Alternative spellings

• Koran
• (obsolete) Alcoran
• (obsolete) Alkoran

Noun

Singular Qur'an

Plural Qur'ans

Qur'an (plural Qur'ans)

1. A copy of the Qur'an.

The Qur’an (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.

Islam holds that the Qur’an was revealed to Muhammad by the angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) over a period of approximately twenty-three years, beginning in 610 CE, when he was forty, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death. 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. Muslim tradition agrees that it was fixed in writing shortly after Muhammad's death by order of the caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar, and that their orders began a process of formalization of the orally transmitted text that was completed under their successor Uthman with the standard edition known as the "Uthmanic recension". The present form of the Qur’an is accepted by most scholars as the original version authored or dictated by Muhammad.

Part of a series on the Holy Qur'an

Sura · Ayah

Tajwid · Hizb · Tarteel · Qur'anic guardian · Manzil · Qari' · Juz' · Rasm · Ruku' · Sujud ·

Master List · English Translations

Meccan revelations · Medinan revelations

Persons related to verses · Justice · Asbab al-nuzul · Naskh · Biblical narratives · Tahrif · Bakkah · Muqatta'at · Esoteric interpretation

Literalism · Miracles · Science · Women

Shi'a · Criticism · Desecration · Surah of Wilaya and Nurayn · Tanazzulat · Qisas Al-Anbiya · Beit Al Qur'an

Muslims regard the Qur’an as the main miracle of Muhammad, as proof of his prophethood, and as the culmination of a series of divine messages. These started, according to Islamic belief, with the messages revealed to Adam, regarded in Islam as the first prophet, and continued with the Suhuf Ibrahim (Scrolls of Abraham), the Tawrat (Torah or Pentateuch), the Zabur (Tehillim or Book of Psalms), and the Injeel (Christian Gospel). The Qur'an assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in Jewish and Christian scriptures, summarizing some, dwelling at length on others, and, in some cases, presenting alternative accounts and interpretations of events.. The Qur'an describes itself as a book of guidance, rarely offering detailed accounts of specific historical events, and often emphasizing the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence.

The Qur'an (also Quran, Koran, Alcoran; Arabic قُرْآن) is the holy book of Islam.

Muslim tradition holds that the Qur'an is a message of Allah, delivered through Muhammad ibn Abdullah as revealed to him by the angel Jabreel (Gabriel) over a period of 23 years. It consists of 114 suras (chapters) with a total of 6,236 ayats (verses) that were rendered in Arabic, and all attempts at translation into other languages are deemed inadequate to proper transmission. The Qur'an includes stories of many of the people and events of the Jewish and Christian traditions although differing in both substance and detail. Well-known Biblical characters such as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mary, and John the Baptist are mentioned in the Qur'an as prophets of Islam, and in roles that are often different than those portrayed in the Jewish and Christian doctrines.