Senate Understanding Islam (and reading the Qur'an chapter by chapter)

I support this thread. I think there's value in an outsider's perspective on religion. I don't think Ghost intends to do anything as epic as "explain Islam." I think he wants to jump into the religion as an outsider and record his reactions. I've been wanting to do this with a variety of religious texts, actually. It's an interesting thing to do. Yes, it's a bloggy thing to do, but I support bloggy things on here. Obviously. I look forward to the chapter by chapter thing. It'll be interesting. I'll be reading the thread and hopefully commenting.

 

Kudos to Ghost for starting this thread. This is a discussion we really should have been having 15 years ago, and we haven't. We've let the bigots and the idiots hog the bullhorn for far too long. Its time for then to sit down and shut up.

 

You know what Islam needs? A musical comedy based on the wacky misadventures of Mohamed.

 

I think any examination of the Quran probably needs a little "introductory" section on the historical context of Islam. I mean Islam did not emerge out of a vacuum and is a "Abrahamic" religion and so as I understand it, Muhammad is described as being one of the many prophets of God which include Moses, Abraham and Jesus. So the story of Islam begins really with the life of Muhammad. I guess one of the interesting things about Muhammad and the writing of the Quran is that his life and times were well documented and relatively contemporaneous say compared with the Gospels which were written well after the events which they purport to document by anonomous authors.

I'm happy to contribute some stuff on this as the scripture part of Islam tends to make me go cross eyed.

 

You think they outnumber them, but they don't. The only time it's ever called "terrorism" is when Muslims are involved. As we speak there are horrific atrocities happening in Central African Republic, South Sudan, etc. by people who claim to be Christian, as well as the ethnic cleansing in Myanmar by people claiming to be Buddhist, in Gaza by people claiming to be Jewish... but none of these cases are called "terrorism" and so you assume that it's only Muslims who are violent. Whereas if you take a good look at history, you'd see that there is absolutely no basis to the statement that Muslims are more prone to violence than other faiths, and actually that the contrary is true. Have you ever heard of "Islamic terrorism" before 9/11? Also, you suggest that it might be cultural, but have you considered the possibility that it's neither religious NOR cultural, but political?

Obama's talking today about defeating ISIS, bombing them, killing their supply lines. And with all due respect to Obama and the other world leaders, are they illiterate or are they being purposely deceptive? It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if you arrest/remove Assad, the support for ISIS among their own ranks with drop significantly, as this was the main thing that unified them in the first place.

Most terrorism experts have stated (and written books about) how the main factor fueling terrorism are imperialist and opportunist policies of the west against countries that have natural resources they require. It's also the conclusion of many that 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam vs. anybody, but a rebellious punch in the nose to the schoolyard bully. The bully that retaliated with the complete destabilization and destruction of Iraq, among other things.

So again, have you heard of so-called "Islamic terrorism" before 9/11?

PS. You really should watch that documentary.

 

So here's a question then. Do we maybe need a discussion thread called Understanding Terrorism?

 

Yeah we used to have one like that.

 

Is anyone ever going to read any parts of the Koran?

 

In all seriousness, if I was a religion person, I'd probably find myself quite at home within Islam.

 

I had certainly heard of "Muslim terrorism" long before 9-11. Off the top of my head, there were multiple airliner hijackings that involved murders, there was the Iran hostage debacle that dragged on for 444 days in 79-80, there were always ugly incidents between Palestine and Israel, genocides in Africa involving so-called Muslims, truck bombs in US barracks, attacks in nightclubs, and the list goes on. I spent the summer of 01 in Saudi Arabia, got back on Sept 1, and breathed a sigh of relief that I was stateside and didn't have to worry about some radical trying to blow me up. Ten days later...

I don't believe any of that is representative of the vast majority of Moslems. At least 99% of the people I met over there weren't that different from me. They wanted to live their lives, raise their families, and be left in peace. It's just a tiny handful of maniacs that has led to the association of the words "Muslim" and "terrorist."

When I was in a taxi in Bahrain, the driver found out we had been in Saudi Arabia for months and told us, "Don't judge all Arabs by the Saudis. The Saudis are all crazy." That's advice that I apply to everyone.

 

The incidents you refer to were all political, and they were certainly no more frequent than similar incidents committed by persons or groups of different religious backgrounds. This is the argument that was raised.

I also find the statement, "the Saudis are all crazy," very problematic as it's a very simplistic way of painting everyone with a single brush, which is the source of a lot of the world's bigotry and prejudice.

