The Qur'an, the sacred text of Islam, is a compilation of the revelations of Allah (God) given to the Prophet Muhammad over a twenty-three year period from 610 - 632 C.E. The Qur'anic revelations present Muhammad as "the messenger of God," the last or culmination in a series of prophets or messengers going back to Adam and including Abraham, Moses and Jesus. While translations of the Qur'an exist in many languages, the Qur'an itself is always in Arabic.

The Qur'an is not arranged in chronological order or according to narrative pattern. The suras (chapters) associated with the first revelations given to Muhammad are at the very end of the written Qur'an. These short suras are those most often memorized and recited by Muslims. Three of the five Pillars of Islam are introduced in the early suras: the proclamation of the oneness of God, prayer and charity to the poor.

This Qur'an manuscript has been copied in naskh script by the Shi'ite (a branch of Islam) calligrapher Mohammad Gaafar Ibn Mohammad Ibrahim.