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International Qur'anic Studies Association

الجمعية الدولية للدراسات القرآنية.

REVIEW OF QUR’ANIC RESEARCH

The International Qur’anic Studies Association published, in collaboration with de Gruyter,  The Journal of the International Qur’anic Studies Association  ( JIQSA ), including cutting-edge articles and book reviews (in the section:  Review of Qur’anic Research  [ RQR ]). For access and all information regarding  JIQSA , information how to submit, visit:  https://www.degruyter.com/ journal/key/jiqsa/html.

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AOA I am Late in proposal, but can send a paper after translating some Excerpts from my Urdu Booklet ” AlQuran AlAzeem W AlTehreef B AlRiwayat W AlQra at”.

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Intelligent Quran Recitation Recognition and Verification: Research Trends and Open Issues

• Research Article-Computer Engineering and Computer Science
• Published: 08 November 2022
• Volume 48 , pages 9859–9885, ( 2023 )

Cite this article

• Sarah S. Alrumiah   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4313-1652 1 &
• Amal A. Al-Shargabi 1  

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Muslims aim to recite and memorize the Holy Quran correctly. However, traditional recitation verification approaches depend on humans who may not be available. On the other hand, Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities assist in developing intelligent recitation verification tools based on speech recognition techniques. This study aims to overview the current state of the intelligent Quran recitation recognition and verification solutions and highlight the related open issues. A systematic literature review was performed on the published paper since 2006 up to date to answer six research questions. The research questions covered the speech recognition techniques and methods used to develop Quran recitation recognition and verification models, the database and tools used, and the existing mobile application supporting real-time intelligent Quran recitation verification services. Based on the review results, a taxonomy of the Quran recitation recognition and verification techniques was generated, including traditional and end-to-end speech recognition methods. Moreover, the limitations of the existing AI-based Quran recitation verification applications were reported. Additionally, the available Quran audio datasets and tools capable of dealing with Quranic speech were identified. In conclusion, several open issues can be addressed in future research, e.g., considering AI-based approaches to ensure sequence recitation and recognize diacritics-based errors.

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Prompt Engineering in Large Language Models

Automatic speech recognition: a survey

A comprehensive survey on automatic speech recognition using neural networks

Data availability.

Not applicable.

Code Availability

The Holy Quran.

Abbreviations

Marks are placed above or under a letter in Arabic words, indicating a particular pronunciation and meaning.

Nasalization.

A recitation rule combines the Noon As-Sakenah or the Tanween with the following Idgham letter. There are six Idgham letters, which are Yaa, Raa, Meem, Lam, Noon, and Waw (ي، ر، م، ل، ن، و)

A recitation rule focuses on clearly pronouncing letters from their Makharej, without changes. There are six Idhar letters, which are Alef, Ha, Kha, Aen, Ghain, and Haa (أ، ح، خ، ع، غ، هـ)

A recitation rule conceals part of the pronounced letter whenever Tanween or Noon As-Sakenah is found before the Ikhfa letter. Thus, the word will be pronounced between Idhar and Idgham. There are 15 Ikhfa letters, which are the remaining Arabic letters after extracting the Idhar, Iqlab, and Idgham letters.

A recitation rule switches the pronunciation of Noon As-Sakenah or Tanween to Meem when the letter Baa was found after them.

Recitation rules that extend the sound of the Madd letter. There are three Madd letters, which are Alef, Yaa, Waw (ا، ي، و)

Articulation.

The holy book for Muslims that guides their living and discusses many life and religious aspects, consisting of 114 chapters. The Quran was revealed and written in Arabic.

A Quran chapter consists of a number of verses.

A Quran section consists of a number of chapters.

A sentence placed between Quranic numbering symbols. Quran verses have different lengths.

The process of correcting the reciter’s recitation during a recitation session whenever a recitation mistake was encountered to ensure correct recitation.

The way the Quran is being recited affects some pronunciations and Tajweed rules. There are seven recitation types of the Quran, such as Hafs and Warsh.

The process of verifying and assessing the reciter’s recitation during a recitation session and reporting the recitation errors.

The person who recites the Quran. This person could be an expert or an ordinary reciter.

The act of fattening the pronunciation of a letter in certain conditions.

Recitation rules. The way of Quran recitation where the reciter follows a set of rules for correct and perfect recitation.

The added “n” sound to the end of the word.

The act of thinning the pronunciation of a letter in certain conditions.

The act of reciting the Quran with spiritual focus results in understanding the verses’ meanings and linking them with each other.

Artificial Intelligence

Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory

Convolutional Deep Belief Network

Carnegie Mellon University

Convolutional Neural Network

Connectionist Temporal Classification

Discrete Cosine Transform

Gaussian Mixture Model

Hidden Markov Model

Hidden Markov Model-Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory

Hidden Markov Model-Gaussian Mixture Model

Hidden Markov Model-based Spectral Peak Location

iPhone Operation System

Java Speech Grammar Format

Linear Discriminate Analysis

Linear Predictive Coding

Long Short-Term Memory

Manhattan distance-based LSTM

Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients

Mel-Frequency Spectral Coefficients

Machine Learning

Maximum Likelihood Linear Regression

Maximum Likelihood Linear Transform

Perceptual Linear Prediction

Recurrent Neural Network

Research Question

Siamese- Long Short-Term Memory

Systematic Literature Review

Short Time Fourier Transform

Support Vector Machine

Time Delay Neural Networks

Vector Quantization

Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis

Word Error Rate

Wavelet Packet Decomposition

Web of Science

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Alrumiah, S.S., Al-Shargabi, A.A. Intelligent Quran Recitation Recognition and Verification: Research Trends and Open Issues. Arab J Sci Eng 48 , 9859–9885 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-022-07273-8

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-022-07273-8

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Databases useful for islam.

