Thanks for your input

What about the following?

Meezan (Balance)
Qist (Justice & fairness)
Adl (Justice & fairness)
Ihsan (Goodness)
Jihad (Struggle for just social order) (this one needs a qualifier)
Noor (Light of Guidance) (this one needs qualifier too since it is a allegorical)
Sabr (Patience & steadfastness)
Taqwa (God consciousness)
Tazakka (Moral Purification)
Taharat (Physical and Moral Cleanliness)
Millat (Way or Path)
Tawheed (Doctrine of Unity of God)

100 years ago, if you went to a Westerner and said 'yoga', you'd get a blank look. Then Maharishi Mahesh Yogi came about and introduced the concept. Now 'yoga' is a common word.
The word will be as proliferated as our struggle to uphold its vehicle.

I won't compare Quranic themes with 'yoga' because of several reasons
a) yoga is mental, spiritual and physical exercises. whereas Quranic themes are much more abstract and complex. you can explain yoga to a lay man with some diagrams and pictures. he or she may understand the spritual or mental aspects of it with some difficulty but atleast can get a hang of it.
can you say the same for taqwa, ihasan, jihad or any other Quranic concept?
b) yoga was something new for the western and offered a lot of appeal as something from the east. whereas Islam has been maligned and somehow related to violence and terrorism. Do you think the west can have a similar appeal for Islam and Quran with our long history of misunderstanding, unless we present the concepts in very simple terms?
I know quite a few people, who in their ignorance, relate everything Arabic to something which is medieval.

It's just a word by word study of concepts which will trigger revolution.

Exactly that is what I am trying to highlight here. word by word study of concepts.

At the end of the day what is the message of Quran other than HUMANITY and surrender before our CREATOR? Why the Prophets suffered, endured and won? Nothing else but Goodness for the sake of their creator.

I'm looking to bring quranic words into my own use, not to translate them.

This is very important point you brought up. i.e. should we use the original Arabic word and highlight its meaning or try to use a simple English translation.

Both have their merits and drawbacks. The latter is an easier option but may result into problems as highlighted by yourself. I like the fomer approach just like you but often run into remarks like "this is an alien word".

To resolve this problem we use an approach like this Ihsaan( Goodness)
and then go on explaining it. Thats the reason I was trying to find a simple equivalent to Saleh or Islah (------)

Some others one word translations
Meezan (Balance)
Qist (Justice & fairness)
Adl (Justice & fairness)
Ihsan( Goodness)
Jihad (Struggle for just social order) (this one needs a qualifier)
Noor (Light of Guidance) (this one needs qualifier too since it is a allegorical)
Sabr (Patience & steadfastness)
Taqwa (God consciousness)
Tazakka (Moral Purification)

I think such a transalation is necessary for the lay man to understand the a) the meaning b) significance c) the relationship between these themes

In my opinion the Quranic themes should be taken out of the realms of scholars and learned to the common man
Thanks

mquran
In simple words can we say
"Saleh" means "reformist"? thats makes "Salehat" as "reformation"?
and Muhsim is a "doer of Good"?
Thanks

Andy
Thanks for your beautiful post. It covers our basic values. These values are our bond. I believe if people in a community adopt these values they will propser.

I often come accross people who want to learn about Islam both when I am Pakistan or outside. Some sincerely wish to improve themselves, some just want to know more, some want to participate in community. All these people are from different ethnic, cultural, class and oftern sectarian backgrounds. Because of their diversity I feel the need of MINIMUM COMMON set of values which are not too complicated, which are in conformance with the scripture and which promote humanitarian values. This prompted a research and we came up with three basic concepts or principles

Belief in the Beneficent and Merciful God (Allah)
Belief in return to God
The response of Man Gratitude (shukr) , Generosity & Moral purification (tazzaka), Cooperation in Goodness

This works. I believe this the COMMON MINIMUM which can shared by people of all cultures. This way we can build bridges of faith and goodness towards fellow human being.
In my opinion (and my research suggests), this is the PRIMARY MESSAGE OF QURAN

Arnold
Thanks for sharing the above 'Guiding Principles', beautifully presented by Allama Parwez

What does Quran say on 'Strategy' to reduce these tensions?
What is your opinion?

