Muhammad, peace be upon him, himself used to keep a copy of the revealed portions in his house. The Qur'an, the last of Allah's Scriptures, is divided into 114 surah (chapters) of unequal length. It is one of the fundamental sources of Islamic teachings. Allah revealed some of the Qur'an's suwar (chapters) and verses in Makkah, and the rest He revealed in Madinah. The Makkan suwar (chapters) and verses deal mainly with the issues of Aqeedah -Aqeedah is a religious tenet upon which one's mind and heart is firmly settled, and to which one holds and adheres-, such as tawhid, the belief in the Oneness of Allah, the signs of the existence of Allah, resurrection, life after death, or the Day of Resurrection.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, laid great emphasis on the Oneness of Allah, as did all the Prophets and Messengers of Allah before him, beginning with Adam and ending with Muhammad, peace be upon them all. Suwar revealed in Madinah dealt with the actions of the individuals and every aspect of life, including forms of worship.

The practicability of the Qur'anic teachings is established by the examples of Muhammad (PBUH) and the good Muslims throughout the ages. The distinctive approach of the Qur'an is that its instructions are aimed at the general welfare of man and are based on the possibilities within his reach. In all its dimensions the Qur'anic wisdom is conclusive. It neither condemns nor tortures the flesh nor does it neglect the soul. It does not humanize God nor does it deify man. Everything is carefully placed where it belongs in the total scheme of creation.

Authenticity of the Qur'an

Allah says:

"And this Qur’an is not such as could ever be produced by other than Allah, rather, it is the confirmation of that which was before it, (i.e., the Torah and the Gospel, etc.) and a full explanation of the Book which is no doubt, from the Rubb of the worlds. Or do they say: “He has invented it”? Say: “Then produce a surah like it, and summon whoever you can [to help you] apart from Allah, if you are truthful." [Qur’an 10:38-40]

There is no nation that had ever cared about, revered, and preserved its Divine Scripture as the Muslim Ummah (nation) has cared about, revered and preserved the Qur'an. Unlike the other Divine Scriptures, the Qur'an is not kept in the hands of a particular group or elite of Muslims, and for this reason it is not subject to suspicion that it might have been tampered with or altered. Rather, it has always been within the reach of all Muslims.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded The Muslims to recite Qur'anic verses in their prayers. Allah commands the Muslims to refer all their disputes to the Qur'an for final judgment. The whole of the Qur'an was written during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) himself though on separate pieces of palm leaves, parchments, bones, etc... The Qur'an was compiled in its final form at a time when the first Muslims to commit it to memory were still alive. There were thousands of companions of the Prophet who memorized the whole Qur'an and the Prophet himself used to recite to the Angel Gabriel once a year and twice when he was about to die. The first Caliph Abu Bakr entrusted the collection of the whole Qur'an in one volume to the Prophet's scribe, Zaid Ibn Thabit. This volume was with Abu Bakr till his death. Then it was with the second Caliph Umar and after him it came to Hafsa, the Prophet's widow. It was from this original copy that the third Caliph Uthman prepared several other copies and sent them to different Muslim territories. The Qur'an was so meticulously preserved because it was to be the Book of guidance for humanity for all times to come. That is why it does not address the Arabs alone in whose language it was revealed. It speaks to man as a human being. Allah has promised to preserve it, and it will be preserved until the Day of Resurrection.

The Muslims today read and recite the Qur'anic texts exactly as they were read and recited during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be on him, and his Companions. Not a single letter has been added to the Qur'an or deleted from it. After having examined the Qur'an, Dr. Maurice Bucaille ascertains:

Thanks to its undisputed authenticity, the text of the Qur'an holds a unique place among the books of revelation.

// Dr. Maurice Bucaille is a surgeon who has taken great interest in the scientific aspects of the Qur'an. He learned Arabic and managed to study the Qur'an in its original text. He was amazed with its precise scientific data. As a result of his study, Dr. Bucaille embraced Islam.

Impossible Claims..

Actually the scholars who allege that Muhammad (PBUH) was the author of the Qur'an claim something which is humanly impossible. Could any person of the sixth century C.E. utter such scientific truths as the Qur'an contains? Could he describe the evolution of the embryo inside the uterus so accurately as we find it in modern science?