• ALTAFSIR.com A project by the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan that provides the original Arabic texts of 110 or more books of Qur’anic Commentary, Interpretation and Explanation, and continues to work on adding English translations.
• JSTOR [UW restricted] Full text database covering back runs of journals usually up through three to five years before the current year.
• Qur'an A website that provides all of the major translations of the Qur'an in English and many other languages, and gives grammatical analysis for all words.
• sunnah.com Website with Hadith collections in English, Arabic and Indonesian.
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• URL: https://guides.lib.uw.edu/research/quran

Articles on Quran

Displaying 1 - 20 of 61 articles.

3 things to learn about patience − and impatience − from al-Ghazali , a medieval Islamic scholar

Liz Bucar , Northeastern University

Ramadan will be difficult for those in Gaza or other war zones – what does fasting mean for those who might be already starving?

Mahan Mirza , University of Notre Dame

Turkey will stop sending imams to German mosques – here’s why this matters

Brian Van Wyck , University of Maryland, Baltimore County

In Sweden, burning Qur'ans threaten to send the country’s history of tolerance up in smoke

Piero S. Colla , Université de Strasbourg

Why Al-Aqsa remains a sensitive site in Palestine-Israel conflict

Ken Chitwood , University of Southern California

Islam’s call to prayer is ringing out in more US cities – affirming a long and growing presence of Muslims in America

Leila Tarakji , Michigan State University

The politics of blasphemy: Why Pakistan and some other Muslim countries are passing new blasphemy laws

Ahmet T. Kuru , San Diego State University

Who are Iran’s morality police? A scholar of the Middle East explains their history

Pardis Mahdavi , University of Montana

For Indonesia’s transgender community, faith can be a source of discrimination – but also tolerance and solace

Sharyn Graham Davies , Monash University

Hijab rules have nothing to do with Islamic tenets and everything to do with repressing women

Deina Abdelkader , UMass Lowell

What is a fatwa? A religious studies professor explains

Myriam Renaud , DePaul University

Why the hijab controversy persists in Nigeria’s public schools

Adeyemi Balogun , Osun State University

Islam has a small presence in Nigeria’s Igbo region: what a new Quran translation offers

Egodi Uchendu , University of Nigeria

There is no one Islamic interpretation on ethics of abortion, but the belief in God’s mercy and compassion is a crucial part of any consideration

Zahra Ayubi , Dartmouth College

From caravans to markets, the hajj pilgrimage has always included a commercial component

Noorzehra Zaidi , University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Why Muslim women choose to wear headscarves while participating in sports

Umer Hussain , Texas A&M University and George B. Cunningham , Texas A&M University

God’s guardians on earth: how young Muslims in Indonesia turn to faith for environmental activism

Pamela Nilan , University of Newcastle and Gregorius Ragil Wibawanto , Universitas Gadjah Mada

Understanding the history and politics behind Pakistan’s blasphemy laws

What is Zakat? A scholar of Islam explains

Iqbal Akhtar , Florida International University

Why taking action on climate change is an Islamic obligation

Mehmet Ozalp , Charles Sturt University

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Senior Research Fellow, Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at IUPUI and Journalist-fellow, Religion and Civic Culture Center, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Affiliated Faculty of Bioethics, Religion, and Society, Department of Religious Studies, DePaul University

Assistant Professor of Religion, California Lutheran University

Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Northeastern University

Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Florida International University

Professor of Political Science, Director of Center for Islamic & Arabic Studies, San Diego State University

Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University

Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law, Emory University

Associate Professor of Islamic History, University of Leeds

James McGill Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies, McGill University

Distinguished Professor of Philosophy of Education, Stellenbosch University

Professor of Philosophy of Education, Stellenbosch University

Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Muslim Studies Program, Michigan State University

UAA Endowed Professor of Sport Management, University of Florida

Director, Herb Feith Indonesian Engagement Centre, Monash University

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The contemporary western academic studies of the Quran and the Muslim stance

2019, Pakistan journal of Islamic research

The history of Western scholarship on the Qur"ān demonstrations that it was directed, by and large, by polemic motifs. The roots of anger and hatred were so entrenched in the literature that it had lasting effects in two folds. On the one side the echoes of the then produced works on the Qur"ān can be heard in the contemporary western works on the Qur"ān. On the other hand, influenced the Muslim thought in a way that mostly they reject the Western academic scholarship setting it in the same old prototype of old polemic tradition and orientalism. The recent Western scholarship on the Qur"ān try to ensure the Muslims that it had liberated itself from the centuries old chains of bias and hatred. A debate can be witnessed among the western and the Muslim scholars on this issue. The western academicians try to inculcate the idea that the rise of objectivity and the scientific methods in the West has affected the discipline Qur"ānic studies. Hence, they claim for a transformation and in the recent western Qur"ānic studies.

Related Papers

Malakand University Research Journal of Islamic studies

Dr Iffat Batool

The existence of academic works concerning the genre of Qur'anic studies in the west is a sign of grave interest of western scholars in the Quran. In twenty first century, an immense increase in production of academic works on the Qur'ān can be witnessed. The significant point is that despite the presence of the vast corpus of western scholarship on the Qur'ān, it is not generally accepted in the Muslim world. The Muslim opinion is that despite the claims of objectivity, the Western scholars see Islam with their own lens and perceptions. In fact, many western intellectuals have admitted this reality in their writings. It is also argued that the so-called academic study of the Qur'ān is a presentation of the old views in new guise and appearance of the old wine in a new bottle. On the contrary, the western scholars claim for the rise of objectivity and scientific approach in their studies. The encyclopedia of the Qur'ān, being a major production of the 21 st century has been the focus of discussion in this regard. This article intends to analyze the scientific approach in the above mentioned work by highlighting some of its features.

The Quran, being foremost religious and sacred book of the Muslims, gained a significant place in the western religious studies since long. From medieval polemical refutation to the contemporary academic studies a significant number of anthological works have been produced by the western scholarship in the Qur'anic studies. A variety of approaches and methodologies have been applied to expound multiple Qur'ānic themes which intermittently resonate among western scholars of Islam. This paper mentions a brief overview of western contribution from medieval to contemporary times and highlights the major themes in the field of western Qur'anic studies. The gradual development in applying the various socio-religious methodologies is cited as well.

