Has anyone read the Qu 'ran? (A question for Muslims as well)

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Hello,

I just had a quick flip of the Qu 'ran and read a bit from about six different pages, all over the book, middle, beginning end…

I thought that people who quote the Qu 'ran are just biased, but every single thing I read had something like ‘the unbelievers’ ‘the believers’ ‘Allah has cursed the unbelievers’ etc… That just seems to be the theme.

I just don’t get it and would like to know the thoughts of someone who has read it the whole way through. Maybe I’m being too critical? :confused: I saw nothing inspirational in it. When I flick through the Gospels, Acts, epistles etc… I can guarantee that whatever I read, I will read something inspiring and enlightening. I just don’t get why people would believe the Qu 'ran is divinely inspired… At least it’s given me hope for the conversion of my Muslim boyfriend who will read the Bible at Christmas. :confused:

Please could you try your best to be as non-biased as you can in your posts.

Thanks in advance.
 
Apollos said:
Good luck with that marriage.
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Thanks… lol. I won’t marry him if he remains a Muslim. It would be too complicated when raising children, but I’m praying for his conversion and do have faith. He’s open-minded and doesn’t reject Christian miracles and apparitions. He doesn’t even believe that God would let the Bible be corrupted 🙂
 
“He doesn’t even believe that God would let the Bible be corrupted.”

I’ve heard that Muslim’s say that about Scripture. The Quran was written hundreds of years after the Bible.

I’ve tried reading the Quran, and to me, the paragraphs run in circles and say nothing.

Practicing Muslims believe in a very “hit and miss” version of the Bible. Well, mainly miss actually. They completely miss Jesus.
 
The Quran, for me, is a very confusing book to read. It doesn’t seem to flow (in the way the Bible does at least) and is actually arranged backwards. The shorter chapters at the end were actually the first of the writings completed by Muhammed, and the longer ones in the beginning were his later writings.

I don’t know how unbiased I can be, but personally I don’t think it was divinely inspired. I mean, there are some beautiful sections of the Quran. It’s very interesting how it echoes the stories of Noah, Mary, and even Jesus. There are many examples of this, but they all seem a bit fragmented and sometimes distorted in comparison to the flushed-out narratives in the Bible and Tanakh (the Jewish scriptures). Also, it’s alternating calls for both peace and war are hard for me to reconcile. Then again, I’m sure there are parts of the Bible that are hard for people to understand if they are not familiar with it. 🙂

So, to me it kind of reads like a book of poetry for an interesting culture…and I think it should be respected for its importance to that culture. Personally, I find it confusing somewhat fragmented.
 
Barbkw said:
Practicing Muslims believe in a very “hit and miss” version of the Bible. Well, mainly miss actually. They completely miss Jesus.
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Well, they don’t completely miss him. Jesus is considered a very important prophet, who preached forgiveness! Unfortunately, his message seems to get overlooked in light of their final prophet.
 
prophecy of birth of, 3:45, 45a; 4:171, 171a; 19:19;
significance of word from God, 3:45a; 4:171a;
only a messenger, 4:171; 5:75; 43:59, 59a;
a servant of God, 19:30; 21:26, 26a; 43:59, 59a;
compared his advent to that of a thief, 86:3a; why called Messiah, 3:45b;

birth of, 3:47, 47a; 19:22–26;
conceived and born in ordinary manner, 3:44a, 47a; 19:23b;
time of birth of, 19:25a;
comparison with Adam, 3:59a;
mentioned among prophets who had fathers, 6:85–87;
an ordinary mortal, 3:59, 59a; 5:75, 75a;

a mortal according to Negus, 5:83a;
speaking in the cradle, significance of, 3:46, 46a; 5:110; 19:29–33, 29a, 30a, 31a;
nature of miracles of, 3:49, 49a–49d; 5:110, 110a;
strengthened with Holy Spirit, 2:87, 87a, 253; 5:110;
taught Torah and Gospel, 3:48; 5:110;

verifies Torah and modifies Mosaic law, 3:50, 50a; 5:46, 46a; 61:6;
taught same basic principles as other prophets, 42:13, 13a; 3:51; 5:117; 19:31, 36; 43:63–64;
revelation of, like that of other prophets, 2:136; 3:84; 4:163;
sent only to Israelites, 3:49; 7:158a; 61:6;
holding swine in abhorrence, 2:173a; kept fasts, 2:183a; 97:1a;

