"THE RELIGION OF ISLAM"
The Qur'an
INTRODUCTION
1. In our previous study, we briefly surveyed the origins of the
religion of Islam...
a. Muslims believe it is the original religion, going all the way
back to Adam
b. They believe Muhammad is the last of a long line of prophets,
including Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus
c. Due to the efforts of Muhammad and his successors, Islam quickly
spread from Arabia
2. In 610 A.D., Muhammad claimed to receive his first revelation from
the angel Gabriel...
a. In a cave on the summit of Mt. Hira, where he often went to pray
and fast
b. He was commissioned to be the Messenger of God, to reveal the word
of Allah
c. A process involving a series of revelations lasting the rest of
his life (23 yrs)
d. Illiterate, he recited while others wrote the words
[The "revelations" of Muhammad are written and preserved in what is
called the Qur'an (or Koran), the holy book of Islam...]
I. THE ORIGIN OF THE QUR'AN
A. AS GIVEN TO MUHAMMAD...
1. "The Qur'an (literally, recitation) contains 114 chapters
revealed to the Prophet during a period of 23 years from 609 to
632, the year of his death." - Introduction To Islam, M. Cherif
Bassiouni
2. "The divine revelations were manifested in divine inspiration,
which the Prophet sometimes uttered in the presence of his
companions." - ibid.
B. AS PRESERVED FOR MUSLIMS...
1. "His words were passed on in the oral tradition of his Arabic
culture." - ibid.
2. "They (his adherents) memorized and documented the divine
messages delivered to Muhammad on makeshift material, such as
palm leaves, fragments of pottery and, according to traditional
accounts, on the shoulder-blades of camels." - Solomon
Nigosian, Islam: The Way Of Submission
3. "Some forty years after his death they were transcribed in the
written form that has been preserved to date without change."
- Bassiouni, ibid.
[To appreciate what the Qur'an means to the average Muslim...]
II. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE QUR'AN
A. TO ISLAM IN GENERAL...
1. "The central article of Islamic faith, from which all else
flows, is that God (Allah in Arabic) has spoken to mankind in
the Qur'an."
2. "The Qur'an (meaning Recitation) is, for Muslims, the final
word of God and as such contains His divine message to mankind
as revealed to His Prophet Muhammed."
3. "This divine communication is seen as the final stage in a long
series of divine messages conducted through specific messengers
or prophets chosen by God, starting with Adam and ending with
Muhammad."
4. "In each case, however, the message was altered and falsified
by the perversity of later generations."
5. "Finally, God revealed His message in a definitive form to the
Prophet Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel."
6. The Qur'an, then, is the infallible message or word of God."
- Nigosian, ibid.
B. TO MUSLIMS IN PARTICULAR...
1. "'You will never understand this power and warmth of religion
among us [Muslims] until you can feel in your heart the poetry
and music of the noble Qur'an.'"
2. "Indeed, the chanting of the Qur'an is the primary music of
Islam. It is the soul of Islam and is reflected in the speech
of all faithful Muslims."
3. "Muslim piety and even scholarship demand memorization and
recitation of the Qur'an."
4. "Indeed, the divine injunction is 'Recite the Qur'an' (Qur'an
73:20f). Hence, the pledge of true discipleship lies in
recruiting the memory and the voice."
5. "Recitation of the Qur'an in Islam is equivalent to a statement
of 'faith' in Christianity. Hence, the primary sign of a true
Muslim is recitation of the Qur'an."
6. "Tradition ascribes the following sayings to the Prophet
Muhammad, thus serving as a reinforcement to the habit of
recitation:
a. 'If any man recites the Qur'an and memorizes it, God will
cause him to enter Paradise and will grant him the right to
intercede successfully for ten people of his household, all
of whom deserve Hell Fire.'
b. 'The best man among you is he who learns the Qur'an and
teaches it.'
c. 'Learn the Qur'an, recite it and sleep.'
d. 'The most excellent act of worship is the reciting of the
Qur'an.'" - ibid.
