The Qur’an
Is the Qur’an the word of God?
The short answer
About 30 seconds to read
Muslims believe the Qur’an is the word of God. They believe it was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over about 23 years, from 610 CE until his death in 632, and that its Arabic text has been faithfully preserved.
That is a conviction of faith. History cannot prove or disprove revelation, but it can examine when and how the text took shape. Below we set out the reasons Muslims give for their belief, what historians can say, and the questions that remain.
What the Qur’an is
The word qur’an means “recitation”. The Qur’an is shorter than the New Testament and has 114 chapters, called surahs, of very different lengths. It speaks mostly in the voice of God, addressing the Prophet, his community and humanity. Its themes include God’s oneness and mercy, the stories of earlier prophets such as Abraham, Moses and Jesus, moral and legal guidance, and the Day of Judgment.
Source:Britannica, “Qur’an”
Muslims recite the Qur’an in Arabic in every prayer, and many memorize long portions or all of it. Many Muslims regard translations as renderings of its meaning rather than as the Qur’an itself. That is why Marmaduke Pickthall, whose translation we quote, called his work The Meaning of the Glorious Koran.
Source:Sahih al-Bukhari 756
Read: In the name of thy Lord Who createth, Createth man from a clot. Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who teacheth by the pen, Teacheth man that which he knew not.
Context: The opening verses of Surah Al-‘Alaq. The Arabic command can be translated “read” or “recite”.
According to a report in Sahih al-Bukhari, these were the first verses revealed. They came to Muhammad while he was praying in seclusion in the cave of Hira near Mecca, when the angel commanded him to read.
Source:Sahih al-Bukhari 3
Why Muslims believe it comes from God
Muslims give several reasons for their conviction. These are arguments of faith and reflection. Muslims find them persuasive; people of other faiths, or none, may weigh them differently. We present them as reasons Muslims give, not as proofs that settle the matter for everyone.
Its challenge and its language
The Qur’an invites anyone who doubts its origin to produce something like it. Muslims point to the beauty and power of its Arabic, and to the way it has moved listeners since the seventh century. This argument depends on literary judgement, and it is best appreciated in Arabic.
Source:Qur’an 2:23
Say: Verily, though mankind and the jinn should assemble to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof though they were helpers one of another.
The messenger who brought it
The Qur’an says Muhammad had not read any scripture, or written one, before it was revealed. It calls him ummi, which Pickthall translates as “who can neither read nor write” and other translators render “unlettered”. Muslims see a scripture of this depth, brought by such a messenger and matched by his character, as a sign of its divine source.
Its coherence and its continuity
Will they not then ponder on the Qur’an? If it had been from other than Allah they would have found therein much incongruity.
Context: The Qur’an asks to be read thoughtfully and tested. Muslims find in it a consistent message, even though it was revealed over more than two decades in changing circumstances.
Muslims also see the Qur’an’s message as continuous with the prophets before it: the same call to worship one God and to do good. Readers who do not share Muslim faith often explain the similarities differently, for example as the Qur’an drawing on biblical and later Jewish and Christian traditions that were known in its environment.
What historians can say
Whether the Qur’an was revealed by God is a question of belief that historical study cannot settle. What historians can study is when and how the text took shape. Here is a summary of what the evidence shows.
Source:Britannica, “Qur’an”
- Early manuscripts. In 2015, radiocarbon dating of two Qur’an leaves held by the University of Birmingham placed their parchment between AD 568 and 645, with 95.4% probability. The test dates the animal skin rather than the writing, but it places the manuscript close to the Prophet’s lifetime.
- Compilation. Reports in Sahih al-Bukhari describe the Qur’an being gathered into a single written collection under the first caliph, Abu Bakr, from written materials and from people who knew it by heart. Under the third caliph, ‘Uthman, standard copies were sent to the main cities and other copies were ordered to be burned, to prevent disputes over recitation.
- Dating the text. According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, carbon dating of several early manuscripts is broadly consistent with the traditional view that the received text existed by about 650 CE, although some scholars have argued that the text was standardized later.
Sources:University of Birmingham, 2015Sahih al-Bukhari 4986Sahih al-Bukhari 4987Britannica, “Qur’an”
Were there ever differences in the text?
Yes, and Islamic scholarship has always acknowledged some of them. ‘Uthman’s standard copies fixed the consonants of the text, which early Arabic script wrote without vowels. Muslim scholars have long accepted more than one authoritative way of reading certain words, known as the qira’at, or readings, when those readings were transmitted from early authorities.
Source:Britannica, “Qur’an”
Manuscripts also show variation from before standardization. The Sana’a palimpsest is an early manuscript whose original writing was erased and written over. Its lower text differs from the standard text in wording and in the order of some surahs. Behnam Sadeghi and Mohsen Goudarzi argue that it preserves a textual tradition separate from the standard one, and that the surahs had already taken shape before ‘Uthman’s standard text spread.