Marcel Poorthuis

Fahd M O H A M M E D T A L E B Al-Olaqi

Arts and Humanities

Fahd Al-Olaqi

"This paper delves into the corpus of English literature written from the early middle ages to the present age to study the attitudes of English writers toward the Messenger Mu╒ammad (peace be on him) and examines how they varied during various literary ages in the English Literature. This paper argues that the image of the Messenger Mu╒ammad (peace be on him) passed through two phases in the English Literature. The paper shows that the image of the Messenger Mu╒ammad (peace be on him) which was created in early mediaeval times continued through the Elizabethan period without much change, which do popup every now and then in the western media and literary works even in the contemporary times. On the other hand, new literary images of the Messenger Muhammad (peace be on him) which started emerging in the Victorian era are recurring in the Modern times with some ups and downs. The paper closes with the plea to western academy to do more academic efforts for making a truthful image of the Messenger Muhammad (peace be on him) necessary for a meaningful dialogue of civilisations and for better Muslim Christian relations."

Dr. Feroz Shah Khagga

The morality of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the authenticity and divinity of the holy book of Islam, the Qur‟an, had been the particular object of early non-Muslim polemicists as they are executing the same criticism and refutation against both fundamental Islamic sources in the recent age. However, if we analyze the formal missionary efforts against the Qur'an, we observe that these have been started in the time of Byzantine in which Syria playing a central role. Although, these missionary efforts were multi-dimensional in its nature yet, their special focus remained commonly against the Qur'an. So the foundational period of polemical debates on the Qur'an started in the East because of the conquering Islam dominated over the different religions and believes in the East. All the existing religions felt their suppression and vanishing identity under the rule of Isl am. Hence, they started attributing different abuses to the Qur'an. Another fact that became the reason of polemical debates on Qur'an initially in the East (not in the West) is Arabic language which was commonly known in the Arabian Peninsula and its peripheries. A brief overview of Muslim-Christian polemical discussions is also necessary to know the evolutionary developments in the Western view of Quranic textual history.

Edited by Jacques Waardenburg

Afat Qiamat

In the course of history, Islam as a religion and as a religious community has come into contact with a number of other religions in the East and West. Mus- lims have met non-Muslims and their cultures in dif- ferent situations and at different times and places. Throughout this history there have been Muslim au- thors who wrote of what they knew and thought about other religions and their adherents. It is a legitimate scholarly question how, in different circumstances, they saw people with other religions or none at all, and to seek an answer through the study of texts

Milton Bradley

Joseph Lumbard

The legacy of colonialism continues to influence the analysis of the Qurʾan in the Euro-American academy. While Muslim lands are no longer directly colonized, intellectual colonialism continues to prevail in the privileging of Eurocentric systems of knowledge production to the detriment and even exclusion of modes of analysis that developed in the Islamic world for over a thousand years. This form of intellectual hegemony often results in a multifaceted epistemological reductionism that denies efficacy to the analytical tools developed by the classical Islamic tradition. The presumed intellectual superiority of Euro-American analytical modes has become a constitutive and persistent feature of Qurʾanic Studies, influencing all aspects of the field. Its persistence prevents some scholars from encountering, let alone employing, the analytical tools of the classical Islamic tradition and presents obstacles to a broader discourse in the international community of Qurʾanic Studies scholars. Acknowledging the obstacles to which the coloniality of knowledge has given rise in Qurʾanic Studies can help us to develop more inclusive approaches in which multiple modes of analysis are incorporated and scholars from variegated intellectual backgrounds can engage in a more effective dialogue

Oxford Bibliographies in Islamic Studies

Gordon D Nickel

Abraham is often seen as a point of meeting for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. When I needed to gather and briefly summarize 100 top academic articles and books on Abraham in Islam in 2012, I noticed that many materials--to the contrary--raise matters of contention. It seems that when rival faiths share figures "in common," the common figure may become a point of competition. In this bibliography I raise the question of why there has not been more academic investigation of this phenomenon. Research for this article was interesting and beneficial to me, and I thank Andrew Rippin, editor in chief of Oxford Bibliographies in Islamic Studies at the time, for giving me yet another good opportunity.

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Research: What Companies Don’t Know About How Workers Use AI

• Jeremie Brecheisen

Three Gallup studies shed light on when and why AI is being used at work — and how employees and customers really feel about it.

Leaders who are exploring how AI might fit into their business operations must not only navigate a vast and ever-changing landscape of tools, but they must also facilitate a significant cultural shift within their organizations. But research shows that leaders do not fully understand their employees’ use of, and readiness for, AI. In addition, a significant number of Americans do not trust business’ use of AI. This article offers three recommendations for leaders to find the right balance of control and trust around AI, including measuring how their employees currently use AI, cultivating trust by empowering managers, and adopting a purpose-led AI strategy that is driven by the company’s purpose instead of a rules-heavy strategy that is driven by fear.

If you’re a leader who wants to shift your workforce toward using AI, you need to do more than manage the implementation of new technologies. You need to initiate a profound cultural shift. At the heart of this cultural shift is trust. Whether the use case for AI is brief and experimental or sweeping and significant, a level of trust must exist between leaders and employees for the initiative to have any hope of success.

• Jeremie Brecheisen is a partner and managing director of The Gallup CHRO Roundtable.

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Virginia Tech entomologist sheds light on 250-year-old mystery of the German cockroach

24 May 2024

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A team of international scientists, including Virginia Tech entomologist Warren Booth, have solved the 250-year-old origin puzzle of the most prevalent indoor urban pest insect on the planet: the German cockroach.

The team's research findings, representing the genomic analyses of over 280 specimens from 17 countries and six continents, show that this species evolved some 2,100 years ago from an outside species in Asia and were released this week in the  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences  journal. 

One may think by its name that its origins are in Germany. But it is not native to any wilderness in that country. In fact, it doesn’t seem to have any home in the wild anywhere in the world. To date, populations have never been found outside of structures.

