قرآن

What it means

قرآن (ghorân) is the Arabic word for the holy scripture of Islam, from the root ق-ر-أ (q-r-a), meaning to read or recite. In Persian the word is used exactly as in Arabic for the sacred text itself, and also in several compound expressions: قرآن خواندن (ghorân khândan, to recite or read the Quran), ختم قرآن (khatm-e ghorân, a ceremony completing a full reading of the Quran), and قرآن قسم خوردن (ghorân ghasam khordan, to swear on the Quran). The Quran is present at major life events: weddings, funerals, mourning ceremonies, and the Nowruz table setting known as the haft-sin.

How to use it

• قرآن می‌خونه هر شب (ghorân mikhune har shab) “He recites the Quran every night.”
• قرآن قسم می‌خورم راست می‌گم (ghorân ghasam mikhuram râst migam) “I swear on the Quran I’m telling the truth.”
• مامانم ختم قرآن گرفت (mâmânam khatm-e ghorân gereft) “My mom held a Quran completion ceremony.”
• قرآن رو سر سفره هفت‌سین گذاشتیم (qorân ro sar-e sofre-ye haft-sin gozâshtim) “We placed the Quran on the haft-sin table.”

Cultural note

The Quran is deeply woven into Iranian life even beyond strictly religious practice. A bride passes under a Quran held open above her head as she leaves the family home; grieving families arrange ختم قرآن readings to mark forty days after a death; and the Book appears on the haft-sin table at Nowruz alongside the seven symbolic items. The practice of swearing by the Quran in everyday speech to emphasize that one is telling the truth is extremely common and carries genuine emotional weight for many speakers.

References

• Dehkhoda
• Vajehyab