 

Yeah, one of the most infamous atrocities in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict is the Sabra and Shatila massacres in 1982 where over a thousand Palestinian men, women and children were killed by Lebanese Phalange which are a Christian right-wing group. The person held to be ultimately responsible, Elie Hobeika, was a Maronite Christian.

edit: sorry this belongs in another thread.

 

I hope we haven't derailed this thread; is there still going to be a chapter study?

 

I assume that Ghost will need to to read each chapter of the Koran, then digest it and write something for the rest of us to talk about. That will take a little bit of time,

 

Yes. But presumably he had at least started in on this before making a huge public announcement.

 

OK so before Ghost launches into a line by line exposition of the text, let's take a few moments to set the scene. The story of Islam begins with the life and times of Muhammad. He was born in what is now called Mecca in the late 6th century and his adventures really kicked off in the early 7th century - so you can see that Christianity and Judaism were already a thing at the time that Islam started to be formed but I don't know whether these religions actually influenced the writing of the Qu'ran and if so, how influential they were. The location is Arabia, which is now Saudi Arabia - so we're talking a large desert which was populated largely by desert nomad types. At that time, the desert people were fiercely tribal and they all worshipped their own deities and things like like the sun, snakes, scorpions and nature, so they were basically polytheistic. They fought among themselves because they all considered their own deities to be better than the others and there was no concept of everyone being recognised by the deities of the other - it was a 'chosen few' mentality.

Muhammad effectively became a "prophet" when he was visited by the archangel Gabriel who revealed stuff to Muhammad about God (Allah) which then became the basis of the Qu'ran. Importantly for the region, the revelations included the existence of a single, almighty "Allah" who kind of accepted everyone as "brothers" and encouraged unity under one God rather than chaos and warfare under many gods. It was Muhammad's intial persecution and journey to Medina which saw many flock to his cause, but it was his return to Mecca which really cemented Muhammad as a prophet of the people as he effectively conquered Mecca with little or no bloodshed and treated those he defeated well, something which was pretty unprecedented in those times. Following on from this, there was a steady stream of converts. A couple of years later, Muhammad declared Islam as the religion of the people. The Qu'ran is the text of the revelations of Muhammad, dictated over time by various people. Much of the controversies surrounding Islam began after Muhammad's death, particularly with respect to who had the authority to lead Muslim people in Muhammad's name, hence the Shia and Sunni schism, and later more fundamentalist interpretations of the Qu'ran with Salafism and Wahabism.

OK -so, that is a very brief and probably inaccurate introduction as written by a non-Muslim and atheist..so..yeah.

 

Yes, I've been reading the Qur'an. (And I thought it would also be good to give everyone some time to discuss Islam in general first.) I just feel like this is something that deserves my full focus when I post my reflection, so I don't want to rush my reading and do a poor job, I want to have some time to think before I post. Especially since it's unfamiliar, so I want to let each piece to have a chance to sink in.

The book is structured into 114 chapters. But they are NOT ordered chronologically, either story-wise or by date of writing. And the Qur'an assumes you're familiar with stories in the Bible. It elaborates or reflects longer on some, skims or skips others, and offers alternative versions for some stories.

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is actually featured in the Qur'an more than the Bible, for example.
Moses is mentioned more than any other human in the Qur'an.
Jesus is mentioned more times than Mohammed.

The Qur'an is actually ordered from the longest chapter to the shortest chapter (with the exception of the first chapter, which is a famous and often-repeated prayer). So the second chapter, where it really begins, is 28 pages and covers a lot of ground. But the last forty chapters are less than a page each, and the previous forty about 1-3 pages each.

When I do post, it will be on at least the first two chapters, and include a short summary of Mohammed's life (for those who don't watch the PBS video) and of the Qur'an in general. Once we get near the end, I'll probably be doing about 5 chapters per post. So once I get through the first third of the book, it will feel like going downhill.

LostOnHoth, thank you. I'll elaborate a little bit on that timeline, but thanks so much for sharing!

 

Just to clarify something. Allah in Arabic means "The God" as opposed to illah which means "a god", and this name has been used for centuries by all monotheistic religions including Christianity. If you open the first chapter of Genesis in the modern Coptic Christian Bible, you'll find the word Allah (اللهُ) over 30 times. Even before Mohammed PBUH, the Arab pagans did believe in Allah, however their belief was different in that they believed in other sub-gods, or even children of God, whom they worshiped. Even Mohammed's father was named Abd-Allah, meaning "Servant of God".