Following its evolution, the German cockroach spread from Southeast Asia, hitchhiking around the world in association with humans. In addition to rapid spread, it evolved a resistance to a variety of insecticides, making it extremely difficult to control using over-the-counter products.

According to Booth, the German cockroach is a major public health issue due to its links to disease spread, the contamination of food, and its role in triggering asthma and allergies.

About Booth Warren Booth is an associate professor of urban entomology in the Department of Entomology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences . He is also an affiliated faculty of the Fralin Life Sciences Institute at Virginia Tech. 

His research interests include: 

• Population and evolutionary genomics of indoor urban pest insects
• Insecticide resistance evolution
• Influence of socioeconomic disparity on urban pest population dynamics
• Mitochondrial heteroplasmy and recombination
• Invasion biology and ecology
• Urban pest management
• Urban evolutionary biology/genomics

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• Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res
• v.23(6); Nov-Dec 2018

The Effect of Listening to Holy Quran Recitation on Anxiety: A Systematic Review

Ashraf ghiasi.

1 Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran

Afsaneh Keramat

2 Department of Reproductive Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran

Background:

Among all mental health disorders in the general population, anxiety is the most frequent. Both pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions are used to manage anxiety in various settings. There is a growing interest among researchers on religion therapy as a non-pharmacological intervention for anxiety management. Hence, due to the importance of Holy Quran in Muslims' lives, this systematic review was performed to assess the studies that evaluated the effect of Quran recitation on anxiety in various settings.

Materials and Methods:

This systematic review study was performed on articles published between January 1990 and September 2017. Several online databases including SID, Iranmedex, Magiran, IranDoc, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched with the keywords of “Quran,” “anxiety,” “clinical trial.” The risk of bias across all included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool.

Of the 973 articles found in the initial search, 28 randomized controlled trials and quasi-experiments were selected for the systematic review. In most studies, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to measure participants' anxiety. Findings of this review revealed a positive effect of listening to Holy Quran recitation in reducing anxiety in various settings. Only one study had reported that anxiety level in Holy Quran recitation group was less than that of the control group, but it was not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

Based on the available researches, Quran recitation can be used as a useful non-pharmacological treatment to reduce anxiety. However, methodologically strong randomized controlled trials are needed in this area.

Introduction

Among all mental health disorders in the general population, anxiety is the most frequent.[ 1 ] According to results from population-based surveys, approximately one third of the population is affected by an anxiety disorder during their lifetime.[ 2 ] Anxiety can be defined as a subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry accompanied by physiological arousal.[ 3 ] It is important to manage anxiety because it is systematically associated with negative outcomes such as quality of life (QOL) impairment, functional impairment, and lower productivity.[ 4 ] The Global Burden of Disease study 2010 (GBD 2010) estimated that anxiety disorders contributed to 26.8 million disability adjusted life years.[ 5 ] There are several pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions for managing anxiety in various settings. Although pharmacological interventions such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been traditionally used in the treatment of anxiety, some cannot use these drugs because of side-effects or interactions and others prefer not to use any medications.[ 3 , 6 ] Recently, a range of non-pharmacological methods, such as aromatherapy, massage therapy, relaxation techniques, and music therapy, have been implemented to reduce anxiety.[ 7 ] The use of music as a therapeutic approach has an old history. Inscriptions in ancient Egypt, Greece, China, India, and Rome described music as a healing agent with a relaxing effect that reduces anxiety and creates relaxation.[ 8 ] The anxiolytic effects of music interventions on patients undergoing invasive procedures, cancer patients, and those suffering from Alzheimer's disease are confirmed in various studies. [ 9 ,[ 10 , 11 ] Although the use of music as a healing agent is not a new phenomenon, there has been scant research on religious music. The available studies indicate that religion and religious music may have a positive effect on mental health.[ 12 ] The Quran is the Holy book of Muslims; it covers all aspects of human life. Recitation of the Holy Quran is a form of mystical music that contributes to the release of endorphins by stimulating alpha brain waves.[ 13 ] Therefore, it enhances the stress threshold, removes negative emotions, and creates a sense of relaxation.[ 14 ] Hence, due to the importance of Holy Quran in Muslims' lives and the growing interest in non-pharmacological interventions by focusing on religion among researchers, this systematic review was performed to assess the studies that evaluated the effect of Quran recitation on anxiety in various settings.

Materials and Methods

In this systematic review, national and international databases including SID, Iranmedex, Magiran, IranDoc, Scopus, and PubMed were searched in September 2017. Key words and MeSH terms such as “Quran,” “anxiety,” “clinical trial,” and Boolean operators “AND” and “OR” were used for searching in English databases. Persian terms equivalent to these English terms were used for searching in national electronic databases. To ensure that no relevant articles were missed, we also searched Google Scholar using both Persian and English search terms. All documents that were published between January 1990 and September 2017 were retrieved. Randomized controlled trials and quasi-experiments met the inclusion criteria if they assessed the effect of Quran recitation on anxiety. The studies conducted on healthy participants, patients with chronic diseases, or patients undergoing an invasive procedure were included. There was no age or gender restriction. If we could not retrieve the full text format of an article, we included its abstract only when it had sufficient information. Studies that were not published as full papers, such as conference abstracts were excluded. Two steps were taken to determine the eligibility of papers according to the inclusion criteria. First, the title and abstract of the identified papers were independently screened by two reviewers. Second, full texts were obtained for all potentially relevant articles. Disagreements were resolved by discussion between reviewers. The following information/data were extracted from studies that met the inclusion criteria: author(s) and year of publication, setting, sample size, participants, study methodology, outcome measures, and key findings.

The risk of bias in each included study was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's risk of bias tool.[ 15 ] The criteria consist of selection bias, performance bias, detection bias, attrition bias, and reporting bias. Each item was classified as “low risk of bias,” “high risk of bias,” or “unclear risk of bias.” Any discrepancy between the two reviewers were resolved by a discussion.

Ethical considerations

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences with the ethical code IR.SHMU.REC.1396.150.

