The Must Know Guide to the Qur'an for the Western World

TheQuran.com Ph.D. Group

Description

The Qur'an: is it a book of terror or a book of peace? A divinely inspired text or a political agenda for jihad, sharia law, and global domination? How is one to know the truth about the Qur'an? Where does one even begin a personal study? With the growing global interest in Islam and the teachings of the Qur'an, Islam's main source and foundation, the need to provide an objective tool to investigate the truth about Islam as a religion and way of life has become crucial. This scholarly work is a valuable beginner's guide. Designed to provide readers with background information and address important issues raised in the Qur'an, it enables readers to better understand Islam and its impact on Muslim communities. The Must Know Guide to the Qur'an for the Western World is a modified version of The Qur'an Dilemma (Volume One), and contains most of Parts I and III of this earlier publication (2011). The content in both The Must Know Guide to the Qur'an for the Western World and The Qur'an Dilemma represent the effort and production of many former Muslim writers, Islamic specialists, scholars, editors, researchers, and translators. To non-Muslims who want to unravel the mysteries of Islam, this book presents information that Islamic resources rarely disclose—to allow those seeking the truth to comprehend the full picture with all its outlines, colors, and dimensions. To Muslims who seek genuine choices far from the culture of "indoctrination," this book opens a world of understanding to them, so that they can decide for themselves their intellectual and spiritual paths.

Sujets

• Koran
• Sacred Writings
• Philosophie et théologie
• Religion
• Islam

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 21 février 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781935577041
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright
The Must Know Guide
to the Qur’ān
for the Western World
by
TheQuran.com
2011 © Copyright USA
ISBN 978-193557704-1
TheQuran.com
www.thequran.com
[e-mail]
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
Preface
T he Qur’ān: is it a book of terror or a book of peace? A divinely inspired text or a political agenda for jihād , sharī‘a law, and global domination? How is one to know the truth about the Qur’ān? Where does one even begin a personal study?
With the growing global interest in Islam and the teachings of the Qur’ān, Islam’s main source and foundation, the need to provide an objective tool to investigate the truth about Islam as a religion and way of life has become crucial.
This scholarly work is a valuable beginner’s guide. Designed to provide readers with background information and address important issues raised in the Qur’ān, it enables readers to better understand Islam and its impact on Muslim communities. The Must Know Guide to the Qur’ān for the Western World is a modified version of The Qur’ān Dilemma (Volume One), and contains most of Parts I and III of this earlier publication (2011). The content in both The Must Know Guide to the Qur’ān for the Western World and The Qur’ān Dilemma represent the effort and production of many former Muslim writers, Islamic specialists, scholars, editors, researchers, and translators.
To non-Muslims who want to unravel the mysteries of Islam, this book presents information that Islamic resources rarely disclose—to allow those seeking the truth to comprehend the full picture with all its outlines, colors, and dimensions.
To Muslims who seek genuine choices far from the culture of “indoctrination,” this book opens a world of understanding to them, so that they can decide for themselves their intellectual and spiritual paths.
Divisions of this Book
The book is divided into two main parts: Background of the Qur’ān and Resources and References. The first part includes a series of articles on important topics, e.g., compilation and chronological order of the Qur’ān, women in Islam, Islam’s treatment of people of other faiths, and other topics related to the Qur’ān.
The second part provides readers with valuable resources and additional information essential for their research and any future reference work utilizing this book. These resources will aid them in gaining a greater understanding of the many Islamic terminologies, references, historical Islamic events and well-known figures. These references make this book a valuable resource and handyl reference for readers, researchers, and scholars.
Readers of this Kindle book who wish to advance their knowledge are encouraged to read The Qur’ān Dilemma , which includes a comprehensive verse-by-verse parallel commentary of the Qur’ān itself, examining the Qur’ān from three distinct perspectives: critical analysis, abrogation, and variant readings.
Bibliography and Endnotes
Nearly all of the sources used in the research and writing of this book come directly from classical and modern Islamic, Arabic sources; all of these sources are known and respected by the Islamic scholarly community. The writing team balanced the selection and inclusion of these sources to help guide readers toward an unbiased conclusion or view.
Source references are listed in the back of the book in a footnote format (rather than in-text parenthetical documentation) to enhance readability. A complete bibliography of all sources, divided into three categories (Arabic Commentaries, Arabic Sources, and Non-Arabic Sources), is also provided.



