Range of Beliefs

Like people of any faith, not all Muslims follow all the dictates of Islam. It is thought that only about a fifth go regularly to the mosque for the daily prayers, but it is difficult to know for sure. Muslims may pray individually or in small groups anywhere outside the mosques, as millions do.

It is also said that another fifth or more attend the juma, the Friday prayers.

An estimated two-thirds of Muslims turn up for the two Festivals of Eid.

There’s no knowing how many observe the fast of the month of Ramadan, or how many give to charity.

But there’s no doubting the trend toward greater Islamic observance. At the same time, non-practicing Muslims have no less a right to consider themselves Muslims, just as non-practicing Christians and Jews continue with their respective religious designations.

They also routinely recite the Qur’an on both celebratory and sad occasions.

The opening line of every Qur’anic chapter — In the name of Allah, the Beneficent and Merciful — is on Muslim lips all the time.

Muslim homes invariably have a copy of the Qur’an and are also decorated with Qur’anic calligraphy. So are the domes, walls, columns, minarets and gates of mosques. Muslims may put Qur’anic stickers on their cars, at workplaces and in their wallets. They listen to the Qur’an in their cars. Airlines from Muslim nations usually dedicate a channel on their audio systems to Qur’anic recitations. Qur’anic tapes and CDs are a big business.

The Qur’an, which is in Arabic, is the only holy book that is memorized in its entirety. It is four-fifths the size of the New Testament. Undaunted, Muslims commit all its 86,430 words to memory. Those who do are called huffaz (plural of hafiz, one who remembers) and are held in high esteem. There are said to be 10 million of them.

What makes the achievement of the huffaz even more remarkable is that not all of them understand Arabic. In fact, the tradition of memorization is strongest in some non-Arabic nations, such as the Indian sub-continent. They commit it to heart because Prophet Muhammad told them to: “Retain and safeguard the Holy Qur’an in your memory.”

Memorizing the text takes an average of three to four years. Graduates may be prodigies as young as eight or nine. They are given the honor of leading adult congregations in the evening prayers at the mosque during the fasting month of Ramadan, when the entire Scripture is recited.

Another art form associated with the Qur’an is qirat, the melodious recitation of the verses by qaris, who have trained for years, like opera singers. In Malaysia, Pakistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, there is a strong tradition of qirat competitions, which attract large audiences. Top Qur’anic reciters are celebrities, with fans all over the world.

Such is the devotion of believing Muslims to the Qur’an that they are never far from it, physically or in spirit. To desecrate the Scripture, or to insult the Prophet to whom it was revealed, is to scar the soul of a Muslim.