Two Faces of the Qur’ān: Qur’ān and Muṣḥaf

Every prophet is given a sign that testifies to his rank as a messenger. Moses, who was sent to the Egyptians, had to convince addressees with magic. To eclipse them he had to perform a miracle, changing a rod into a snake and changing the snake back into the rod. Jesus made his appearance in an age when the most prestigious discipline was medicine; he therefore had to work a medical miracle: resurrecting the dead. Coming still later, Muhammad was sent to a people who would no longer be won by physical miracles, but--being particularly committed to rhetoric, balagha--demanded a more sublime prophetic sign. Muhammad, therefore, had to present a linguistic and stylistic miracle to convince them. He presented a scripture, the Qur'an.1