Codex · a Light
The word for a Qur'an copy also gives journalist
Muslims distinguish the Qur'an, which is the recitation, from the mushaf, which is the physical book on the shelf. The word comes from the root s h f, which gives sahifa, a sheet or a page, and suhuf, the pages that the Qur'an says were given to Ibrahim and Musa. The same root gives modern Arabic sahafa, journalism, and sahafi, a journalist, somebody whose work is pages. Early reports say the companions weighed several words for the bound volume before settling on mushaf. The distinction still does work: a mushaf can wear out and be buried or replaced, and none of that touches the Qur'an, which is what is recited.
Root s h f, sheet, codex, press
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