Original: The Qur ' an ( pronounced ; , literally '' the recitation '' ) is the religious text of Islam , From the article on the Quran in Oxford Islamic Studies Online also sometimes transliterated as Quran , Kuran , Koran , Qur ' n , Coran or al-Qur ' n. Muslims believe the Qur ' an to be the verbal divine guidance and moral direction for mankind .
Simplified: Muslims believe the Quran was given to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel in the cave of the mountain of Hira , over a period of twenty-three years until his death .