When was the Qu'ran written?
The Qur'an was written as it was revealed. Muhammad (Pbuh) was born in 570 and was visited by Gabriel at the age of 40. Gabriel would give him a piece of the Qur'an (such as a chapter or part of a chapter) that he then memorized and recited to others to write down (since he was illiterate). The scribes would read it back over and over again to make 100% sure that not one word was added that shouldn't have been there and nothing was lost from the revelation.
Over the next 23 years of his life (he died at age 63 in 633), he recited the message. Before he died, the Qur'an was in circulation. We are 100% sure that the today's Qur'an is verbatim to their Qur'an for a few reasons: one being that a secret code was discovered in this century which shows it was preserved and the second reason that there are 3 copies which exist from Muhammad's (Pbuh) time until today.
Before it, how was one saved, from the beginnings of time up until the writing of it?
Before Muhammad (Pbuh), each nation had been sent their own Prophets. Those Prophets had come with messages from their Lord on how to live their lives. Each Messenger came with some type of Miracle to validate his claim as a true Prophet from God. People that had not heard or somehow seen of this message will be judged differently than those who had. They cannot be judged the same as someone who has known the true message of God his/her entire life.
Or was the plan somehow communicated before the Qu'ran and how was it communicated?
"The Plan" had been communicated many times before the Qur'an through Moses, Noah, Jesus, Abraham, (Peace be upon them all). The Christians during the time of Muhammad (Pbuh) believed different things than the ones of today's time. For example, the trinity was still a relatively new idea in 570 (being created in the late 4th century). In fact, the disparity between Christianity and Islam at that time was so little, many Christians in Northern Africa reverted to Islam simply because it was teaching essentially the same message that they had been following up to the time of the Prophet.
The Christians were very good friends with the Muslims. In fact, one story tells how the Pagans were killing of hundreds of Muslims to rid what is now Saudi Arabia of all Muslims. So God told the Muslims to go to a Christian king (I cannot remember his name off the top of my head but will get it for you) who would offer them protection from the pagans. So the Muslims fled to this Christian king.....And when the Pagans asked the Christian king for the Muslims, the Christian king asked the Muslims what they believed. And the Muslims recited to the king a verse from the Qur'an from the Surah of Maryam (Mary) which told of the miraculous birth of Christ. Upon hearing this, the king informed the pagans that he would not give up the Muslims for 10 tons of gold...
Peace be unto you,
Norris
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