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Qur'an: A Divine Book
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The Divine Sacred Book The Qur’an is probably the most often read book in the world, surely the most often memorized, and possibly the most influential in the daily life of the people who believe in it. Not quite so long as the New Testament, written in an exalted style, it is neither poetry nor ordinary prose, yet it possesses the ability to arouse its hearers to ecstasies of faith. Its rhythms have been compared to the beat of drums, to the echoes of nature and to the chants which are common in all early societies. The Qur'an is written in Arabic, and devout Muslims have often insisted that it must not be translated into any other language. One might expect that such a wish would have trimmed the spread of Islam. On the contrary, all over the world men have labored to learn Arabic, not an easy language, just to be able to read their holy book and pray in the original.The Qur’an was revealed to Mohammed  between the years 610 and 632 A.D. in the cities of Mecca and
Medina. Devoted scribes wrote it down on "scraps of paper, bark and the white
shoulder blades of animals." The early revelations are dazzling assurances that there
is only one God, Merciful and Compassionate. He is Allah, the Creator, the Maker, the
Fashioner. Whatever is in the heavens and the earth declares His glory; and He is the
Mighty, the Wise.
It was this message that inspired men and women to revolutionize their lives and their nations. In later years, when Islam began to penetrate large areas of Arabia and had acquired many followers, the revelations dealt with the organization of society, its laws, procedures and problems. The Christian or Jew who reads the Qur’an finds himself on familiar ground a good deal of the time. Many revered names from Christianity and Judaism appear in the Qur’an. For example, five of the important chapters are entitled Noah, Jonah , Joseph , Abraham , Mary . Lacking
specific chapters of their own, but playing quite important roles are Jesus , Adam , David , Goliath, Job , Moses , Lot and Solomon.
Islam is partly founded on the words of four Prophets who lived before Mohammed : Jesus , Noah , Abraham , Moses . The
Qur’an does not acknowledge that Jesus was the son
of Allah or that He suffered death upon the Cross; if Jesus were acknowledged the child of God, Muslims believe it would
compromise Allah's oneness, the belief which is the cornerstone of Islam. It would,
moreover, be difficult thereafter to contend that Mohammed was the bearer of the final perfect revelation as Muslims do. It is
this dedication to one God plus practical instruction that makes the Qur’an unique.
Each Islamic nation contains many citizens who are convinced that their land will be
governed well only if its laws conform to Qur’an.
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