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| "The Noble Qur'an." / Source: kalamullah.com |
I don't make a habit of reviewing other people's religious
texts, and this instance is no exception.
So instead of calling this a "review", I will simply note some
things I learned while reading, and give some of my impressions. I must note, I do so as a non-Muslim, but I
do it as a person who wishes well of anybody who is doing their best with what
they believe in this life. I say this
both out of sincerity, and because there is a fear on my part that some people
might feel offended by someone speaking "out of turn" as it were,
regarding their scripture. I mean no
disrespect by my efforts, and hope my comments that follow will make that
clear.
Some background: I
first studied the Prophet Muhammed in one of my lower level history courses
while attending university. The class
was something of a whirlwind, covering thousands of years of recorded history,
and a lot of things got scant treatment in the meantime. However, one of the texts the professor had
us read was what I consider to be a very well-balanced piece describing the
life and influence of Muhammed. I found
the subject fascinating. You see, I grew
up seeing the cultural stereotype of the "evil" middle eastern
terrorist, and unfortunately it was easy to associate these particular people
with their religion. Muslims, by way of
indirect association with Arabs (which of course is a silly connection, but
persists strongly in the minds of many), were portrayed as just plane-hijacking
masked gunmen for the mostly white "all-American" hero to
defeat. But I didn't necessarily think all
Muslims were evil, per-se, but I was in ignorance and easily oblivious of what
made them tick, so to speak.
Of course, things changed as I got older, especially after the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and the crash of Flight 93 in western Pennsylvania. It was easy to feel some suspicion of those people who attacked my country in such a way. Of course I was a grown adult by this time, and so I could consciously decide that it was unfair to say all Muslims were bad just because some of their faith went and killed so many people in such a senseless way. But again, I had no basis of comparison. No understanding of what drove these people.
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| Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim, also known as the prophet Muhammed. Please note, I have seen many versions of the spelling of his common name, and I am just using one particular version. / Source: clouddragon.wordpress.com |
So then came the class I mentioned earlier, and the book on
the prophet Muhammed. I remember being
very impressed with what I learned. I
found the ideas practical, and the man who was the founder of this faith to be
very sympathetic. I had heard the
leaders of my own faith state that all of the great religious leaders
throughout time were inspired of God in one way or another - had been touched
by His light, that is - and I now saw
the events of Muhammed's life to fit with this pronouncement.
But still, the book I read in college was an interpretation
of the events. What better way to
understand a people you don't comprehend than by reading the book that their
very way of being hinges upon? And so I
put a copy of the Quran in my queue for eventual reading. And that day to read it has now come around.
***
Partly through the Quran, my impressions so far: I must say, I find the book fascinating. There are snippets of things I have heard
said about the Quran that have been proven true. For instance, I have heard that Muslims
believe that Jews and Christians are "Peoples of the Book" - fellow
believers, you might say - and that much of the Quran deals with matters that
both Jews and Christians would be familiar with. In my readings so far, this has been
confirmed. I also had heard about how
Muslims fast for the month of Ramadan, and of course that was confirmed as
well. That seems a silly thing to say, a
I look back at it, but when you read the stuff for yourself, you are no longer
taking an idea on faith, but have knowledge of it for yourself.
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| The symbol of Islam, a crescent and a star. I don't know the significance of these, and ought to look them up. Hey, millions of people int he world are Muslim, so I probably should know why they use this particular symbology, ay know? / Source: islam.about.com |
There are some other things I learned too. For instance, the Quran seems to very clearly
direct that Muslims should not give the first offense, but should only take up
arms if they have been first attacked. I
won't make any political sort of commentary here, but I found that
interesting. You can extrapolate, with a
working knowledge of history of the region in which Islam sprung, why Muslims
can so easily be perjured as simply "head rag-wearing terrorists," if
you follow that command in the Quran far enough. It makes me sad, to be honest. But I'll save my comments on the misdeeds of
mankind, of all faiths, for another day and just leave this where it is.
What else? The
devotion the Quran directs of its adherents is amazing. I found similar parallels to what I know of
Judaism, and also even my own faith. It
seems another obtuse statement by me, I know, but truly this is not a religion
for the half-hearted.
