Frequently Asked Questions About the Holy Quran
- What is the total number of Surahs in the Holy Quran?
- Answer: There are one hundred and fourteen Surahs.
- Which was the first Surah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
- Answer: Surah Al-Alaq.
- Which Surah is known as the Mother of the Book?
- Answer: Surah Al-Fatiha.
- Which Surah does not begin with Bismillah (In the name of Allah)?
- Answer: Surah At-Tawbah.
- Which Surah is said to have aged the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
- Answer: Surah Hud and its companions.
- How many times is Paradise mentioned in the Holy Quran?
- Answer: One hundred and thirty-nine times.
- What is the duration of the Quran’s revelation?
- Answer: Twenty-three years.
- What is the longest word in the Holy Quran, and in which Surah does it appear?
- Answer: The word “Fa-asqaynākumūh”, consisting of eleven letters, appears in Surah Al-Hijr.
- What is the last Ayah revealed from the Holy Quran?
- Answer: The utterance of Allah (the Most High): “And fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah; then every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be wronged.”
General Questions About the Prophetic Biography
- At what age did Muhammad’s mother pass away, and where did she die?
- Answer: Amina bint Wahb passed away when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was six years old, dying in Al-Abwa between Mecca and Medina.
- Who took care of the Prophet (peace be upon him) after his mother’s death?
- Answer: His grandfather Abdul Muttalib took care of him, and after his passing, his uncle Abu Talib assumed responsibility.
- What was the profession of the Prophet (peace be upon him) before his prophethood?
- Answer: He worked as a shepherd and in trade.
- Where did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) engage in worship prior to his prophethood?
- Answer: In the Cave of Hira.
- How is the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) described?
- Answer: He was extremely handsome, of medium stature, with black hair that gleamed when he smiled.
- How old was the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he received the message?
- Answer: He was forty years old.
- To which location was the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taken during the Night Journey, and in what year did this event occur?
- Answer: He was taken to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, then to the higher heavens, which occurred in the twelfth year of his prophethood.
- What is the name of the creature the Prophet (peace be upon him) rode during the Night Journey?
- Answer: The creature known as Al-Buraq.
- Why is the tenth year of the prophethood referred to as the Year of Sadness?
- Answer: Because it was the year when the Prophet’s closest companions, his wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid and his uncle Abu Talib, passed away.
- Where did the Prophet (peace be upon him) and Abu Bakr hide during their migration?
- Answer: In the Cave of Thaur.
- What was the first action taken by the Prophet (peace be upon him) upon his arrival in Medina?
- Answer: Constructing the Prophet’s Mosque.
- What was the first battle fought by the Muslims, and in what year did it take place?
- Answer: The Battle of Badr, which occurred in the second year of the Hijra.
- How many sons and daughters did the Prophet (peace be upon him) have?
- Answer: Four sons, all of whom died in infancy, and four daughters.
- In which year did the conquest of Mecca take place?
- Answer: In the eighth year of the Hijra.
- How old was the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) at the time of his passing, and in which year did he die?
- Answer: He was sixty-three years old at the time of his death, which occurred in the thirteenth year of the Hijra.
General Questions About the Companions
- Who was the first person to believe in and support the Prophet?
- Answer: The first woman to believe was his wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the first man was Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, and the first boy was Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with them).
- Why did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) nickname Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) as As-Siddiq?
- Answer: Because he was always the first to believe any news.
- Who was the first martyr in Islam?
- Answer: Sumayyah bint Khayyat, mother of Ammar ibn Yasir (may Allah be pleased with her).
- Where did the companions first migrate to during the first migration in Islam?
- Answer: To Abyssinia.
- What title was given to Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him), and why?
- Answer: He was known as Dhun-Nurayn because he married two daughters of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum.
- Which companion’s name is mentioned explicitly in the Holy Quran?
- Answer: Zayd ibn Harithah.
- Who led Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) to Islam?
- Answer: His sister Fatimah bint al-Khattab and her husband Sa’id ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with them).
- Who was the muezzin of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)?
- Answer: Bilal ibn Rabah (may Allah be pleased with him).
General Questions About Hajj
- In which year was Hajj mandated?
- Answer: In the ninth year of the Hijra.
- How many times did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) perform Hajj, and in which year?