Background of the Qur’ān
Introduction
R eligion is man’s systematic search for God and truth. It is a collection of beliefs and thoughts regarding the deity of God and his relationship to man. When one is considering the claims of a religion, one must consider the source of the authority upon which that religion bases its claims.
According to Islāmic doctrine, Muḥammad is the messenger [D] of All a h [D] (examples: Q 2.101 , 279; Q 3.32) and the “Seal of the Prophets” (Q 33.40) on whom the Qur’ān was revealed through a heavenly intermediary. This intermediary is called “the Faithful Spirit” (Q 26.193) and other times “Holy Spirit” (Q 16.102). After Muḥammad ’s migration to Medina, this intermediary became known as “Gabriel” (Q 2.97-98). (See the article “Muḥammad’s Jibrīl”)
The Qur’ān was revealed to Muḥammad in the Arabic language (Q 12.2, Q 13.37, Q 20.113 ). Muḥammad gave this revelation to a people group that, previous to this time in history, had no heavenly revealed books, and had never had a prophet sent to them (Q 34.44). The Qur’ān makes the claim within its verses that it is part of the series of the holy books, e.g., the Torah [D] , the Gospel (Q 2.41, 91, 97; Q 3.3, 50).
This period of revelation took place over the course of twenty-three years (AD 610-632) , during which Muḥammad declared himself a prophet. After the death of Muḥammad , his Companions [D] gathered the Qur’ān into a book. (See the article “Compilation of the Qur’ān.”)
Names of the Qur’ān
Muslims have called their most holy book several different names, each with its own origin and meaning.
The Qur’ān
The common name for the holy book of Islām is the Qur’ān (Q 2.185). The name Qur’ān appears about seventy times in the Qur’ān. The opinions of scholars vary regarding the origin and meaning of the word Qur’ān :
1. Qur’ān comes from the word qara’a , meaning “to recite.” Those who hold this view say that the expression the Qur’ān appears with this meaning in Q 75.17-18 , where the Arabic reads with the word Qur’ān and its derivatives: “It is for us to collect it and to read it; and when we read it then follow its reading.” [1]
2. Qur’ān is a description following the Arabic grammatical form fu‘l ā n . Qur’ān then is considered a derivative of the word qar’ ī, meaning “to gather.” It is similar to the saying “qara’ta al-m ā ’a f ī al- ḥ awḍ,” which means “you gathered the water in the tub.” [2]
3. Qur’ān is derived from qarantu , meaning “to pair one thing to another” or “to merge them together.” The Qur’ān received this name because of the manner in which its sūra s, verses, and letters were merged together to form the whole. [3]
4. Qur’ān “is derived from qar ā ’in because its verses confirm one another and, in many ways, look the same; hence, they are similar.” [4]
5. Qur’ān is a unique proper noun, not borrowed from other known sources. It is applied to the words revealed to Muḥammad . [5]
It is interesting to note that many Muslim commentators and exegetes have disregarded the Semitic root of qur’ān , which is ( qara’a ), meaning “to recite.” This root word, qara’a , is likely to have come from the Aramaic-Canaanite region. The word qur’ān is present in Hebrew, Phoenician, Aramaic, and Syriac. [6]
One opinion maintains that the origin of the word qur’ān was influenced by the Hebrew expression , which later came to mean “recitation, reading” according to the Old Testament (Neh. 8.8). This expression is also repeated in rabbinical writings several times. However, most researchers lean toward the idea that qur’ān comes from the Syriac , which means “reading, recitation” and is used in connection to the study of the Bible.
The similarity between the Arabic and the Syriac words is clear. The Syriacs called the books, or chapters, of the Bible that are read in church , or lectionaries. Thus Muḥammad chose for his book the name that was familiar to him then. Without a doubt, the word qur’ān reached Muḥammad from Christian sources. [7]
In the Qur’ān the verb qara’a appears whenever Muḥammad shares a revelation—with the exception of four locations. Two of these exceptions refer to the other holy books (Q 10.94; Q 17.93). The other two refer to the “Book” (Record of Deeds) that are given to people on the Day of Judgment [D] (Q 17.71; Q 69.19). All of these references show that the inclusion of the verb qara’a in the Qur’ān is always associated with the heavenly books. [8]
Al- Muṣḥaf
A common name for the Qur’ān is al-Muṣḥaf (“the Codex”) , the plural of which is maṣāḥif. The root of the word appears to be ṣuḥuf . According to an Islāmic narrative, the word has an Abyssinian root. When the first caliph Abū Bak r [N] had assembled the various parts of the Qur’ān, he gathered his advisors to discuss the issue of naming the book. Some of them wanted to name it Injīl [D] (“Gospel”), but that suggestion was rejected. Others proposed naming it al-Sifr (“the Book, the Record”), but this suggestion was rejected as well. One advisor, Ibn Mas‘ū d [N] , said that he had heard that the Abyssinians used the name al-Muṣḥaf and suggested it. His suggestion was accepted. [9]
Al-Furqān
The famous name al-Furqān [D] (“the Criterion”) is used considerably but is less common than al-Qur’ān and al-Muṣḥaf . It is mentioned in Q 2.185, Q 3.4, and Q 25.1.
The expression al-Furqān is not limited to the Qur’ān but is mentioned when dealing with other holy books. For example, this phrase is used to describe the books of Moses (Q 2.53; Q 21.48). The Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) and the New Testament are also collectively called by this name (Q 3.4).
The Qur’ān states that if a person believes in Allah, he would make that belief for the person a furqān (Q 8.29). In addition, the victory of Badr (Q 8.41) is called (in Arabic) “the day of al-Furqān.” [10]
All of the various uses of the name al-Furqān cause us to consider its Semitic root. This word is present in the rabbinical literatur e [D] as , which means “to save or to redeem.” [11]
In his book, The Foreig