So next time you hear someone on TV saying "we believe in God and Mozlems believe in Allah", you'll know that over 10 million Arabic-speaking Christians disagree with that, and it would give you an indication of how informed/uninformed they are.

 

It's probably also worthwhile mentioning that the Qu'ran is not read without an interpretational lens or codex. So within "Islam" there are basically a number of "schools of thought" which are identified as being Sunni "schools", Shia "schools", Sufi "schools" and other.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_schools_and_branches#Salafi_movement

Just for those who are planning on reading the Qu'ran with a view to trying to understand where a group like IS fits in, IS is basically an extreme version of Salafism/Wahabism which does not fall under any of the recognised " Islamic schools of thought". In fact, IS rejects most of the Sunni "schools" and is effectively a break off branch of Islam, to the point that many, many Sunni Muslim scholars argue (convincingly) that IS is not even remotely Islamic. See for example, article linked below:

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/06/17/367304/is-isil-really-sunni-not-at-all/

The article raises a qood question: If IS rejects the fundemental tenets of Sunni Islam then how can it be referred to as Sunni at all? So I guess it would be similar if, say the Mormons, had an extremist off-shoot who rejected most of the tenets of the LDS church, but called themselves Mormons,and everyone was up in arms against Mormonism.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw that in before we get started.

 

So it would sort of be like being claiming be like claiming to be the Pope, but in the same breath rejecting everything that the Catholic Church stands for. That's good to know.

 

Yes and actually doing things in the name of Jesus that no other Catholic does but claiming to be Catholic nonetheless, although I think it is more about how the global media describes IS as opposed to how IS describes itself.

 

The Life of Mohammed, Pre-Prophethood (Birth in ~570 until 610)

Mohammed was born around 570 AD in Mecca, long after Christianity had been established. The Western Roman Empire had already basically collapsed. The Eastern Roman Empire and the Persian Empire were the major powers of the day... but deserts of Arabia, where Mohammed was born, was beyond their reach. Arabian culture at this time embraced polytheism and machoism, which encouraged a lot of fighting between the tribes (all of which Mohammed would later reject). Family and tribal ties meant a lot in society. The one place where the tribes did not fight was Mecca, a place of neutrality where people could trade freely.

In a society that immensely valued family/tribal ties, Mohammed was an orphan. His father Abdullah died when Mohammed was an infant. His mother Amina died when he was 6 years old. His paternal grandfather Abdul then adopted him, but he too died when Mohammed was 8 years old. Mohammed then lived with his paternal uncle Abu Talib, and accompanied his uncle on several trade missions from Mecca to the Syria/Palestine area. It is also said that he spent some time living among the Bedouins in the desert.

At the age of 25, he had become a successful merchant, helping in the trade between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean, and had earned a good reputation as someone very fair and wise in his dealings. At this time, a wealthy 40-year-old widow named Khadija proposed marriage to him, and Mohammed accepted. It is said that he learned much from her, and that they had a happy marriage.

At the age of 35, there was a dispute because the Black Stone of the Kaaba had been moved from its place (in Mecca). This was the main attraction of Mecca, holy to polytheists as well as neighboring Jews and Christians (who thought it was built by Abraham). Tribal leaders were arguing over who should have the honor of returning the black stone to its place. The elders asked him what they should do. He suggested the Black Stone be put on a cloth, and the tribal leaders share the burden and honor by each holding the cloth from one corner, which worked well.

Mohammed began retreating to a cave outside Mecca to reflect.



The cave of Hira:













The Life of Mohammed, Prophethood and Beginnings (610 until 622)

It wasn't until the year 610 AD, at the age of 40, that Mohammed, praying the Cave of Hira in one of the mountains outside Mecca, believed he was visited by the angel Gabriel. This began the Qur'an, which is known as Mohammed's miracle. He confided in Khadijah and her Christian cousin.

The main themes of the Qur'an became those core beliefs that I mentioned in the first post. Above all, believing in One God would be transformational for Arab society at the time because One God means there should only be One People. That the tribes should be in harmony, with allegiance to God above all else, and that serving God should "color" all thoughts, words, actions, and silence. It also meant that Orphans, Women, and the other outsiders in Arab society at the time should be treated with equal respect.

Khadija became the first "convert," and encouraged and supported him. Other close friends and relatives soon followed, then many who were viewed as "outsiders" in society. Others, of course, ridiculed and then harassed Mohammed and his followers. Mohammed had not been known as a literate or poetic man before, and the beautiful words of the Qur’an now coming from him surprised everyone.

