Al-Furqān in the Qur’an
Method: lexical meaning + internal Qur’anic usage + cross-text functional parallels (Hebrew Bible). No appeal to later theological system-building as an interpretive authority.
1. Why the term matters
A common later claim equates al-Kitāb, adh-Dhikr, and al-Furqān as if they were interchangeable labels for one single corpus (the Qur’an). The Qur’an itself does not support this. Instead, it uses Furqān as a functional designation: that which distinguishes, separates, and clarifies truth from falsehood.
2. Lexical core: “to separate / to distinguish”
The Arabic root f-r-q carries the idea of separating, distinguishing, and making a clear division. As a noun, Furqān naturally reads as “a criterion,” “a discriminator,” or “a means of distinction”— i.e., a function, not necessarily the proper name of a single book.
3. The decisive textual fact: Furqān is given before the Qur’an
3.1 Moses is given “the Book and the Furqān”
“And [recall] when We gave Moses the Scripture and the criterion (al-Furqān), that perhaps you would be guided.” 1
This line alone prevents an exclusive equation “Furqān = Qur’an.” The Qur’an explicitly places Furqān in Moses’ hands long before the Qur’an was revealed. If Furqān were the exclusive proper name of the Qur’an, this verse would collapse into nonsense.
3.2 Moses and Aaron receive Furqān, Dhikr, and Light (three distinct terms)
“And We certainly gave Moses and Aaron the Furqān and a light and a reminder (Dhikr) for the righteous.” 2
The structure is important: Furqān, Dhikr, and Light appear together, not as synonyms but as differentiated descriptors. The Qur’an therefore treats Furqān as a category that can be applied to earlier revelation, while remaining conceptually distinct from Dhikr.
4. Furqān as an event: “the Day of Furqān”
“…on the Day of the Criterion (Yawm al-Furqān), the day the two forces met…” 3
Here, Furqān cannot be “a book-title,” because it names a historical day—a moment of decisive separation and clarification, when truth and falsehood are made distinct in reality. This usage confirms the functional meaning: Furqān is “that by which distinction occurs,” whether in text or in history.
5. The Qur’an is called Furqān—functionally, not exclusively
“Blessed is He who sent down the Furqān upon His servant, that he may be a warner to the worlds.” 4
This is often read as if it proves “Furqān is the exclusive name of the Qur’an.” But in light of the previous data, the more coherent reading is:
- The Qur’an is Furqān because it performs the Furqān-function (distinguishing truth from falsehood).
- The Torah is Furqān in the same functional sense (Qur’an 2:53).
- Therefore, Furqān is a role revelation can bear, not a monopoly label.
6. Cross-text functional parallels: “distinguish” as a biblical principle
The Qur’anic concept aligns with a central biblical function: the Creator separates and commands humans to distinguish. The Hebrew Bible expresses this with the verb-root commonly translated “to separate / to distinguish.”
6.1 Creation: separation of light and darkness
“God separated the light from the darkness.” 5
6.2 Priestly mandate: distinguish holy/common and clean/unclean
“You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean.” 6
These examples do not claim that the Arabic noun Furqān is “the same word” as a Hebrew term. Rather, they show that the function—criterion and separation—already exists as a foundational scriptural pattern: revelation (and divine order) draws boundaries, clarifies categories, and separates truth from falsehood.
7. Conclusion (without dogma)
The Qur’an’s own usage demonstrates that al-Furqān is best read as a functional concept: a criterion and means of distinction. It is:
- applied to Moses (therefore not exclusive to the Qur’an),
- used for historical decision-events (“Day of Furqān”),
- and applied to the Qur’an as a revelation that performs the same separating function.
In short: the Qur’an is Furqān, but Furqān is not only the Qur’an.