(This is my second attempt to work through the Koran. My first started in 2011 and is found in the category Koran Klarifications at post Opus 2011-103. If you are really bored you can read through what I wrote 15 years ago. I want to address it with a fresh face so I am not going to read the first series. I didn’t get too far last time and it may work out the same this time.)
When I get into discussions with people and the issue of Islam comes up, I am constantly amazed at the number of people who have never read the Koran. So far I have found no one. Some say they have read parts. I take that to mean they have read the quotes that people have given them and when you do that you only see what the providers want. It is the same way that people say you can prove anything from the Bible. Isolated quotes can convey truth. They can also be totally deceptive.
Let me give you an example. Take two verses from the Bible.
(Matthew 27:5 KJV) And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.It would not take a proof-texting genius to come up with, “And Judas went and hanged himself....Go and do likewise.”
(Luke 10:37 KJV) And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
The words are accurate, but deceptive.
Back to my topic. I continue to urge people to read the entire Koran. I have no fear that it will convert you to Islam. It will make you more of an authority on Islam than even most Muslims are. It is true that they learn to read the Koran in Arabic. They can quote long passages to you. The problem is that they don’t understand it either. I took German in junior high, high school and college. If you gave me a book written in German I could read it to you. I would not be able to tell you what it said unless I was lucky in the words they used. That is where most Muslims are. Even if they are fluent in Arabic the language of the Koran is so archaic it is worse than a millennial trying to understand the King James Version of the Bible.
So I thought I would read through the Koran again and try to give you a feel of what it is like and what it says. I have one translation I downloaded from the Gutenberg Project done by J.M. Rodwell. He was an Oxford professor from long ago. It was the common English translation for ages. Most of my quotes will come from that for copyright considerations. Another translation I will be consulting is by Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall and published by a Muslim group called Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an, Inc. I will label it QII. I assume it is as approved as a translation can be.
The next translation is somewhat confusing. Instead of a translator the title page says “as explained by ‘Allamah Nooroddin”. Under that it says it is rendered into English by Amatul Rahman ‘Omar and ‘Abudl Mannan ‘Omar. Later it explains this is his daughter-in-law and her husband which I would assume is his son. They used the hand written lecture notes of Noorddin to produce the English translation. From the introduction it is clear that all of these people are devout Muslims and take the task of translation seriously. I have not read much of it yet. We will see how it goes. References to this will be labeled, QIII.
The next is a volume called “The Critical Qur’an” and is edited by Robert Spencer. The text is from the Pickthall translation mentioned above. This volume is full of footnotes explaining what you are reading. The notes are from two commentaries from Medieval times and two modern Muslim scholars. They are sources that reputably are acceptable to Muslims. This will be QIV.
At a recent book sale I picked up two more translations. I have not had much chance to look at them yet. They will be QV and QVI.
Keep in mind when we quote the Koran, Muslims believe that the Koran must be read in the original language or you will never understand the true meaning. That sounds like a cop-out but if you have ever tried to deal with translations of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew you can understand what they are getting at. Different languages have different nuances and getting it across it hard.
Also keep in mind that my reading will be influenced by the fact that I am a serious believer in Jesus Christ. While that means I must strive for truth and honesty, it also means that I see things through the teachings and theology I have embraced. I don’t know how much time and energy I will be able to put into this. It seems like a good idea but I may get distracted.
I still recommend that you read the entire Koran for yourself.
homo unius libri