The religious and business elite of society were especially harsh critics, saying Mohammed dishonored their ancestors and their gods, and threatened business to Mecca (being the home of the Kaaba, which brought polytheistic pilgrims and lots of business with them). I can't help but see some parallels to Jesus overturning the tables of the money-changers in the Jerusalem Temple here, and then the elite Jewish priests leading to his condemnation. Mohammed's own tribe were opposed, and tried to bring him into the elite in exchange for his backing down on Islam, which Mohammed refused. His uncle Abu Talib was able to protect his personal safety, but not those of his followers, the first to call themselves Muslims.

As his followers began to be killed and tortured, the Christian King of Ethiopia offered a safe refuge. Many Muslims left for Ethiopia at the time, to escape persecution in Mecca.

In 619, when Mohammed was 49 years old, his beloved wife Khadija died at the age of 64. Mohammed's uncle Abu Talib died in the same year too, his protector. The new leader of his tribe was a fierce opponent of Mohammed. They kicked Mohammed out of his tribe, and he was no longer under any protection, and he could not find another protector.

When all hope seemed lost, the city of Yathrib, not far from Mecca, offered protection. They already had a Jewish population and were familiar with monotheism. They also needed help, and knew of Mohammed's reputation as someone who made fair deals and decisions.

Mohammed also became bethrothed to two more wives around this time (after the death of Khadija), one (Sawda) who was an old widow and who had suffered many hardships since converting and Mohammed wanted to protect her, and the other (Aisha) was the young daughter of one of his closest friends to join their families together.





The coming battle/migrations/conquests:











The Life of Mohammed, the Hijra and Death of the Prophet (622 until 632)

The mass migration of Mohammed and his followers to Yathrib was in the year 622, three years after the death of Khadija. This migration became known as the Hijra, which marks year 1 in the Islamic calendar.

Yathrib prospered with their new Muslim community, and was renamed to... Medina, the city of the Prophet.

Mohammed wanted to bring peace to the tribal divisions in Medina, and wrote a constitution... the Constitution of Medina, centuries before the Magna Carta or the U.S. Constitutiton. It created a United State between the native Tribes of Medina (including the Jewish tribes) as well as the Muslim immigrants, and had a "bill of rights" which also listed civic duties of each citizen. It specifically protected the Freedom of Religious Belief, and the exercising of that belief, as long as everyone accepted the new Mohammed/Muslim-led system of government. It said that all factions of the new society, Muslim and non-Muslim, should be present when making decisions as a state. Non-Muslims were not required to participate in any religious conflicts involving its Muslim inhabitants, but that if there's a common enemy of the nation then all should fight, which sure sounds like a separation of religion and state to me. It also specified that a Woman has rights, for the first time in Arab history. It offered methods of peaceful dispute resolution, without requiring assimilation to one religion or culture, which was very new at the time, creating a pluralistic and multicultural society. The unified community was called the "ummah," and the Jews were considered part of the ummah. The culture was still tribal, but much less so than before. Islam, unlike most others religions, rejected the idea of a priesthood class and (like the Protestants, who would come centuries later) claimed that all believers were equal in the eyes of God. Mohammed stressed that he was simply human messenger, and not divine.

This constitution kept inner harmony in Medina, except for one major incident. A Muslim woman was stripped naked by a Jewish man, which led to a chain of revenge killings, and eventually to the expulsion of the Jewish Banu Qaynuga tribe for violating the constitution (but several other Jewish tribes were not involved and remained). It was still controversial, then and now.

Tensions began to flare between Meccans (who had seized the property of the Muslim refugees when fleeing) and the Muslims of Medina who began raiding caravans to Mecca to recover their wealth. Muslims began praying in the direction of Mecca instead of Jerusalem. After one unlikely battle victory, seen as a sign from God, Mohammed began allying with Bedouin tribes and other towns. It now turned to war, and Mohammed was injured in one battle. One of the Jewish chieftains of Medina (of the Banu Nadir tribe) travelled to Mecca and incited them to take revenge against Mohammed, and Mohammed felt betrayed and then banished the Banu Nadir tribe, who then allied with Mecca to retake Medina for themselves, and brought another Jewish tribe (this one from outside Medina) into the alliance too. A siege on Medina began and failed, with the Muslims digging trenches to fight against the siege, leaving the Meccans with a loss of prestige and faltering trade. There were many widows from the war with Mecca, and Mohammed married some of them, to offer protection and consolation, and made several political marriages to quell internal dissent, and married daughters of chieftains of Jewish and Arab tribes they had fought to offer reconciliation as gestures of goodwill.

