The Qur'an is believed by Muslims to be the exact words of Allah. They believe it is unalterable, fixed forever in time and that its claims cannot be revised.

Muslims further believe that the Qur'an is not subject to other than literal interpretation and is only properly understandable in Arabic.

The Qur'an was supposedly dictated or “revealed” to the prophet Mohammed (who is thought to have been illiterate). According to Islam, it was dictated to him by the archangel Jibreel (Gabriel) between December 609AD and 632AD when Mohammed died.

The Qur'an is about as long as the New Testament and a tenth the length of the whole Bible. It was compiled from oral traditions some time after Mohammed’s death.

The Qur'an is organized not by chronology (time of “revelation”) but by length of chapter (surah).

To make matters even more confusing, when verses in the Qur'an contradict each other, the later verse "abrogates" or replaces the earlier one.

It is important to know that the Qur’an is not a “stand alone” document like The Bible. It cannot be understood unless it is read in conjunction with the various biographies (Sira) of Mohammed.