Description
Book SynopsisWith the turmoil in the Middle East, there is a growing interest about Islam - the world's second largest religion and one of the fastest growing - and its holy book, the Koran (or Qur'an). This English guide explores the history, structure, and basic tenets of Islam's sacred scripture.
Trade Review“…I was quickly humbled by this guide, which showed me how much I had misunderstood. I would recommend this to anyone interested in Islam…” (
Catholic Herald, 26 November 2004)
The Qur'an's overall context of hostility to those who disbelieve in Mohammed's prophecy is downplayed in one forthcoming book, The Koran for Dummies by Sohaid Sultan. Under the heading "Discovering the Basic Messages of the Koran," Sultan lists as Mohammed's basic themes "The unity of God," "Worship and service to God," "Prophets to teach and guide," "Completion of past revelations," "Guidance to a spiritual path," "Movement for social change," "Accountability of deeds." All of which sounds pretty harmless—nothing about making war on unbelievers. (Publishers Weekly, May 10, 2004)
"...provides an introduction to Islam's holy book." (Publishers Weekly, February 9, 2004)
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1
About This Book 1
Conventions Used in This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
How This Book Is Organized 4
Part I: Revealing the Word of God: The Book 4
Part II: Searching for the Soul of the Koran 4
Part III: Seeing the Koranic Worldview 4
Part IV: Living the Koran 5
Part V: Relating the Koran to the World 5
Part VI: The Part of Tens 5
Icons Used in This Book 5
Where to Go from Here 6
Part I: Revealing the Word of God: The Book 7
Chapter 1: Getting to Know the Koran 9
Receiving Revelation Straight from the Source 9
Guiding the Way: Prophet Muhammad 10
Discovering the Basic Messages of the Koran 11
The unity of God 11
Worship and service to God 11
Prophets to teach and guide 11
Completion of past revelations 12
Guidance to a spiritual path 12
Movement for social change 12
Accountability of deeds 13
Naming the Revelation 13
The Guidance 13
The Criterion 14
The Proof 14
The Reminder 15
The Healing 16
Hearing the Words: The Audience of the Koran 16
Knowing the Essentials about Islam and Muslims 17
The Six Pillars of Belief 17
The Five Pillars of Islam 18
Muslims: The followers of Islam 19
Chapter 2: From Revelation to Written Book 21
Revealing the Koran to Muhammad 21
The beginning of revelation 22
The stages of revelation 24
The Meccan and Medinan periods 24
Transmitting revelation to the community 26
Collecting the Koran as a Book 27
Conforming the Koran’s dialects 28
The Koran in modern-day print 29
Memorizing Miracles: Preserving the Koran throughout History 31
Experiencing the Koran as Divine Art 32
Recitation 32
Calligraphy 35
Chapter 3: Mapping Out the Structure of the Book 37
Discerning the Structure of the Koran 37
Ayat 37
Surahs 38
Juz’ 39
Discovering Surah Names and Themes 40
Finding Your Way through the Moral Narrative 46
Through divine signs 47
Through laws 47
Through stories of the past 48
Simplifying the Moral Narrative of Shorter Surahs 52
Chapter 4: Discovering the Language of the Koran 53
Arabic: Plain, Clear, and Eloquent 53
Digging down to the roots 54
Reading translations of the Koran 56
Literary Style in the Sacred Scripture 57
Key literary elements of the Koran 58
Clear and figurative passages 60
Hearing the Voice of the Koran 62
Chapter 5: Relating the Koran to Abrahamic Revelations 65
Previous Revelations: Between Sacred and Corrupted 65
Linking the Three Faiths: Common Experiences in the Scriptures 66
Uniting faiths with belief in One God 67
Bridging the gap between divine laws 67
Sharing the legacy of prophetic stories 69
Contrasting the Koran with Judeo-Christian Scriptures 70
Finding a worldview of history in the Scriptures 70
Reforming laws 72
Reforming religious rituals 72
Extending God’s covenant to all peoples 73
Giving a new angle on prophetic stories 73
Checking the prophetic pulse of Muhammad in the lBiblical Scripture 75
Differing on Mary and the message of Jesus 76
Part II: Searching for the Soul of the Koran 79
Chapter 6: Interpreting the Koran 81
Coming to Know the Guidance 81
Having room for interpretation 82
Knowing the key terms of Koranic interpretation 82
Finding the Tasfir that fits 84
Drawing out Interpretations 85
Looking at clear and ambiguous passages 85
Interpreting outer meanings 86
