Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 54. Chapters: Amritbani Guru Ravidass Ji, Ayvu Rapyta, Buyruks, Buyruk (Shabak), Copyright on religious works, Dojeon, God Speaks, Gospel, Gospel of Jesus' Wife, Internet Sacred Text Archive, Isis Unveiled, Jade Record, Kalâm-e Saranjâm, Kirant Mundhum, Kojiki, Mishneh Halachos, Oahspe: A New Bible, Ofudesaki (Oomoto), Ofudesaki (Tenrikyo), Osashizu, Popol Vuh, Pseudepigraph, Quran, Religious text, Risale-i Nur, Scientific foreknowledge in sacred texts, Tablet (religious), The Genesis According to Spiritism, The Key of Truth, Treatise on the Resurrection, Upadesamrta, Yazidi Black Book, Yazidi Book of Revelation. Excerpt: The Quran ( ¿; Arabic: ¿ , IPA: , literally meaning "the recitation", Persian: ), also transliterated Qur'an or Koran, Turkish: Kur'an, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be the verbatim word of God (Arabic: ¿, Allah). It is widely regarded as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language. Muslims believe the Quran to be verbally revealed through angel Gabriel (Jibril) from God to Muhammad gradually over a period of approximately 23 years beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as the main miracle of Muhammad, the proof of his prophethood and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with the messages revealed to Adam, regarded in Islam as the first prophet, and continued with the Scrolls of Abraham (Suhuf Ibrahim), the Tawrat (Torah or Pentateuch) of Moses, the Zabur (Tehillim or Book of Psalms) of David, and the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus. The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in Jewish and Christian scriptures, summarizing some, dwelling at length on others and in some cases presenting alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance, sometimes offering detailed accounts of specific historical events, and often emphasizing the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence. The Quran is used along with the hadith to interpret sharia law. The word appears about 70 times in the Quran itself, assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun () of the Arabic verb (), meaning ¿he read¿ or ¿he recited.¿ The Syriac equivalent is , which refers to ¿scripture reading¿ or ¿lesson¿. While most Western scholars consider the word to be derived from the Syriac, the majority of Muslim authorities hold the origin of the word is itself. In any case, it had become an Arabic term by Muhammad's lifetime. An important meaning of the word is the ¿act of recitin