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     INTRODUCTION The adherents of every religion which has a written guide or code are vitally concerned to know what their holy book says about their secular interests, theological doctrines, political and economic systems, and moral and ethical values established by their particular bias.  Muslims are no exception to this ubiquitous search for answers to everyday, as well as eternal, questions. 

     For many years the oil rig has penetrated the world of Islam; with the advent of independence to so many of the earth's peoples, the Muslim world has been further exposed to the West.  Those who have entered spheres of Muslim influence, professional and non-professional alike, are seeking to understand the followers of the Prophet and their way of life.  Religious missionaries, Peace Corps personnel, business and diplomatic corps--all are concerned with understanding the nature of Islam, in order to understand better its followers with whom they are pursuing varied activities. 

     Of prime importance in achieving that comprehension is the scripture of Islam, the Qur'an.  It is not a question of merely possessing a copy of this scripture; one seeks to know what it has to say on a variety of subjects, both religious and mundane. Obviously this information must be gleaned from the 114 chapters of which the Qur'an is composed.  To peruse the Qur'an, however, from the Fatiha (the first Sura, or, chapter) to the last chapter each time the reader is pursuing a given topic, is neither feasible nor practical.  The problem constituted by this search for specific information and the method of its acquisition has resulted in this topical index. 

     Before examining the thesis further, its underlying importance and necessity will be recognized with more clarity if we look first at the few tools previously available to the student of Islam. 

     Flugel's concordance has proved helpful if the student is already literate in the Arabic language.  The concordance lists all the references where any given word in the Arabic text of the Qur'an occurs.  Variants of the word may be investigated to see if they bear on the topic the student is researching.  Generally, the concordance gives very little indication as to the import of a given verse on a specific topic; each verse listed must be studied on an individual basis.  This of course is all that may be expected from a concordance. 

     On the other hand, the student may select a certain number of English or French words (or words in any language in which he has a reading knowledge) and seek their equivalents in Arabic by means of a lexicon.  Presumably, he then has Arabic terms indicative of the topic or topics he is investigating in the Qur'an.  Using the concordance, he looks for the words as he found them in the lexicon.  Failing to find them, he seeks variants of these words and is no longer sure, if he was so initially, that his study will eventuate in the desired result.  The margin for error in such a method, particularly where the student may not be competent in the Arabic language, is too great to be acceptable. 

     Another tool to which one may have recourse is Wensinck's classification of the traditions.(1) If one has a good knowledge of French, he can with diligence peruse an abundance of material bearing on the topic under study.  It must be remembered, however, that while this collection of traditions is taken from the orthodox or accepted traditionists of Islam,(2) the student is no longer dealing with the primordial source of this religion, which must remain the Qur'an itself. 

     While the need for tradition became manifest at an early stage of Islam's development, an appeal to the sacred text has always outweighed any other, lesser, considerations.  Tradition, just as ijma'a, (the consensus of the Muslim community), has been an essential ingredient in the formation of jurisprudence in the context of the religious state of the Muslim world. Where the student is pursuing a topical study, however, he must know what the Qur'an says.  No substitute for this source material will so authoritatively impart the knowledge he seeks. 

     There are two ways by which the student who is illiterate in Arabic may obtain the object of his quest; that is, to learn what the Qur'an states about a specific topic. He may consult the vast amount of literature in which orientalists have cited the sacred text in support of the points they were making.(3) He must, in this instance, take into account the fact that his findings are secondhand.  Furthermore, he must reconcile himself to the continuing uncertainty of having in his possession all that the Qur'an contains on the subject matter in which he is interested, since he has not actually worked his way through the entire original text. 

