Approaching Islam

[nativeastral]

Originally Posted by Janz

Thanks Avi.. Dr Reza Aslan is another Islamic Reformer: Reza Aslan
His book No god But God, The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam is a must read IMHO. He is of Iranian descent and is a brilliant thinker. He also has a new book called How to Win a Cosmic War and writes for The Daily Beast. Reza Aslan - The Daily Beast

Enjoy.

l read that book and thoroughly enjoyed it, ta for link

[Netti-Netti]

Originally Posted by Tao_Equus

And showed no caution in stealing wholesale from Christianity and Judaism to do so.

Is it 'stealing' when an attribution is made?

As I understand it, Islam is presented as an extension of the Judeo-Christian tradition. That's why it's included under the rubric of "Abrahamic religions."

[Tao_Equus]

Originally Posted by Netti-Netti

Is it 'stealing' when an attribution is made?

As I understand it, Islam is presented as an extension of the Judeo-Christian tradition. That's why it's included under the rubric of "Abrahamic religions."

"

If you are as looking as a 'green' apologist yes. If you are looking it impersonally as a critical historian it is plagiarism by any other name. I gave my statement context and I stand by it.

[Netti-Netti]

Originally Posted by Tao_Equus

If you are looking it impersonally as a critical historian it is plagiarism by any other name. I gave my statement context and I stand by it.

Thank you. I had no hopes of impacting your views with my post.

[farhan]

Originally Posted by Tao_Equus

"

If you are as looking as a 'green' apologist yes. If you are looking it impersonally as a critical historian it is plagiarism by any other name. I gave my statement context and I stand by it.

Jews took it from Zoroastrians. Zoroaster took it from Aryan beliefs. They must have taken it from some prehistoric form of shamanism. So ?

The truth is only one.....sages speak of it as many ......

Just to let you know, you stole zero from Indians

[Tao_Equus]

Originally Posted by farhan

Jews took it from Zoroastrians. Zoroaster took it from Aryan beliefs. They must have taken it from some prehistoric form of shamanism. So ?

The truth is only one.....sages speak of it as many ......

Just to let you know, you stole zero from Indians

I love many things Indians gave us all. A shame Islam has so often been at pains destroy it too though.

[Abdullah]

Originally Posted by Snugglepuff

OK, so I was looking to get a bit of feedback from the Islam community on how to approach this.

It seems to me that Islam gets alot of stick from various groups and not alot of people know much about it unless they practise the religion.
So instead of getting older everyday and not finding out about the religions of the world, I wanted to find out more.

I am hoping to buy a Koran in the near future and read it. I have seen both good and bad press on Islam... the good press is what encouraged me to read up on this really.

So my question is, as a non-Muslim, how should I approach reading this text?? I've read that the Koran can be literally translated as "the guidance" as well as having other meanings attributed to it. Is the word of this book supposed to be taken literally or as a guide?
And as this book was written such a long time ago, is it still applied to us in society today??

I apologise if this comes across as ignorant or mis-informed but this is what I am here for - to learn more.

Hope to hear from someone soon
Hannah x

Hi Hannah ,

This is without reading all of the answers so far, so my apologies if I repeat [which I probably will do some of it at least ]

This dont come across as ignorant at all sister, for intellectual curiousity is the pivotal point of enlightenment.

The Quran litterally means, the recitation, hence it is a book to be recited; it is also called 'the Furqan' which means, the criterion of right and wrong, hence is the guide to a comprehensive way of life

from the Quran, one can get a gist of the basic realties, such as the historic events relating to the former prophets and their nations, the statement of Allâh’s bounties on mankind, the creation of the heavens and the earth, the cosmological signs of the divine power and wisdom, the pleasures of the Paradise and the torture of the Hell, and subjects of similar nature.

but to understand the acedemic guidance found in the Quran, such as the imperatives of Islamic guidance, the provisions of Islâmic law, the details of doctrinal issues, the wisdom of certain injunctions and other academic subjects, one will have to study the indepth exegesis of it..., which can be found on the following links:

Tafsir.com Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Altafsir.com - The Tafsirs - ÇáÊÝÇÓíÑ

there are Quranic translations online too:

The Quran Translation by M. Pickthall

The True Call - ISLAM - Quran Browser

As to how you should approach the text; you can read it from start to finish if you want, or even choose to read whatever chapter you prefer too, but if you do decide to follow the Quranic guidance, i.e, convert and follow islam, then it is not enough to just follow the translation of the Quran [or even the Arabic Quran] according to your personal understanding, for there is so many verses that need to be put into context and one needs to understand the indepth exegesis of it; other sciences are a pre-requisite too, not least the Sunnah [words, actions and implicit consent] of the Prophet Muhamamd [saw], hence to follow Islam one can learn the matters of consensus from other Muslims [such as how to pray, fast, etc] and more acedemic matters from the Islamic Scholars

The Quran is wholly applied in society just as it was when it was first revealed, taking in consideration what we can and cannot given the laws of the country that we live in, but in general, the comprehensive practices of Islam pertaining to day to day matters, can be applied fully; the more one applies it to his life, the more better; and applying the obligatory matters is a must for all

hope this helps

Peace

[Abdullah]

Originally Posted by Snugglepuff

Yeah, that comment wasn't exactly helpful, Tao, in fact, let's be honest, that was full of prejudiced cr*p. That's basically the tripe that everyone comes out with when they havent got a clue as to what the religion is about i.e. what I'm trying to avoid.

I was looking for advice (advice being the operative word) on approaching the religion.

MashAllah sister, as long you have this level of understanding of what 'rubbish' is out there, then you'll be safe inshAllah from being poisoned with stuff like bnp and other hatemongering stuff

Salam

[Friend]

Slaam

Peace

I recommend you browse this site

jews

http://www.prophetmuhammadleadership.org/

with my best wishes

[Friend]

Originally Posted by GlorytoGod

as an apostate of islam I suggest you do some research into the battle of the trench and mohamed's marriage to Aisha, makes some interesting reading

I suggest you too to read this post may give you some ideas

http://www.interfaith.org/forum/20501-post2.html


about the battle of the trench ,,,see this link


jews » Blog Archive Did Prophet Muhammad order 900 Jews killed ?

slaam

[Amica]

Only people fearing the Truth, and those who are afraid that they will lose a member of their own camp, would attack with no education about a subject (i.e. Tao Equus @ Islam).

[Mahmoud]

Originally Posted by Snugglepuff

So my question is, as a non-Muslim, how should I approach reading this text?? I've read that the Koran can be literally translated as "the guidance" as well as having other meanings attributed to it. Is the word of this book supposed to be taken literally or as a guide?
And as this book was written such a long time ago, is it still applied to us in society today??

I would not take the word of any book as an absolute. Use your own judgment about all things you are told.

Many of the great books of the past are relevant today. You must decide for yourself which are the ones to believe.