ʾUmm al-Kitāb

views updated

ʾUmm al-Kitāb (Arab., ‘ Mother of the Book’). The ‘heavenly pattern’ of the Qurʾān itself. This original is thought of as pre-existent ‘in a tablet preserved’ in heaven (85. 21). From it, the revelations of the Qurʾān were sent down gradually to the Prophet Muḥammad. The term ʾUmm al-Kitāb is also used for the Fātiḥa, which is said to contain the essentials of the whole Qurʾān. The tablet is known as al-Lawḥ.