     He may, as a second method, have recourse to translations of the Qur'an.(4) Usually, in the last pages of each volume, the translator has appended an index. The unwary student seizes upon this addendum with great satisfaction, until he discovers that each translator is more or less individualistic in his translation of certain Arabic terms(5) and that the topic the student is pursuing may be missing altogether.(6) 

     This thesis comprises an index of the religious topics or subjects found in the Qur'an.  In the world of Islam, religion touches every aspect of human behavior in a verbal or traditional form, whether or not that behavior is seriously affected by that expression.(7)  Obviously, one might expect an abundance of topics.  In addition to a complete listing of the subjects which are involved in the religion of Islam, this writer desired to produce an index that would be useful to students who may or may not be literate in the Arabic language.  Moreover, many topics listed will be of interest only to those possessing some acquaintance with the history and the essential nature of Islam. 

     Several sources, related to the Qur'an, are available from which topics may be selected.  At one point, this researcher consulted a topical Bible(8) supposing that its topics would be very similar to those found in the Qur'an.  He further consulted the indices of many translations of the Muslim scripture.  He has found suggestions in volumes of Muslim theology, jurisprudence and ethics.(9)  As he examined these alternatives, however, it became increasingly clear that the sole effective method to be employed in gleaning religious topics from the Qur'an consisted in the thorough investigation of each verse(10) in each chapter of that book.  Therefore, the Arabic Qur'anic text(11) constituted the primary source for this research. 

     Nevertheless, it would have been reprehensible for the researcher to neglect the contribution made by several recognized translations.  The works of such men as Arberry, Bell and Blachere stand in the first rank of scholarship.  Other translations are esteemed for their evident acceptance in various areas of the Muslim world.  The principle followed by this researcher was to indicate not only the basic topics inherent in the Arabic text, but also to abstract from the text of the Qur'an ideas and subjects that are appropriate to the contemporary world yet which were not immediately grasped or perceived by Muslims in the first centuries of Islam. In achieving that goal, these worthwhile translations sometimes proved more valuable than the classical dictionaries.(12)

     Some precaution had to be observed in the handling of certain translations.  Those by Pickthall and Muhammad Ali show a strong bias, and their choice of English vocabulary appears sometimes to be based more upon their desire to achieve agreement with their personal conviction than upon the Arabic text.  This researcher gave only limited consideration to the historical development of the Qur'an in his use of textual material in his use of textual material in view of the disagreement among authorities over events and places.(13)  Only contemporaries of Muhammad whose identities in the Qur'an have been established beyond dispute have been classified.(14)  In instances where multiple interpretations are equally valid, the researcher has made a subjective choice based upon the support available.(15) 

     The writer exercised care in perusing Bell's translation, the supreme value of which lies in his critical treatment of the Qur'an in relation to its historical setting.  To a lesser extent Rodwell's work must come under the same partial endorsement. Arberry was very concerned with the literary quality and rhythm of his work and was capable of combining this objective with a high degree of scholarship.  Three translations used are in the French language,(16) and of these, Blachere is the most original in his collection of vocabulary.  Unfortunately, some of his expressions are sophisticated to such a degree that he would have done well to include explanatory notes.(17) 

     The index is composed of two sections.  The first of those lists alphabetically the names of persons and places.  The second section includes undefined items, physical and metaphysical in nature.  By this division, the reader may more rapidly locate the topic desired.  Theological subjects have not been organized according to western systems of doctrine, but are more consonant with eastern thought, which may at times appear vague to an occidental perspective. For minor and sometimes unusual topics, sources are indicated by the appropriate abbreviations placed after the reference.(18)  Wherever feasible and indicated, the topics have been subdivided.(19)  These internal divisions, although they indicate minimally the content of the text, do not render needless the study of the text itself.  It is not within the scope of this index to provide an exhaustive analysis of each topic, but rather to make readily accessible all the passages where any given topic is involved.  The student is free to decide on the basis of the information given under each topic and its subdivisions whether he desires to study these passages more thoroughly.  The index provides the student with sufficient material to make an intelligent judgment.  This indication of the limited scope of a subject constitutes a substantial help supplementary to the information which the Qur'anic concordance provides.  Occasionally the concordance confuses distinct entities because the same Arabic word indifferently applies to them.(20) The fact that this word may give rise to unrelated topics is irrelevant in a concordance.  In this case, the student must examine each reference in the concordance. whereas such distinctions are clearly indicated in the Topical Index.(21) 

