What is the Quran in Islamic belief?

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The literal word of God (Allah) as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over approximately 23 years. The Quran (also spelled Qur'an) is believed by Muslims to be the literal, uncreated word of God (Allah), revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Jibril (Gabriel) over a period of approximately 23 years (610-632 CE). It consists of 114 chapters (surahs) arranged roughly from longest to shortest (after the opening surah, al-Fatiha). The Quran addresses theology (the oneness of God), morality, law, guidance for personal conduct, and narratives of previous prophets. Muslims believe the Quran in its original Arabic is the perfect, unalterable speech of God, and Quranic recitation holds a central place in Islamic worship, education, and daily life.

A biography of Muhammad written by his companions describes the Sirah (biography of the Prophet), which is a separate genre of Islamic literature from the Quran itself. A collection of legal opinions by scholars describes the fatwa tradition or works of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), which are human scholarly interpretations rather than the divine revelation of the Quran. A history of the Arab people describes a historical chronicle, not the sacred scripture that Muslims believe to be the direct, unmediated word of God.

The Quran is the most important concept in Islam for the World Religions DSST exam. Students should understand its structure, how it was revealed and compiled, its relationship to earlier scriptures (Torah, Psalms, Gospel), the significance of its Arabic language, and how it functions alongside the Hadith (recorded sayings and actions of Muhammad) as the two primary sources of Islamic guidance.

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