Contemplating the Qur’an

CONTEMPLATING THE QUR’AN 

11/16/05

“The infidels resemble him who shouteth aloud to one who heareth no more than a call and cry! Deaf, dumb, blind: therefore they have no understanding.”

“Oh ye who believe! eat of the good things with which we have supplied you, and give God thanks if ye are His worshippers. But that which dieth of itself, and blood, and swine’s flesh, and that over which any other name than that of God hath been invoked, is forbidden you. But he who shall partake of them by constraint, without lust or willfulness, no sin shall be upon him. Verily God is Indulgent, Merciful.

“They truly who hid the Scriptures which God hath sent down, and barter them for a mean price- these shall swallow into their bellies naught but fire. God will not speak to them or assoil them, on the day of Resurrection: and theirs shall be a grievous torment.”

“These are they who have bartered guidance for error, and pardon for torment; But how great their endurance in fire! This shall be their doom, because God had sent down ‘the Book’ with the truth. And verily they who dispute about that Book are in a far-gone severance from it.”

“There is no piety in turning your faces towards the east or the west, but he is pious who believeth in God, and the last day, and the angels, and the Scriptures, and the prophets; who for the love of God disburseth his wealth to his kindred, and to the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and those who ask, and for ransoming; who observeth prayer, and payeth the legal alms, and who is of those who are faithful to their engagements when they have engaged in them, and patient under ills and hardships, and in time of trouble; these are they who are just, and these are they who fear the Lord….”

The Qur’an: Sura 2

According to the Koran the angel Gabriel (of Judeo Christian fame) appeared to Muhammad and told him that he would be a prophet of a new word of God, and that is how the Islamic religion began. (Aprox.625 AD) Why should anyone deny this word over any other? I mean did anyone witness Moses or Abraham or Jesus talking to God? Everyone just took their word for it and trusted them. So why should we not believe that God spoke to Muhammad? More people believe in Islam than in Christianity though both religions are derived from the same geographical area and ancestry and worship the same God Head. As I begin my general study of the Koran to seek some of its meaning, I will bring a few quotes and observations forward. So far I see nothing to be afraid of , nothing to obsess about , and I was surprised that the Koran states the Islamic acceptance of Judaism and Christianity, as its foundation and Moses and Jesus as prophets, and even defends Jesus’s virgin and divine birth. I’m afraid that some of the fundamental concepts of Islam got seriously mistranslated and maligned through the centuries. I see no valid reason to doubt the Koran as a holy book, just as I consider the Judeo Christian Bible to be the word of God written through prophets.

I hope to continue my research and share it with my readers. If anyone more advanced in their knowledge and study of the Koran would be interested in conversing with me and my readers please use the forum on this site. I realize most of the people in the world haven’t read the Judeo Christian Bible yet, but there are enough English language websites and Bible thumpers around to easily find one; but there are very few English language sites that try to understand and objectively compare the Koran with other holy works. So expect a few more articles on the subject good or bad, but I promise my readers I will be fair and honest, if for no other reason than my fear of divine retribution.

L.A. STEEL