There were many practical matters discussed in the Quran
that also fascinated me. The injunction
against eating pork was there, as were some cleanliness, marital, inheritance,
etc... rules. To me, they didn't seem
too far out there. Maybe someone with a
less strict religious background (my own faith can be considered strict coming
from a western background, or then again, not very strict either, depending on
your point-of-view) would find it very stifling, but to me it seemed
reasonable. When it is God who demands,
I would expect it to be a firm document.
Very... pragmatic. I suppose I'm
showing just as much about my own self and my religious views as I am speaking
on the Quran here.
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| The Kaaba, which is found in Mecca. Muslims pray five times a day, orienting themselves toward this shrine when they do (if I understand correctly). / Source: Wikipedia.org |
Now I did find one thing especially note-worthy, but again
I'll say that I am stepping carefully.
The following comment is more about what people do with their religion,
or else a misunderstanding on my part.
There is a verse in the Quran that states something to the effect that
religion is not to be forced by compulsion.
This seems odd to me, as the expansion of Islam in the late seventh
century CE (AD for most people) was very much a matter of compulsion,
especially in the regions now made up of Pakistan and India (I may have my time
period off here, this may not have spread that far that quick, but my
understanding - thin as I admit it to be - is that Islam spread into the
subcontinent to a certain extent quite quickly after the death of
Muhammed). My understanding, based on a
fairly glossed over review of the subject in one of my history courses, was
that Islam was spread to the "pagans" by the point of the sword -
"convert or die," you might call it.
Perhaps my understanding of the verse is incorrect, or my history
understanding is off base, or it is just an example of doctrine having to be
interpreted as loosely as possible so that things could keep rolling. I don't know.
But I find it both fascinating and ironic, to say the least.
However, that stated, I must say that the philosophy of
Islam - as preached by the Quran - seems very intriguing to me. Here is a faith that has affected numerous
great civilizations and shaped the world in ways that cannot be
understated. Learning about it has been
of great value to me, and I find a beauty and pragmatism to the teachings that
are most impressive.
***
A few other things I noticed, after further reading; I had heard that Muslims believed Jesus was
not the Son of God, but only a great prophet, and now I have it from the Quran
itself. While I do find much of value in
the Quran, that idea alone would be a deal-breaker for me. No matter my wretchedness as a person some
days (I feel pretty low sometimes, but a great deal of that comes from my
natural bent as a pessimist), I can't stop believing in the Atonement of the
Christ. For one thing, how can I, who is
a sinner, be reconciled to God, without someone who could make
intercession? It seems to me that the
Quran says over and over that God is just, merciful, and ever-cognizant of all
the hearer's thoughts, but how would you really know where you stood with Him
if you didn't have an arbitrator? I don't
know. I suppose that is one of the
places where my understanding and admiration breaks down between myself and
Islam. But again, I don't say this to
insult, but simply as my own point of view.
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| According to Wikipedia, the Janissaries were "a member of the Turkish infantry forming the Sultan's guard between the 14th and 19th centuries." That's the short version, I guess. / Source: deadliestfiction.wikia.com |
I also found sayings in the Quran which would seem adequate
justification for Islamic terrorism - numerous statements about how to deal
with those who wrong the faithful - but also a statement which, if I understand
it correctly, enjoins against tactics such as suicide bombing. In one place, the Quran said that believers
are not to kill themselves. This would
seem to go completely counter to the ethos of suicide bombings, in that those
who practice that form of atrocity would not go straight to Heaven and get a
bunch of virgins for their wives if they broke one of God's commandments in
such a manner (this I have heard used as justification for an Islamic suicide bomber’s
attack and subsequent extinction from this Earth). But perhaps the statement was meant in a
different context. Again, I don't
understand fully.
The part about how believers should not kill other believers
makes sense when I think about the use of Christian slaves as Janissaries by
the Turks. Other verses which make
direct reference to the events of Muhammed's time, and allude to the expulsion
from Mecha and the problems with the Jews and such, are fascinating. There are a few offhand statements made about
the past which do seem somewhat apocryphal as well, when compared to the
Christian body of scripture . It seems
like Muhammed is making pronouncements about events that would lead the hearer
to believe he is receiving revelation from God (again - said as someone who is
not a follower of Islam - for all I really know for certain, maybe he
did). Specific details that are not
contained in the Bible, but might be revealed by a prophet who was in communion
with Deity. Fascinating.
