Sunday, November 03, 2002
The Koran
(Disclaimer: I'm a Christian, so I was hardly able to give this an
unbiased reading.)
For a number of years now I've had it in my mind to read the Quran, the
holy book of Islam. That desire became more of a priority since September
11th and finally, at the last Friends of the Library book sale, I searched
out and bought my own copy. It's not an "official" copy. Dawood is a
scholar who wants to leave the questions "of Mohammed's prophethood and
his theological sources" to the reader to decide for him or herself. He
even has rearranged the surahs from their classic organization to
one that is more thematic. (But he does provide the traditional
numbering, so I was able to read the book in the traditional order.) But
like some of the non-traditional translations or paraphrases of the Bible,
I think that the main message can still come through. First off, I was
slightly surprised that the book wasn't as lame or unreadable as it
might have been. There are some beautiful expressions of faith in God,
even though they're tarnished by an incomplete understanding of Him. I
can see why this book has stood the test of time. Where it fell
short--the reason it didn't make me interested in becoming a Muslim--is
that there's a subtle focus on Mohammed. Over and over again The
Koran reiterates that Allah can and will raise the dead, that those
who had scoffed at previous prophets suffered for it, that Allah has no
daughters, that those who deny the Quran's message will suffer in hell.
These are things that all tie in with Mohammed's problems as he tried to
bring his message to the people of Mecca and Medina. In contrast, the
Bible talks about people of various stations and in various situations
relating to God and each other. We see Moses as an infant, a sinner, a
priest, and an administrator as well as the prophet who confronted
Pharaoh. In The Koran, you only see the latter. Like the Book
of Mormon, I found The Koran to be rather lackluster in
comparison to the Bible. Unlike the New Testament, I found no continuity
between the Old Testament and The Koran. If this is a new
revelation from Allah, why doesn't it fit together as well? Anyway, I
would recommend that you check it out, if
you're so inclined. But you'd be much better off reading the Bible.
Labels: CheckItOut
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