Who Wrote the Quran?
Published: 30 March 2026
Muslims believe the Quran is not a human composition but the literal speech of Allah revealed to the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him over twenty three years. Non Muslims sometimes claim that Muhammad saw or later political leaders authored it, but the Islamic view is that he only conveyed what was revealed to him.
According to Islamic teachings, Allah spoke the Quran, the angel Jibril (Gabriel) brought it down, and the Prophet saw received, memorized, and recited it to his companions. The companions then memorized these verses and wrote them on various materials, so the Quran existed first as an oral recitation supported by written fragments.
After the Prophet’s saw death, the first caliph Abu Bakr r.a. commissioned a single compiled manuscript, led by the scribe Zayd ibn Thabit r.a, to preserve the Quran in one collection. Later, Caliph Uthman ibn Affan r.a. sent standardized copies of this Mushaf to different regions to prevent dialect based variations, a step seen as preservation, not authorship.
Some argue the Quran could have been produced by the Arabs in general, by Muhammad saw specifically, or by Allah. Muslims reject the first two options, pointing to the Quran’s unique style, its challenge to produce anything like it, and the fact that Muhammad saw is sometimes corrected within its verses, instead seeing it as clear evidence of divine origin.
Ultimately, the question “Who wrote the Quran?” is about authority: if it is human, it can be edited or ignored, but if it is truly Allah’s speech, it deserves submission, belief, and a central place in a Muslim’s life.
وَمَا يَنطِقُ عَنِ الْهَوَىٰ
إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيٌ يُوحَىٰ
“And he does not speak from his own desire.
It is nothing but revelation that is revealed.”
