Reddit reviews Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations
We found 7 Reddit comments about Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
White Cloud Press
We found 7 Reddit comments about Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Quran is a weird "book". I know when I started reading it, I expected it to read like the Bible, which seemed like a reasonable expectation. If you have time for it, there are two short books about some contexts to the Quran that don't go into too much historical detail:
How to Read the Quran by Prof Carl Ernst, which talks about the Quran as a literary genre that Arabians could be familiar with, including their legends, stories, and the order and structure of the text.
and
Approaching the Quran by Prof Michael Sells, which deals more with the auditory experience of the Quran as a ritual performance. Comes with a selection of recited verses.
CS Monitor had a brief article on Ernst's book.
> He says the Bible is the true word of God because every book in the Bible has the same topic
That's not a good litmus test. Having the same topic or message is not a miracle. You would have to include books like Frankenstein into the canon since it was also a continuation of the story of Adam and his fall.
>He also says that everything prophesised by the Bible eventually came true, like the destruction of Babylon
Every empire crumbles. This is not hard to predict.
> I still consider myself an atheist but I want to know God.
Ask God to guide you. If He guides you to the Quran (and it sounds like He has) then pour over it like any researcher looking for answers. When you feel you've exhausted it, move on. You don't need to learn Arabic, but you should know how to read the genre of literature that is the Quran. I highly recommend to everyone Carl Ernst's How to Read the Quran. I assigned this to my university students along with Michael Sells Approaching the Quran.
But to answer you question in brief, the first revelation of the Quran begins "Read! In the Name of your Lord who creates, He creates humanity as an embryo"
You are still an embryo in the womb of the Quran where all your human faculties are being nurtured. If you become aware of your fleeting and transitory existence, then God's message to you has succeeded in transforming you.
It takes time to research and learn about any theology. Islam is no exception.
I'd recommend looking into Scott Atran. Scott Atran is one of the worlds leading anthropologists. His publications are great and I'd recommend them all, but because we're on the interwebs I'll diversify it a bit.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5701806759199654816
^Scott Atran at Beyond Belief in '06. 40 minute lecture. Must watch. A crash course on Islam in the context of politics, news, and the West.
http://nationalinterest.org/bookreview/sam-harriss-guide-nearly-everything-4893
^His most recent publication- a review of Sam Harris' new book. I highly recommend reading this it's well worth it.
For an understanding of Islam, you have to turn to the Qur'an. But it really is not easy to just pick up and read. It requires a lot of knowledge about context, translation, format and other things.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lesley_hazelton_on_reading_the_koran.html
^Lezley Hazelton's introduction to get you motivated. Good watch.
I also recommend "Approaching the Qur'an" by Michael Sells. It explains context, significance of translation, and the importance of interpretation. It's a great short book that is pretty widely available.
http://www.amazon.com/Approaching-Quran-Revelations-MIchael-Sells/dp/1883991692/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308671898&sr=8-1
More? Nouman Ali Khan's story is interesting and you might find it worth watching if you're interested. A Muslim who became an atheist but turned back to Islam and became a scholar. His videos are all over youtube and very informative. His story: http://youtu.be/FD8AWqMUv18
First of all, can I just say how much I love giving and receiving book recommendations? I was a religious studies major in college (and was even a T.A. in the World Religions class) so, this is right up my alley. So, I'm just going to take a seat in front of my book cases...
General:
Christianity:
Judaism:
Islam:
Buddhism:
Taoism:
Atheism:
As far as Islam goes I'd recommend Karen Armstrong's Islam or Muhammad, or Reza Aslan's No God but God. Slightly more academic is Carl Ernst's How to Read the Qur'an, Michael Sells' Approaching the Qur'an, and Fazlur Rahman's Major Themes of the Qur'an.
I read Asad's translation for every Surah not covered in Michael Sell's stunning translation
Additions:
Lives of other Prophets Series
End times, Death, Hereafter
Seerah (Life of Prophet Muhammad (SAW)
Understand the Quran