The Qur’an is the scripture that was revealed by Allah to Prophet
Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him (pbuh), through
His Angel Gabriel. It is the last of Allah’s revelations to all humanity until
the end of time. The Qur’an was revealed to complete Allah’s message to
mankind, confirm the previous revelations and correct the changes and
alterations contained in the existing remnants of the previous scriptures.11

Its revelation
The Qur’an was revealed in stages in the Arabic language over a period of
23 years, from 610 to 632 CE. This gradual revelation to the Prophet gave
progressive guidance to the believers as specific circumstances required.
It also ensured the effective assimilation and implementation of Allah’s
laws in the lives of the believers.

Its recording and preservation
As the Prophet (pbuh) received the revelations, he instructed his scribes
to write down the revelations under his instructions and supervision.
At the same time, the Prophet and many of his companions, men and
women, memorized the revelations as they were revealed. In this way, the
Qur’an was written down and memorized by male and female believers
during the lifetime of the Prophet. This practice of memorizing the
Qur’an continues to this day. At any moment in the history of Islam,
there are millions of Muslims who have memorized the entire Qur’an
in its original, pristine text. Today it is estimated that there are over
twenty million Muslims who have memorized the entire Qur’an, and
many millions have memorized parts of the Qur’an.

Its contents and general themes
The Qur’an consists of 114 chapters. The number of verses in each chapter
varies from 3 verses (chapters 103 and 108) to 286 verses (chapter 2). 
The Qur’an is a book of guidance, warning and good news, as well as a
narration of the past nations and their prophets. In general, it covers four
themes:

First, it tells us about Allah; His nature and attributes. For example, we
have seen chapter 112 in Section 2 of this book describing His Oneness
(Tawheed) and His unique attributes which are not shared by any other
being.

Secondly, it describes first our relationship with Allah; why He has
created us and what is our duty to Him. For example, Allah says in the
Qur’an 51:56:

"I have only created Jinns and men, that they may worship Me."

Here the word ‘worship’ is in the sense of serving the Creator and living
according to His commands. Then the Qur’an describes our relationship
with the rest of the creation; the Angels, the Jinns, the animal world and
the rest of the physical world; what is their relevance and interaction with
our existence.

Thirdly, it gives guidance in the form of laws and directives and sets
standards of morality and good living: How we should worship Allah
and how we should conduct our lives. It promises eternal bliss for those
who follow the guidance and eternal torment for those who reject the
guidance.

Finally, the Qur’an tells us that all nations have received guidance through
prophets. For example, in 10:47 Allah says,

A Messenger is sent to every people; and when their
Messenger comes, the fate of that people is decided with
full justice; they are subjected to no wrong.

Thus, as a lesson to humanity the Qur’an narrates stories of how Allah
dealt with the past nations. For example, it tells us about the struggle
of Prophet Noah with his people and the subsequent flood. It tells
us about the struggle of Prophet Moses with his people and with the
Pharaoh. Then there is “the best of all stories”, the life story of Prophet
Joseph. Altogether, the Qur’an narrates the stories of 25 prophets out of
thousands that Allah sent to mankind throughout the ages.