Mushaf

{{Short description|Written copy of Quran}} [[File:Quran-Mus'haf Al Tajweed.jpg|thumb|''Mushaf al-Tajwid'', printed with colored letters to facilitate reading the Quran with ''tajwid''.]] {{Quran}}

'''{{transl|ar|ALA-LC|Muṣḥaf}}''' ({{langx|ar|مُصْحَف}}, {{IPA|ar|ˈmʊsˤ.ħæf|pron}}; plural {{langx|ar|مَصَاحِف|translit=maṣāḥif|label=none}}, {{IPA|ar|mɑ&NoBreak;ˈsˤɑːħɪf|}}) is an Arabic word for a codex or collection of sheets, but also refers to a written copy of the Quran.<ref name="Wehr-523">{{cite book |last1=Wehr |first1=Hans |title=A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic |publisher=Spoken Language Services Inc. |page=523 |edition=3rd |url=https://archive.org/details/Dict_Wehr.pdf |accessdate=27 June 2018}}</ref> 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 writing material during Muhammad's era. Two decades later, these pieces 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.<ref>Wheller, Brannon M. ''Prophets in the Quran: An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis'', Continuum Books, 2002, p. 5.</ref>

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. 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.<ref>{{Qref|2|2|b=y}}, {{Qref|3|3|b=y}}, {{Qref|29|48|b=y}}</ref><ref>Madigan, Daniel. ''The Qur'an's Self-Image: Writing and Authority in Islam's Scripture'', Princeton University Press, 2001.</ref>

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.<ref>{{Href|bukhari|2814|b=yl}}</ref> For this reason, these scholars say that there is only one possible version of the Quran, but multiple possible versions of the ''muṣḥaf''.<ref>{{cite book | title=The Abdullah Yusuf Ali Memorial Lecture 2013 - Souvenir Booklet | chapter=Is the Mushaf a Complete Record of the Qur'an? The Controversy of Abrogation | last1=Fatoohi | first1=Louay |pages=2–5 |publisher=Islamic Book Trust}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links ==

Category:Arabic words and phrases Category:Quran Category:Islamic terminology