The Qur'an

The Qur an (al-qur an, literally the recitation ; also
sometimes transliterated as Quran, Qur an, Koran,
Alcoran or Al-Qur an) 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 Jibril
(Gabriel) from 610 CE to his death in 632 CE. The Qur an was written down by
Muhammad's companions while he was alive, although the prime method of
transmission was oral. 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. The present form of the Qur an is regarded as God's
revelation to Muhammad by Muslim believers. Academic scholars often consider it
the original version authored or dictated by Muhammad. Muslim tradition agrees
that it was fixed in writing shortly after Muhammad's death by order of Umar and
Abu Bakr.

Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.