question regarding interpreting different interpretations
Apologise in advance of anything I'm about to write is offensive, I'm just really curious to have this point addressed by someone who has some real expertise,
So my question is this, regardless of how people should and or shouldn't interpret the Quran, if it cannot be edited or changed then can we just sit back and expect people who aren't given the chance to study the Quran in a scholarly way to interpret it correctly?
When I hear someone condemn people for not coming the "moderate" viewpoint, to me just sounds like a rich 1st world person with every opportunity to learn the correct and sensible way to read the text blaming people without those opportunities for not reading the Quran right.
if it's a perfect word and can't be changed, how is it that the Quran is so easily incorrectly read, surely perfection in the book would include it not being so ambiguous?
Sorry if anything I wrote is offensive, but been trying to study Islam as a religion and I'd rather come here and ask people who truly know the faith, rather than rely on biased fear mongering media outlets.
Posted Oct 8, 2014, 9:36 PM UTC
It's not so ambiguous. Many people who misinterpret it haven't just read it.
Could I ask how you could possibly know such a specific thing about so many people?
There was a documentary by Vice in their HBO series where they interviewed kids who had trained to be suicide bombers. They were all from Afghanistan, mostly illiterate, and could not read/write/speak Arabic. They went to schools in Pakistan to "study" Islam - but they were never taught how to read Quran, either in Arabic or in translation. Instead, they were taught by "imams" who told them blatant lies about the contents of the Quran to indoctrinate them into the "jihadist" mindset. I don't remember the specific title of this episode, but its an interesting perspective.
That is really interesting I'll be sure to check this out. thanks again, I'm probably biased in my question because I'm most familiar with Christianity and the bible.
How different is the bible as a text and the Quran as a text, and should they both be read and thought of in the same sense? Sorry is this is a huge question, if you can direct me anywhere else for further reading I'd really appreciate it.
They have many of the same stories about the same prophets - Abraham, Noah, Moses, Joseph, Jesus, etc., peace be upon them all. The main difference is how they were revealed/recorded. The Bible is a set of stories written by people, and it has been modified over time. Muslims believe that the Quran is the actual word of God, that was revealed verse by verse to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. While some verses are rules on how to live, others are stories of previous prophets, or directed at how Muhammad pbuh was to handle specific situations. It also is not chronological. The Quran has not been changed since its revelation (it was memorized and recited during Muhammad's life and recorded in writing by his third successor). Quranic Arabic is very different from what is spoken today, but many Muslims choose to study it in its original language due to the richness and nuances of this dialect. Finally, the Quran should be studied in its historical context. There are also books of Hadith, which are recordings of what the Prophet Muhammad pbuh said, which provides clarification on how to interpret the Quran.
Empirical experience.
Thanks for your response so far could I ask this, is the Quran is unchangeable/uneditable?
Would it ever be religiously permissible for a muslim to write their own version of the Quran or write a new Hadith style set of beliefs?
Nope