was not rude to his mother, 19:32, 32a;
signs of, not the work of Satan, 26:212a;
preaches against storing of wealth, 3:49d;
denies claim to Godhead, 5:116–117, 116a, 117a;
belief in divinity of, denounced, 5:17, 17a, 72, 72a; 17:57a; 18:102, 102a; 9:30–31, 30b;

doctrine of Sonship of, refuted, see Sonship;
**Arab unbelievers object to honouring **of, 43:57–59, 57a, 59a;
had his own responsibilities like every other mortal, 6:165a;
exclusive innocence of, cannot be upheld, 19:14a;
**mistaken doctrines attributed to, are based on allegorical **statements, 3:7a; 10:37a;

is rejected by the Jews, 3:52; 5:71b;
as a sign for the Jews, 19:21, 21a; 43:61, 61a;
curses Israelites, 5:78;
prophesies transference of Kingdom of God, 67:1a; 95:3a;
helped by disciples, 3:52–53; 61:14;

revelation to disciples of, 5:111;
they ask for food from heaven, 5:112–113;
prays for food, 5:114–115, 114b, 115a;
followers of, promised triumph over rejectors, 3:55, 55d; 61:14, 14a;
compassion in hearts of followers of, 57:27;

Jewish plans against life of, 3:54;
enemies of, withheld, 5:110; 3:54b;
cleared of false charges, 3:55, 55c;
is promised deliverance from death on cross, 3:55, 55a;
did not die while on the cross, 4:157, 157a;

only apparently killed, 2:72–73, 72a-73b; 4:157, 157b;
granted spiritual exaltation, not raised bodily, 3:55, 55b; 4:158, 158a;
died a natural death, 3:55, 55a; 5:117, 117a;
is not alive, further proof, 3:144, 144a; 5:75, 75a; 21:7–8, 8a, 34; 16:20–21, 21a; 5:17, 17a; 7:25, 25a;
finds shelter in Kashmir, 23:50, 50a;

tomb of, in Srinagar, 23:50a;
travels of, in the East, 3:45b;
not equal to Holy Prophet’s task, 7:143a;
prophesies advent of Holy Prophet, 36:14, 14a; 61:6, 6a;
sees prophetically the glory of the Holy Prophet, 2:253a
 
I see what you mean, Barbkw, you mean they got Jesus all wrong (which they did, apart from a couple things). I thought you meant “completely missed” as in “not even mentioned.” 🙂
 
Thyme said:
Hello,

I just had a quick flip of the Qu 'ran and read a bit from about six different pages, all over the book, middle, beginning end…

I thought that people who quote the Qu 'ran are just biased, but every single thing I read had something like ‘the unbelievers’ ‘the believers’ ‘Allah has cursed the unbelievers’ etc… That just seems to be the theme.

I just don’t get it and would like to know the thoughts of someone who has read it the whole way through. Maybe I’m being too critical? :confused: I saw nothing inspirational in it. When I flick through the Gospels, Acts, epistles etc… I can guarantee that whatever I read, I will read something inspiring and enlightening. I just don’t get why people would believe the Qu 'ran is divinely inspired… At least it’s given me hope for the conversion of my Muslim boyfriend who will read the Bible at Christmas. :confused:

Please could you try your best to be as non-biased as you can in your posts.

Thanks in advance.
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I have read through the Qur’an…the English version I have is one of the better English versions where the prose flows better than some of the other translations I have picked up.

I too missed the beauty of the Qur’an…some of the concepts are difficult…I’ve been told if one speaks Arabic, some of the passages make more sense…also the Qur’an is not written in a “historical” format as the Bible is…but in a “concept” format is the best I can describe the differences.

I purchased Lee Hiixon’s “Heart of the Koran”…it contains 991 of the 6666 verses of the Qur’an that for Mr. Hixon, is the Qur’an’s “heart”. He is a convert to Islam and gives insigts into some of the passages which led him to Islam.

Good read…might be beneficial for your study.

Peace to you friend.
 
Thank you for these replies and that book sounds interesting Publisher, but the only reading time I get is a couple of pages at night.

