An Opportunity to Understand Islam

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Hello everybody,

Islam is one of the most misunderstood religion at present.. but surprisingly, it is also the fastest growing religion on earth.

There are tons of books online that will tell you Islam is bad because of this and that and likewise, you will find similar number of books describing Islam as the ultimate path for human prosperity. Who is right, who not?

Leave every explanatory book aside for few moments and lets see what lies at the heart of Islam. What is that Muslims calls the BOOK OF GOD. I am presenting everybody here an opportunity to explore it yourself and see if it is indeed the book from God.

Quran Explorer

Read it online, in the language of your choice or listen to it and just give yourself an opportunity to have first-hand experience of it.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Very good website for the Quran! Thank you. Is the English translation given there accepted as "correct" by all Sunnis and Shiites?

 

[fhassan]

Is the English translation given there accepted as "correct" by all Sunnis and Shiites?

You need to understand that no translation of the Qur'an is ever deemed "correct", as in the Muslim mind all translations are ultimately done by man; prone to error.

The translation of the Qur'an can never be viewed in the same light as the Qur'an itself for this very reason.

All rulings are derived from an analysis of the Qur'an itself. Even non-Muslims, such as Dr. Maurice Bucaille, author of "the Bible the Qur'an and science", spend years studying Arabic in order to understand the Qur’an.

Dr Bucaille himself found many shortcomings, attributed to the translators’ lack of scientific insight.

 

[TruthSeeker]

You need to understand that no translation of the Qur'an is ever deemed "correct", as in the Muslim mind all translations are ultimately done by man; prone to error.

That is why I put the word correct in quotes. I knew that only the original Arabic is 100% acceptable. So, my question is: Is the English translation used on that website a good one for me, a native English speaker who knows 0% Arabic, to use to understand the message of Allah, as provided by the Quran?

 

[qsaark]

That is why I put the word correct in quotes. I knew that only the original Arabic is 100% acceptable. So, my question is: Is the English translation used on that website a good one for me, a native English speaker who knows 0% Arabic, to use to understand the message of Allah, as provided by the Quran?

What religion it would be that relies on a single language to communicate with its would-be followers? I have heard this ‘language’ issue a lot and personally speaking, it is not the language that makes me understand the religion I follow; rather it is my willingness, my open mindedness, my desire, my quest for something that makes me learn about a religion and than follow it. In which language our creator talks to us? In no language and in every language, a language that connects us to our understanding of good and bad, right and wrong; a language that we use to communicate with our subconscious. Islam or any other religion, teaches some very basic things, require us to follow some basic principles, principles of being a human being, rest of the things are icing on the cake, prayers and hymns, more poetic things if you will.

 

[fhassan]

The True Call - ISLAM - Quran Browser

^ The English in this one is easier to understand, however layout of site isn't as good as the former.

Anyway, point is when you translate something you tend to loose both meaning and the overall flow of the text.

Here is a Good example - a short recitation along with the English text:

 

[EjazR]

The website has a drop down box where you can choose multiple translations that are mong the most popular. The main meaning would still be the same though. However, if you know Arabic, you will appreciate the melodious/rhyming nature of the Quran.

However, I don't see why any shia/sunni difference would come about in these translations. The difference of opinion can be in the tafseer or Quranic exegesis and interpretation which depends on many things such as historical context, related hadith, mastery of arabic language and ijtihad (intellectual reasoning).

 

[qsaark]

Our Mullah has done to Islam what the Jewish and Christian religious hierarchy has done to Judaism and Christianity respectively, that is, hid the religion from the common people and imprisoned it behind the impenetrable walls of Temple and Cathedral. Islam was never a difficult religion, but it is made difficult to a level where people are scared of it. Quran is a simple book through which Allah is communicating with human beings (and Jinns); Quran is not a book of philosophy that would require dedicated philosophers to understand. Remember, Muhammed (PBUH) was not living in Rome or Athens or Persepolis; he was preaching illiterate Beduins not academicians or philosophers, in a small town called Mecca and later in Medina. Try to take yourself sixteen hundred years back, in a small town of maybe couple of thousand people most, majority of whom were illiterate, and rebellious by nature. What kind of message was needed for them? In what kind of language it had to communicate with them? Had it not to be a simple message, communicated in a simple language that a common Bedouin could understand without lots of effort?

 

[MilesTogo]

I think Muslims needs to understand it first. Its been 1600 years, how much longer?

Hello everybody,

Islam is one of the most misunderstood religion at present.. but surprisingly, it is also the fastest growing religion on earth.

There are tons of books online that will tell you Islam is bad because of this and that and likewise, you will find similar number of books describing Islam as the ultimate path for human prosperity. Who is right, who not?

Leave every explanatory book aside for few moments and lets see what lies at the heart of Islam. What is that Muslims calls the BOOK OF GOD. I am presenting everybody here an opportunity to explore it yourself and see if it is indeed the book from God.

Quran Explorer

Read it online, in the language of your choice or listen to it and just give yourself an opportunity to have first-hand experience of it.

 

[graphican]

The website has a drop down box where you can choose multiple translations that are mong the most popular. The main meaning would still be the same though. However, if you know Arabic, you will appreciate the melodious/rhyming nature of the Quran.

However, I don't see why any shia/sunni difference would come about in these translations. The difference of opinion can be in the tafseer or Quranic exegesis and interpretation which depends on many things such as historical context, related hadith, mastery of arabic language and ijtihad (intellectual reasoning).

Ejaz,

Good to see you here. Quraan and Ahadith are the only uncontroversial material that you, I and all Muslims could agree. So lets study them and try to understand what is real concept of Jihad and other misunderstood elements of Islam. Would I find your companionship for that?