The Qur'an, whose name means "recitation" in Arabic, is the sacred text of Islam and the highest authority in both religious and legal matters.

Muslims believe the Qur'an to be a flawless record of the Angel Gabriel's revelations to Muhammad from 610 until his death in 632 AD. It is also believed to be a perfect copy of a heavenly Qur'an that has existed eternally (a small sect rejects this doctrine because it is seen as interfering with the sole divinity of God.)

The Qur'an's name is derived from the Gabriel's initial command to Muhammad to "Recite!" Recitation is a fundamental concept associated with the Qur'an. The first followers of Prophet Muhammad memorized his recitation in order to recite it to others, following an established Arabic method for preserving poetry.

The revelation was put in writing shortly after Muhammad's death to preserve the content from corruption, but it is still regarded as most authentic when recited aloud. Professional reciters of the Qur'an (qurra') are held in very high esteem, and have often been influential in deciding matters of doctrine or policy.

The Qur'an is divided into 114 surahs (chapters) of widely varying length, which, with the exception of the opening surah (fatihah), are generally arranged from longest to shortest. As the shortest chapters seem to date from the earlier period of Muhammad's revelation, this arrangement results in a reverse chronological order.

Inter-Islam - www.inter-islam.org

Wikipedia - www.wikipedia.org