ANSWERING OBJECTIONS ABOUT QURAN

Richard Dell wrote:
> "1MAN4ALL" <forahmad@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1130951809.586972.170760@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> <snip the usual obscutantist semantics>
>
> How about the way the Koran is ordered - not by narrative, not by
> subject, not by chronology, but by size. How can anyone take seriously
> the view that this is what emerged from the mouth of Gabriel, to the
> ear of Mohammad, to the pen of his followers, unless it was later
> edited, and badly edited at that.
>
> "When you read the Koran as a writer, you immediately notice places
> where the subject changes radically in the middle of a verse and then
> picks up several passages later. Obviously, in this 'sacred' text, an
> editor's hand was at work." - Salman Rushdie.

Rushdie does not realize that Quran is written in poetry form, with
long or short rhyming verses. And it is very, very common in Eastern
poetry--since ancient times--that each couplet becomes a self-contained
thought, which may or may not relate to the previous one; thus, in
Quran, a few adjoining verses deal with a particular issue and then the
subject suddenly changes or comes back to something that was mentioned
somewhere else, but within a different context. That style has some
great advantages: 1). It allowed God--the Author of Holy Quran--to
discuss hundreds of issues briefly within one short book; otherwise,
there would have been hundreds of mini-chapters. 2). The change of
subject keeps one's interest alive; that is also very 'natural' because
the attention span for most adults is not more than 8 to 14 minutes 3).
The complex relationship between subjects grouped together somehow
allows one to discover something new every time he or she reads Quran,
and that is why the great mystics of Islam have said that Quran has
various levels of understanding 4). One does not need to start reading
from the beginning of each chapter; one can start reciting from just
about any verse! 5). The style allows for easy memorization, and the
proof of that is that there are millions of Muslims who know the entire
Quran by heart. 6). No one chapter, or passage, is more important that
the other one, because each Surah addresses multiple issues that are in
some cases repeated elsewhere for emphasis and to prevent
misinterpretations.

> The masses find Religion comforting, intellectuals find it ridiculous,
> politicians find it useful. Jesus was not a politician, but Mohammad
> certainly was. Go figure.

I know many Muslims/Jews/Christians who are very religious and very
"intellectual."

Prophet Muhammad lived a meaningful, inspiring life which was also
filled with personal tragedies--he lost his father before his birth,
lost his mother at six, lost his grandfather who raised him also at an
early age, lost his dearest wife Khadija, lost two or four sons when
they were infants; people ridiculed him, threw stones and trash at him,
dragged him by the neck, put things on his back when he would bow down
to pray, chased him out of town, and kept trying to kill him--and YET
he succeeded, he defeated his enemies, he won converts from all over
Arabia and beyond, he was a loving husband, a loving father and
grandfather, he eased the suffering of slaves, of animals and of so
many people. If I am looking for a historical figure to give me hope
in this world, to inspire me, to teach me by example that I too can
overcome all difficulties, all sorrows, all humiliations, and to dream
that with almost nothing, I can conquer the world, I would have no
choice but to turn to Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w). I don't want anybody to
die for my sins; I want to overcome my sins, to rise above them, to
prove that I was brought into this world for a purpose.

.

Relevant Pages

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