How many of you have read the Quran?

originally posted by: CynConcepts
a reply to: enlightenedservant

Everyone speaks about the Quar'an and seems to neglect responding questions about 'Hadiths'? Are there other books and laws that Islam promotes beyond the Quar'an? I am curious, since obviously there must be more for so many sects to have formed based on the same main book. You see this amongst all religious groups. One main book, but also segments from apostates or laws given afterwards which create divisions. How can one tell if a Muslim has veered from Islam into a more radical interpretation?

1. The Qur'an. The literal teachings of God. Nothing in Islam is supposed to override, supersede, or nullify the Qur'an. Though some sects believe the Qur'an is "incomplete", so their teachings "fill in the blanks" (even though the Qur'an says it is complete). So obviously these sects aren't viewed as "mainstream" Islam.

2. Sunna/Sunnah. A simple definition for Sunnah is "the verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions (or disapprovals) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad." Or to be blunt, the Sunnah are supposed to the the exact ways & teachings of the Prophet Muhammad.

Most Islamic sects accept various Sunnah as being authentic, though they differ on which ones & their interpretations. Sunni Islam is literally "followers of the Sunna" (as in, "those who strive to be the best Muslims they can be by emulating the Prophet's words, actions, mannerisms, etc"). Shia Islam also accepts most Sunnah as authentic, though the interpretations may be very different (and they have different ones, teachings, and traditions).

3. Hadith. Hadith are basically the sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, his companions, their lifestyles & traditions, etc. A Hadith may say "Johnny Johnson Jr reported that the Prophet's neighbor heard Companion A chastise a man for wearing leather shoes. Therefore, leather shoes must be forbidden."

There are so many different Hadith that it would be impossible for Muslims to agree on them all. There are some collections that are widely accepted as authentic, and there are many that are straight up crap. I think it's fair to note that the Prophet himself & the first 9 Caliphs forbid teaching anything other than the Qur'an. In fact, the first 2 Caliphs even burned the collections of sayings, teachings, and traditions that would now be considered Hadith & Sunna.

4. All of the other stuff. This includes the different teachings, rulings, fatwas, and interpretations within each separate community. It's even more complicated when you realize that anything may be acceptable as long as it doesn't contradict the Qur'an (or Sunnah & Hadith). Think of the different Christian bishops & preachers where you live, their different teachings & interpretations, and the different biblical books & passages they may emphasize or ignore. Muslim communities are the same. This is why there are no 2 forms of Shariah law and why 2 communities from the same denomination may have vastly different traditions & views.

Needless to say, different denominations, sects, and "schools of thought" accept vastly different Hadith, Sunna, and additional stuff. And some, like Quranists, don't accept anything other than the Qur'an ("Islam" is vastly different if you only follow the Qur'an). Salafis strictly dedicate themselves to following the teachings and traditions of the Prophet and his companions (to the point that they seem to think the Qur'an is incomplete/flawed, and they use their examples from the Prophet's companions to "fill in the blanks").

Sunnis follow the Sunna, which has many traditions from other Abrahamic religions in it. This is why Salafis tend to consider Sunni teachings as tainted, watered down, etc. And Shiites may be the ones who followed the Prophet's will the most closely, seeing as they only accepted the Prophet's chosen successor to be the Caliph (Ali) & follow his grandsons' teachings.

Though there are numerous sub-sects & sub-denominations within both the Sunni & Shiite designations, so even this isn't completely accurate. Because different sects teach different versions of the things I've typed so far! In fact, different denominations & schools of thought even have their own interpretations of the Qur'an. The editors from those groups will add "clarifications" in parenthesis or at the bottom of the page. These "clarifications" will give their sect's interpretations of the passage, add something that touches on a Hadith they follow, etc. This is why it's important to know what translation you're reading or quoting; to compare the passages of different translations (to note the differences); or even better, to learn Quranic Arabic so you can read it yourself.

Hope that clears it up a little.

The Quran is an intelligent and enlightened book. But when used by semi-literate desert-dwellers with violent and unenlightened traditions, it becomes something different. The same thing can be said of the Bible....its a highly valuable book, but widely misunderstood. These books are full of analogies, parables and spiritual wisdom not really meant to be read and interpreted by the rigid mindsets we see using them today.

I judge the book by how its adherents behave. no thanks, got better things to do with my time

a reply to: Ectospasm

originally posted by: bottleslingguy
I judge the book by how its adherents behave. no thanks, got better things to do with my time

a reply to: Ectospasm

So you haven't read it, but you claim to know what's in it,
Bigotry is not attractive.
Are you voting for Trump ?

originally posted by: bottleslingguy
I judge the book by how its adherents behave. no thanks, got better things to do with my time

a reply to: Ectospasm

ignorance is bliss , eh ?

originally posted by: 23432

originally posted by: bottleslingguy
I judge the book by how its adherents behave. no thanks, got better things to do with my time

a reply to: Ectospasm

ignorance is bliss , eh ?