Mohammed received a dream from Gabriel, with God commanding the "hajj," which is the pilgrimage to Mecca. Mohammed and 1400 Muslims travelled to Mecca's outskirts in 628, evading an attacking cavalry from Mecca. Negotiations then began with Mecca to end the conflict, and a treaty was signed. Mohammed was now respected again in Mecca, allowed to perform his religious pilgrimage with fellow Muslims, and the Meccans began to see him as a great leader and respect him again. Mohammed began looking beyond Arabia.

After two years, in 630 AD, some clans allied with Mecca broke the treaty. Mohammed asked for either compensation for the dead, exile of those offending tribes, or declaring the treaty to be over. Mecca decided on the last option, and declared war again. Medina had grown very strong in the two years of peace, and Mecca soon regretted their choice and desired peace again. Mohammed marched on Mecca with 10,000 Muslims, with little resistance or bloodshed.

As the tribal leaders prepared for a massacre, Mohammed surprisingly declared amnesty for them. Most Meccans converted to Islam, and Mohammed had the idols of their tribal, polytheistic gods around the Kaaba destroyed, sparing only paintings of Mary and Jesus (according to some stories). After eight years, there was a lasting peace between Mecca and Medina, and Mohammed now called Mecca home again.

Other Arab tribes began to mount attacks against the now-unified state of Mecca and Medina. Mohammed's forces repelled those attacks, then began the conquest of the rest of Arabia.

In 632 AD, two years after the mostly-bloodless conquest of Mecca, ten years after the mass immigration to Yathrib/Medina, Mohammed completed the first truly Islamic hajj pilgrimage and ritual. He then gave a famous sermon nearby, at Mount Arafat, the Mountain of Mercy. At the sermon, he called for the abolition of all blood feuds, the equality of blacks and whites who shall not be judged by God by their color but by their actions and character, called for kindness to women, to give to the poor and to remember the orphans. Above all, Mohammed repeated his call for equality, for one people under one God. A few months later, Mohammed fell ill, and died in the arms of his wife Aisha. He was buried in her house at Medina. Many years later, a tomb for him was built there, along with tombs for the first caliphs and an empty tomb for Jesus.



Medina and Mohammed's tomb:

















The Qur'an

"The Qur'an is the supreme authority in Islam. It is the fundamental and paramount source of the creed, rituals, ethics, and laws of the Islamic religion. This supreme status stems from the belief that the Qur'an is the word of God, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad via the archangel Gabriel, and intended for all times and all places.​

​

The Qur'an was the starting point for all Islamic sciences, which were developed in order to study its grammar, pronunciation, and style, and it is the basis of Islamic law and theology; indeed, as the celebrated fifteenth-century scholar and author Suyuti said, 'Everything is based on the Qur'an.' The entire religious life of the Muslim world is built around the text of the Qur'an. As a consequence of the Qur'an, the Arabic language moved far beyond the Arabian peninsula, deeply penetrating many other languages within the Muslim lands--Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Indonesian, and others. The first sura (or section) of the Qur'an, al-Fatiha, which is an essential part of the ritual prayers, is learned and read in Arabic by Muslims in all parts of the world, and many other verses and phrases in Arabic are also incorporated into the lives of non-Arabic-speaking Muslims."​

This marks the beginning of my book. This translation of the Qur'an is provided by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, and is a highly respected translation, included in the Oxford World's Classics series.



Images of my Qur’an, and its table of contents:

















As I’ve said before, the Qur’an has 114 chapters or sections, called suras. Sura 1 is very short, but otherwise, the Qur’an is structured in order of longest suras to shortest suras. The book is not structured in chronological order, by either content or context, or even by theme. Also, it’s verses are called ayahs.

Scholars have identified which suras are “Meccan” (pre-hijra) or “Medinan” (post-hijra), and have tried to identify the best chronological order… but it’s not meant to be read that way, so I am not going to read it that way.

The Qur’an also assumed at least a vague familiarity with the Jewish and Christian stories of the Bible. It elaborates or reflects at length on some, skips or skims over others, and offers alternative versions to some too. There will be stories about Adam and Eve, Noah, Moses, Mary, and Jesus. There are multiple references to the Torah and the Gospels. But they will not be in order. So this might be slightly confusing to those who aren’t familiar, but I think I am familiar enough.

