Qur'an

Qur’an^[1] (Arabic: القرآن‎ al-qur’ān, literally “the recitation”; also sometimes transliterated as Quran, Qur’ān, Koran, Alcoran or Al-Qur’ān) is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe the Qur’an to be the book of divine guidance and direction for mankind, and consider the original Arabic text to be the final revelation of God.^[2][3][4][5]

Islam holds that the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad by the angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) from 610 CE to his death in 632 CE.^[2][6][7] Followers of Islam further believe that the Qur’an was written down by Muhammad's companions while he was alive, although the primary method of transmission was oral. It is maintained that in 633 CE, the written text was compiled, and in 653 CE it was standardized, distributed in the Islamic empire and produced in large numbers.^[8] The present form of the Qur’an is regarded by Muslims as God's revelation to Muhammad. Academic scholars often consider it the original version authored or dictated by Muhammad.^[9] Muslim tradition agrees that it was fixed in writing shortly after Muhammad's death by order of Umar and Abu Bakr.^[10]

Muslims regard the Qur’an as the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with those revealed to Adam, regarded in Islam as the first prophet, and continued with the Suhuf Ibrahim (Sefer Yetzirah or Scrolls of Abraham)^[11], the Tawrat (Torah or Pentateuch)^[12][13], the Zabur (Tehillim or Book of Psalms)^[14][15], and the Injeel (Christian Gospel).^[16][17][18] The contents of the aforementioned books are not physically affixed within the Qur’an, but are recognized therein.^[19][20] The Qur’an also refers^[21] to many events from Jewish and Christian scriptures, some of which are retold in comparatively distinctive ways from the Torah and New Testament respectively, while obliquely referring to other events described explicitly in those texts.

The Qur'an itself expresses that it is the book of guidance. Therefore it rarely offers detailed accounts of historical events; the text instead typically placing emphasis on the moral significance of an event rather than its narrative sequence.^[22] Muslims believe the Qur'an itself to be the main miracle of Muhammad and a proof of his prophethood.^[23]