Surah Najm

The first part of the Quran. The first chapter is called “The Opening” (Al Fatihah). It consists of eight verses and is often referred to as the “Lord’s Prayer” of Islam. The chapter in its entirety is repeatedly recited during a Muslim’s daily prayers, as it sums up the relationship between humans and God in worship. We begin by praising God and seeking His guidance in all matters of our lives. The Quran then continues with the longest chapter of the revelation, “The Cow” (Al Baqarah). The title of the chapter refers to a story told in this section (beginning at verse 67) about the followers of Moses. The early part of this section lays out the situation of humankind in relation to God. In it, God sends guidance and messengers, and people choose how they will respond: they will either believe, they will reject faith altogether, or they will become hypocrites (feigning belief on the outside while harboring doubts or evil intentions on the inside). Juz' 1 also includes the story of the creation of humans (one of many places where it is referred to) to remind us of the many bounties and blessings of God. Then, we are introduced to stories about previous peoples and how they responded to God’s guidance and messengers. Particular reference is made to the Prophets Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, and the struggles they undertook to bring guidance to their people. A juzʼ (Arabic: جُزْءْ, plural: أَجْزَاءْ ajzāʼ, literally meaning "part") is one of thirty parts of varying lengths into which the Quran is divided. It is also known as para (پارہ/পারা) in Iran and the Indian subcontinent. Division into ajzāʼ has no relevance to the meaning of the Qurʼān and anyone can start reading from anywhere in the Qurʼān. During medieval times, when it was too costly for most Muslims to purchase a manuscript, copies of the Qurʼān were kept in mosques and made accessible to people; these copies frequently took the form of a series of thirty parts (juzʼ). Some use these divisions to facilitate recitation of the Qurʼān in a month—such as during Ramadan,when the entire Qurʼān is recited in the Tarawih prayers, typically at the rate of one juzʼ a night. A juzʼ is further divided into ḥizbāni (lit. "two groups", singular: ḥizb, plural: aḥzāb), therefore, there are 60 aḥzāb. Each ḥizb (group) is subdivided into four quarters, making eight quarters per juzʼ, called maqraʼ (lit. "reading"). There are 240 of these quarters (maqraʼs) in the Qurʼān. These maqraʼ are often used as practical sections for revision when memorizing the Qurʼān. The most commonly memorized juzʼ is juzʼ ‘amma, the 30th juzʼ, containing chapters (sūrah) 78 through 114, with most of the shortest chapters of the Qurʼān. Juzʼ ‘amma is named, like most ajzāʼ, after the 1st word of its 1st verse (in this case chapter 78).