The Koran (Qur'an)

The Koran, or Qur'an (Arabic for "the reading"), is the Sacred Scripture of Islam. Muslims acknowledge it as the actual words of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad between c.610 and his death . The text contains 114 chapters (suras), arrangedÑexcept for the opening suraÑapproximately according to length, beginning with the longer chapters.

The Koran, termed glorious and wonderful, describes itself as a healing and mercy, as light and guidance from God , as the absolute Truth , and as a perspicuous Book sent down from heaven in Arabic, part by part, upon Muhammad. Presented as a blessed reminder and an admonition to people everywhere, it calls for grateful recognition of the many signs, around us and in us , of the goodness of him from whom all good comes and urges a total commitment to him who alone is God . Announcing Judgment Day as the final fulfillment of God's threat and his promise , it warns evildoers and those who are ungrateful but brings good tidings to those who accept the guidance to the straightest path and who live in accord with its message and its commandments (regarding marriage and divorce, children and inheritance, lawful foods, spoils of war, and so on). The text asserts that its message is neither a human invention (as its inimitability proves) nor an innovation, since it confirms and clarifies the Scripture that Jews and Christians had received earlier.

It is generally believed that the standard text of the Koran, adopted during the reign of the caliph Uthman, is based on the compilation of one of Muhammad's secretaries, Zayd Ibn Thabit. By calligraphic copying of its verses, and in many other ways as well, Muslims express their devotion to this Scripture over which, they trust, God himself watches