Interpreting inner meanings 88
Examining general and specific passages 88
Keeping circumstances behind revelation in mind 90
Abrogating passages 90
Chapter 7: Understanding Interpretations of the Koran Today 93
Getting to Know Famous Commentators of the Koran 93
Among the companions 94
In successive generations 95
Classic works of Koranic interpretation 96
Influential Movements of the Twentieth Century 98
Mawdudi: Framework for a movement 99
Qutub: The controversial revolutionary 101
Muhammad Rida: The influential reformer 103
Muhammad al-Ghazali: Thematic Tafsir 103
Another School of Thought: The Shi’ites 104
Ali 104
Two famous Shi’ite Koranic interpreters 105
Part III: Seeing the Koranic Worldview 107
Chapter 8: Meeting God, Prophets, and Mankind 109
Conceptualizing God 109
“A” is for “Allah” 109
Exploring the concept of God 110
Experiencing God through divine attributes 113
Knowing God 117
Prophets of God: Preaching a Divine Message 119
Prophets and messengers 119
Abraham: Beloved Friend of God and Father of Faith 120
Moses: The Liberator 122
Jesus: The Spirit of God 125
The Status and Nature of Man 128
Human nature through Adam 129
The purpose of human life 131
Chapter 9: Divining Nature, the Universe, and the Unseen 133
The Divine Ways of Nature 133
Patterns of creation 134
God’s creations in the skies 134
Earthly creations 136
Inheriting the Earth: The Role of Mankind in Nature 139
The Unseen World: Angels versus Satan 140
The angels: Pure creations of God 141
Satan: An avowed enemy 142
Accounting for the Soul 143
The Day of Judgment 143
The eternal bliss of heaven 144
Hell: Torment of the fire 145
God’s Mercy, God’s Wrath: Reconciling the two 145
Chapter 10: Taking the Koranic View of Other Faith Traditions 147
Islam: One Religion under God 147
A brotherhood of Muslims 148
Limits to an inclusive theology 149
Honoring Freedom of Choice and Respecting Diversity 151
Protecting freedom of choice 152
Embracing diversity as the Will of God 152
Examining Some Controversial Passages on Interfaith Relations 153
Fighting against “unbelievers” 154
Forbidding “friendship” with People of the Book 156
Part IV: Living the Koran 157
Chapter 11: Following in the Footsteps of Muhammad 159
The Scripture Speaks about Muhammad 159
Servant of God and mortal man 160
Muhammad’s divine mission 160
Muhammad as the best example for humanity 161
Muhammad’s mercy for humanity 161
Muhammad as a seal of the prophets 162
Doing as God and His Messenger Do 163
Looking at Some Key Prophetic Sayings 165
Muhammad speaks about God 165
Muhammad speaks about virtue 166
Chapter 12: Putting Meaning into Ritual 169
Declaring Faith: More than Just Words 170
Conversing with the Divine: Prayer 170
Understanding the purpose of prayer 171
Approaching prayer: Purity of mind and body 172
Let the prayer begin! 175
Raising the Soul over the Ego: Fasting 180
Remembering and thanking God 180
Enjoying the communal aspects of fasting 182
Purifying Wealth, Uplifting the Needy: Almsgiving 183
Opening your wallet and improving the world 183
Receiving alms 184
Journeying to the House of God: Pilgrimage 186
Following the path of Abraham 186
Journeying through the pilgrimage 186
Chapter 13: Understanding the Koranic View of Self 191
Connecting the Three Dots of Self Awareness 191
The wild horse and the rider 192
The three states of self 193
The Seven Gates to the Heart 194
The ears and tongue 194
The eyes 195
The hands and legs 196
The stomach 197
The sexual organs 197
Blessed Is the Baby’s Soul, a Soul without Sin 198
The Soul’s Journey: From Pre-Birth to the Hereafter 199
Pre-worldly existence 199
Earthly life 199
The grave 200
The Day of Judgment 200
The final abode 201
The Muslim Self: A State of Being 201
The Kafir: A Faithless Self 202
Chapter 14: Achieving Koranic Ethics and Morality 203
Discovering Ethical Principles in the Koran 203
Preserving religion 203
Preserving life 204
Preserving lineage 205
Preserving property 206
Preserving honor 206
Leading the Life of Good Virtue and Character 207
Discouraged behaviors 207
Encouraged behaviors 210
Purifying the Heart 212
Remembering the Divine: Dhikr 212
Following God’s laws 213
Keeping company with pious people 214
Controlling passion and struggling for good 214
Chapter 15: Raising a Family the Koranic Way 215
Healthy Family Equals Healthy Society 215
Looking for a Spouse: Let the Search Begin 216
Looking beyond the surface 216