A total of 973 articles were retrieved on initial search query. After excluding 233 duplicates and 707 irrelevant articles, 33 studies remained for full-text evaluation. Of these, 5 were excluded because one of them did not assess the anxiety level and the others were abstract from conference. Finally, 28 studies (26 articles, 2 master's theses) were considered for systematic review. The flowchart used for retrieving the included articles is shown in Figure 1 .

PRISMA flow diagram

Study characteristics

All the included studies were published between 1997 and 2017, and the total number of participants was 2,108, with a range of 24–180 per study. The study designs were a two-arm parallel group ( n = 21),[ 16 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ] a three-arm parallel group ( n = 6),[ 17 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 33 , 43 ] and a single-arm group ( n = 1).[ 36 ] Fifteen studies assessed the effect of Quran recitation on anxiety in participants before an invasive procedure such as cesarean section,[ 16 , 24 , 28 ] induction of general anesthesia,[ 29 , 33 ] open heart surgery,[ 22 , 35 ] general surgery,[ 17 , 19 ] cardiac catheterization,[ 34 , 39 ] endoscopy,[ 26 ] lithotripsy,[ 21 ] hemodialysis,[ 42 ] and any invasive procedure.[ 32 ] In addition, five studies on student test anxiety,[ 27 , 30 , 31 , 36 , 37 ] two on athletes' anxiety,[ 20 , 41 ] two on the anxiety of patients hospitalized in intensive care units,[ 18 , 23 ] one on women's anxiety during pregnancy,[ 43 ] one on women's anxiety during first stage of labor,[ 38 ] one on nursing students' anxiety before entering the clinical practice,[ 25 ] and one study on prisoners' anxiety were conducted.[ 40 ]

Outcome measure

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) in 22 studies,[ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 29 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 38 , 39 , 42 , 43 ] the Test Anxiety Scale (TAS) in two studies,[ 30 , 37 ] the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) in two studies,[ 20 , 40 ] the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory (CSAI) in one study,[ 41 ] and the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) in one study[ 28 ] were used to assess the level of anxiety in participants [ Table 1 ].

Characteristics of included studies

Anxiety before exams in students

A study performed by Ghorbani et al . demonstrated that listening to the Quran recitation significantly reduced the anxiety level in the intervention group compared with the control group.[ 37 ] The research of Qasemtabar et al . confirmed the results of study by Ghorbani et al .[ 30 ] A study by Heidari and Shahbazi showed that anxiety level in nursing and emergency medicine students was significantly lower during exams with Quran recitation than the exams without it.[ 27 ] A study by Masoumy et al . on the medical students' test anxiety revealed that Quran recitation was significantly more effective than music sound.[ 31 ] Moreover, Ramazani et al ., in a quasi-experimental study, stated that Quran recitation was effective in reducing pre-test anxiety level of medical sciences students.[ 36 ]

Anxiety in medical sciences students before entering the clinical practice

Findings of the study performed by Pour Dehkordi et al . indicated that both relaxation muscle therapy and listening to Holy Quran recitation along with reciting God's name were effective on reducing anxiety level of nursing students before entering the clinical practice.[ 25 ]

Anxiety in athletes

Mottaqhi, et al . in their study stated that Quran recitation significantly reduced anxiety level of female university athletes.[ 41 ] Another study by Aghamohamadi et al . showed that female university athletes who listened to Quran recitation had lower anxiety level than the control group but this difference was not statistically significant.[ 20 ]

Anxiety in prisoners

Akbari et al . assessed the effect of Quran recitation on prisoners' anxiety. They found that intervention group had significantly lower anxiety level than the control group.[ 37 ]

Anxiety during pregnancy

Study by Jabbari et al . on 168 pregnant women showed significant reduction in anxiety level of both intervention groups, one that listened to Quran recitation with translation and another that listened to Quran recitation without translation, when compared with the control group.[ 43 ]

Anxiety in first stage of labor

Sahmeddini et al . reported in their study that listening to the recitation of the Holy Quran during the active phase of labor had a positive effect in reducing anxiety.[ 38 ]

Anxiety in patients hospitalized in the intensive care units

Study conducted by Khatooni showed that listening to the recitation of the Holy Quran had a positive effect in reducing anxiety level of patients hospitalized in the cardiac care units.[ 23 ] A study performed by Najafi et al . showed that listening to Holy Quran recitation along with lavender aromatherapy was effective in reducing anxiety level of patients suffering from myocardial infarction.[ 18 ]

Anxiety before invasive procedures

In the study by Nikbakht Nasrabadi et al ., it was found that listening to Holy Quran recitation had a positive effect on lowering the level of anxiety among patients hospitalized for invasive procedures.[ 32 ] Tajvidi et al . found that Holy Quran recitation was effective in reducing patients' anxiety before open heart surgery;[ 22 ] this had been confirmed by the research of Ildarabadi et al .[ 35 ] A study by Heidari and Shahbazi showed that listening to Quran was more effective in reducing anxiety before endoscopy procedure than listening to instrumental music.[ 26 ] Babaii et al . in their study found that Holy Quran recitation decreased patients' anxiety before cardiac catheterization.[ 39 ] Mirsane et al . demonstrated that listening to Quran recitation and its translation could reduce patients' anxiety before general surgery.[ 19 ] Atari et al . demonstrated that listening to Holy Quran recitation decreased the anxiety score of patients before anesthesia induction.[ 29 ] Another study by Shafiei et al . on patients' anxiety before induction of general anesthesia indicated that Holy Quran recitation with translation was significantly more effective than the same without translation.[ 33 ] Results of Majidi's study showed the positive effect of listening to Holy Quran in reducing anxiety level of patients hospitalized for angiography.[ 34 ] In another study, Babamohamadi et al . found that listening to Holy Quran recitation had a positive effect in reducing anxiety of patients undergoing hemodialysis.[ 42 ] Mirbagher Ajorpaz et al . found that both Quran recitation and instrumental music significantly reduced anxiety level of patients before abdominal surgery.[ 17 ] A study by Sharafi indicated that Holy Quran recitation compared with the Arabic music had a positive effect in lowering patient's anxiety before lithotripsy.[ 21 ] Sharifi et al . reported in their study that both Quran recitation and instrumental music reduced anxiety score of women before cesarean section. However, the recitation of Holy Quran was significantly more effective.[ 24 ] Allameh et al . indicated the positive effect of Quran recitation in reducing anxiety score of women undergoing cesarean section,[ 28 ] this had been confirmed by the research of Mirbagher Ajorpaz and Ranjbar.[ 16 ]