     A word needs to be said about a few of the topics in particular. "Path" is indexed wherever it is used figuratively.  Where something has been changed from one condition to another, the process is classified under "Change." When anything has undergone change and the resultant condition is not disclosed, the process has been classified under "Alteration."(22)  Where the emphasis is on some quality of the associator rather than on the act of association, the reference is placed under "Associator." The person or thing associated is indexed as "idol." Many implied references to rabb (translated, "Lord") have been placed under "Allah," for rabb is Allah to the Muslim theologian, and the information given completes our understanding of Allah.  Very little has been done with the anthropomorphisms in the Qur'an. To index these occurrences in the Qur'an requires an entire volume; such a work has been accomplished by Sabbagh.(23) Transliterated Arabic words, unless already accepted in the English language in an established Arabic form (for example, "Allah") are cross-referenced to their English translation.(24) 

     Two Tables precede the Index:  a list of the abbreviations referring to the several translators and a composite list of the topics included in the Index. The symbol (?) following any topic indicates a possible but not confirmed allusion to that topic. The Qur'anic references have been arranged in accepted chronological order of the suras, with the four periods indicated where required:  the three Meccan periods as I, II, III, respectively, and the Medinan period as B. 

     The author is hopeful that this Index will enable scholars, expatriate professionals in the Muslim world, missionaries and government agencies alike to understand more comprehensively the Muslim mind and religion. 

 1.  Arent-Jan Wensinck & Others, Concordance et Indice de la Tradition Musulmane.  Leiden: E.J.Brill, begun in 1933. 
 2.  Al-Bukhari (d.257/870); Muslim (d.261/875); Ibn Maja (d.273/886); Abu Dawud (d.274/888); Al-Tirmidhi (d.279/892); Ibn Hanbal (d.241/855). 
 3.  E.g., Arthur Jeffery, Islam, New York: The Liberal Arts Press,  1958.  Abraham Isaac Katsh, Judaism in Islam. New York: Bloch Publishing Co., 1954. Maurice Gaudefroy-Denombynes, Les Institutions Musulmanes. Paris: Flammarion, 1946. 
 4.  Cf. "Translations," in the Bibliography, for the most acceptable ones. 
 5.  E.g., Blachere uses a very high level of French and is often original in his choice of words; Muhammad Ali is extremely partisan in his translation of the Arabic; Rodwell is classic. 
 6.  E.g., Kazimirski omits "miracles," "mosques," and "signs." 
 7.  While Muslims mention Allah, for example, and in a variety of contexts, the listener receives the impression that the speaker does so frequently in an altogether unconscious manner.  However, the researcher seeks to avoid incorporating his subjective impressions and is obliged to treat each religious expression as he finds it in the printed text.  This accounts for the inclusion of such topics as "Alternation," "Group" and "Moon." 
 8.  Orville J. Name, Nave's Topical Bible: A Digest of the Holy Scriptures, 4th ed. New York: Press of Eaton and Mains, 1900. 
 9.  E.g., Edwin Elliott Calverley, Worship In Islam, rev. ed. London: Luzac & Company Ltd., 1957. 
 10. Verses in the Qur'an are considered to be "signs" as the word ayat may be translated.  It is logical to expect that each sign would have religious substance. 
 11. The Cairo edition of the Qur'anic text is the textus receptus of Islam since the rule of Uthman (644-656 A.D.). 
 12. Such as Edward William Lane, An Arabic-English Lexicon. 8 vols. London: Williams and Norgate, 1863. 
 13. This is exemplified by the inclusion of such topics as "Badr" and "Hudaybiya," where the external historical evidence was very clear. 
 14. Thus, "Abu Bakr," "Abu jahl" and "Abu Lahab" have been included. 
 15. Thus the author feels that "Greek" is the more probable meaning of the Arabic, rum, and shows the support for this by Arberry, Kazimirski, Montet, Palmer and Rodwell. 
 16. Those of Blachere, Kazimirski and Montet. 
 17. E.g., "viatique" (2:193); "troc" (2:276); "suppots" (3:169); "clinquant" (11:18).  It is true that these words are in the dictionary; they are, however, infrequently used. 
 18. E.g., under "Search," the fact that house search is indicated in the reference 17.5, is supported by Bell, Palmer and Rodwell. 
 19. E.g., the topic, "Security," is subdivided into "general," "figurative," "physical." Both the figurative and physical subdivisions are further divided. The topic is crossed to "Protection." 
 20. E.g., nafs may mean "breath," "freedom" or "author's style." 
 21. E.g., the Arabic qatala may be referring to sacrifice, murder or suicide. This is so, even though Arabic contains words to indicate each of these meanings more precisely. The point is, however, that the concordance does not distinguish between these uses of the Arabic word, while the Topical Index does. 
 22. The distinction is not always easy to make. A change in the creation, according to the author's modus operandi, came under "Alteration." A change in the heavens and the earth and in circumstances, came under "Change." 
 23. Sabbagh, La Metaphore dans le Coran.  Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1943. 
 24. E.g., "Al-Ayka" i s cross-referenced to "Madyan"; "Dhu al-Nun" to "Jonah." 

