Questions/Comments on the Quran

Salam pvb, LOL Yes, Steve Martin is one of my favorite comedians. And, yes, along with the Quran referrence above, John 1416-17 and John 167-18 was what I was referring to in the NT. I didn't post these referrences because they didn't specifically say "ahmad" or "muhammad" and Aaron would have been the first to point that out LOL Salam, Arnab

Peace brothers, Thanks for the information. handshake

One way to check would be with Calssical Arabic dictionaries. For example, AQ uses a word to mean ABC, and this is a rare usage according to the dictionaries, very few examples etc.

When reading the Quran, any one can be confused and become misguided if does not apply a very important rule What are the DECISIVE Verses, and what are the ALLEGORICAL ones? He it is Who has revealed the Book to you; some of its verses are decisive, they are the basis of the Book, and others are allegorical; then as for those in whose hearts there is perversity they follow the part of it which is allegorical (not of well-established meaning), seeking to mislead and seeking to give it (their own) interpretation. but none knows its interpretation except Allah, and those who are firmly rooted in knowledge say We believe in it, it is all from our Lord; and none do mind except those having understanding (3- 7). In the previous Quranic verse, and many other verses, God warns people from following verses in the Quran that were revealed to give certain guidance in a specific situation. But once the situation ends, the special guidance should not be followed, but the original one?the decisive?becomes the law. In the verse that you stated, such a commendent was given to the people who were living during the Prophet time; thus they had to obey him. But today, such a verse is being used to make us follow another religion that were written by people. In order to understand this verse, you have to look for the decisive verses that explain it. The verses that indicates that the prophet followed the Quran Commandments at his time. Thus, today, in order to follow this verse (obey the prophet and God), we have to do what he did, follow the Quran Commandments regarding Halal, Haram, Hodood, the description of the Judgment Day, the Description and the attributes of our God, and so on. But when you follow the hadith that contradict the Quran commandments, you are doing opposite of what the prophet did. For more please read my posts at http//free-minds.org/forum/index.php?topic=16642.0 Thanks Indeed, it is speaking of a very specific situation for which God is giving specific instructions. It is not a general rule, binding everybody in any circumstance.

That is what was finally pointed out to me that GOD does not actually increase it but allows it. I think there is still work to be done in translating the Quran correctly. As far as I can judge, what it says is that God makes increase -zaada. I think it is speaking about the nature of this evil. It says clearly it is a disease. If you do nothinh about a disease, most of the time the desease grows, same as God tells He makes the grass grow, and other things. He is letting us know how nature, moral nature works, and not urprisingly it works the same as the material world. If we visit a brothel, it is just plain stupidity to think that we consent this time in doing it because we want the kicks, but that God will not let us do it again and even ask for something more exotic. If you are ready to give in once, what is stopping you from giving in again and again and for more and more. Or are we going to rely on the fact that the place was not very clean to disuade you from doing something wrong and therefore that God stops you? It says "A disease is in their hearts". So what is God going to stop for us? Shouldn't WE look at our desease? It is we who want closeness to God, Paradise and What not. No t God who wants it. God also makes it clear that we are going to be tested. So where do we feel cheated here? God is not nice? How could He? Buaahh, I am going to cry. We could say that God respects us and therefore He gives us the truth. Alhamdulillah-rab elalamin, el qawi al 'adhim, alladhi la ilaha illa huwa, el hay al qayum. We just have to take it from Him if we are sick , we should look for cure, and there is nothing complicated about it, although it may be damned difficult and the more advanced the disese all the more difficult. We just have to give our best and trust al rahman ad-dunia wa rahim al akhira and really try to cure us the same way that we try to cure ourselves of flu or a lupus or whatever and may kick hospital after hospital and clinic after clinic for it. Muslims should not be sissy.