- Answer: He performed Hajj once, known as the Farewell Pilgrimage, in the tenth year of the Hijra.
- How many times is a Muslim required to perform Hajj in their lifetime?
- Answer: Once.
- What is the first act that a pilgrim must perform?
- Answer: Entering into Ihram from the Miqat.
- Why is it called the Day of Tarwiya?
- Answer: Because pilgrims would gather water in preparation for ascending to Arafah.
- When does the first act of Hajj begin, and when does it conclude?
- Answer: It starts on the eighth day of Dhu al-Hijjah and concludes on the thirteenth day.
- How many stones does a pilgrim throw during the ritual?
- Answer: Three stones.
General Questions About Fasting
- In which month do Muslims fast?
- Answer: In the month of Ramadan each year.
- When was fasting prescribed for Muslims?
- Answer: In the second year of the Hijra.
- How many Ramadans did the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) experience and observe?
- Answer: Nine years.
- When does the time for fasting start and when does it end?
- Answer: It begins at the second dawn and ends at sunset.
- What is the wisdom behind the Sunnah of Suhoor for the fasting person?
- Answer: To strengthen the body for the fast and prepare for it.
- What are the invalidators of fasting?
- Answer: Eating, drinking, vomiting, menstruation, postpartum bleeding, and engaging in sexual relations during the day of Ramadan.
- What is the ruling on fasting on Mondays and Thursdays each week?
- Answer: Sunnah, and it is a voluntary fast for which the Muslim is rewarded.
General Questions About Prayer
- Where and when was prayer first mandated for Muslims?
- Answer: It was mandated in the higher heavens on the Night of Ascension.
- What was the first Qiblah that Muslims faced during prayer?
- Answer: The Qiblah was towards Al-Aqsa Mosque, then it was changed to the Holy Mosque in Mecca.
- What was the initial number of prayers that Allah (the Exalted) prescribed for Muslims?
- Answer: Fifty prayers.
- How many obligatory prayers do Muslims have to perform each day and night?
- Answer: Five prayers.
- What was the first prayer offered in Islam after its obligation?
- Answer: The Dhuhr prayer.
- What is the name of the prayer that consists of two bowings and two prostrations in each unit?
- Answer: The prayer of solar and lunar eclipses.
- What are the two “Al-Burdayn”?
- Answer: They are the Fajr and Asr prayers.
- What is the name of the prostration performed to compensate for a deficiency during prayer?
- Answer: The prostration of forgetfulness.
General Questions About the Pillars of Faith
- What are the pillars of faith, and how many are there?
- Answer: There are six pillars of faith: belief in Allah, belief in angels, belief in messengers, belief in the divine scriptures, belief in the Last Day, and belief in divine predestination, both good and bad.
- Where is Allah located?
- Answer: In the heavens above the Throne.
- What are the categories of Tawhid?
- Answer: Tawhid is divided into three categories: Tawhid al-Uluhiyyah, Tawhid al-Rububiyyah, and Tawhid al-Asma wa al-Sifat.
- How many names does Allah have?
- Answer: Ninety-nine names.
- What are angels created from?
- Answer: From light.
- Who is the keeper of Paradise, and who is the keeper of Hellfire?
- Answer: The keeper of Paradise is Ridwan, and the keeper of Hellfire is Malik.
- How many divine scriptures are mentioned?
- Answer: Five holy books mentioned in the Quran: the scriptures of Ibrahim, the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms, and the Holy Quran.
- To whom was the Psalms revealed?
- Answer: To our Prophet Dawud (peace be upon him).
- How many prophets are mentioned in the Quran?
- Answer: Twenty-five prophets.
- Who are the Ulul Azm among the prophets?
- Answer: Noah, Abraham, Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad (peace be upon them).
- Which prophet was swallowed by a fish?
- Answer: Yunus (peace be upon him).
- When will the Hour occur?
- Answer: No one knows the time of its occurrence except Allah (the Exalted).
- What is the first stage of the Hereafter?
- Answer: The grave.
- What is the last sign to appear on the Day of Judgment?
- Answer: The sun rising from the west instead of the east.
- How many gates does Paradise have?
- Answer: Eight gates.
- Who will be in the lowest level of Hell?
- Answer: The hypocrites.