through him to mankind, in word and meaning. Az-Zarqani, a 9th century scholar of the Qur’an, summarises the description of the book. He writes:

《古兰经》是真主以阿拉伯语所作的言语，真主以其字句与含义启示给穆罕默德ﷺ，它被保存在编纂成册的经文之中，并通过广泛而连续的传述流传到我们这里。5

The Qur’an is the Arabic speech of God, which He revealed to Muhammad ﷺ in wording and meaning, and which has been preserved in the compiled written pages of the Qur’an, and has reached us by recurrent reporting.5