Source:Sadeghi & Goudarzi, 2012
Muslims believe God has preserved the Qur’an. Historians describe a text that was fixed early, with documented variants in its earliest period. People draw different conclusions from the same evidence. We would rather show you the evidence than overstate it.
Source:Qur’an 15:9
Reading it for yourself
- Start small. Begin with the opening chapter, Al-Fatihah (1), and the short Al-Ikhlas (112), then read a longer narrative such as Surah Maryam (19), which tells the story of Mary and Jesus.
- Compare translations. Pickthall’s 1930 English is accurate but old-fashioned. Quran.com lets you read modern translations side by side, including Saheeh International and M. A. S. Abdel Haleem.
- Read in context. Look at the verses before and after a passage. Many misunderstandings, by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, come from verses quoted on their own.
- Ask questions. Commentary, called tafsir, explains context and meaning, and scholars have often disagreed. Our common questions look at some verses that are frequently quoted out of context.
Sources for this page
Quotations are marked and linked. Summaries are in our own words. How we choose and cite sources.
Reference
“Qur’an”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
Sections “Form and content” and “Origin and compilation”
A non-confessional reference article. It notes that whether the Qur’an was divinely revealed is a question of belief that history cannot settle, and that carbon dating of early manuscripts is broadly consistent with the received text existing by about 650 CE.
Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 756
Sunnah.com reference: bukhari:756
Summarized in our own words. Arabic text and a full English translation are available at the link.
Narrated by ‘Ubadah ibn as-Samit. The Prophet said that a prayer without recitation of Al-Fatihah, the Qur’an’s opening chapter, is not valid.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-‘Alaq (96)
Verses 96:1–5
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 3
Sunnah.com reference: bukhari:3
Summarized in our own words. Arabic text and a full English translation are available at the link.
Narrated by ‘A’ishah. Describes the beginning of revelation in the cave of Hira and quotes the opening verses of Surah Al-‘Alaq (96:1–3).
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Baqarah (2)
Verse 2:23
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Isra (17)
Verse 17:88
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-‘Ankabut (29)
Verse 29:48
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-A‘raf (7)
Verse 7:157
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Qalam (68)
Verse 68:4
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah An-Nisa (4)
Verse 4:82
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Anbiya (21)
Verse 21:25
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Ma’idah (5)
Verse 5:48
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Reference
“Birmingham Qur’an manuscript dated among the oldest in the world”, University of Birmingham news release (2015)
Radiocarbon analysis dated the parchment to AD 568–645 with 95.4% probability. This dates the animal skin, not the moment the text was written on it.
Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 4986
Sunnah.com reference: bukhari:4986
Summarized in our own words. Arabic text and a full English translation are available at the link.
Narrated by Zaid ibn Thabit. Describes the collection of the Qur’an under Abu Bakr after many who had memorized it were killed at the Battle of Yamama.
Hadith
Sahih al-Bukhari, hadith 4987
Sunnah.com reference: bukhari:4987
Summarized in our own words. Arabic text and a full English translation are available at the link.
Narrated by Anas ibn Malik. Describes ‘Uthman having standard copies made and sent to the provinces, and ordering other written copies to be burned.
Reference
Behnam Sadeghi and Mohsen Goudarzi, “Ṣan‘ā’ 1 and the Origins of the Qur’ān”, Der Islam 87 (2012)
A detailed academic study of the Sana’a palimpsest. Its erased lower text differs from the standard text in wording and in some surah order. The authors argue it reflects a separate early textual tradition and that the surahs were formed before ‘Uthman’s standardization.
Qur’an
Qur’an, Surah Al-Hijr (15)
Verse 15:9
Quoted from M. M. Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain. Parenthetical words are Pickthall’s. Modern translations can be compared on Quran.com.
Further reading
- “Qur’an”, Encyclopaedia Britannica
A non-confessional reference article. It notes that whether the Qur’an was divinely revealed is a question of belief that history cannot settle, and that carbon dating of early manuscripts is broadly consistent with the received text existing by about 650 CE.
- Nicolai Sinai, The Qur’an: A Historical-Critical Introduction (Edinburgh University Press, 2017)
An academic introduction to how historians study the Qur’an. It does not presuppose Muslim belief.
- Behnam Sadeghi and Mohsen Goudarzi, “Ṣan‘ā’ 1 and the Origins of the Qur’ān”, Der Islam 87 (2012)
A detailed academic study of the Sana’a palimpsest. Its erased lower text differs from the standard text in wording and in some surah order. The authors argue it reflects a separate early textual tradition and that the surahs were formed before ‘Uthman’s standardization.
- “Birmingham Qur’an manuscript dated among the oldest in the world”, University of Birmingham news release (2015)
Radiocarbon analysis dated the parchment to AD 568–645 with 95.4% probability. This dates the animal skin, not the moment the text was written on it.