The word "Quran" means "the recitation". The Quran is the holy book of Islam made by Allah and conveyed by Prophet Muhammad. It has been written and read in Arabic for more than 1,400 years. But, because many Muslims around the world do not understand Arabic, the meaning of the Quran is also given in other languages, so that readers can understand better what the Arabic words in the Quran mean. These books are like dictionaries to the Quran. They are not read as part of the religion of Islam, to replace the Arabic Quran. Muslims believe the Quran to be the word of Allah that was given to Muhammad by the angel Hazrat Gebril over a period of twenty-three years until his death. It is believed that Gebril spoke to Muhammad, in the cave of the mountain of Hira. Muslims believe that the wording in the Quran text today is as identical as it was spoken to Muhammad by Gebril. Hazrat Muhammad only delivered the Quran to the people and serve as a messenger of Allah. After Hazrat Muhammad death his companions began recording all the Surah in written form.