Origin and development of the Quran

The history of the Quran refers to the oral revelation of the Quran to Islamic prophet Muhammad and its subsequent written compilation into a manuscript. It spans several decades and forms an important part of early Islamic history.

According to Muslim belief and Islamic scholarly accounts, it is said the history of the Quran began in the year 610 when the angel Gabriel (Arabic: جبريل, Jibrīl or جبرائيل, Jibrāʾīl) appeared to Muhammad in the cave Hira near Mecca, reciting to him the first verses of Sura Iqra (al-`Alaq), beginning the revelation of the Quran. Throughout his life, Muhammad continued to have revelations until before his death in 632. The Quran, we see today, was compiled into book format by Uthman, the third caliph (reign 644 to 656); a caliph being the political leader of a Caliphate (Islamic government). For this reason, the Quran as it exists today is also known as the Uthmanic codex. According to Professor Francis Edward Peters what was done to the Quran in the process seems to have been extremely conservative and the content was formed in a mechanical fashion as to avoid redactional bias.

According to traditional Islamic beliefs, the Quran was revealed to Muhammad, starting one night during the month of Ramadan in 610 AD, when he, at the age of forty, received the first revelation from the angel Gabriel, who had given him the responsibility for inscribing these messages from God to give to mankind.

Muslim scholars believe that Muhammad was illiterate, as mentioned in the Quran itself,

"Those who follow the messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them......"Quran 7:157.

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