<Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Quran (/ kɔːrˈɑːn / kor - AHN; Arabic: القرآن ‎ al - Qurʾān, 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 (Allah). It is widely regarded as the finest work in classical Arabic literature . The Quran is divided into chapters (surah in Arabic), which are then divided into verses (ayah). </P> <P> Muslims believe that 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 . The word "Quran" occurs some 70 times in the text of the Quran, although different names and words are also said to be references to the Quran . </P> <P> According to the traditional narrative, several companions of Muhammad served as scribes and were responsible for writing down the revelations . Shortly after Muhammad's death, the Quran was compiled by his companions who wrote down and memorized parts of it . These codices had differences that motivated the Caliph Uthman to establish a standard version now known as Uthman's codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today . There are, however, variant readings, with mostly minor differences in meaning . </P>

When was the first part of the quran first revealed