Is the Quran a Syriac Word and Not Arabic
We say, and with God’s help,
that the Arabic and Syriac languages go back to a common origin, so it is natural to find many words that agree in both languages in pronunciation and meaning, or one of the languages may have developed so that the common pronunciation indicates additional meanings in one language but not the other.
As for the word Qur’an, it is a noun derived from the verb qara’a, meaning to recite, i.e. to follow the letters and pronounce them, so there is agreement in the origin of the verb with Syriac. This is due to the similarity between the two languages, and the meaning of the similarity is not that Arabic took the verb from Syriac. If the matter were this foolish, then why wouldn’t Syriac be the one that took the verb from Arabic?
His Eminence Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Daraz, may God have mercy on him, said in the book Al-Naba’ Al-Azeem, New Views on the Qur’an, page 41,
the linguistic and etymological meaning of the words “Qur’an” and “Kitab”:
The meaning of the Qur’an in the language:
The Qur’an is originally a noun in the form Fu’laan with a damma, like forgiveness, thanks, and taklan. He says: I read it, reading, and Quran have the same meaning, i.e. I recited it. The use of Quran in this verbal noun sense came in the Almighty’s saying: {Indeed, upon Us is its collection and its recitation. So when We have recited it, then follow its recitation} meaning its recitation.
Then it became a personal knowledge of that noble book. This is the most common usage, and from it is the Almighty’s saying: {Indeed, this Quran guides to that which is most upright}. It is also called the Book, and from it is the Almighty’s saying: {Alif, Lam, Meem. This is the Book about which there is no doubt}.
The secret of naming it with both names:
In naming it the Quran, consideration was given to the fact that it is recited by tongues, just as in naming it the Book, consideration was given to the fact that it is written down by pens. Both names are from naming a thing by the meaning it is based on.
Likewise, the Qur’an is a source of qara’a meaning to collect and it was called that because it is a collection of surahs and verses and all the rulings of Islam. This meaning of the verb qara’a is not known in Syriac.
Al-Zubaidi said in Taj al-‘Arus: qara’a something means he gathered it and combined it, i.e. he combined some of it with some. And qara’tu shay’ quran means I collected it and combined some of it with some. From this is their saying: Ma qara’at ha hadith sala qat, and ma qara’at janin qat, meaning her womb did not include a child… The meaning of: {You have read the Qur’an} (An-Nahl: 98) is that you uttered it all together, i.e. you threw it out, and it is One of the two sayings of Qutrub. Abu Ishaq Al-Zajjaj said in his interpretation: The speech of Allah the Most High that He revealed to His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is called a Book, a Qur’an, and a Criterion, because it collects the Surahs and unites them. And the Most High’s saying: {Indeed, upon Us is its collection and its recitation} (Al-Qiyamah: 17), meaning: its collection.
So the word Qur’an is an Arabic source from the verb qara’a meaning to recite or collect. And whoever says otherwise is the Abu Jahl of this
