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Explanations of how things work — the astronomy behind prayer times, the divisions of the Quran, the lunar calendar. Each answers one question directly, and none of them issue religious rulings.
The Quran
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What a Juz Is, and Why the Quran Has 30
The juz is a division of length, not of meaning — it exists so the Quran can be read evenly over a month.
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Meccan and Medinan Surahs: What the Labels Mean
The labels are chronological, not geographical — they mark whether a surah was revealed before or after the migration to Madinah.
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How to Read a Quran Reference Like 2:255
Quran references use a surah:verse form, and knowing it lets you find any passage in seconds.
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Murattal and Mujawwad: The Two Recitation Styles
The same reciter often records the Quran twice, in two different styles meant for two different purposes.
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Uthmani and IndoPak Script: What Differs
The Uthmani and IndoPak styles write the same Quran with different vowel signs, letter shapes and margin marks. The words and recitation are identical.
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How to Cite the Quran in APA, MLA and Chicago
Cite the Quran by surah and verse and name the translation you quoted. Ready-made APA, MLA and Chicago examples for the translation on this site.
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Pickthall's Translation of the Quran (1930)
The English on this site is Marmaduke Pickthall’s 1930 translation, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran: formal, close to the Arabic, and in the public domain.
Prayer and qibla
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How Prayer Times Are Calculated
Prayer times come from the position of the sun, which means they can be computed exactly for any place and date without looking anything up.
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What Is the Qibla? Meaning and How to Find It
The qibla is the direction of the Kaaba in Makkah, which Muslims face in prayer. Here is what the word means, how to find the qibla from anywhere, and why the answer is often not the direction a flat map suggests.