1.  Bell, Richard. Introduction to the Qur'an.  Edinburgh:  University Press, 1958. 
2.  Flugel, (G.).  Corani textus arabicus.  Leipsig:  Ernesti Bradtu, 1858. 
3.  Gaudefroy-Denombynes, Maurice.  Les Institutions Musulmanes. Paris: Flammarion, 1946. 
4.  Hirschfeld, Hartwig.  New Researches into the Composition and Exegesis of the Coran.  London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1902. 
5.  Jeffrey, Arthur. Islam. New York: The Liberal Arts Press, 1958. 
6.  Katsh, Abraham Isaac. Judaism in Islam. New York: Block Publishing Co., 1954. 
7.  Margoliouth, D. S. Chrestomathia Baidawiana: a translation of the commentary of al-Baidawi on Surah III. London: Luzac and Company, 1894. 
8.  Sabbagh, T. La Metaphore dans le Coran. Paris: Adrian-Maisonneuve, 1943. 
9.  Sweetman, J. Windrow. Islam and Christian Theology. 3 vols. London: Lutterworth Press, 1947. 

1.  Dozy, R.  Supplement aux Dictionaries Arabes.  Leyden: 1881. 
2.  Hava, J. G.  An Arabic-English Dictionary. Beirut:  Catholic Press, 1951. 
3.  Lane, Edward William. An Arabic-English Lexicon. London: Williams and Norgate, 1863, 8 vols. 
4.  Wright, W.  A Grammar of the Arabic Language: a translation of Caspari, 3rd ed. Cambridge: University Press, 1955, 2 vols. 

1.  Ali, Maulvi Muhammad. The Holy Qur-an. Lahore: Ahmadiyya Anjuman-iishaat-i-Islam, 1935. 
2.  Arberry, Arthur J. The Koran Interpreted. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1955, 2 vols. 
3.  Bell, Richard. The Qur'an. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1937, 2 vols. 
4.  Blachere, Regis. Le Coran. Paris: Ed. G.-P. Maisonneuve, 1957. 
5.  Kazimirski, M. Le Koran. Paris: Fasquelle Editeurs, n.d. 
6.  Montet, Edouard. Le Coran. Paris: Payot, 1954. 
7.  Palmer, E.H. The Koran. London: Oxford University Press, n.d. 
8.  Pickthall, Mohammed Marmaduke. The Meaning of the Glorious Koran. New York: The New American Library of World Literature, 1956. 
9.  Rodwell, J. M. The Koran.  London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1957. 

• Koran.exe Available on this site.  (Unzip this file into a temporary directory and then open The Online Bible.  Go to Utilities, then restore.  Locate your temporary directory, select koran.101 and press okay.  For more information about the Koran please see Topic 30001 in The Online Bible, or go to The Online Bible Software Site's Online Version of that topic file.)