ABSTRACT
Islam as a religion focuses on its scripture, the Qur<ån. Written in Arabic, the Qur<ån 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 Qur<ån in terms of the book as we have it before us today. Even the Qur<ån’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 Qur<ån came into being as a text and why it looks and sounds the way it does, is far more difficult. It will be beneficial to start with the easy tasks and then attempt the more difficult ones afterwards.
