The Top 5 Bestselling Books of All Time are From the Same Genre. (And it’s not fiction!)
Over the past two decades, there have been a number of studies done to determine which book has sold the most copies over the course of history. The results are surprising to many: it wasn't Harry Potter, or even The Lord of the Rings!
According to the studies, (as well as The Guinness Book of World Records!) the bestselling book of all time is actually The Bible. Estimates suggest that over 5 billion copies have been sold worldwide throughout history, and that number continues to grow, as people pass stories from The Bible down from generation to generation.
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This may not come as a huge surprise, but shockingly, the top five bestselling books of all time are all religious texts.
The Quran
The Quran, the holy book of Islam, has been translated into more than 70 languages and printed in millions of copies. It is considered by Muslims to be the verbatim word of God as revealed to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel on an otherwise unrecorded day in 610 CE. The text itself is believed by Muslims to be a divine revelation. (Order Quran’s in bulk & save big)
The Tripitaka (Pali Canon)
Mahayana Buddhists revere the Tripitaka, an important religious text. It's a collection of texts that are considered to be the most sacred and authoritative in Buddhism. The Tripitaka includes three sections: Sutras, Vinaya and Abhidharma. (Order The Tripitaka in bulk & save big)
Hadith
The Hadith is a collection of sayings and actions attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It provides guidance on how Muslims should lead their lives, and it's second only to the Quran in importance for Muslims. The hadith helps interpret the Quran, which contains verses from God revealed to Muhammad through Gabriel over a period of 23 years.
The hadith was compiled after his death by his companions, who were inspired by his example during their own lifetimes; they collected stories about him or heard them directly from him during his lifetime as well as after he died. These stories were passed down orally until well into our modern age when they were finally written down into books. (Order the Hadith in bulk & save big)
Bhagavad Gita
Hinduism is a complex religion that has several texts, (all of which are bestsellers), including the Bhagavad Gita, the Upanishads, Sutras and Shastras.
The Upanishads are a collection of philosophical texts that are believed to have been written between 800 B.C.E and 300 C.E., or about 2200 years ago, by Hindu scholars who lived in India at the time. They contain advice about how people should live their lives according to Hindu teachings and traditions. (Order Bhagavid Gita in bulk & save big)
Religious Books Rule the Bestseller Lists.
All the world's religions have their own holy books, and the most popular ones are among the bestselling books of all time. The Bible is still by far the best-selling book ever written with more than five billion copies sold worldwide, with the Quran coming in at a close second. These two texts account for over 80% of all religious literature sales worldwide. Other religious texts have also sold hundreds of millions of copies; The Book Of Mormon has been printed in more than 100 languages since its first publication in 1830; it's estimated that over 120 million copies have been printed as part of their mission efforts alone!
Religious texts have been popular for millennia, and they continue to influence the world around us. It's likely that holy texts will continue to top bestseller lists for a long time to come!
