Juz'

Lore & Background

A juz’ (plural: ajzā’) is one of thirty sections of the Quran, each varying in length. In Iran and the Indian subcontinent, it is also called a parah, and in Urdu it is known as sipārah, a term derived from Persian meaning “thirty parts.” The divisions are not arbitrary; most juz’ are named after the first word of their opening verse. Each juz’ is further subdivided into two hizb (plural: aḥzāb), making sixty hizbs in the entire Quran. Each hizb is then split into four quarters called maqra’ (meaning “reading”), resulting in eight maqra’ per juz’ and 240 maqra’ in total. These smaller sections are commonly used as practical units for memorization and review. Historically, during the medieval period, purchasing a complete Quran manuscript was prohibitively expensive for many Muslims. To address this, mosques kept copies of the Quran accessible to the public, and these copies were often produced as a set of thirty separate juz’ volumes. This format allowed multiple people to read or study different parts simultaneously. Today, the divisions are widely employed to facilitate recitation of the entire Quran over the course of a month, particularly during Ramadan, when the Tarawih prayers typically involve reciting one juz’ each night. The most frequently memorized juz’ is Juz’ Amma, the thirtieth and final part, which contains chapters (surahs) 78 through 114, including many of the shortest surahs in the Quran.

Reader's Guide

The juzʼ system divides the Quran into thirty parts of varying lengths, a structure that served a practical purpose in medieval times when full manuscript copies were costly and often kept in mosques for shared use. In such settings, the Quran was frequently available as a series of these thirty separate parts. Each juzʼ is named after the first word of its first verse. The system is further subdivided: each juzʼ contains two hizbs, and each hizb is split into four maqraʼs, yielding 240 small sections that are commonly used for review during memorization. The thirtieth juzʼ, known as Juzʼ Amma, is the most frequently memorized, as it includes chapters 78 through 114, which contain many of the shortest surahs. This division also structures recitation during Ramadan, where the entire Quran is recited in Tarawih prayers at the rate of one juzʼ per night. In Iran and the Indian subcontinent, a juzʼ is also called a parah, and in Urdu it is referred to as sipārah, meaning “thirty parts.” The juzʼ remains a key organizational unit for Islamic education and worship, facilitating both daily recitation and long-term memorization.

Did You Know?

• Each juzʼ is divided into two hizbs, making 60 hizbs in the Quran.
• Each hizb is subdivided into four maqraʼs, giving 240 maqraʼs total.
• The term 'sipārah' in Urdu means 'thirty parts', from Persian 'si' meaning thirty.

Linguistic Roots of the Word Prophet

The English term prophet traces back to a Greek compound formed from pro, meaning before or toward, and phesein, meaning to tell. Together they produce prophētēs, a figure who transmits divine communication to human audiences, sometimes including predictions of what is yet to come. An alternative reading frames the word as denoting an advocate or public speaker. This Greek term was adopted to render the Hebrew nāvî in the Septuagint and the Arabic nabī in Islamic texts. Scholar W.F. Albright traced both the Hebrew and Arabic forms back to the Akkadian Nabu, where nabû carried the sense of announcer or authorized person, rooted in the Semitic base n-b-y. This root also produced the Classical Syriac nəḇiyyā and the Arabic nabiyy, all converging on the meaning of a prophet. In Hebrew tradition, nāvî functions as spokesperson, and the second major division of the Tanakh, Nevi'im, is entirely devoted to these figures. Deuteronomy 18:18 paints the navi as literally God's mouth, speaking only what is commanded. A Jewish interpretive tradition further links the root nun-bet-alef to the two-letter nun-bet, signifying hollowness or openness, suggesting that receiving transcendent wisdom requires a person to make themselves receptive and empty.

Mesopotamian Precursors to Prophethood

Long before Zoroaster formalized prophetic tradition in ancient Persia, civilizations in Mesopotamia already cultivated figures who bridged the gap between the mortal and the sacred. In early Sumerian society, the ensi and the lugal occupied roles that closely resembled what later cultures would call prophethood. The ensi functioned as the earthly representative of a city-state's patron deity, interpreting divine will through ritual, omens, and prayer. The lugal's duties extended to ceremonial and cultic observances, settling border disputes between communities, and providing military defense against outside threats. In Lagash, the ensis would address the city's patron god Ningirsu as their lugal, or master, underscoring the sacral dimension embedded in these titles. The term en itself continued to designate priests in later periods, confirming the priestly character of these early roles. Though these figures operated without the codified scriptures or organized religious institutions that would characterize later faiths, their work of demonstrating a tangible connection to the divine and offering spiritual leadership within their communities planted the seeds from which the more structured prophetic traditions of Zoroaster and the Abrahamic religions would eventually grow.

Zoroaster and the Architecture of Divine Revelation

Zoroastrianism, founded by Zoroaster in ancient Persia around the sixth century BCE, stands as one of the most consequential forces in shaping how humanity understands prophethood. At the core of the faith is a singular supreme deity, Ahura Mazda, locked in an eternal contest against Angra Mainyu, the embodiment of darkness and chaos. Zoroaster himself received direct divine revelations and visions from Ahura Mazda, and these communications became the foundation of the Avesta, the sacred scripture of the religion. His prophetic role established a powerful template: a single chosen individual who mediates between the divine and the human, articulating monotheistic principles, ethical dualism, and the cosmic struggle between good and evil. This framework radiated outward, influencing the religious and philosophical landscapes of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and even Thelema. The structured prophetic tradition Zoroaster codified set a precedent that shaped how subsequent societies perceived visionary figures. Rather than the loosely defined intermediaries of earlier Sumerian culture, Zoroastrianism offered a systematic theology of prophecy, a direct line of communication from one supreme god to a chosen speaker, and a moral architecture that continues to echo through the prophetic traditions of the world.

Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the Performative Word

Within the Hebrew Bible, prophethood takes on a distinctly communal and performative character. The Tanakh names a broad roster of prophets, including Abraham, Moses, Miriam, Isaiah, Samuel, Ezekiel, Malachi, and Job, with Moses occupying the most exalted position among them. A striking episode during the Exodus recounts the spirit that rested upon Moses being temporarily transferred to seventy elders, granting them a single instance of prophetic speech before the gift receded. Moses himself voiced the aspiration that every member of the Lord's people might one day prophesy, suggesting an ideal of universal divine access. Beyond simply writing or delivering messages from God, the nevi'im of Israel and Judah frequently embodied their prophecies through enacted parables in their daily lives. One notable example involves Jeremiah, who was commanded by God to invite the Rechabites to drink wine in deliberate violation of their ancestral vow, creating a vivid contrast between their obedience and the broader community's disobedience. This performative dimension of Hebrew prophethood underscores that the navi was not merely a messenger but a living, embodied voice of divine will.