Der Koran

The Quran (the "often read" book) is the holy scripture of Muslims and holds a significance for the Islamic world similar to that of the Old Testament for Jews or the New Testament for Christians. The individual parts of the Quran were proclaimed by Muhammad (570 - 632 AD) in Arabic from 610 to 632: not as his words, but as the revelations from Allah that were granted to him on various occasions, the "one, eternal God, the creator of the universe and lord of all inhabitants of the worlds, who has no son and does not need a helper." The content of these religious discourses of the Prophet is diverse: alongside prayers and sermons, there are general legal provisions and principles of faith and morality. The Jewish and Christian influence on the language and content of the Quran is unmistakable. It took its final form under the third caliph, Uthman, around 653: at that time, the proclamations of Muhammad were compiled into 114 surahs (chapters). The teachings preached in the Quran are called Islam ("peace," "submission to God"); they spread across large parts of the earth from the time of Muhammad's death to the present day, initially through wars and today through peaceful missions. Thus, the Quran has significantly shaped the religious landscape of the world.