Holy Quran

The Qur’ān [1] (Arabic: القرآن ‎al-Qur’ān, literally “the recitation”; also called القرآن الكريم ‎ al-Qur’ān al-Karīm “The Noble Qur’ān”; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran) is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur’an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, consider the text in its original Arabic, to be the literal word of God² revealed to Muhammad over a period of twenty-three years3, and view the Qur’an as God’s final revelation to humanity5.

Muslims regard the Qur’ān as a continuation of other divine messages that started with those revealed to Adam — regarded, in Islam, as the first prophet — and including the Suhuf-i-Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham/Ibrahim)[7], the Tawrat (Torah)8, the Zabur (Psalms)10, and the Injil (Gospel)12[14], in between. The aforementioned books are recognized in the Qur’ān, 15 and the Qur’anic text assumes familiarity [17] with many events from Jewish and Christian scriptures, retelling some of these events in distinctive ways, and referring obliquely to others. It rarely offers detailed accounts of historical events; the Qur’an’s emphasis is typically on the moral significance of an event, rather than its narrative sequence.

The Qur’anic text itself proclaims a divine protection of its message: Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely be its guardian. 18.

The Qurʾanic verses were originally memorized by Muhammad’s companions as Muhammad recited them, with some being written down by one or more companions on whatever was at hand, from stones to pieces of bark. In the Sunni tradition, the collection of the Qur’ān compilation took place under the Caliph Abu Bakr, this task being led by Zayd ibn Thabit Al-Ansari. “The manuscript on which the Quran was collected, remained with Abu Bakr till Allah took him unto Him, and then with ‘Umar till Allah took him unto Him, and finally it remained with Hafsa bint Umar (Umar’s daughter).”[20]