***
After reading further...
well, again, no offense, but this really seems to go on a bit. The redundancy is somewhat tiring to me. Then again, I can't complain, as the Bible
has similar redundancies and sections that are not what one would call
"light" reading. Isaiah comes
to mind. I once set out to read the
entire Old Testament, and I only made it through as far as Jeremiah. Someday I'll finish it. At least that is the plan.
The apocryphal parts I mentioned? There was a bit about Jesus and how he took
clay and made a bird and then commanded it to be a living bird and it was
so. I do not know that this is anywhere
in the regular version (King James is what I'm going off of) of the Bible. I think that story falls in the
Apocrypha. Interesting how that sort of
thing had spread around by Muhammed's time, so that he would include it in the
Quran (again, assuming this was of man and not of God, but I do not believe in
the apocryphal stories myself, so there is that to consider).
Further, the fact that the Quran keeps saying that Jesus of
Nazareth was not God's son seems to me almost as a necessary way to keep Islam
from being either clumped into the Christian religion of the time (and
therefore losing its independence, of which the Arabs - who are the direct
descendants of Islam's outgrowth - are justly proud of), or to maintain
separation from the idolaters who worshiped at the Aba, which those who know was
a major target of Muhammed's wrath when he entered the Holy City. And that justifiably, as well. To set up a faith such as Islam and have it
stand apart from the many pagan beliefs being practiced in Arabia at the time,
he would have to be firm. It seems self
explanatory to me.
I may skip some parts and only note things that really
strike me now. I'm only in what the
audio version of the text I am reading calls "Chapter 11." The list says there are 114 total. I think if I wanted a quicker read, I could
have finished the Old Testament. But
this is still a worthy quest. I'll keep
at it.
***
...Chapter 68 now. As I have said repeatedly, I don't intend offense, but things kind of bog down there after the first ten chapters or so - a lot of repeating. I would assume this is because God wants people to be sure they are getting the message. Just the same, the Quran seems an unforgiving text in many ways. There is a lot of talk about how God knows all that evil-doers know and do, and a lot about their punishments. It's very Old Testament-like, I suppose. Even though every section opens invoking "God the merciful," there is much that seems merciless here. But to paraphrase something I've always agreed with: "a stiff-necked people need much encouragement and coaxing to get into heaven."
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| The Hagia Sophia, which is in Istanbul. It was converted to a mosque after the Turks conquered the city, then known as Constantinople, in the year 1453. / Source: sacred-destinations.com |
There was also one chapter which spoke much on the rewards
of the faithful, and seemed to linger a great deal on the virgins that faithful
men would receive. I find this odd, and
can see why many westerners throughout history have had a hard time with the
Quran for this reason. It seems as if
Muhammed is just being overly focused on men and their eternal reward. Then again, you could speculate that the men were the more
disobedient ones, and thus needed more rousing to action. I don't know.
My knowledge of Islamic history is fairly thin, as I noted before.
The stuff about polygamy and also about slave girls seems a
bit disquieting too for a person from my perspective. The stuff on slave girls especially is a bit
off-setting, but mostly this is because the idea is so foreign to me. In that time, I am sure it was more natural.
***
Well, I finished it.
All I can really say in reaction is: "interesting." Those last chapters were pretty short. And that one about Abdul... er-somebody. I really didn't catch the whole name. "His hands will die, he will die, his
wife will be stacked with firewood and led about with a cord around her
neck?" That is the only time I
recall someone specific getting called out in the Quran. It was quite harsh. Makes me want to read about what happened
between Muhammed and this person. I
gather these revelations near the end were after the faithful had moved back to
the city.
***
Overall, I'd say the experience was well worth my time. I'm glad I did it. I think I understand the mind of Islam
believers, of which there are more than a few in the world, just a tad bit
better. I recommend the truly curious
take time to actually read the book, and decide for themselves about it.
The parting comment:
Found this joke that... well it is a sad commentary, I suppose. But more true than many folks would like to think.
I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the
edge, about to jump off. I immediately ran over and said "Stop! Don't
do it!"
"Why shouldn't I?" he said.
I said, "Well, there's so much to live for!"
"Like what?"
"Well ... are you religious or atheist?"
"Religious."
"Me too! Are you Christian or Jewish?"
"Christian."
"Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?"
"Protestant."
"Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?"
"Baptist."
"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the
Lord?"
"Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Original Baptist Church of God, or are you Reformed
Baptist Church of God?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or
Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!"
To which I said, "Die, heretic scum!" and pushed him off.
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| Source: HotAir.com |
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