Qur'an

The Qur'an (القرآن) is the holy book of Islam. The Qur'an is considered by Muslims to be "The Word of Allah (God)". This book is different from other religious texts in that it is believed to be the literal words of God, through the prophet Muhammad. Some Muslims call it the Final Testament.

It has been written and read only in Arabic for more than 1,400 years. But, because many Muslims around the world do not understand Arabic, the meaning of the Qur'an is also given in other languages, so that readers can understand better what the Arabic words in the Qur'an mean. These books are like dictionaries to the Qur'an - they are not read as part of the religion of Islam, to replace the Arabic Qur'an. Muslims believe that these translations are not the true Qur'an; only the Arabic copy is the true Qur'an. The Quran is used with the hadith to interpret sharia law.

History
Muslims believe the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel in a cave on the mountain of Hira in Mecca, and then over a period of twenty-three years until his death.

The Qur'an was not written all together in book-form while Muhammad was alive; it was kept by oral communication and brief written records. The prophet did not know how to read nor write, but according to Muslims, the prophet's cousin Ali ibn abi Talib, among others, used to write the texts on something when Muhammad was alive. After prophet Muhammad died, Omar ibn Khattab, one of the khulafa u rashidan, compiled the quran into a single book.

The elements, suras, verses, revelations
There are 30 parts in the Qur'an, which make 114 "suras" (chapters). Each sura has a different number of verses.

According to the Muslim teachings, 86 of these suras took place in Mecca, 24 of these suras took place in Medina. The suras which took place in Medina are Al-Baqara, Al Imran, Al-Anfal, Al-Ahzab, Al-Ma'ida, An-Nisa, Al-Mumtahina, Az-Zalzala, Al-Hadid, Muhammad, Ar-Ra'd, Ar-Rahman, At-Talaq, Al-Bayyina, Al-Hashr, An-Nasr, An-Nur, Al-Hajj, Al-Munafiqun, Al-Mujadila, Al-Hujraat, At-Tahrim, At-Taghabun, Al-Jumua, As-Saff, Al-Fath, At-Tawba, Al-Insan.

The first and last verse
The first verse revealed is:

(5) اقرَأ بِاسمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذي خَلَقَ (1) خَلَقَ الإِنسانَ مِن عَلَقٍ (2) اقرَأ وَرَبُّكَ الأَكرَمُ (3) الَّذي عَلَّمَ بِالقَلَمِ (4) عَلَّمَ الإِنسانَ ما لَم يَعلَم "Read (commencing) with the Name of Allah, Who has created (everything). He created man from a hanging mass (clinging) like a leech (in the mother’s womb). Read and your Lord is Most Generous, Who taught man (reading and writing) by the pen, Who (besides that) taught man (all that) which he did not know. 96:1"

The last verse revealed is: "Who believe! fulfil (all) obligations. Lawful unto you (for food) are all four-footed animals. Dead meat, blood, pig, any food which has been blessed by a (false) god other than Allah; an animal whose death resulted from strangulation, bludgeoning, arrows, falling, or bloodloss; an animal which was partly consumed by a wild animal or an animal which is sacrificed on a stone altar are forbidden. However, if faced with starvation, exceptions are allowed."

Earliest surviving fragments
Probably the world's oldest fragments of the Koran have been found in the library of the University of Birmingham, in England.

Radiocarbon dating showed with a probability of more than 95%, the parchment was from between 568 and 645 AD. So the manuscript is at least 1,370 years old. It is the earliest, or among the earliest, in existence.

The fragments are written in ink on sheep or goat skin. They are mounted on a modern paper to help preserve them. They are going on display at the Barber Institute in Birmingham in October 2015.

Other websites

 * Al-Quran project with more than 145 translations in 35 different languages
 * Quran Word by Word // QuranAcademy.org
 * Quran in audio wav format and books in English