The Sunni’s believe the revelations where passed down by Allah through the Angel Gabriel to Mohammad but the Shi’ites believe that it was passed down to Mohammad without the intermediary the Angel Gabriel.
The Qur’an is seen by Muslims to be perfect and more important than the Bible or Torah because the Bible and the Torah are seen to have been distorted to suit their believing communities but the revelations in the Qur’an are believed to have been recorded immediately when Mohammad received them.
As a guide to life the Qur’an is shown respect, when it is being read at home or in the mosque a Muslim must perform wuzu, this is believed that it prepares the worshipper for prayer and ensures that he is spiritually pure. Whilst the Qur’an is being read it is placed on a stand known as a kursi this is to keep it clean and it is also kept on the highest shelf in the house to show it has authority and to make sure it is kept clean. During a reading the worshipper must maintain a strict code of conduct for example there is no eating, drinking or talking and every Muslim must use a prayer mat.
At the beginning of each sura apart from sura 9 it starts with Bismillah ‘In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate’ this reminds the worshipper of how important God is.
Most Muslims today are expected to learn the Arabic for the Qu’ran, as it is the book, which will guide them through their lives and they must know the Arabic so that they are can read the Qur’an in the same form as it was given to Mohammad.
If the Qur’an is translated it is not seen to be the Qur’an because you can’t get the proper meaning and beauty of the words and it will also eliminate any chance of error which translation may create. Muslim children attend a madrassah to learn the Arabic for the Qur’an. Somebody who can recite the Qur’an of by heart is called a hafiz. A hafiz is very important because that was what Mohammad did once a year on the anniversary of the night of power.
As you can see the Qur’an is a complete source of guidance because without the Qur’an Muslims wouldn’t know what duties to perform and how to submit to the will of Allah and as Mohammad was known as Al-Amin (trustworthy) and because he was illiterate there is no doubt over his claim to Prophecy, so therefore there is no doubt over the authenticity of the Qur’an as an absolute guide to life and as the ‘Seal of the Prophets’ he delivered Gods final revelation, making there be no need for any future ‘divine intervention’.