THE QUR’AN

The Quran, literally meaning "the recitation"; also Romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God (Arabic: Allah). It is widely regarded as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language. Quranic chapters are called suras and verses, ayahs. Muslims believe the Quran was verbally revealed by God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel (Jibril), gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as the most important miracle of Muhammad, a proof of his prophethood, and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with the messages revealed to Adam and ended with Muhammad. Friedrich Max Muller (6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900), generally known as Max Muller, was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic field of Indian studies and the discipline of comparative religion. Muller wrote both scholarly and popular works on the subject of Indology . E.H. Palmer, a Cambridge scholar, was entrusted with the preparation of a new translation of the Quran for Max Muller′s Sacred Books of the East series.