Risk of bias in included studies

Eight trials described randomization procedures, using random number table,[ 25 , 37 ] block randomization,[ 18 , 38 , 43 ] throwing coins,[ 17 , 42 ] or computer generation of random numbers.[ 28 ] The other trials did not describe the sequence randomization process. Only three trials were considered at low risk of bias for allocation concealment.[ 18 , 38 , 43 ] The other trials were rated “unclear,” as they did not have clear descriptions of their method of allocation concealment. All included studies failed to provide information about the blinding of participants, personnel and outcome assessors. All studies were judged to have a low risk of bias for incomplete outcome data; all studies had no participant losses, or the missing data were balanced in numbers across intervention groups. As far as we could see, all studies included were free of selective outcome reporting and other potential sources of bias. See Figure 2 ; “Risk of bias” graph and Figure 3 “Risk of bias” summary of included studies.

Risk of bias' graph of included studies

Risk of bias' summary of included studies

This study aimed to systematically review studies that assessed the effect of listening to Holy Quran recitation on anxiety in various settings. Religion is an important socio-emotional resource and listening to religious music is an important part of religious life.[ 12 ] One of the most wonderful aspects of miraculous Quran is the sounds of reading Holy Quran's verses. Findings of our review revealed a positive effect of listening to Holy Quran recitation in reducing anxiety score in various settings. Only in one study that was conducted on female university athletes, anxiety level in experimental group was less than that of the control group but it was not statistically significant.[ 20 ] Relatively little research has addressed the relationships between listening to religious music and physiological processes. A study by Bradshaw et al . showed that listening to religious music among elderly people was associated with a decrease in death anxiety, and positively influenced in life satisfaction, self-esteem, and a sense of control over their lives.[ 12 ] During the past two decades, various studies have been carried out on therapeutic effect of Holy Quran recitation in Iran. Mahjoob et al . in their study found that Quran listening without its musical tone had a positive effect on the mental health of personnel in a medical sciences university.[ 44 ] The research by Shirvani et al . showed that listening to Holy Quran recitation stabilized vital signs and increased arterial oxygen pressure of unconscious patients in ICUs.[ 45 ] Keshavars et al . in their study aimed to assess the effect of Holy Quran recitation on physiological responses of premature infant found that pulse rate and respiratory rate significantly reduced in the intervention group compared to the control group.[ 46 ] Ansari Jaberi et al . found that listening to Holy Quran recitation had a positive effect in reducing depression.[ 47 ] Based on the results of this systematic review and other studies we can help people to decrease their anxiety by getting help from Holy Quran. Therefore, healthcare teams should consider Holy Quran recitation as an intervention, as this is an example of the holistic paradigm in health and the effects of such an intervention should be considered in a multidisciplinary and patient-centered approach. This highlights the need for education and training based on an ethical background that is very important when dealing with religiosity or spirituality.

This study has some limitations. We could not find any evidence assessing the effect of Holy Quran recitation on anxiety in other Islamic countries. Hence, this systematic review focused on studies that conducted in Iran. The low methodological quality and the high heterogeneity of the included studies mean that our findings must be interpreted with caution.

The current evidence indicates that listening to Holy Quran recitation is a useful non-pharmacological treatment for reducing anxiety. However, due to the limited number of studies in this area, further research is needed to obtain more accurate evidence.

Financial support and sponsorship

Student Research Committee at Shahroud University of Medical Sciences (Grant No 96184)

Conflicts of interest

Nothing to declare.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the Student Research Committee at Shahroud University of Medical Sciences.

Introduction to I’jāz al-Qur’ān: The Miraculous Nature of the Qur'an

Published: June 18, 2020 • Updated: August 16, 2021

Author : Sh. Suleiman Hani

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Say, “Even if all mankind and jinn came together to produce the equivalent of this Qur’an, they could not produce its equal, however much they helped each other.” 1

Seek beneficial knowledge.

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Introduction

• Those who claim that the Qur’an is the Speech of God revealed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ through Angel Jibrīl (Gabriel); or
• Those who claim that the Qur’an is not from God but was authored by Prophet Muhammad ﷺ or other human beings.

What is the Qur’an?

The  iʿjāz  of the qur’an.

… when the Prophet brought [the challenge] to them, they were the most eloquent rhetoricians so he challenged them to produce the [entire] likes [of the Qur’an] and many years passed and they were unable to do so, as God says, “Let them then produce a recitation similar to it if indeed they are truthful.” Then, [the Prophet] challenged them to produce ten chapters like it where God says, “Say, bring then ten chapters like it and call upon whomever you can besides God if you are truthful.” Then, he challenged them to produce a single [chapter] where God says, “Or do they say he [i.e., the Prophet] has forged it? Say, bring a chapter like it and call upon whomever you can besides God, if you are truthful…” When the [Arabs] were unable to produce a single chapter like [the Qur’an] despite there being the most eloquent rhetoricians amongst them, [the Prophet] openly announced the failure and inability [to meet the challenge] and declared the inimitability of the Qur’an. Then God said, “Say: if all of humankind and the jinn gathered together to produce the like of the Qur’an, they could not produce it—even if they helped one another...” 12

Know that the greatest of all miracles, and the most sacred and blessed, and the clearest in proof, is the Qur’an that was revealed to the Prophet [Muhammad] ﷺ. This is because all other miracles, in general, were brought forth separate from the actual inspiration (that the Prophet received), as a means of proving the truthfulness of the inspiration. As for the Qur’an, it is the inspiration and the miracle in one, and is therefore not in need of any external miracles (to prove itself), unlike all the previous inspirations. It is, therefore, the clearest and most powerful miracle, since it combines the boast and the proof into one. This is the meaning of the Prophet's statement, “...I hope, therefore, that I will have the largest number of followers on the Day of Judgment.” This shows that a miracle as clear and powerful as this one—for it is the inspiration in its essence—must have the greatest number of believers and followers... 15

History of the doctrine of  iʿjāz al-Qur’ān

The scope of  iʿjāz al-qur’ān.

