Caliph Uthman ( r. 644–656) established a standard version, now known as the Uthmanic codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran known today. There are, however, variant readings, with mostly minor differences in meaning.

According to Muslim belief and Islamic scholarly accounts, the revelation of the Quran to the Islamic prophet Muhammad began in 610 CE when the angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad in the cave of Hira, near the city of Mecca. Muslims believe that Muhammad continued to receive revelations until his death in 632 CE.

Islamic and Arabic scholars say the spelling Qur'an is preferred, but in much of the non-Arabic, Western press, the name of the scripture is more commonly spelled Koran. (The Sun uses Quran in its news stories.) Scholars say the issue is transliteration, or spelling a word in a language in which it did not originate.

Muslims believe that the Quran was verbally revealed from God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death.