In any case, I agree that knowing Arabic will help understand AQ better BUT I do not agree that this is the most important criteria for understanding AQ nor have I read of any verses in AQ suggesting this is the case. Salam Wakas, If one is reading the Quran in English (or any other language other than Arabic) it stops being the Quran and is a book written by an interpretor sometimes laced with biasis and false beliefs. One example that comes to mind is that I have read English translations that include words in parenthesis that are not translated from the Quran. This can be misleading. If you can't read Arabic you wouldn't know that these words are from the translator. At this point the reader is only understanding the words of an interpreter which can deliberately or unintentionally alter the words from their places or change the meaning of the word translated all together. And misunderstandings can ensue. In fact, it may suggest that the reader do something completely against the intended message of Al Quran. But then again, some translators such as Yusuf Ali do not use their translations as a substitution but rather a way to present the Quran in order to interest readers enough to read the Quran as it is originally intended. While, I do not recommend his translation to anyone, I have a deep respect for his efforts in interesting people in the message and I would like to acknowledge his humble statement in the preface to his 1934 translation. "Gentle and discerning reader! what I wish to present to you is an English Interpretation, side by side with the Arabic Text. The English shall be, not a mere substitution of one word for another, but the best expression I can give to the fullest meaning which I can understand from the Arabic Text." The only way the Quran retains it's original message is if it is read in Arabic. But, I also understand that one must sometimes read a translators words first, in order to begin the task of learning Arabic. After all, I had to do this very thing. And if it weren't for a translator, I would never have even picked up the Quran in the first place. So, I'm agreeing and disagreeing with you. LOL I think the ultimate goal should be to learn Arabic. Salam, Arnab

Peace be upon you, We vs God Alone? God just doesnt want you to forget who you really are, doesnt want you to forget that the breath/life of God is the essence of our being that is breathed into us. There is One God manifest as the many beings of creation, same way your one body is manifest as many molecles with thier own existence. Man was created to serve God, to be the vessel of that "breath" and to manifest God Like character(image) upon which we were created. This is the WE...The One God operating through Its manifestations.

Peace. Respectfully. Yeah, i agree with you totally, 100%. God has said that today He has made this religion perfect, which obviously means that no more adding or deleting by the enemies of Islam. If God allowed enemies of Islam to corrupt Qur'an, what woulkd that mean? That God cannot protect His own work? Glory be to Him. God can protect His work and God did protect His work. Glory be to Him. God also said that He will test us. No offence to anyone. Peace. God Bless

peace all, As a general comment, I agree that terms such as "jinn" should not be treated as special, as is done with other terms such as "muslim", "islam", "salat", "hajj", "zakat", "masjid", "deen", "malaika" etc. They are all common words and their use is not special from my studies of The Quran. Their meaning and application may be important, but that is different from treating it as a special word.

Is it valid to compare them? One is speaking onto themselves, and in another, God bestows peace. Perhaps it's a grammatical construct because that is what it seems like from the context. I'd love to know.

Salam, There are a lot of Islamic stores online that sell childrens's Quran story books. I've never actually read one or seen one in person so I don't know how good they are. Salam, Arnab

From QXP 317 They are proactively steadfast, truthful in word and action, ever submitting to the Commandments, keeping their wealth open for the society, and guarding themselves early against any forthcoming challenge. 341 Thankful, Zechariah asked, ?My Lord! Give a message unto me.? He said, ?The Message unto you is that you shall not speak to people for three days, except by signs. Remember your Lord much and keep striving in His Cause night and day.? (Abstaining from speech would save the elderly couple from embarrassing curiosity of people).

Peace, Some more info on the nature of Arabic and it's evolution away from the Classical version over time. I agree with the above website however, and do not consider dialects Arabic, despite the fact that the dialects have alot in common with real Arabic (Classical Arabic) and continue to pull from it, since its reduced version (MSA) is used in the educational sphere. Check out http//books.google.com/books?id=2tghviSsrF8C&pg=PA103&lpg=PA103&dq=evolution+of+Arabic+dialects&source=web&ots=T8Nqgveucb&sig=PQKTDm0SqNKsLiDGKRMKz4LC6ZU&hl=es#PRA1-PA103,M1 pg. 103 " "lisaniyya wa-fasadat bima 'ulqiya 'ilayhaa . . . wa-hasiya 'ahl al-'ulum minhum 'an tafsuda tilka l-malaka ra'san wa yatula l'ahd bihaa fa-yangaliqa l-Qur'an wa-l-Hadith 'ala l-mafhum fa-stanbatu min magari kalamihim qawanin li-tilka l-malaka muttaridatan . . . yaqisuna 'alayhaa sa'ir 'anwaa' al-kalaam, Muqaddima, ed. Beirut, n.d., p. 546 This quotation shows clearly that in the mind of teh Arabs the changes in the langauge and the emergence fo the colloquial varieties were linked with the polyglot composition of the Islamic empire and the introduction of Arabic as the new lingua fraca. " I haven't read this book from cover to cover, but I will be ordering it soon. I like its approach from what I have read in the previews that they give of it. I hope I am offering beneficial evidences for those of you who are confused about Arabic and what it really is. Believe me, the Islamic literature is only telling you half-truths about Arabic. Godbless, Anwar