Aren't you are following the wrong leader dare I say .

a reply to: LightAssassin

originally posted by: LightAssassin
...ties in with comments in the Torah by the 'Lord of Hosts'. Given our planet hosts humans and this being claims to be Lord of Hosts (plural) then yes, I could be reading literature supplied again by intergalatic visitors

Not really related to this topic, but I thought I'd just pop in to mention, the word "Host" here isn't in reference to the common english translation of host (i.e. hosting someone, being a host, etc.). It is referring to the other meaning, being "army". So "Lord of Hosts" is talking about God being the leader of an army. Your interpretation could still very well fit here, being as the army is supposed to be (at least partly?) angelic and otherworldly.
Heavenly Host

I haven't read the Old, or New Testament, as well as the Q'uran. If it ain't got colourful or black and white pictures for me to fill in, then it ain't worth reading, let alone painting a heathen village red.

a reply to: Ectospasm

I read half of the original book, actually my husband have a beautiful copy in leather with gold trim that was given to him as a gift when he was in Saudi Arabia during desert storm by a Kuwaiti General that he did business with ones side is in European English the other in Arabic.

It have very beautiful stories with moral meanings, just like the bible.

originally posted by: 23432

originally posted by: bottleslingguy
I judge the book by how its adherents behave. no thanks, got better things to do with my time

a reply to: Ectospasm

ignorance is bliss , eh ?

as far as what?

originally posted by: Specimen
I haven't read the Old, or New Testament, as well as the Q'uran. If it ain't got colourful or black and white pictures for me to fill in, then it ain't worth reading, let alone painting a heathen village red.

Just for you

I have read the Qur'an, and what I did when I read it is kept a journal and catalog of all verses that are almost identical to similar bible verses. (I have studied the bible since youth)

An interesting verse is the Cow 85:

Then, you are those [same ones who are] killing one another and evicting a party of your people from their homes, cooperating against them in sin and aggression. And if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, although their eviction was forbidden to you. So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest of punishment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.

I'm a recently converted Muslim, and I haven't fully read the Q'uran yet. But my intention is to, ofcourse, finnish reading it within a near future.

As a muslim, who's, thanks to God, gotten a lot of support from very knowledgeable, and sympathetic muslims, I wanna give everyone here some humble advice. And before I do, I also want to applaud the OP for being open-minded, and humble enough to want to give the Q'uran a one on one. That is something that very rarely happens, unfortunately. Most people will either ignore it, or will go to Google, and just completely devour all the anti-Islam propaganda that the internet has been infested with. And then believe that they know everything about Islam's "evil plot". That, or they will have gotten all their information from their former muslim friend (who has psuedo-knoweldge about Islam), who hates Islam as much as the man does. It's a shame.

So, to my advice. Everyone, PLEASE, read the Q'uran with your own eyes, and not just any version of the Q'uran, but a non-biased, factual, objective translation of the Q'uran. The Noble Q'uran, being a good example of this. Stay away from academic translations that include interpretations (which are for the most part, subjective), and blatantly biased translations or interpretations. These will, potentially, give you a distorted view of Islam.

And also, if you decide to dig deeper, don't be afraid to ask for help or guidance as you do research about Islam. Whether it's reading and interpreting the Q'uran, or reading the so called "Hadeeths" (stories and anecdotes about the Prophet Muhammad, stories which are sometimes essential in interpreting the Q'uran). Sometimes it can be hard to decifer the meanings of the Q'uranic messages, and in these instances you will need help. Go to your local mosque, and ask for a scholar of Islam, who speaks, and understands the traditional Arabic language (Fus-ha). Don't make the mistake of going to the internet, and don't make the mistake of going to any person claiming to know about Islam.

There are ofcourse Islamic websites without an agenda, but these are few and far apart. So for that reason, it's better to stay away from the internet altogether, atleast for starters. Until you're more experienced.

If reading isn't your thing (which if it isn't, I doubt you'd be here in the first place, but still), you can always watch documentaries about Islam. It's a good starting point. Yes, documentaries very often have an agenda, but they can still provide some decent starters information on Islam. And again, just watch out for anything blatantly biased. Documentaries from BBC and History channel etc, are usually relatively informative.

My biggest advice of all though, if you get that far, is to read the Q'uran in its original language. Traditional Arabic, which is an incredibly complex language. Something you will only ever understand, once you learn the language.

If you follow this humble advice, chances are you won't be victim of ignorance when it comes to Islam. Which is unfortunately a big problem today, especially now, when the worlds attention is turned towards those lunatics ISIS. May God give every open-minded person ease in finding the turth, Amen