New Groundbreaking Arabic Book: Peacemaking from the Quran
-
BUMP
English translation here http//www.quran4peace.org/en_index.html
Thanks. From what I have read so far, it seems like an interesting and thought-provoking book. I like the book. However, I am not sure if the word peacemaker is the correct english translation of the word muslim. If I remember correctly, according to M.Asad the word muslim means someone who has surrendered himself/herself to God. Since I can't speak arabic and have not studied the word "muslim" in detail, I can't accept this translation of the word yet. Therefore I am critical. But at the same time I am open to the idea that the word muslim means peacemaker. I have to study this word in detail before I make a decision whether I should acccept or reject the interpretation/translation. That being said, Ayman seems like a believer with deep knowledge about islam, quran and the classical arabic language, and I appreciate his effort for writing this book.
-
Salaam,
Peacemaker may be accurate, Islam is about coming to a peace of mind with oneself and the surroundings. Absolutely certainty about the Truth is when one is a true Believer.
I have come to like the term Truthseeker instead of Peacemaker, even if the word does not translate into this. It is a sort of paraphrasing on my part, but it cannot be too far from the Truth. It is the goal of Islam anyway, to seek the Truth to attain absolute certainty, and I suppose this is when you can consider yourself Mu?min.
After all, the peace thing about Islam is to gain a balanced soul through following the Light of God. Peace of mind.
This is my interpretation of the religion anyway, I accept any righteous suggestions.
God bless you
-
It starts with what 'islam' and 'salaam' etc actually and really are. Then if we grasp this, we may describe it with words. This is the direction it should go. It is not the words that define the concepts. The English word 'peace' doesn't do justice to 'islam/salaam'... but it is of course a part of it that we can use to understand the bigger concept.
Cheers
-
Salaam zulf,
Peacemaker, or Muslim, as I understand it, is to seek an inner peace within yourself, that you may in return ascend on the religious path. That is my current interpretation of the word Peacemaker and why it may translate into this compound verb. The making thing is searching for peace in your own soul by seeking His nearness and guidance.
I like to use Truthseeker in conjunction with the Peacemaker "translation", to further define Muslim in English. If you are absolutely certain about the Truth, then you are well on your way into the Light.
I am thinking whether or not Mu?min describes this condition, , when you have become absolutely certain and have no doubt whatsoever.
Believer is an awkward translation of the word Mu?min, I am searching for alternatives, but so far I found none except describe Believer with additional words, i. e true Believer etc.
My own nickname here is perhaps an unintended attempt to describe Mu?min. Without intention to brag or shine, I consider myself a Mu?min, but of course it is God who has the final say in that. Absolutely certain I am, at least, with no doubt.
I am very happy that I discovered this Internet forum, because it has given me so many ideas I would probably otherwise never gotten. I must say thay people like you, through the grace of God, really help to develop the mind. A little piece of Truth in your words is enough, even if we are not entirely right always, it is difficult to determine who is right and who is wrong, in the end it does not matter, as long as we intend to be righteous and worship the Lord alone.
First, when I arrived here, I was a bit skeptical to the heavy reform of Islam here, but now I am more liberal about it. Nothing is wrong except the unrighteous acts, is my belief now. I was never narrow-minded, but I voiced my concerns.
Now it feels like I belong to a brotherhood of friends and I like your thoughts and I seldom criticize them harshly. Controversial thinking is only beneficial for the mind, mind exercise.
Salaam zulf,
Peacemaker, or Muslim, as I understand it, is to seek an inner peace within yourself, that you may in return ascend on the religious path. That is my current interpretation of the word Peacemaker and why it may translate into this compound verb. The making thing is searching for peace in your own soul by seeking His nearness and guidance.
I like to use Truthseeker in conjunction with the Peacemaker "translation", to further define Muslim in English. If you are absolutely certain about the Truth, then you are well on your way into the Light.
I am thinking whether or not Mu?min describes this condition, , when you have become absolutely certain and have no doubt whatsoever.
Believer is an awkward translation of the word Mu?min, I am searching for alternatives, but so far I found none except describe Believer with additional words, i. e true Believer etc.
My own nickname here is perhaps an unintended attempt to describe Mu?min. Without intention to brag or shine, I consider myself a Mu?min, but of course it is God who has the final say in that. Absolutely certain I am, at least, with no doubt.
I am very happy that I discovered this Internet forum, because it has given me so many ideas I would probably otherwise never gotten. I must say thay people like you, through the grace of God, really help to develop the mind. A little piece of Truth in your words is enough, even if we are not entirely right always, it is difficult to determine who is right and who is wrong, in the end it does not matter, as long as we intend to be righteous and worship the Lord alone.
First, when I arrived here, I was a bit skeptical to the heavy reform of Islam here, but now I am more liberal about it. Nothing is wrong except the unrighteous acts, is my belief now. I was never narrow-minded, but I voiced my concerns.
