Islam – the Qur’an

This is the third of my posts on Islam – first, I discussed the background to help provide a better understanding of Islam; Second, I looked at the great influence that Muhammad has upon Islam. And in this post I will look at what the Qur'an has in it. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad. There is no gray area or other side. – Geert Wilders, Dutch Parliament member who published the Muhammad cartoons and received over 40 death threats.

Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia (the Islamic religious law). If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies. Geert Wilder.

The Qur'an is the central religious book of the Islamic religion. It is said that the angel Gabriel who appeared to Muhammad and brought the Qur'an from heaven to Muhammad and told him "to recite".

 

Qur'an – Comparison: as Roman Catholics view Mother Mary, so do Muslims view Muhammad. This would make Jesus the Qur'an. It is the foundation of Islam. It outlines the sacred duties of obedient followers of Muhammad.

 

1. Qur'an means "to recite". Muhammad orally gave his revelations and insights to his comrades. When he died in 632 AD, his trusted secretary Zayd was instructed to assemble the Qur'an. Muhammad was illiterate, and so he did not write it himself.
   
2. By the time of the 3^rd Caliph after Muhammad's death, doctrinal disputes over the Qur'an were raised. However, Caliph Uthman authoritatively settled these disputes, and the "Uthmanic" Qur'an has remained largely intact since this time.
   
3. The Qur'an is divided into 114 chapters or suras ("that which opens"), making it slightly shorter than the New Testament. They are generally divided by length, longest to shortest, and are described as being in 1 of 2 periods: either Muhammad's time in Mecca (86) or Medina (28). Each sura begins "In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful."
   

 

• Casual reading of the Qur'an by the uninitiated is difficult because the book is not placed in chronological order, instead the suras are basically organized by length. But generally, the most important suras are from the last parts of Muhammad's life. And so, there are 'kind' writings from early on that a Muslim may point to as showing the peacefulness of Islam. But these verses are replaced by the later revelation (see Abrogation);
  
• Abrogation – Progressive revelation. Muslims claim that truths came to Muhammad in stages, such as the world 1^st received God's message in the OT, then the NT, then the Qur'an. Each more truthful than the earlier, and each replacing the earlier. But this doctrine makes the Qur'an difficult to read, as the suras are not in chronological order, but instead arranged generally by length. E.g. adultery originally was to be punished by stoning and later changed to being whipped 100 times. The prohibition against adultery still stands, just the punishment has changed.
  

 

1. For a long time, translations of the Qur'an were prohibited. Many Muslims recite lines and phrases in Arabic that they have no understanding of what the meaning is.
   
2. Qur'an generally appears as the speech of God, using the 1^st person plural ("We").
   
3. Miraculous Nature of the Qur'an. Muslims generally point to the Qur'an as being the most divine miracle, showing that it is God inspired. This is based on:
   
   1. Unique literary style.
      
   2. It is a miracle because it came from Muhammad who was illiterate.
      
   3. The Qur'an is purportedly the only holy book that is perfectly preserved, and free from corruption.
      
   4. Prophecies, although the prophecies generally pointed to were predictions by Muhammad of his own future actions.
      
   5. Unity of the Qur'an
      
   6. Scientific Accuracy of the Qur'an
      
   7. Mathematical Structure of the Qur'an – the number 19: the opening statement of the Qur'an consists of 19 Arabic alphabets. The 1^st revelation has 19 words. The last revelation has 19 words. There are 19 times 6 suras (114).
      
   8. Changed lives.
      
4. Comparison of Qur'an's view of Allah to the Bible's view of God.
   

The QUR'AN                        The BIBLE:

Allah is unknowable	God is knowable
Allah is non-personal	God is personal
Allah is not a spirit	God is a spirit
Allah is not a Father, nor Jesus the Son of God	God is one existing in 3 persons, not 3 Gods, but 1 God.
Allah can do anything with no limitations, is not moral, and is the author of evil.	God cannot go against His immutable nature, e.g. God cannot lie
Allah is capricious	God is trustworthy
Allah has no feelings toward man. Allah is considered our complete and utter master.	God loves man, and gives us free will.
Allah doesn't personally deal with men	God came incarnate to bring about man's Salvation
Saved by Works. No way of knowing whether you've done enough to be saved. Allah provides no savior or intercessor. You're on your own. No concept of grace.	Saved by God's Grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Good actions follow after faith/being Born Again. God through His grace provided a Savior.
Allah sired 3 children	Holy Spirit permitted Mary to give birth to Jesus
A religion of hatred and violence – they hate Jews and Christians for the rejection of Muhammad's revelation.	A religion of Love of God, your family, and love of your fellow man. Christians should see God in the face of your fellow man, and so prejudice is completely against the teachings of the Bible.

 

The Qur'an teaches a works-based way for Muslims to receive rewards from Allah in Paradise. And so, Muslims must follow the five pillars of Islam: confession, prayer, fasting during Ramadan, almsgiving, and a pilgrimage to Mecca. To give a brief flavor of what is contained in the Qur'an, understand that love is little mentioned. While obedience is mentioned many times. This shows the emphasis in the Qur'an upon a Muslim working to live the obedient life that would be pleasing to Allah. The Qur'an does not have the Christian foundation of God's Grace upon sinners. That's all I have for now. I hope you have found this summary helpful.