The Qur’an is the Book of Allah (God) that was revealed in Arabic to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) over a period of twenty-three years. He dictated it to his followers as he received it from the Angel Jibril (Gabriel), and they wrote it down on whatever materials were available. The Prophet and many of his followers memorized it as it was revealed.

The Qur’an consists of 114 surahs (sometimes called chapters) of various lengths, from 3 to 286 verses. The verses were revealed a few at a time and not in their present order but were placed in their position by the Prophet in accordance to instructions from the Angel Jibril.

Shortly after the death of the Prophet, the first caliph, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, ordered the scribe Zayd ibn Thabit to collect the manuscripts and make one copy of the Qur’an. He did so with the assistance of the hundreds of Companions of the Prophet who had memorized the Qur’an, thus assuring that nothing was added or omitted, and that the order of the verses was according to the Prophet’s instructions. Later, the third caliph, ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, again asked Zayd to oversee the copying of the Qur’an. Several standard copies were made and sent to all the provinces of the Muslims, with orders that all other manuscripts be burned. This was to ensure that there would not be various readings of the Qur’an.

Thus, the Qur’an remains today exactly as it was revealed more than 14 centuries ago and contains the exact Words of Allah. Many thousands of Muslims memorized it each generation so that it was never forgotten. Further, the Arabic language in which the Qur’an was revealed remains a living language. There are copies of the Qur’an from the first century after the revelation in libraries in the Muslim world. A comparison to modern printed copies shows that the Qur’an has not changed over the centuries.