What is your opinion about this article
http//www.clearvisionpk.com/PrimaryMessage.html

Peace,

Those stories of the order of revelation are mostly concocted stories. We don't know the order i believe. In the Quran itself it is mentiones that was revealed in stages. But if you do want to use those stories written down 200 years after the revelation, then the first suras were all on the Oneness of God.

I respect your opinion

Arnold
Thanks for sharing this list.

Do you agree that Quran was revealed in stages over a long period of time? (around 23 years)

If you would agree then the earliest revealations can tell us what is the primary message of Quran.

Whats your opinion?

Peace all,

If you feel like answering, thanks, and if not, thanks anyway, of course.

Elena

Elana
Quran, as all of us know, is a reminder. It reminds you things which, most probably, you already know but in our preoccupation with life, we ignore. Like for example

we inhabit a living planet with all the natural calamities
our life is short on this planet
the benevolence of nature has made life possible
we must express gratitude by doing good to others

As I grew up and started realizing these facts, Quran reminded me all these at every stage of life, again and again. Thus started a bond between me and Quran. And I started respecting and trusting its advice or in other words the advice of God. I found that its vision is universal and one which transcends humanity. It helped me improve. Be more generous, patient and equitable.

In short, thats how I reached certitude about Quran. Let me refer to one of my short articles about how I perceived success according to Quran. Who are successful people?

Arnold
What if I say that a major social issue "rich poor divide" or "hoarding of wealth by rich and not spending it on poor" is addressed in the primary message of Quran?

What are your thoughts?

1.God is one and there is not authority then God.

2.The Deen is based on righteousness and to be good to another.

I think these are the primary starter points..

Peace

Arnold
Do you think the primary message of Quran addresses any social issues?

Very good question. ( -) my favorite topic)

Lets dissect the term "Muslim Community".

Muslim AND Community

First study Muslim
Being Muslim is not following a particular culture or speaking a particular language.
Being Muslim is not following a particular trait.
Being Muslim is not living in the east or west.
It is universal. It is a way of thinking a person develops by observing the nature and its majesty.
For definition of Muslim we need to study the ideology of the person who coined this term i.e. our spritual father Prophet Abraham (PBUH) the true Mulim Hanifa. Whom God called as his friend (Khalil). All the subsequent Messengers followed in his footsteps. Any body who follows his way is a Muslim. This way is called Millat-e-Ibaram in Quran.
http//www.clearvision.com.pk/perspectives.php?func=show&id=8
http//www.clearvision.com.pk/perspectives.php?func=show&id=30

Community
Cooperation is basic to human nature and organization is basic to cooperation.
Homo Sapiens are social animals. They cooperate for their common good.
http//www.clearvision.com.pk/community.php

So islam is a cooperation based system. In other words it is a community based system. Whoever follows Islam by default becomes part of a community.

So to sum up Muslim Community is the cooperation between people who are Muslim and Quran provides the constitution for regulating the affairs of this community.
http//www.clearvision.com.pk/perspectives.php?func=show&id=40

Points to Ponder
Birds of a feather flock together means that people who are similar to each other often stick together.

Now think like a leader. You need to keep your flock together. What is better than Salat?

Thanks

Just a post to highlight the difference between the TRIANGLE of terms DEEN, MAZHAB and RELIGION

Deen - It translates to a system based on principles and rules. When we sayIslam is a deen it means it is a system. Refer to
http//www.quranicteachings.co.uk/Ad_Deen.pdf

Mazhab - It translates to 'school of thought'. The word mazhab is never used in Quran. I think the reason is simple because Quran doesnot reflect the 'schoolof thought' of any scholar(s) but the system of God.

