Qur'an: Introduction

Having read about a third of the Old Testament, and about half of the New Testament, I've decided to take a break from the Bible to read the Qur'an and learn about Islam for a bit. Being a collection of stuff that Muhammad said (or, stuff that was revealed to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel) at different times over a twenty year period, the Qur'an doesn't lend itself well to summary. I'll share a few excerpts with a little bit of history so we can all learn about Islam together. Like with the New Testament, I've decided to read the Qur'an in an approximate chronological order to see how Muhammad's views/revelations developed over his life.

Arabia, in Muhammad's day, was a place of many religions. Muhammad's imagination combined elements from Arabian polytheism with bits of Jewish and Christian lore to create a new mythology. Central to this mythology is the oneness of God; Muhammad thought polytheism was obviously rubbish, and considered the Christian doctrine of the Trinity to be nonsense:

'Say: "He is God, Unique,
God, Lord Supreme!
Neither begetting nor begotten,
And none can be His peer."

Despite what we might expect from the media's portrayal of Islam, the Qur'an is not that big on preaching, proselytising and winning over converts:

'Say: "O unbelievers! I do not worship what you worship,
Nor do you worship what I worship;
Nor will I ever worship what you worship,
Nor will you ever worship what I worship.
You have your religion,
And I have mine.'