During the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the revelations were transmitted orally or written on palm leaves, pieces of leather or bones, etc. A prophet's death in 632, his followers began to gather these revelations, during the Caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan (عثمان بن عفان) took the form we know today, 114 chapters (suras, سورة), each divided into verses (verses, آية).

The Qur'an mentions many characters in the sacred books of Judaism and Christianity (Tanakh and the Bible) and devotional literature (for example, the Apocrypha), with many differences in detail. Well-known characters of Hebrew and Christian world as Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus of Nazareth and John the Baptist are mentioned as Islamic prophets.