Quran

The Quran (/kɔːrˈɑːn/) kor-AHN; Arabic: القرآن‎, romanized: al-Qurʼān Arabic pronunciation: [alqur'ʔaːn], literally meaning "the recitation"), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God (Allah). It is widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature. Slightly shorter than the New Testament, it is organized in 114 chapters (Arabic: سورة sūrah, plural سور suwar) — not according to when they were revealed (nor by subject matter), but according to length of surahs (with some exceptions) under the guidance of divine revelation. Surah are subdivided into verses (Arabic: آية āyah, plural آيات āyāt). Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final prophet, Muhammad, through the archangel Gabriel (Jibril), incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632.