I think I’m just dissapointed in the whole theme of the Qu 'ran. Seeing as Islam is the second largest religion, I thought the Qu 'ran would be inspirational, but I was dissapointed at what I saw. I think you just have to be brought up believing that it’s the truth. Maybe the talk of unbelievers being cursed etc, scares Muslims a bit into staying?

One time my boyfriend told me that one of Muhammed’s relatives was killed, so he went to see the murderer and he forgave him. I thought that sounded very Christ-like, but everything I read made him seem proud and judgemental.

Am I just being too biased?
 
There is no real narrative thread in the Qur’an unlike OT or NT. The style of classical Arabic is quite different from modern English - lots of allusion, repetitions and seeming contradictions. One needs to be fluent in old Arabic to catch the beauty of it. Almost pointless reading it in translation.

Often the suras are very condensed, even cryptic. The Qur’an assumes the reader is familar with OT and the Gospels. That’s why people need a teacher to guide them.
Also lots of historical references which are meaningless to us.

It is related that as the suras were revealed they were written on the shoulder blades(bones) of oxen/donkeys which were stored higgled-piggledly in a huge chest so the actual sequence of revelation was lost altho’ they do know which are the Mecca (earliest) and which are Medina (later) Even to this day some of the titles (letters only) are a mystery to Islamic scholars.

Unless you were thinking of converting to Islam, most people would not persevere with the task as it often reads like a conundrum.
 
muslim.org/islam/q-index.htm#humansoul

These are the attributes and citations for Muhammad:

the Holy Prophet:

— Mission of : raised to settle differences of all nations, 2:213, 213c, 213d;
a mercy to the whole world, 21:107, 107a;
brings men from darkness to light, 14:1; 57:9; 65:11;
a light for the world, see Light; as a torch to wayfarers, 33:46, 46a;
resplendence of the light of, 53:7, 7a; 81:23, 23a;

is the comer by night, ch. 86 intro., 86:1–4, 3a;
truth of his cause to shine forth gradually, 93:1–5, 3a, 5a;
as an exemplar, 33:21, 21a; different capacities of, 33:21a;
as a model in every walk of life, ibid.; asks no reward, 6:90; 12:104; 25:57; 34:47; 38:86–87; 42:23, 23a;
bearer of good news and warner, 33:45–46, 46a; 2:119; 5:19; 11:1–2; 17:105;

as teacher and purifier, 2:129, 151; 3:164; 62:2–3;
a teacher of his immediate followers and those coming later, 62:2–3, 3a;
as the Clear Evidence, 98:1–2, 1a;
raising the dead to life, 3:49c; 6:122, 122a; 13:31, 31a;
commanded to warn, 74:1–2, 2a;

as a plain warner, 6:50a; 7:184; 15:89; 22:49;
denies possession of superhuman powers, 6:50, 50a; 7:188, 188a; 10:49, 49a; 46:9, 9b; only a mortal, 17:93, 93a; 18:110; 41:6; 6:91a;
stands above all low motives, 6:162, 162a;
charged with the heaviest task, 73:5, 5a;

corruption prevailing before advent of, 30:41, 41a;
great anxiety and untiring zeal of, for bringing about a transformation of humanity, 9:128, 128a; 10:99, 99a; 12:103; 18:6, 6a; 26:3, 3a; 35:8; 93:7a; ch. 94 intro., 94:3, 3a;
never despaired of regenerating his people, 109:6a;
must deliver the message, 5:67; 46:35;
only delivers message, 3:20; 5:92; 16:35; 24:54; 72:21–23;

strives hard in the cause of truth, 9:73, 73a, 88; 25:52, 52a; 66:9, 9a;
commanded to fight alone, 4:84, 84a;
to remain upright, 10:105;
sufferings of, 14:13, 13a; prayer of, after Ta’if, 72:24a;
firmness of, under severest trials, 17:73a;

consolation to, 20:1–4, 1a, 2a;
told to seek comfort in prayer, 20:130, 130a; 50:39–40;
enjoined to pray by night, 73:1–9, 6a, 20; 17:79, 79a, 79b;
to be steadfast in preaching, 42:15; 46:35;
to be patient, 11:49; 30:60; 38:17; 70:5; 74:7;
sinlessness of, 53:2, 2a;

enjoined to ask protection from faults, 40:55, 55a;
the devil’s inability to make evil suggestions to, 23:97a;
truthfulness of, 10:16a;
preaching of, shakes belief in idols, 25:42;
hatred of false gods entertained by, 109:1–5;

