Nitpick. The Quran is not "set in official formal Arabic". No. The language of the Quran was standardized to become Formal Arabic, by the Umawid and Abassid emp

Nitpick. The Quran is not "set in official formal Arabic". No. The language of the Quran was standardized to become Formal Arabic, by the Umawid and Abassid empires. Prophet Muhamad (PBUH) himself acknowledged that the Quran could be read in "7 tongues", or regional pronunciations. I will translate for non-Arabic speakers, but here is the original source: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamOnline-Arabic-Ask_Scholar/FatwaA/FatwaA&cid=1122528611734 http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?pagename=IslamO... The caliph Umar once heard a man read a sura in his prayer and he noticed clear mispronunciation of the verses in the man's recitation. When the man finished his prayer, Umar pulled him aside and asked him who taught him the Sura. "The Prophet" said the man, "Liar!" said Umar, "By God, I have heard this Sura from the prophet and didn't recite it in your manner", and he took the man to the prophet. The man was ordered to read the sura again, and he did so, still with his peculiar pronunciation. The prophet acknowledge the correctness of the meaning of the Sura, then added, "the Quran was sent to you in 7 letters, so read it in the manner easiest for you". :-)