“In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds - The Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful, Sovereign of the Day of Recompense. It is You we worship and You we ask for help. Guide us to the straight path - The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked Your anger of of those who are astray.” (Surat Al-Fātiĥah 1:1-7, Qur’an) This is the entire first chapter of the Qur’an. I chose to read the Qur’an, (as much as I could at least) because it has always interested me to see what the Qur’an says and how it differentiates from the Bible.
Even though it was extremely hard to concentrate, I did read for the required four hours. I only made it to the 13th chapter, but I did skip around a lot in the later books just to see if there was anything different that I could catch. The Qur’an is split up only by chapters, so some chapters have 7 verses, while others, like Chapter 2, have 286, or 200. This doesn’t necessarily
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That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just really hard to read and keep reading. However, keeping in mind that it is translated from its original Arabic, I understand that things can be very different. Maybe this is why they say that all translations are only commentaries. I also noticed that a lot of the chapters I read were just advice, kind of like Proverbs. Some also had a poetic ring to them, which reminded me of Psalms. But the majority of the chapters are advice and like Proverbs, not consisting of very much history or rules. I did find a reference to the story of Abraham. “Has there reached you the story of the honored guests of Abraham?” (Surat Adh-Dhariyat, Qur’an) They briefly reference the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. They also tell a few times about how Muhammad was blessed as a prophet and how his words are blessed and
The book has a lot of details that give the reader a lot more knowledge than expected and also make it easier for the reader to understand what is being explained. For example, on the beginning of the book it is shown the description of the Anabaptist founder. On chapter twelve, the accent is how Zwingli was a huge early influence. His influence divided many of them included Zwingli. Because the author was very meticulous, on chapters 2 and 3 he makes the difference between the Anabaptist and all the reforms. Chapters 8 to 11 are focused on the doctrine of Anabaptist and why they were considered heretics. The stand for their belief was very strong because their belief was opposed to the conviction that the other groups had about Solo Scriptura, infant baptism and justification by faith. One of the things that give this book the credibility is the fact that the author takes precaution to list all the sources that prove the point he wants to argue. By doing that, he also shows that the information that has been given from the book was not only what his belief was but what a group
Usama’s account is not a straight forward narrative; instead he narrates brief events in his life usually in order to extol a certain virtue or to prove a point (this type of Arabic literature is referred to as adab) (Cobb xxxi). It also must be said that this book was not intended by Usama to be read as history textbook or as an autobiography; in fact as Paul Cobb explains in his introduction to his translation of this work that Usama intends “God [as] the hero”, Usama is not the focus of the work, instead he acts just a witness to God’s work. This fact goes far to explain much of the language and structure of the “memoir”. It’s important to keep this fact in mind.
My essay will challenge the comparison and differentiation between a scene from the sacred text in The Hebrew Bible and The Yusuf Sura of the Koran. The scene I will be focusing is the one in which Joseph is seduced by the king’s wife. More specifically, I will be demonstrating that in the Koran good and evil are made explicit in the world of the story and for the reader, while the Bible suggest that you should identify good and evil for yourself.
As mentioned before, the majority of the information from the book is firsthand experience by Barbara Gallatin Anderson, but other sources were used and cited to make the structure more cohesive. Anderson takes advantage of the “Notes” section at the end of each chapter to add credibility to any information that she did not receive directly: “Half a century ago, H. A. H. Gibb ventured a brief but cogent definition of the Arab. ‘All those are Arabs,’ he wrote, ‘for whom the central fact of history is the mission of Muhammad and the memory of the Arab Empire. (88)”.
To me, this whole chapter seemed like he was saying that the Bible is just a bunch of stories; since they’re all so similar. Also it was pretty hard over all to follow along with what exactly what was being argued. I feel that Alter also goes off into weird tangents which cause the reader to stop and question his writing. I can usually grasp the meaning of most text; I consider myself I good reader, but there were some parts of this chapter where it was very hard to read what he was trying to say. Several times he jumps from character to character.