[Without going into great detail, some remarks about...]
III. THE CONTENT OF THE QUR'AN
A. THE DIVISIONS OF THE QUR'AN...
1. "It is...divided into 114 chapters (called suras), arranged in
order of length from the longest to the shortest, except for a
short opening prayer in Chapter 1."
2. "The head of every chapter in the Qur'an (except the ninth,
which is considered a continuation of the eighth) is prefixed
by the following auspicatory statement: 'In the name of the
most merciful God." - ibid.
B. THE LANGUAGE OF THE QUR'AN...
1. "...Muslims insist that the Qur'an was revealed in Arabic
(Qur'an 43:1); this divine origin is, according to pious
Muslims, inimitable."
2. "...Muslims have deprecated, if not prohibited, any attempts to
render the Qur'an in any other language than Arabic, since to
translate it is tantamount to profaning the sacred language God
chose as His instrument of communication."
3. "Muslims and even non-Muslim scholars of Islam universally
acclaim the Qur'an as representative of the purest and most
elegant forms of the Arabic language."
4. "Among adherents, the unexcelled literary style of Qur'anic
Arabic is one of the proofs of its divine origin (Qur'an 12:2)"
- ibid.
C. THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE QUR'AN...
1. The first sura (chapter) is a short prayer of 7 verses
a. Called "Al Fatihah" (The Opening)
b. Described by Muslims as "the Essence of the (Qur'an)"
2. The second and longest sura contains 286 verses
a. Called "Al Baqarah" (The Heifer)
b. It summarizes much of the whole teaching of the Qur'an
c. Among its contents:
1) The story of the creation of man - 2:30-39
2) The story of Israel - 2:40-86
3) The story of Moses and Jesus, how revelations given to
them were corrupted by those who followed them - 2:87-121
4) The story of Abraham, how he and Ishmael built the Kabah
(the house of Allah) in the city of Mecca - 2:122-141
5) How the Kabah was now to be the center of universal
worship and symbol of Islamic unity - 2:142-167
6) Ordinances to guide the Islamic ummah (community)
- 2:168-242
a) With admonitions to faith, kindness, prayer, charity,
probity, patience
b) Pertaining to food and drink, bequests, fasts, jihad,
wine and gambling, treatment of orphans and women, etc.
7) The concept of jihad explained in the story of Saul,
Goliath, and David, in contrast to the story of Jesus
- 2:243-253
8) A reinforcement that true virtue lies in practical deeds
of manliness, kindness, and good faith - 2:254-283
9) A concluding exhortation to faith, obedience a sense of
personal responsibility and prayer - 2:284-286
-- From The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary by
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, p. 16
3. The remaining suras expound upon similar themes
a) Often in response to events (such as war and peace) as they
occurred in the course of the life of Muhammad and the
Muslim ummah - e.g., Suras 3-5,8-9
b) Often retelling histories of Biblical characters, supposedly
correcting corruptions of such stories as held by Jews and
Christians - e.g., Suras 7,10-15,19-22
CONCLUSION
1. It is difficult for non-Muslims to comprehend how the Qur'an is
venerated by Muslims...
a. In some countries, children under ten are required to memorize the
whole book
b. It has been said that the Qur'an as the Word of God is to Muslims
what Jesus as the Word of God is to Christians
2. In this brief introduction and survey of the Qur'an...
a. My purpose has not been to debunk, point out weaknesses,
contradictions, etc.
b. My purpose has been to try to present it as viewed by Muslims
-- In keeping with the principle: Seek first to understand, then to
be understood
The better one understands the origin and content of the Qur'an, the
more effective they will be to share the gospel to Muslims. The same is
true with understanding some of the beliefs and practices of the Islamic
faith, which we shall survey in our next study...
<< Previous | Index | Next >>
|
Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2009