cannot guide whom he loves, 28:56, 56a;
not to care for carpers, 33:1, 1a, 48, 48a;
special Divine protection granted to, 3:145, 145a; 13:11a; 86:4, 4a;
Divine help shall be granted to, 6:34, 34a; 22:15, 15a;
abundant good granted to, 108:1a;

opening of the breast of, 94:1a;
eminence to which he was to be raised, 17:79b; 94:4, 4a; 96:3, 3a;
is entitled to intercede, 43:86, 86a; 4:85a;
as a practical benefactor of humanity, 2:177e;
love of, was to be inspired in hearts of men, 19:96a;

good manners to be observed towards, 33:53; 49:1–5, 2a, 4a;
manners in assembly of, 58:11, 11a; consultation with, 58:12–13, 12a;
obedience necessary to, 4:59, 64, 80; 24:54, 56; 64:12; 81:21, 21a;
fruits of obedience to, 4:69, 69a; 3:31, 132;
call of, to be strictly obeyed, 24:62–63, 63a;

share of, in property gained in wars and how spent, 8:41a; 59:7a;
made free from obligation with respect to Makkah, 90:2, 2a;
uproots the evil of drink, 2:219a;
holds out justice between Muslims and non-Muslims, 4:105, 105a;
spiritual resurrection brought about by, 17:51–52, 51a, 51b;

transformation wrought by, 2:117b; 14:48, 48a; 21:104a; 25:63–75, 63a; 82:4a;
prophecy of final triumph of, 14:14, 14a; 20:2, 2a; 68:3a; 84:19a;
mi`raj of, see Ascension; marvellous faith of, in ultimate triumph, 4:84a; 6:5, 10;
all nations should submit to, 22:67;

universality of the message of, 6:19, 19a, 90, 90a; 7:158, 158a; 13:7, 7a; 14:4a; 16:89a; ch. 25 intro. (2nd), 25:1–2, 1a, 2a; 34:28, 28a; 42:7, 7a; 68:52, 51a; 81:27, 27a; 95:3a (3rd); no prophet to be raised after, 4:69a;
the last of prophets, 33:40, 40a
— and other prophets : excellence of, above other prophets, 2:253, 253a; 17:55a;
truth of, testified to by all prophets, 3:81, 81a;

requires faith in all prophets, 3:81a, 84; and see Prophets;
coming after a cessation of the mission of prophets, 5:19, 19a; 21:30, 30a;
to follow Abraham’s faith, 4:125; 16:123;
likeness of, to Moses, 2:146a; 4:176a; 46:10, 10a; 73:15, 15a; 95:3a;
comparison drawn between Moses and, 52:1–7, 7a; see also under Moses; must be judged as a prophet, 46:9, 9a

— revelation of : received revelation through Gabriel, 2:97; 16:102, 102a; 26:192–195, 193a; revelations of, not outcome of desire, 2:143c; 53:3–4, 4a; 80:2a;
given a mighty revelation, 53:10, 10a;
to judge by Divine revelation, 5:49;
had no doubt about truth of revelation, 10:94a; 2:147a;

never forgot revelation, 87:6–7, 7a;
relief afforded to by revelation, 94:1–8;
faithfully follows the Qur’an, 10:15, 15b; 46:9;
could not give up the Qur’an, 11:12, 12a; 17:73–74; 28:87

— Prophecies about : Abraham and Ishmael pray for appearance of, 2:129; 4:171a; covenant with prophets regarding advent of, 3:81, 81a; 33:7, 7a;
as the Promised One, 2:41a; 4:164a;
appearance of, waited for by Jews, 2:89, 89a;
by Christians, 2:89a;
recognized like son, 2:146, 146a; 6:20;

prophecies about, in all ancient scriptures, 26:195–196, 196a; 37:37, 37a;
prophecy of being an Arab, 26:198–199, 199a; 41:44, 44a;
prophecies of Moses, 28:43–46, 44a, 46a;
prophecies of Moses and Jesus as to the advent of, 7:157, 157b; 36:14a;
as to the two distinct phases of life of, 61:6a (4th);
advent of, prophesied by Jesus, 61:6, 6a;
prophecies relating to, in Gospel, 5:14a; 17:81a
 
You may want to pick up the book “Understanding the Koran, A Quick Christian Guide to the Muslim Holy Book” by Mateen Elass. Dr. Elass was rised Muslim and convert to Christianty and is a Presbyterian minister. I know him when he was an associate minister at First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This book is a good start and easy to read.
 