While most westerners know the story of Joseph as a passage from the end of the book of Genesis in the Bible or the Torah, understanding the story and its intricacies in sura 12 of the Qur’an proves equally important. Joseph’s story in Genesis emphasizes his personal abilities and God rewarding him and his people’s loyalty and faith amidst hardship. The Qur’an takes the same plot and enforces the theme of monotheism and Joseph’s prophetic role in its spread. The Qur’an’s interpretation serves as a more influential religious text in the context of its body of belief, whereas the Biblical story of Joseph, with its thematically intriguing story line and embellishments, comparatively serves a greater literary purpose. By reading and understanding both passages, one can gain a clearer knowledge of what is regarded as important to the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.
“Exploration of Similarities in Religious Texts: A Further Look at the Koran, the Tanakh and the New Testament”
Thomas W. Lippman gives an introduction to the Muslim world in the book Understanding Islam. He has traveled throughout the Islamic world as Washington Post bureau chief for the Middle East, and as a correspondent in Indochina. This gave him, in his own words, "sharp insight into the complexities of that turbulent region." However, the purpose of the book is not to produce a critical or controversial interpretation of Islamic scripture. It is instead to give the American layman an broad understanding of a religion that is highly misunderstood by many Americans. In this way he dispels many myths about "Muslim militants," and the otherwise untrue perception of Islamic violence. In this way the American reader will become more knowledgeable about an otherwise unfamiliar topic. However, the most significant element of Lippman’s book is that it presents Islam in a simple way that makes the reader feels his awareness rise after each chapter. This encourages him to continue learning about the world’s youngest major religion. Understanding Islam dispels many misconceptions about the Muslim world, and presents the subject in a way that urges his reader to further his understanding of Islam through continued study.
In the Koran women are repeatedly regarded as inferiors to men. Women are given less rights and privileges in contrast to men. Women are seen as objects to own and control, and not as equals.
The three most influential books in human history, the holy books of the three main Abrahamic religions, share a common though checkered history. With a string of familiar figures and incidents, each book builds upon its predecessor, sometimes retaining the exact nature of the story and sometimes giving it a new version. Each book seems to have been influenced by its specific purpose and the circumstances of the time it was revealed, with the stories meeting the demands of the day. I believe that the Quranic treatment of Jesus was to establish a firm monotheistic belief.
After her grandson recovered from an illness, she started reading the Quran, not out of duty or obligation this time, but to see if it “would help explain the events and at the same time fill the emptiness within me.” She was “impressed by its many references to Jewish and Christian writings that preceded it” and wondered if
In Conclusion, these passages from two different religions contain message and clues to questions regarding human existence. I can quote the whole scripture and recite Quran word-to-word, but unless we are willing to get involved and change, we are only blowing smoke. Yet, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Protestants, Hindus, Buddhists, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, Asians, the poor, the homeless, the unattractive, gays, lesbians, the handicapped, the mentally ill, and countless other groups are still sometimes the victims of ridicule, hatred and discrimination.
In a nutshell, I strongly encourage people to read this book as it is based on a true story of American Muslims Women on how they encounter Islam. The fact that Islamic lifestyle has change their perspectives through the world is beyond amazing. Those are selected women that had been chosen by Allah to know more about Him. Their stories really inspires me to become a better muslimah in the future.
The Qur’an mainly reflects on their God Allah and their messenger Muhammad. It relays the rules and messages Allah wanted his people to follow. Similar to the Christian Bible, which many Americans follow, it is a way of life that relaxes many and gives a reason to believe in something bigger than yourself. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and their own beliefs. Although a majority of the Qur’an is used for prayers and beliefs of Allah, there are many signs of violence among it as well. In the beginning of each chapter in the Qur’an, the first line always reads: “In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful”, which is referring to Allah and how they praise him each time before reciting their prayer. Throughout the Qur’an we see how influential this figure is over this religion and how much respect and belief they have in Allah. From all of the forgiveness he gives them to believing in their religion God always rewards them when they follow his word. They will do what it takes for their Gods strength, love, forgiveness and