me. i have a burning desire to find out who "changed islam" and why. history of muhammad and what happened afterwards. if i was interested i could check archialogical studies. but i'm more interested in the post-muhammed era. good point. but i'm sure muhammed was real. if we don't learn history then we can't understand the present, and we'll only repeat past mistakes because we never learnt from them. Alen your views are too orthodox for my liking. peace. i have a burning desire to find out who "changed islam" and why. Islam has existed from the beginning of time. How can you ever find this out? Muhammad didn't bring a new 'religion' called Islam. See 4213, and 4143. history of muhammad and what happened afterwards. Which muhammad? How do you know which muhammad wrote the quran? You don't, and you can't know. but i'm sure muhammed was real How so? He may very well have been. Again, just because there are some hadeeth written about some guy named Muhammad, doesn't make it the same Muhammad the Quran talks of. To me the hadeeth stories were made up after they saw the guy's name in the quran. It's a giant leap to assume that its the same Muhammad! if we don't learn history then we can't understand the present, and we'll only repeat past mistakes because we never learnt from them. First, I am not saying to completely ignore history. I am sure something can be learned. We just have to take it as a pinch of salt. Do you trust the 'history' of today? What will they write down in 'history' about 9/11, 7/7 etc..? We live in the technological age. Can you imagine back in the olden days how much they could manipulate 'history'. Remember winners write history. So it couldn't possibly be unbiased. Archaeological evidence can only tell us what's un-earthed. What about the stuff that couldn't be un-earthed etc? Have you seen what the american textbooks write about columbus? To them this is 'sahih' history. He's a bloody hero to them! A man responsible for millions and millions of deaths... I do need to add, I am sure Muhammad wrote/compiled the quran himself. Proclaim (or read) thou in the name of thy Lord Who created, Created man from a clot of blood. Proclaim! and thy Lord is the Most Bounteous; Who taught by the pen, Taught man what he knew not.{961-5] In 25/5, it is mentioned that Muhammad is dictated by Allah day and night. You cannot "dictate" to an illiterate person. So Muhammad not only learned how to read and write but he wrote all the Quran with his own hands as is clear from 25/5. And they say "Tales of the ancients, which he has got them written down and they are dictated before him morning and evening." http//quranicteachings.co.uk/was-muhammad-illiterate.htm

Read 601-9 together and you'll get why. 601-3 is about a specific topic. And 604-9 is a demonstration of that topic. Very very interesting. Hint these are not good people by any means. This has nothing to do with being a 'jew' an 'atheist' or a 'shia'. Carefully look at 602.

Peace Gary, Any translation with inserted text will be biased by the translator's understanding. And for that matter, any translation, period. Read what you're comfortable with, but always cross-reference as many different translations as possible when it comes to studying the meanings. Study tools, such as http//www.studyquran.co.uk/ are great components. Try http//yaqb.org/ for your cross-referencing. Peace, Tay Thank you Tay... When trying to understand Shakespeare, do we base our understandings on the arabic translations, or the language it was originally written in?

Acts 11 26And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. If Mohammad was speaking of Nazarenes he would have said Nazarenes.

