offerd here for Historical Facts only, and nothing more. I found this on line @ http://jesus-messiah.com/html/quran.html.
It seems to be the clearest explanation I have came across to date about it. This Florida mess has me curious. The story of its origin is below;
It is not my book of choice at all.....so if you all will alow me;
Koran (Quran, Qur'an, al-Qur'an)
Noun
Name of the Islamic Bible.
Etymology: From a primitive ancient semitic root qara developing in Arabic to Qaran, Quran, Koran. Through the idea of accosting a person met; to call out to (i.e. properly, address by name, but used in a wide variety of applications):--bewray (self), that are bidden, call (for, forth, self, upon), cry (unto), (be) famous, guest, invite, mention, (give) name, preach, (make) proclaim(- ation), pronounce, publish, read, renowned, say.
Modern scholars have chosen not to give the etymology of the word providing the following: the book composed of sacred writings accepted by Muslims as revelations made to Muhammad by Allah through the angel Gabriel ( Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary).
It is called the "holy Qur'an", the Muslim scriptures, the Islamic Bible, the Koran of Mohammed, and the Word of Allah (God).
Origin:
According to sources, the words of Mohammed were copied down by those who heard him. These were later collected and compiled into a book. They were not collected during his life time. There are no original copies of the Koran in existence. The oldest Koran in existence is the Othman Koran compiled in Medina by Othman, the third caliph. Hadiths (traditions) tell that Zaid bin Thabit compiled the Koran and that Caliph Uthman later had an official version prepared. There have been many revisions, corrections, alterations, interpolations, and changes in wording. The present day Koran cannot be checked for validity against an original since no original exists.
Christoph Luxenberg, a scholar of ancient Semitic languages in Germany, argues that the Koran has been misread and mistranslated for centuries. His work, based on the earliest copies of the Koran, maintains that parts of Islam's holy book are derived from pre-existing Christian Aramaic texts that were misinterpreted by later Islamic scholars who prepared the editions of the Koran commonly read today.
Arab scholar Suliman Bashear reported that Islam developed as a religion gradually rather than emerging fully formed from the mouth of the Prophet.
John Wansbrough of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, insisted that the text of the Koran appeared to be a composite of different voices or texts compiled over dozens if not hundreds of years. After all, scholars agree that there is no evidence of the Koran until 691 � 59 years after Muhammad's death � when the Dome of the Rock mosque in Jerusalem was built, carrying several Koranic inscriptions.
Patricia Crone, a scholar from the School for Oriental and African Studies at London, insists that the Koran and the Islamic tradition present a fundamental paradox. The Koran is a text soaked in monotheistic thinking, filled with stories and references to Abraham, Isaac, Joseph and Jesus, and yet the official history insists that Muhammad, an illiterate camel merchant, received the revelation in Mecca, a remote, sparsely populated part of Arabia, far from the centers of monotheistic thought, in an environment of idol-worshiping Arab Bedouins. Unless one accepts the idea of the angel Gabriel, Ms. Crone says, historians must somehow explain how all these monotheistic stories and ideas found their way into the Koran.
Purpose:
It appears the purpose of the Qur'an was to replace both the Old Testament used by Jews and the New Testament used by Christians. Mohammed replaced Moses and Jesus and was claimed to be God's final prophet to the world. It's intended purpose was to place into the minds of Muslims the teaching of Mohammed that could be verified by their own holy book. Muslims were then prohibited from having copies of the Old Testament or the New Testament to check the validity of Mohammed's teachings. The Qur'an became the only holy book allowed in Muslim controlled countries. Christians were prohibited from evangelizing Muslims. Christian Bibles containing the Old and New Testaments are censored and prohibited in Muslaim controlled nations. Jews were considered the primary enemy because in the Old Testament the promised seed of Abraham was to flow through Isaac and not Ishmael. The promised seed of Abraham flowing through Ishmael down to Arabs and to Mohammed was the original purpose of the Qur'an. Mohammed was then a replacement of Moses and Jesus, the sources of both the Old and New Testaments. The Koran of Moses and the Koran of Jesus were replaced by the Koran of Mohammed.
Contradictions with Jewish and Christian Bible:
Adam created from a blood clot.
Abraham was a Muslim and worshiper of Allah.
Ishmael is the promised seed of God to Abraham.
Abraham took Ishamel to the mountain and not Isaac.
The nation of Israel was not chosen by God for his people.
The Ishmalites were chosen by God to be his people.
Allah is God and the Jewish God is not the Muslim God.
Jesus was not the Messieh (Christ), the Mahdi or Islamic Christ-Messieh is yet to come.
Jesus is not the only begotten Son of God.
Jesus did not die on Calvary, a substitute was crucified.
Jesus was not resurrected since he did not die.
Jesus was not divine, just a man, and not God.
There is no salvation in, by, or through Jesus Christ.
Salvation is by believing in Allah and Mohammed being his prophet, followed by observance of Muslim traditions/customs: works.
Jesus failed in his mission but Mohammed succeeded where Jesus failed.
Jesus was taken up into heaven where he is now in paradise with his darked-eyed 72 virgins.
The Apostles were Muslim and not Christians.
Mohammed is the paraclete, comforter, the Holy Ghost promised by Jesus.
The meaning of the word Koran appears to mean: That which is spoken (pronounced), That which is published, That which is preached,
The call of God to come forth, i.e. separate; Greek ekklesia, the invitation of God.
it is also the lest hype filled and the fairest explanation I have come across to date..