Its nonlinear and eternal, “outside of time,” quality is said to create a powerful effect. Its repetitiveness and self-references, especially combined with its rhythmic and poetic quality (and some rhyming) in its original Arabic, are said to have made it very easy to memorize in Arabic.

The Qur’an is said to be beautifully written and spoken in its native Arabic language, so artistic and poetic in the Arabic language that it is known as Mohammed’s miracle, and Muslims are taught that the only true version of the Qur’an is the Arabic version. The translator for my book offers a commentary for each chapter, to help frame it and properly translate its meaning in Arabic. As has been mentioned, the Qur’an came to Mohammed as messages from the angel Gabriel, beginning when he was 40 years old and until his death at the age of 63. The suras of the Qur’an were first memorized and recited by his followers, but they soon began writing it down at Mohammed’s request by 29 scribes, and it was compiled into the Qur’an, with several manuscripts that were finalized into the version we know today within 20 years of Mohammed’s death at the latest. Mohammed said the angel Gabriel would tell him where each new addition of the Qur’an should be placed. Scholars have found fragments of early copies of the Qur’an dating to 671 AD with 99% certainty, which makes it much more reliable than the compilation of the Bible (from a scholarly perspective).

The Qur’an is also written as addressed to (or about) Mohammed, not from Mohammed. And like I said earlier, all the prophets of God are said to have been given the same message, just for different people at different times. The Qur’an is meant to confirm the truth from these earlier messages once and for all.










Now, on to the first sura, in the beginning…





1. The Opening

In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy!​

​

Praise belongs to God, Lord of the Worlds, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy, Master of the Day of Judgment.​

​

It is You we worship; it is You we ask for help.​

​

Guide us to the straight path: the path of those You have blessed, those who incur no anger and have not gone astray.​

So, I’ve read a lot about this sura, which is often recited by Muslims, especially in Arabic. I wrote the entire section here, since it is short enough. For a Christian equivalent (though it’s not truly an equivalent), I see it as similar to the Lord’s Prayer that begins “Our Father…”

I can tell already what they meant by repetition being used a lot in the Qur’an to drill home certain points. Here, it is emphasized that, above all else, God is merciful. The importance of Mercy to Islam seems to be a core belief, especially of God’s mercy. Mercy is majestic, being merciful is not being weak but being close to God. That mercy is inherent to the nature of God and all that is good.

“Lord of the Worlds” is also interesting, since it implies that there are other worlds than our own, perhaps even other worlds with life, but that this God is the God of all. Revealing that, saying that this God is the lord of worlds (and humans only exist in one), makes it easier to see that he’s also God of all the tribes that existed in the time of Mohammed and makes the divisions between humans seem petty by describing God at this scale. The commentary also says the Arabic word for this version of Lord also connotes caring and nurturing. Not only is God the Lord of the Worlds, God is also the Nourisher of the Worlds, being both fatherly and motherly as well as beyond it all too. The commentary also adds that Worlds not only refers to physical worlds, or only to humans, but also to angels, plants, animals, the afterlife, etc.

The commentary also points out that the last verse means to be guided on a path that incurs the anger of no one… it is talking about harmony between humans, and not offending others humans, not the anger of God.

God is meant to be worshipped, and God is supposed to be leaned on for support… support to stay true to God and not stray, with a reference also made to the Day of Judgment to come.





Next sura, the second chapter, is entitled “The Cow,” and it’s nearly 30 pages. At first I was going to wait until I finished reading it, but I decided to get the ball rolling now, as well as to allow some time for everyone to dwell on the first sura because of its core importance, something that could be lost with my commentary on the second sura, which covers a lot of ground. I hope to have the second sura out by Monday if not earlier. It is a Medinan sura, meaning it was written near the end of Mohammed’s life, after he had fled persecution in Mecca and begun governing in Medina. This single sura is the longest in the Qur’an, and revealed to him over several years, named after the Cow that the Israelites were ordered to slaughter. It speaks of believers, disbelievers, and hypocrites, the tenets of faith, the grace of God and how much God values Humans, the special privilege given to the Jewish people and the importance of Children of Israel, how to pray, how to fast, what pilgrimages to make, and laws concerning marriage, military defense, and financial matters. So as I said, the next sura will cover a lot of ground.

Also, now that I think I've done all necessary introductions, expect future posts to be much shorter!

Have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!

 

I just came across this article on CNN and thought it was worth posting. Apparently this has never been done before.

 

I've always wanted to read the Qur'an and gain a better understanding, so I'm really glad for this thread.

 

I'm ready to write about the second sura, but before I do, does anyone have questions or comments about what I posted so far?