Religion - It is a word from western culture and it is a set of rituals,
attitudes and beliefs related to supernatural.
Refer http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion

Therefore Islam is not a Mazhab. It is much more than that. But there is no translation of deen in english. The closest is religion so many translators and scholars have used religion and for the sake of simplicity we also use it.

But in my opinion Islam is a system based on principles given by Allah for the muslim community to regulate their affairs. It includes rituals, values (moralprinciples), jurisprudence, beliefs and many other things. If there is no muslim community obviously there would be no Islam.

I am not an anthropologist, but studying Quran made me immensely interested in this subject. Quran denies nothing about actual human nature and experiences. Quran exhorts us again and again to study human nature and look at the cultures of people of yesterday and today. The people who have knowledge of such subjects are referred to in Quran as the 'people who have knowledge'. Quran often exhorts its readers to go and ask the people who know.

Anthropologist regards religion as cultural universal - general cultural traits and features found in all societies of the world. The argument of Quran is for Tawheed. To me it is unification of God, Identity, values and purpose of life. I will post a new essay on tawheed shortly, Inshallah.

Please refer to these sources on cultural anthropology, religion and rituals

http//highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072500506/student_view0/chapter12/faqs.html

http//www.routledge-ny.com/religionandsociety/Rites/introduction.html

http//inic.utexas.edu/asnic/subject/essayonreli.html

If you discuss it more I will be happy to be of any help. If you want to take it offline drop me an instant message.

Phoenix1
I humbly suggest you study cultural anthropology on rituals and human reality. I will come back to you with some books on this subject.

I am sure you will see the point that no sociey is without rituals, whether secular or related to supernatural, and we must not be an exception. If we ignore rituals we dehumanize ourselves by rejecting a fundamental human reality.

Regards

mquran
I strongly believe if you have strong faith in al-furqaan Allah will never let you go astray because Allah is with the believers.

Our fundamental stress should be on values of al-furqaan. However, on strategy, I understand, no two strategists think the same. We think in an evolutionary way as in Quran
"Quran draws an analogy between the community and a seed, which sends forth its shoot, and then it becomes strong, thick and stands firm on its stem delighting the members of community" (4829)

But as a whole I am sure we understand each others position quite clearly.

Salaam

Phonix1
You raised several good questions. Let me rephrase them

Your first is about diversity. What happens if millions of people from different cultures try to perform the same ritual, which in our discussion is salat?

Your second question is about religious specialist and their role in Salat?

Answer
Islam accepts diversity as part of human reality.
http//www.clearvision.com.pk/diversity.php
Islam is a community based system (deen). Concept of community is central to Islam and It is the basic character of Islam. Salat, as argued in the article, is a way to bring the members of community together. When people stop following the spirit and values of this system only the facade is left and spirit is lost. But when a group of people rise up to revive the spirit they bring the sense of community and values back into the system.

Refer to Quran 1317 There is a parable about truth and falsehood. In this
parable God is saying that if you remove the falsehood from the system it becomes pure and good for humanity. So what I am saying is that old traditions of Salat is still being followed but the sense of community and spirit is dead. If you revive it you will see that the existing practice of salat is a ritual which serves to enhance the social bonds of community.

About the religious specialist, there is no role for such a person. The leader of muslim community should lead the salat.

Regards

I think I made it very clear that Quran is the criterion to judge everything. If part of history doesnot contradict Quran I dont see any issue with this. On the other hand if it contradicts Quran we are not bound to follow it. We are not a blind follower and on the flip side We must not be blind rejectors of everthing. We must use our judgement in the light of Quran. Some leadership tips
Act and do not react
Be flexible in your approach
Always show positive attitude in negative circumstances
Always keep your focus on what you care about

Salam and best regards

Dear mQuran
You have made a beautiful point. I can see the symbolism here.

I believe that the thoughts and beliefs of Prophet Abraham(PBUH) is model for all of us who want to follow Islam. This is the spritual and moral platform where Muslims can gather. I see it as a great blessing of my creator and a great opportunity for all of us to build consensus. And allow me to say that this is a platform to build consensus also with the communities who were given scriptures before Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

Salam