Others allege that Muhammad (PBUH) copied some portions of the Bible, then, how the statements about scientific phenomena in the Holy Qur'an are perfectly in conformity with the modern sciences whereas the Biblical narration's on the same subjects are scientifically entirely unacceptable (Cause of the tampering). It is well-known that at the time of Muhammad (PBUH) scientific obscurantism prevailed, both in the Orient as well as in the West. And scientific history informs us that, as far as the subjects dealt with in this present book are concerned, no discoveries were made during, the period separating the Bible from the Qur'an. How Muhammad (PBUH) could have spotted the scientific errors in the Bible dealing with such a wide variety of subjects and have proceeded to eliminate every single one of them when he came to compose his own text on the same themes?!! No new scientific facts had been discovered since the time the Bible was written that might have helped eliminate such errors?!! And on top of all that, It is well-known that Muhammad (PBUH) had no prior knowledge of Religion or any previously sent Message before receiving revelation, he remained like that for his first forty years.

Moreover, is it logical to believe that Muhammad (PBUH), who up to the age of forty was marked only for his honesty and integrity, began all of a sudden the authorship of a book matchless in literary merit and the equivalent of which the whole legion of the Arab poets and orators of highest calibre could not produce? And lastly, is it justified to say that Muhammad (PBUH) who was known as AL-AMEEN (The Trustworthy) in his society and who is still admired by the non-Muslim scholars for his honesty and integrity, came forth with a false claim and on that falsehood could train thousands of men of character, integrity and honesty, who were able to establish the best human society on the surface of the earth?

Consider also the following points:

1. The Quran itself, at a number of places and in different ways, says it is from God. One of the claim runs thus: "This is indeed a Quran most honourable, a Book well-guarded...a Revelation from the Lord of the Worlds." (56:77-80)

2. The Prophet did not claim credit for the Quran. Furthermore, the Quran claims: "This Quran is not such as can be produced by anyone other than God." (10:37)

3. The Prophet was illiterate. He was not a learned man or a philosopher.

4. The Quran took 23 years to complete. Had the verses of the Quran (6,666 altogether) been written by the Prophet, he would have needed editing, updating, etc. He did not have spell-check, thesaurus, etc. Yet all the information in the Quran is consistent and without discrepancies. The verses were taken down as dictate by the Prophet only once and no redrafting, editing or updating took place after that.

5. If the Prophet had written the Quran, he would not have made the challenges that are in the Quran, for fear that the learned Arabs and eminent poets of his time would have taken up his challenges and shamed him. "And if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed (from time to time) to Our servant (Muhammad), then produce a chapter like thereunto..." (2:23)

6. If the Prophet had written such an inimitable Book of Information and Wisdom without resorting to consultation with prominent scholars and the best books from the best libraries in the world?! If he did this, it would surely have been known, since every move he made was known to people. The Prophet was a historical figure, not a mythological figure.

7. The Prophet was the busiest most active person in history. So how could he have found the time to write (even if he were educated) such a comprehensive and extensive Book of Guidance which would have needed years of seclusion and concentration to complete?

8. In Chapter 111, it is mentioned that Abu Lahab, one of the Prophet's uncles who was always against Islam, would never accept Islam. This Revelation came some ten years before the death of Abu Lahab. How could the Prophet have dared to write this chapter because all he (Abu Lahab) needed to do to prove that Quran was not the words of God, was to accept Islam dishonestly?

9. The Prophet was mentioned by name in the Quran only 5 times whereas Jesus Christ's name was (honourably) mentioned 25 times. Could the Prophet go to such an extent of honouring someone more than himself if he had written the Quran?

10. There is a chapter in the Quran entitled and dedicated to "Mary", the mother of Jesus Christ, while there is no chapter called, or dedicated to, the prophet's own mother, "Amina", or daughter, "Fatima", nor were their names mentioned in the Quran. Could this have happened if the Prophet was the Author of the Quran?

11. Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, is glorified in the Quran as a "woman of all nations". Why would the Prophet glorify a woman he had never seen and one from another race, saying that she was chosen (by God) above all women, unless the formation of the verses had nothing to do with the Prophet's own authorship but that he only repeated what was inspired to him by God?

12. In the Quran, God is called "Allah" and (in arabic) he is also referred to by his attributes, like the Cherisher, the Merciful, the Almighty. There are 99 such attributes but none of these is "Abba" (father) by which the Arab Christians of the Prophet's time (and even today) refer to God. If the Prophet was the writer of the Quran, he would surely have used "Abba" as one of the names for God because of its familiarity and also because it was easier to say "Abba" than many of the attributes.

Please Read: Who Wrote the Holy Quran? , The Miraculous Nature of the Quran , The Amazing Quran , The Quran and Science.

Surely, any sincere and unbiased searcher of truth will come to believe that the Qur'an is the revealed Book of Allah.

We appeal to all open-minded scholars to study the Qur'an in the light of the aforementioned points. We are sure that any such attempt will convince the reader that the Qur'an could never be written by any human being.

• What Others Say About Quran?