Now it feels like I belong to a brotherhood of friends and I like your thoughts and I seldom criticize them harshly. Controversial thinking is only beneficial for the mind, mind exercise.
God bless you, further
-
A very enjoyable read of the first 2 chapters. Your attempt to uncover the true meaning by treating proper nouns as common nouns certainly makes for a better and more fluid understanding of the The Reading.
-
Peace brother g1q1,
A very enjoyable read of the first 2 chapters. Your attempt to uncover the true meaning by treating proper nouns as common nouns certainly makes for a better and more fluid understanding of the The Reading.
Thank you for your kind assessment. Common nouns are universal concepts and this certainly makes for a more natural and universally applicable understanding, which is in line with the spirit of the message.
Peace,
Ayman
-
Peace everyone,
All thanks is due to the god that the book's Facebook page has gathered over 57K fans in the one month since it was started. If this trend continues, we could be in the initial stage of a real revolution like the Protestant revolution that helped usher Europe out of the dark ages, if the god willed.
https//www.facebook.com/Quran4Peace
Peace,
Ayman
-
Peace brother Ayman,
It's a great development. I was the 13th liker or something close to that and could observe the sudden and rapid rise of your book's facebook page. It makes me remember sura 110... Maybe that time has just arrived.
I am looking forward to your translation of the remaining chapters )
Salamun alayka, my dear brother.
-
"According to M.Asad"
https//lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FLj6NgBTQ-k/UVQV39WJoiI/AAAAAAAAAhM/Hd220ErS7uQ/s394/salaam.JPG
You're right. You should be critical.
Salam Abdelilah
You were right. I was wrong. I couldn't see these facts then. But I can see it now. I guess I wasn't ready for the information in his book when I wrote a post in this thread. I was blind to the facts. It indeed makes sense that the word muslim should be translated as peacemaker. Islam, muslim and other words that haven't been translated to english, and instead have been taken as proper names or nonsensical labels should definitely be translated to english, so that several misconceptions and falsehoods about "Deen of islam" can be dismantled.
I recommend his book to all members in FM
http//www.quran4peace.org
-
Peace brother Abdelilah,
This is exactly the idea. Keep it simple and easily accessible. Also, focus on the so-called "pillars" because if we show that even those basic tenets have been grossly distorted and we can demonstrate how the truth in the great reading is vastly different to the traditional practices then we do not even need to waste any time in endless arguments about traditions. If something as big as "hagg"/feast has been so much distorted and turned into a pagan ritual then small potatoes such as Bukahri Hadiths and Ibn Hisham Sira are already destroyed.
I would greatly appreciate your help and everyone's help in sharing ideas on how to spread the word about the book.
Peace and best regards,
Ayman
Peace Ayman
Here are some ideas on how to spread the word about the book and reach a greater audience
-
Make colorful flyers with a short introduction to the book to catch peoples interest, including a link to the website quran4peace.org, so people can go
to the website and read the book. Deliver the flyers to muslims and non-muslims in the street or cycle into different neighborhoods and put them into peoples mail boxes at night when they are asleep Just kidding. Do it at daytime. This method is similar to the tactic of Jehovas Witnesses (the experts of self-promotion). This method might sound crazy, but it actually works. Haha. -
Contact journalists of different newspapers about a story about your book.
-
Go to different forums on the internet and recommend the "book and the website quran4peace.org" to muslims and non-muslims.
-
Make videos about the book on youtube, vimeo and other videosharing sites. Put the book title and the url of the website under the videos.
-
Translate the book to several different languages (Indonesian, Hindi, Turkish, Bengali, Dari, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish etc.) to reach a greater audience.
-
-
Peace dear brother Timur,
Peace brother Ayman,
It's a great development. I was the 13th liker or something close to that and could observe the sudden and rapid rise of your book's facebook page. It makes me remember sura 110... Maybe that time has just arrived.
I am looking forward to your translation of the remaining chapters )
Salamun alayka, my dear brother.It is a great honor to have you my dear brother as one of the early members of the page. The god has blessed us and we are now up to over 145,000 since my last post less than a month ago.
I am still working on the English translation of the remaining chapters. The difficulty and why this is taking more time is that they are not translations. It is actually a rewriting of the book in English.
Peace and best regards,
Ayman
-
Peace brother Ayman,
I have not yet seen your works more than briefly, but the little I have seen looks promising. Unfortunatly I have limited access to any usable Internet. I would love to have a good translation of the Quran. Facebook works poorly from here.
God bless you
-
Peace dear brother Ayman.
I am still working on the English translation of the remaining chapters. The difficulty and why this is taking more time is that they are not translations. It is actually a rewriting of the book in English.
I understand. Good things need some patience, don't they?