--- title: "Who Wrote the Qur'an? | Islam Is Mercy" description: "Did Muhammad ﷺ write the Qur'an? What Muslims believe about its origin, the main alternative theories, and the evidence each side points to." lang: en url: https://islamismercy.com/en/start/who-wrote-the-quran/ --- 1. [Home](https://islamismercy.com/en/) 2. [Start Here](https://islamismercy.com/en/start/) 3. Who Wrote the Qur'an? # Who Wrote the Qur'an? Written by **Islam Is Mercy Editorial Team**· 3 min readAwaiting scholar review ## The short answer Muslims believe no human being wrote the Qur'an: it is the word of God, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ through the angel Gabriel over about 23 years. The Prophet ﷺ recited it, his companions memorised it, and scribes wrote it down as it was revealed. Muslims point to his lack of literacy, his known character and the Qur'an itself as evidence. ## On this page 1. What Muslims believe 2. A man who could not read 3. Forty years of honesty 4. “Someone taught him” 5. What the Qur’an says about itself 6. Reading it for yourself It is one of the most important questions anyone can ask about Islam. If Muhammad ﷺ wrote the [Qur’an](https://islamismercy.com/en/glossary/quran/) himself, then Islam is a human philosophy. If he did not, then the book deserves to be read as a message from God. Muslims welcome the question. ## What Muslims believe Muslims believe the Qur’an is the word of God, and that Muhammad ﷺ was its messenger, not its author. It was revealed in Arabic, piece by piece, over roughly 23 years, through the angel Gabriel (peace be upon him). The Qur’an describes it this way: > وَإِنَّهُۥ لَتَنزِيلُ رَبِّ ٱلْعَٰلَمِينَ ﴿١٩٢﴾ نَزَلَ بِهِ ٱلرُّوحُ ٱلْأَمِينُ ﴿١٩٣﴾ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُنذِرِينَ ﴿١٩٤﴾ بِلِسَانٍ عَرَبِىٍّۢ مُّبِينٍۢ ﴿١٩٥﴾ > 192And indeed, the Qur'an is the revelation of the Lord of the worlds. 193The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down 194Upon your heart, \[O Muhammad\] - that you may be of the warners - 195In a clear Arabic language. [Qur'an, Ash-Shu'araa 26:192-195](https://quran.com/26?startingVerse=192&translations=20)Saheeh International The Prophet ﷺ would recite each passage as it came; his companions memorised it, and trusted scribes wrote it down. How it was then collected and preserved is explained in [The Qur’an Is God’s Word, Preserved Unchanged](https://islamismercy.com/en/core/quran-preserved/). ## A man who could not read Muhammad ﷺ grew up in Mecca without formal schooling and could neither read nor write. The story of the first revelation, narrated by his wife Aisha, begins in a cave on a mountain outside the city: > …the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read.… [Sahih al-Bukhari 3](https://sunnah.com/bukhari/1#:~:text=Khadija%20to%20take%20his%20food)Grade: Sahih (in Sahih al-Bukhari) His reply was that he did not know how to read. The Qur’an points to this as part of the evidence: > وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُوا۟ مِن قَبْلِهِۦ مِن كِتَٰبٍۢ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُۥ بِيَمِينِكَ ۖ إِذًۭا لَّٱرْتَابَ ٱلْمُبْطِلُونَ ﴿٤٨﴾ > And you did not recite before it any scripture, nor did you inscribe one with your right hand. Otherwise the falsifiers would have had \[cause for\] doubt. [Qur'an, Al-Ankaboot 29:48](https://quran.com/29?startingVerse=48&translations=20)Saheeh International A man who had never studied any scripture, recited a book that speaks about earlier prophets, law, ethics, nature and the human soul in Arabic that the masters of the language could not match. See [The Inimitability of the Qur’an](https://islamismercy.com/en/start/miracle-of-the-quran/). ## Forty years of honesty Before the revelation began, Muhammad ﷺ had lived among his people for forty years. They called him *al-Amin*, “the trustworthy”, and left their valuables in his keeping. He had never been known as a poet, a preacher or a storyteller. The Qur’an asks his listeners to remember that: > قُل لَّوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا تَلَوْتُهُۥ عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَآ أَدْرَىٰكُم بِهِۦ ۖ فَقَدْ لَبِثْتُ فِيكُمْ عُمُرًۭا مِّن قَبْلِهِۦٓ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ ﴿١٦﴾ > Say, "If Allah had willed, I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have made it known to you, for I had remained among you a lifetime before it. Then will you not reason?" [Qur'an, Yunus 10:16](https://quran.com/10?startingVerse=16&translations=20)Saheeh International Even his fiercest opponents, who accused him of many things, did not point to a lifetime of lies. Muslims ask: why would a man known for honesty for four decades suddenly begin to lie about God — and keep it up for 23 years, through hunger, exile and war, gaining no wealth from it? ## “Someone taught him” From the beginning, some people suggested that he learned the Qur’an from others — from a Christian or Jewish acquaintance, for example. Some modern writers make similar arguments. The Qur’an itself records and answers this claim: > وَلَقَدْ نَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُمْ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّمَا يُعَلِّمُهُۥ بَشَرٌۭ ۗ لِّسَانُ ٱلَّذِى يُلْحِدُونَ إِلَيْهِ أَعْجَمِىٌّۭ وَهَٰذَا لِسَانٌ عَرَبِىٌّۭ مُّبِينٌ ﴿١٠٣﴾ > And We certainly know that they say, "It is only a human being who teaches the Prophet." The tongue of the one they refer to is foreign, and this Qur'an is \[in\] a clear Arabic language. [Qur'an, An-Nahl 16:103](https://quran.com/16?startingVerse=103&translations=20)Saheeh International The point is simple: the people his opponents named spoke little Arabic, yet the Qur’an is in Arabic of the highest quality. And the Prophet’s ﷺ life was lived in public. He was surrounded by followers and enemies alike, day and night, for 23 years; a secret teacher feeding him a book of this size and depth would have been very hard to hide. Muslims also note that the Qur’an does not simply repeat earlier scriptures. It retells familiar stories in its own way, corrects some beliefs, and adds details found nowhere else — while keeping deep respect for Moses, Jesus and the earlier prophets. ## What the Qur’an says about itself The Qur’an even includes passages that would be strange for a man writing to promote himself. It sometimes corrects the Prophet ﷺ, and it warns that if he had invented anything in God’s name, God Himself would have seized him (Qur’an 69:44-47). And it challenges readers to look for contradictions: if it were from anyone other than God, they would have found many (Qur’an 4:82). ## Reading it for yourself In the end, the best way to answer this question is to read the Qur’an with an open mind and ask yourself whose voice you are hearing. Start with [What Is the Qur’an?](https://islamismercy.com/en/start/what-is-the-quran/), and if you want to know more about the man who brought it, read [Who Was Prophet Muhammad ﷺ?](https://islamismercy.com/en/start/who-was-prophet-muhammad/) ![Who Wrote the Qur'an?](https://islamismercy.com/_astro/quran-preserved-info.B6Iu5u0h_1oiADb.jpg) ## Key takeaways - Muslims believe the Qur'an is God's word, revealed to Muhammad ﷺ through the angel Gabriel. - Muhammad ﷺ could not read or write; scribes recorded the revelation as he recited it. - He was known as truthful for forty years before the revelation began. - The Qur'an answers the claim that he learned it from others, and invites honest reflection. ## Share this article [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/?text=Who%20Wrote%20the%20Qur%27an%3F%20https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fstart%2Fwho-wrote-the-quran%2F)[Telegram](https://t.me/share/url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fstart%2Fwho-wrote-the-quran%2F&text=Who%20Wrote%20the%20Qur%27an%3F)[X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Who%20Wrote%20the%20Qur%27an%3F&url=https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fstart%2Fwho-wrote-the-quran%2F)[Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fislamismercy.com%2Fen%2Fstart%2Fwho-wrote-the-quran%2F) ## Sources - [Qur'an, Ash-Shu'araa 26:192-195](https://quran.com/26?startingVerse=192&translations=20) - [Qur'an, Al-Ankaboot 29:48](https://quran.com/29?startingVerse=48&translations=20) - [Qur'an, Yunus 10:16](https://quran.com/10?startingVerse=16&translations=20) - [Qur'an, An-Nahl 16:103](https://quran.com/16?startingVerse=103&translations=20) - [Sahih al-Bukhari 3](https://sunnah.com/bukhari/1#:~:text=Khadija%20to%20take%20his%20food) ## Talk to a Muslim Have a question that isn't answered here? Ask a real person — no pressure, no judgement. [Ask your question](https://islamismercy.com/en/talk/) ## Keep reading [Start Here ### What Is the Qur'an? The Qur'an is the holy book of Islam — God's words revealed to Muhammad ﷺ. Learn how it was revealed, preserved, organised and recited. Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/start/what-is-the-quran/)[What Muslims Agree On ### The Qur'an Is God's Word, Preserved Unchanged Muslims believe the Qur'an is the word of God, preserved without change. Here is how it was memorised, written down and compiled, told carefully. Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/core/quran-preserved/)[Start Here ### The Inimitability of the Qur'an: Its Living Miracle Why Muslims see the Qur'an itself as the Prophet's greatest miracle: its open challenge to humanity, its unique language and its effect on hearts. Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/start/miracle-of-the-quran/)[Start Here ### Who Was Prophet Muhammad ﷺ? A short introduction to the life and character of Muhammad ﷺ, the final messenger of God — from orphan in Mecca to the Prophet sent as a mercy to all people. Read article](https://islamismercy.com/en/start/who-was-prophet-muhammad/)