The Qur’an is miraculously inimitable because it has come forth with the most eloquent words compounded in the most beautiful composition containing the most valid ideas such as believing in the unity of God, declaring Him to be Transcendent in His qualities, calling (humanity) to His obedience, elucidating the way of worshipping Him, as well as prescribing what is permitted and what is prohibited, what is forbidden and what is allowed, in addition to admonishing and correcting, commanding what is good and forbidding what is evil, and guiding to good qualities and restraining from bad ones. In all this, it has put every one of these things in its place which cannot be substituted by a more appropriate one, and nothing can be imagined that is more suitable than it. 49  

The facets of  iʿjāz al-Qur’ān

• The inimitability of the Qur’an
• The literary miracle of the Qur’an
• The preservation of the Qur’an
• Predictions about the future
• Lost knowledge of the past
• Knowledge about the natural world
• Elucidations about the origins of life
• The existence of God, His Names, and His Attributes
• Universal laws, objective morals, and guidance
• The ease by which the Qur’an is memorized
• The lack of errors and contradictions within it
• Personal experiences related to the Qur’an

The inimitability of the Qur’an

• words conveying meanings;
• ideas in passages;
• composition organizing those words and ideas.

The literary miracle of the Qur’an

• The placement of a particular word over its synonyms. The connotations of the chosen word are better than those of its synonyms.
• The sentence structure and syntax, which does not follow any one pattern but varies throughout the Qur’an. Each style is unique and its rhythm is clear and resounding.
• The use of different tenses (past vs. present; plural vs. singular, etc.) to illustrate deeper meanings of a passage.
• The pronunciation of words matching their meanings. In other words, when discussing topics that are encouraging and bearing glad tidings, it uses words that are easy to pronounce and melodious to hear, whereas harsh topics tend to be associated with harsher phonemes.
• The perfect combination of concision and detail. When the subject requires elaboration, the Qur’an discusses the topic in detail, and when a short phrase will get the message across, it remains brief. The sentences are constructed in an elegant manner that uses the smallest number of words, without sounding too brief, to express rich ideas.
• The rhythms of the syllables are more sustained than in prose and less patterned than in poetry. The pauses come neither in prose form nor in the manner of poetry but with a harmonious and melodic flow.
• The Qur’an’s words are neither mundane nor completely unfamiliar but are recognized as completely balanced and noble.
• The conciseness of expression attains such striking clarity that the least learned Arabic-speaking person can understand the Qur’an without too much difficulty. At the same time, there is such profundity, flexibility, inspiration, and radiance in the Qur’an that it serves as the basis for the principles and rules of Islamic sciences and arts for theology and juridical schools. Thus, it is almost impossible to express the ideas of the text by only one interpretation, either in Arabic or in any other language even with the greatest care.
• There is a perfect blend between the two antagonistic powers of reason and emotion, intellect, and feeling. In the narrations, arguments, doctrines, laws, and moral principles, the words have both persuasive teaching and emotive force. Throughout the whole Qur’an, the speech maintains its surprising solemnity, power, and majesty which nothing can disturb. 57  
• The combination of word choice, word order, grammatical shifts, subtleties, figurative and literal language, storytelling structures, and symmetry, in not one verse, but throughout the entirety of the Qur’an, regardless of the subject matter.
• The perfection of the Qur’an and the context of its delivery;
• The non-chronological revelation of the Qur’an; and
• The question of the Qur’an’s origins.

And they ask you [O Muhammad] about the soul. Say, “The soul is of the affair of my Lord. And mankind has not been given knowledge except a little.” 58

They ask you [O Muhammad] about wine and gambling. Say, “In them is great sin and [yet, some] benefit for people. But their sin is greater than their benefit.” And they ask you what they should spend. Say, “The excess [beyond needs].” Thus Allah makes clear to you the verses [of revelation] that you might give thought. 59  

Is it not enough for them that We have sent down to you the Book [which is] recited to them? Surely in this Qur’an is a mercy and reminder for people who believe. 61

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed in these papers and articles are strictly those of the authors. Furthermore, Yaqeen does not endorse any of the personal views of the authors on any platform. Our team is diverse on all fronts, allowing for constant, enriching dialogue that helps us produce high-quality research.

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Dozens of Egyptian pyramids, some in Giza, sat along a branch of the Nile, study says

The pyramids in and around Giza have presented a fascinating puzzle for millennia. 

How did ancient Egyptians move limestone blocks, some weighing more than a ton, without using wheels? Why were these burial structures seemingly built in the remote and inhospitable desert? 

New research — published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth & Environment — offers a possible answer, providing new evidence that an extinct branch of the Nile River once weaved through the landscape in a much wetter climate. Dozens of Egyptian pyramids across a 40-mile-long range rimmed the waterway, the study says, including the best-known complex in Giza.

The waterway allowed workers to transport stone and other materials to build the monuments, according to the study. Raised causeways stretched out horizontally, connecting the pyramids to river ports along the Nile’s bank. 

Drought, in combination with seismic activity that tilted the landscape, most likely caused the river to dry up over time and ultimately fill with silt, removing most traces of it.

The research team based its conclusions on data from satellites that send radar waves to penetrate the Earth’s surface and detect hidden features. It also relied on sediment cores and maps from 1911 to uncover and trace the imprint of the ancient waterway. Such tools are helping environmental scientists map the ancient Nile, which is now covered by desert sand and agricultural fields. 