Also http//deenrc.wordpress.com/deen-research/ http//deenrc.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/quranic-laws-by-ga-parwez.pdf

Jahim is normally translated with Fire, which is indeed one of its meanings. It also means heat of anger, hot coals. But it also means he receded, or drew back. The main part of the war or battle or the straitness thereof and the vehemence of thefighlt or slaughter, in the scene therof. the greedy;who stops giving anything to others to become narrow; narrow mindedness; who remaind narrow minded a conjested house Jaham-al-baeer a mouth guard of camels to stop them hurt anyone dogs getting a mouth guard so that they dont bark. TajaHam= side effects of being 'mean' and greedy AjHam Anhu = he stopped doing that AljaHamu = The one who stops giving anything to others Saqara, also used in the Quran for Fire, and it also means heat of the battle. In QXP, Dr.Shabbir translates Jahim with The Insurmountable Barrier to the development of the human Self = Figuratively, Hell. The human Self can make progress only by believing in and working according to the Prescribed Way of Life and helping Allahs creation. Insurmountable Barrier = Bar to progress = Obstruction that halts = Halting of evolution = Mere survival = Hellfire = Flames of anguish = Fire of regret). To understand this meaning, we shall make a small research on the word. Jahannam(arabic&hebrew)/Gehenna(greek) is an old valley south of Jerusalem. Ja=valley Hannam=valley name People used to be sacrificed there to idols, also the valley was used later on as an execution ground for criminals and a place were bodies and clothing were burned, who had died of a contagious diseas. Also in Jesus's time it was still used for burning the rubbish and garbage of Jerusalem. It was used a metaphor for behaviour that would only accumelate rubbish and death of the Self. Jannah means literally, A ground covered by the trees. The ground stands for the people's Selfs, the trees for their deeds, and the fruits for their results. Jahannam has the same reference as Jannah, being the ground of conciousness, is shown by the tree of bitterness, Zaqum ( see 3762, 64, 146; 4443), where it represents an evil and harmful deed, and it fruits represents the bad results. to read more on Jannah and Jahannam, I suggest to read my book on the subject Jannah and Jahannam Book So Jahannam refers to a State of mind that produces wrong results in this Life and the Next. Jahim is connected with stop moving forward because of a decision, or is held back in case of prevention, is stuck in a state of struggling. That Jahim refers to stop progressing/advancing because of a decision and staying in a struggle can be seen by these verses 2119 Lo! We have sent you, O Prophet, with the Decisive Truth, a herald of glad tiding and a Warner. And you will not be held accountable for those who choose to stay behind Jahim, and hence, dwell there. 3121 And when such people are told to follow what Allah has revealed, they say, "Nay, we follow that which we have found our fathers doing." What! Even though Satan had invited them to the doom of Flames?" In 2119 it refers that people choose to stay in a state of Jahim, and 3121 explains one of such decisions. They hold on to the ways of their fathers, and are thus stuck in the same struggle as their forefathers, not advancing. And thus 2119 can be translated as such 2119 Lo! We have sent you, O Prophet, with the Decisive Truth, a herald of glad tiding and a Warner. And you will not be held accountable for those who choose to stay behind in the thickest part of their struggle= Insurmountable Barrier = Bar to progress = Obstruction that halts = Halting of evolution = Mere survival , and hence, dwell there. And this verse says the same thing 2251 Whereas those who strive against Our Messages seeking to defeat their purpose, they are destined to face Jahim=Insurmountable Barrier = Bar to progress = Obstruction that halts = Halting of evolution = Mere survival=The thickest part of their struggle . People will stay in their struggle, as only through the Quran can we attain the perfect society, Paradise on Earth. Today, the West have attained many things that are given in the Quran. Democracy, Freedom, Women's equality, Racial equality and so on. But these were all gained through immense hardship and pain. Millions of people have died to attain these freedoms, and still many in the world still haven't got them. This is what is meant with Jahim for society and individual. Their denial of the Quran has made them stuck in their struggle for learning the best Values. They can only attain them through fierce struggle on their own, and then still they can only attain some. Today in the West, these freedoms have not gained them Paradise on Earth, and they are still stuck in their struggle. People who bury the Truth for themselves, by believing in Idols, gods, saints, who reject the Quran or who believe in Divine guidance outside of the Quran, are all stuck in their struggle. Their life is like being in the constant heat of battle, survinving. They are not progressing, and are like a gurdled camel. This can be seen throughout the world, Muslim and non-Muslim.

jankren- do you mean the Old Testament and then just the first four books of the New Testament?