The Koran is the holy book of the Muslim people. In Arabic the word means “the recitation.” It is believed to be the final revelation of God as revealed to Mohammed by the angel Gabriel, revealed over a period of 23 years. The Koran is believed to be the final message in a long series, one that began with Adam, who was believed to be the first prophet.
Many Muslims believe the Koran is the word of God, word for word, much like many believe the Bible is the absolute word of God. They contend that no mere human could have written the perfection that is the religious text of the Koran. By it’s very nature, the Koran is seen to be miraculous, and those who believe this can cite scientific reasons and true prophecies to support their claim.
The Koran references many events and people from the Bible, including Abraham, Lot, Job, Solomon, Elijah, and Jesus. They are all considered prophets, of which Mohammed was the last. Muslims believe the text of the Bible and other Christian books was corrupted over time, and thus the Koran was sent to Mohammed to be the only true and unadulterated text for study.
The text of the Koran consists of 114 chapters. These chapters are of various lengths, and do not focus much on the narrative of what happened in the sections, but in the moral teachings a person should take away from each. The text seems to have no clear beginning, middle, or end, and lacking order to continuity.
However, the Koran lends itself very well to sectioning, which makes it easy to read, study, and memorize. The Koran is meant to be recited aloud in a quiet, rhythmic tone, and the short sections help in this endeavor. There are several different schools of recitation, and many of them have different pronunciations of the same text.
The Koran has been translated into every language. There are expensive, elaborate versions and small, inexpensive ones. The Koran is easy to read and is often seen as an interesting and enlightening text, regardless of religion and belief.