The Qur’an is the Holy Book of Islam. It would be an incorrect statement to say that the book is simply divinely inspired. The Holy Qur’an is the literal word of God that was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (s).  

None of the words contained in the Qur’an are the words of the Messenger of Allah. Think about it this way, if someone gives you a magazine article to read out loud which someone else has written, are you reading your own words or the words of someone else?  

The Qur’an contains all the central principals and guidelines we need in order to reach the salvation both as individuals and a collective Muslim community. In this sense, the Qur’an therefore acts like a constitution, that is, a guiding framework for our lives for avoiding sin, doing good works, having good manners and ultimately finding faith in God and success in the Hereafter. 

Despite the centrality of the Qur’an, it alone is not enough. Just like a constitution needs interpreters, so does the Qur’an. The Qur’an’s interpreter is the Messenger of Allah (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (as). The Qur’an thus needs a teacher so that humankind will be able to understand and implement the Qur’an properly.