The Qur'an, a masterpiece of immense religious and literary value, is presented in a convenient, affordable edition for a new generation of readers. The earliest known work in Arabic prose, the Qur'an is divided into 114 suras , or chapters, containing the religious, social, civil, commercial, military, and legal codes of Islam. About the Author: John Medows Rodwell (1808-1900) published his acclaimed translation of the Koran in 1861.