Experts have suspected for decades that boats transported workers and tools to build the pyramids. Some past research has put forward hypotheses similar to the new study; the new findings solidify the theory and map a much broader area.  

“The mapping of the Nile’s ancient channel system has been fragmented and isolated,” an author of the new study, Eman Ghoneim, a professor of earth and ocean sciences at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, wrote in an email. “Ancient Egyptians were using waterways for transportation more often than we thought.”

The study looks at 31 pyramids between Lisht, a village south of Cairo, and Giza. They were constructed over roughly 1,000 years, beginning about 4,700 years ago. The pyramid complexes contained tombs for Egyptian royals. High officials were often buried nearby. 

Some of the granite blocks used to construct them were sourced from locations hundreds of miles south of their sites. In some cases, the blocks could be “mammoth,” weighing several tons, said Peter Der Manuelian, a professor of Egyptology at Harvard University and the director of the Harvard Museum’s Museum of the Ancient East.

Manuelian, who was not involved in the new study, said wheels were not used to move the large blocks, which is one reason researchers have long suspected the Egyptians moved materials by water.

“It’s all sledges,” he said. “Water helps an awful lot.”  

In the past, researchers have posited that the Egyptians might have carved canals to the pyramid sites. 

“Canals and waterway systems have been in the consciousness for decades now,” Manuelian said. But newer theories suggest that the Nile was closer to the pyramids than researchers once thought, he added, and new tools can provide some proof. 

“Archaeology has gotten more scientific, and you have ground-penetrating radar and satellite imagery,” he said.

He added that the new study helps improve maps of ancient Egypt.

The findings suggest that millennia ago, the Egyptian climate was wetter overall and the Nile carried a higher volume of water. It separated into multiple branches, one of which — the researchers call it the Ahramat Branch — was about 40 miles long. 

The locations of the pyramid complexes included in the study correspond in time with estimates of the river branch’s location, according to the authors, as water levels ebbed and flowed over centuries. 

In addition, several pyramid temples and causeways appear to line up horizontally with the ancient riverbed, which suggests that they were directly connected to the river and most likely used to transport building materials. 

The study builds on research from 2022 , which used ancient evidence of pollen grains from marsh species to suggest that a waterway once cut through the present-day desert.

Hader Sheisha, an author of that study who is now an associate professor in the natural history department at the University Museum of Bergen, said the new findings add much-needed evidence to bolster and expand the theory. 

“The new study, in concordance to our study, shows that when the pyramids were built, the landscape was different from that we see today and shows how the ancient Egyptians could interact with their physical world and harness their environment to achieve their immense projects,” Sheisha said in an email. 

Ghoneim and her team explain in the study that the Ahramat Branch shifted eastward over time, a process that might have been propelled by drought about 4,050 years ago. Then it gradually dissolved, only to be covered in silt. 

She said they plan to expand their map and work to detect additional buried branches of the Nile floodplain. Determining the outline and shape of the ancient river branch could help researchers locate the remains of settlements or undiscovered sites before the areas get built over. 

Manuelian said that today, “housing almost goes right up to the edge of the Giza plateau. Egypt is a vast outdoor museum, and there’s more to be discovered.”

Evan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News. He can be reached at [email protected].

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HPV vaccines prevent cancer in men as well as women, new research suggests

FILE - A doctor holds a vial of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil in Chicago on Aug. 28, 2006. Research published Thursday, May 23, 2024, by the American Society of Clinical Oncology suggests the HPV vaccine is preventing throat cancer in men, as well as cervical cancer in women, but fewer boys than girls are getting the shots in the United States. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

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New research suggests the HPV vaccine is preventing cancer in men, as well as in women, but fewer boys than girls are getting the shots in the United States.

The HPV vaccine was developed to prevent cervical cancer in women and experts give it credit, along with screening, for lowering cervical cancer rates. Evidence that the shots are preventing HPV-related cancers in men has been slower to emerge, but the new research suggests vaccinated men have fewer cancers of the mouth and throat compared to those who didn’t get the shots. These cancers are more than twice as common in men than in women.

For the study, researchers compared 3.4 million people of similar ages — half vaccinated versus half unvaccinated — in a large health care dataset.

As expected, vaccinated women had a lower risk of developing cervical cancer within at least five years of getting the shots. For men, there were benefits too. Vaccinated men had a lower risk of developing any HPV-related cancer, such as cancers of the anus, penis and mouth and throat.

These cancers take years to develop so the numbers were low: There were 57 HPV-related cancers among the unvaccinated men — mostly head and neck cancers — compared to 26 among the men who had the HPV vaccine.

“We think the maximum benefit from the vaccine will actually happen in the next two or three decades,” said study co-author Dr. Joseph Curry, a head and neck surgeon at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia. “What we’re showing here is an early wave of effect.”

Results of the study and a second were released Thursday by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and will be discussed next month at its annual meeting in Chicago. The second study shows vaccination rates rising but males lag behind females in getting the HPV shots.

HPV, or human papillomavirus, is very common and is spread through sex. Most HPV infections cause no symptoms and clear up without treatment. Others develop into cancer, about 37,000 cases a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the U.S., the HPV vaccine has been recommended since 2006 for girls at age 11 or 12, and since 2011 for boys the same age. Catch-up shots are recommended for anyone through age 26 who hasn’t been vaccinated.

In the second study, researchers looked at self- and parent-reported HPV vaccination rates in preteens and young adults in a large government survey. From 2011 to 2020, vaccination rates rose from 38% to 49% among females, and among males from 8% to 36%.

“HPV vaccine uptake among young males increased by more than fourfold over the last decade, though vaccination rates among young males still fall behind females,” said study co-author Dr. Danh Nguyen at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

Parents of boys, as well as girls, should know that HPV vaccines lower cancer risk, said Jasmin Tiro of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center who was not involved in the research. And young men who haven’t been vaccinated can still get the shots.

“It’s really important that teenagers get exposed to the vaccine before they’re exposed to the virus,” she said.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.