Arabic

The very first word of the Reading that the Messenger heard was “Iqra”,

which means "Read".

It has as its root, Q R A

as in the word “Qur'an”, which means "Reading".

But the word doesn't really mean to read as we think of reading today,

because the Messenger couldn't read like we do,

nor did most of the people in his community.

They had to remember what they heard.

A better meaning for the root Q R A is 'Recite', say out loud.

The Messenger heard the words and said them out loud for everyone to hear,

and they did their best to remember the words he said.

And people who don't use words written on paper get very good at remembering what they hear.

It's something you get better at with practice.

And the Messenger was always there to listen to.

And the words that he heard were in the language that he spoke and understood,

the language of his community, and the accent of the Quraysh.

But those people who learned the words of the Qur'an

would often speak them in their own accent,

and the Messenger didn't mind.

What was more important was the understanding of the words that were being heard.

After all, a lot of what was being read to them was about what was happening in their lives each day.

But as we know, people in different places change the way they speak their language,

and words can change with time.

So after the Messenger died, and there was no more Reading to be added,

his friends gathered together all the memories of the Qur'an and wrote them down,

to make sure that people didn't make mistakes or forget.

And they made sure that however far the words travelled,

the way they were spoken was with the same sound and accent as they were spoken by the Messenger,

the same way that muslims recite them today.

And Arabic speakers around the world also have their own different accents, just like Scots,

but muslims have always made sure that the language of the Qur'an has stayed the same as it was in the beginning,

words that can be heard anywhere in the world that there are muslims there to speak them.