The Qur'an

This chapter 1 provides an overview of key issues related to the Qur’an, the central text of Islam. For Muslims, the Qur’an is the Word of God, revealed verbatim in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad, 2 who then conveyed it to his followers. It is the most sacred of religious texts for Muslims. The Qur’an is the foundation of Islam and the primary source of guidance for Muslims in all aspects of life, whether spiritual, legal, moral, political, economic or social. The views on the origins of the Qur’an range from the traditional Muslim belief in its divine revelation, preserved unchanged, to modern scholarly approaches that analyze it within its historical, linguistic and socio-political context. While Muslims see the Qur’an as eternal and direct from God, some modern critical scholars, particularly Western, often explore its development as a text that reflects early Muslim community needs and broader Near Eastern religious traditions. In the following, our focus is largely on traditional Muslim views on the Qur’an.