Muslims believe that of the books sent down by Allah only four remain, the Tauret (Pentateuch – the laws of Moses) given to Moses, Zabur (Psalms) given to David, Injil (Evangel – the Gospel) given to Jesus and the Qu’ran given to Muhammad.
The Qu’ran is the holy text which was revealed by the angel Gabriel to Muhammad and within it covers all areas of how a Muslim should live. The Qur’an contains for a Muslim the actual words of God and the language it was revealed in, Arabic is seen as very important in order to understand the real meaning of the words. The first three texts have been corrupted and have been replaced by the Qur’an.
The Qur’an was brought to Muhammad on the Night of Power and dictated to Muhammad via the angel Gabriel over the rest of his life.
The opening ‘Surah’ – chapter called the Fatiha is seen as providing a summary of Islam. It states:
‘In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the compassionate. Praise to God, Lord of the Worlds, the Merciful, the Compassionate, King of the Day of Judgement. You alone we worship, you alone we beseech. Lead us in the straight path, the path of those upon whom is your grace, not of those upon whom is your wrath, nor of those who have gone astray.’
Within the Qur’an is found the 99 names given to Allah. Of the 28 prophets named in the Qur’an 22 come from the Old Testament and 3 from the New Testament.