Thyme said:
I just had a quick flip of the Qu 'ran and read a bit from about six different pages, all over the book, middle, beginning end…
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I haven’t read the whole thing, but I do know that it helps in many cases to know the background behind what was happening in Mohammad’s career as prophet and his community’s relationship with the non-Muslims around them, in order to understand what the passage is getting at. Sometimes this historical background has to be reconstructed by scholars.

As with the Bible, different chapters mean different things to different people, even those representing different strands of thought within the religion, and dominant interpretations change throughout history.

I’d recommend The Quran: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Cook for more on this subject.
 
I’ve read most of it, and to be honest with you, I recommend each and everyone to read the qur’an ( the arabic version if possible), to know really how great is to be a Christian…
 
Thyme said:
Hello,

I just had a quick flip of the Qu 'ran and read a bit from about six different pages, all over the book, middle, beginning end…

I thought that people who quote the Qu 'ran are just biased, but every single thing I read had something like ‘the unbelievers’ ‘the believers’ ‘Allah has cursed the unbelievers’ etc… That just seems to be the theme.

I just don’t get it and would like to know the thoughts of someone who has read it the whole way through. Maybe I’m being too critical? :confused: I saw nothing inspirational in it. When I flick through the Gospels, Acts, epistles etc… I can guarantee that whatever I read, I will read something inspiring and enlightening. I just don’t get why people would believe the Qu 'ran is divinely inspired… At least it’s given me hope for the conversion of my Muslim boyfriend who will read the Bible at Christmas. :confused:

Please could you try your best to be as non-biased as you can in your posts.

Thanks in advance.
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I have read much of it yes. I will tell you something, it is very interesting in many ways.
 
I did read the Qur’an and I do agree with you. It is also important to know which verses are older, to know which verses might have been superseded during the life of the prophet.
In addition to that it might be advisable to take a closer look at the Sunnah to know more about Islam. Considering that the majority of Muslims is Sunni, there is a lot of valuable information given therein.
 
Thyme said:
Hello,

I just had a quick flip of the Qu 'ran and read a bit from about six different pages, all over the book, middle, beginning end…

I thought that people who quote the Qu 'ran are just biased, but every single thing I read had something like ‘the unbelievers’ ‘the believers’ ‘Allah has cursed the unbelievers’ etc… That just seems to be the theme.

I just don’t get it and would like to know the thoughts of someone who has read it the whole way through. Maybe I’m being too critical? :confused: I saw nothing inspirational in it. When I flick through the Gospels, Acts, epistles etc… I can guarantee that whatever I read, I will read something inspiring and enlightening. I just don’t get why people would believe the Qu 'ran is divinely inspired… At least it’s given me hope for the conversion of my Muslim boyfriend who will read the Bible at Christmas. :confused:

Please could you try your best to be as non-biased as you can in your posts.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
The Koran is more of a poetic text than a narrative, and, as one of the posters noted, it already assumes that you know about the events to which it is referring. As for passages regarding unbelievers, Muslims would likely point out that they need to be understood within the context of that particular revelation–again, requiring a teacher and/or some background information.
 
Thyme said:
I just don’t get it and would like to know the thoughts of someone who has read it the whole way through. Maybe I’m being too critical? :confused: I saw nothing inspirational in it. When I flick through the Gospels, Acts, epistles etc… I can guarantee that whatever I read, I will read something inspiring and enlightening. I just don’t get why people would believe the Qu 'ran is divinely inspired… At least it’s given me hope for the conversion of my Muslim boyfriend who will read the Bible at Christmas. :confused:
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Actually if you want to fully understand and sense the rhythm of Quran then you have to read it in Arabic because once Quran get translated into other languages it losses its beautiful Arabic poem.

Moreover, as an Arabic speaker I’ve found that the rhythm in the Arabic translation of the Bible overcomes the rhythm in the Arabic version of Quran, so make sure if your boyfriend is an Arabic speaker that you give him an Arabic Bible to read, else the English version will easily overcome the English version of Quran.
 
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