"The Quran jumps from the children of Israel to the story of Adam and Eve to Jesus to Moses — not because it's a random text but because it uses all these stories to reinforce the moral message that surrounds those stories," Sultan said.

Muslims believe the Quran is the revelation from God that the Angel Gabriel gave to Muhammad. The Quran is a series of revelations that took place over 23 years.

"The Prophet was an illiterate man who could not read or write, and we believe the words of the Quran were imprinted on his mind and heart, and as these passages were revealed to him, he would recite them," Sultan said. The Quran was memorized and written by scribes during Muhammad's lifetime, he added.

The word Quran means "that which is recited," and the Koran in its primary form is not a written document, Sultan noted. The Quran should be heard to get a true flavor of it, and Sultan suggests non-Muslims listen to recordings of Quranic recitation.

"Even though you will not understand what is being said, you will get the aura of it, which is important."

During Ramadan, practicing Muslims increase their reading of the Quran, and every Muslim is supposed to have some portion of the Quran memorized, Sultan said.

"The very reason Ramadan is sacred," he said, "is that it marks the time when the Quran first began to be revealed."

To obtain a copy of the Quran, call the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), request online at www.cair-net.org/explorethequran/ or call (800) 784-7526.