Making sure the marriage is legal 217
Giving equal time: Polygamy for men 218
Celebrating Marriage as the Basis of Family 219
Practically speaking: Basic functions within a marriage 220
Intimacy: Both spiritual and physical 222
Preserving modesty through Scriptural teaching 223
Bringing Up Children 224
Treating parents well: The best act of piety 225
Raising children with wisdom 226
Parental responsibilities to their children 227
A Matter of Inheritance: Who Gets What 228
Tackling Divorce in the Koran 229
Part V: Relating the Koran to the World 231
Chapter 16: Connecting the Koran to Society 233
Divining a Community of the Middle Path 233
Having a balanced approach to the Divine 234
Balancing the worldly and the spiritual in society 234
Managing justice and mercy in society 235
Avoiding extremes in religious practice and manners 236
Witnessing the Truth 237
Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil 238
Uniting a Community with the Rope of God 240
Equality of mankind before God 240
The brotherhood of man 241
Leadership and Citizenship in the Koran 243
Forming a political identity 244
Governing by the Book 245
Living up to citizenship 246
Receiving the rights of citizenship 247
Non-Muslims living in Muslim lands 249
Jihad: Struggling in the Path of God 252
Struggling against evil 252
Jihad as armed struggle 253
Chapter 17: Purifying Society through Islamic Law 255
Defining Shariah 256
Extracting and Interpreting Sacred Law 257
Searching for Rulings and Principals 258
In the Koran 258
In the prophetic tradition 261
In the consensus of the scholars 263
In juristic analogy 264
Exploring the Contents of the Sacred Law 264
Understanding the Islamic Penal Code 265
Punishing murder 266
Punishing the spreading of violence 267
Punishing theft 268
Preventing unlawful sexual relations 269
Looking at the Four Schools of Law 270
The Hanafi School of Law 270
The Maliki School of Law 271
The Shafi’i School of Law 271
The Hanbali School 272
Chapter 18: Struggling for God: Jihad 273
Finding the Spirit of Jihad 274
Defending life and religion 274
Defending human rights and freedom of worship 275
Dispelling the myths behind passage 9:5 276
Connecting Qital with Islamic Law 279
Understanding Martyrdom 279
Looking at Jihad in today’s World 280
Chapter 19: Discussing Women in the Koran 283
Finding Equality in the Scripture 284
Eve: A model for gender equality 284
The Virgin Mary: A divinely inspired woman 286
Other famous and infamous women in the Koran 288
Discerning Women’s Rights in Divine Law 290
Right to inheritance 291
Right to own property, manage business, and control wealth 291
Right to work and equal pay 292
Right to education 292
Right to social and political participation 293
Rights of marriage 293
Right to initiate divorce 293
Right to bear witness to business transactions 294
Chapter 20: The Koran and Modernity 295
Differentiating between Modernity and Modern Culture 295
Promoting Social Progress 296
Focusing on Issues of Modernity 297
Science 298
The arts 298
Human rights 299
Economics and free trade 300
Morality and secularism 301
Imagining an Islamic Democracy 302
Debating the rule of law between citizenry and God 303
Expressing the will of the people through elections 305
Holding public officials responsible 305
Liberty and Koranic ideals 306
Social equality and Islamic law 307
Part VI: The Part of Tens 309
Chapter 21: Ten Misconceptions about the Koran 311
Misconception #1: Muhammad Wrote the Koran 311
Misconception #2: The Koran Is Incoherent and Unorganized 312
Misconception #3: The Koran Is Void of Reason 313
Misconception #4: The Koran Espouses Polytheism 314
Misconception #5: The Koran Says That God Belongs to One People 315
Misconception #6: God Is Wrathful and Unloving in the Koran 316
Misconception #7: The Koran Preaches Fatalism 316
Misconception #8: Jihad Means “Holy War” 317
Misconception #9: The Koran Discourages Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation 318
Misconception #10: The Scripture Values Men More than Women 319
Chapter 22: Ten Ways to Dig Deeper into the Koran 321
Comparing “Translations” 321
Listening to the Koran 323
Looking at Different Interpretations 324
Reading Books 325
Studying Arabic 326
Studying the Koran 326
Surfing Web Sites 327
Taking Classes 328
Talking to Muslims 328
Visiting Your Local Mosque 329
Appendix A: Glossary of Koranic Terms 331
Appendix B: Finding Prophets in the Koran 339
Index 341
