ABSTRACT
Islam as a religion focuses on its scripture, the Qurʾ ān. Written in Arabic, the Qurʾ ān is a short book which holds a special appeal for its listeners and readers. It is relatively easy to give a brief description of the Qurʾ ān in terms of the book as we have it before us today. Even the Qurʾ ān’s contents are readily summarized, as long as one does not attempt to perceive a necessarily systematic theological position within it. But accounting for how, why, and when the Qurʾ ān came into being as a text and why it looks and sounds the way it does is far more diffi cult. It will be benefi cial to start with the easy tasks and then attempt the more diffi cult ones afterwards.
