I just bought the Koran

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I bought an English translation of the Koran today. I’ve been critical of Islam in the past, but lately I’ve been wondering how fair that is considering I’ve never even read the Koran. I have a feeling it will be somewhat similar to the bible, but Muhammad claimed that the Koran was the actual written word of God, and not written by men like even Christians admit the biblical authors being. If anyone else here has read it, can you tell me what to expect before I start reading it tomorrow?

It contains stories and descriptions on past prophets and other stories, it contains instructions on leading a pure life. It contains descriptions on the "day of judgement" and prophecises it. "Jihad" is rarely mentioned, it's merely self-defence and many Muslims themselves misinterpret it.

Personally, back when I was a Muslim, I had trouble understanding the Qur'an. The Kitab-i-Iqan solved all doubts I had.

You'll find a lot of promises of suffering in the Qur'an for bad deeds and bounteous promises for good deeds. Might sounds a bit harsh, but people back then were quite ignorant, and hence, promises of hell and heaven were necessary.

What matters is that the core in every religion is basically the same thing.
This is what matters most. Hence, Gnosis.
http://gnosticteachings.org/the-teachin ... -is-gnosis

I got a copy of it a while ago. I'd say it's probably a lot less interesting than the Bible - it is very repetitive. Most of it is gigantic rants about unbelievers and other people who won't obey Mohammed, and the horrible things that will happen to them at a result. Still, as far as angry rants go, the use of language is quite impressive and skilful. As a propaganda piece, I'd probably say it is one of the more sophisticated ones; the theme of obeying Mohammed permeates the whole text, with frequent attempt to appear to present reasonable argument. The text frequently anticipates possible criticisms, and pre-empts them by poisoning the well and generally attempting to persuade the reader to close their minds and simply not listen to them (with some fairly sophisticated psychological techniques).

All in all, there is some interesting content in there; it provides an insight into propaganda techniques and the mind of one of the more successful dictators in history. However, I'd probably still say that the Bible is probably a better read - while there's a lot of boring bits, the content is a lot more varied, and does give a lot of insights into the various attitudes and beliefs of ancient cultures; plus the myths presented within are a lot closer to the original versions than Mohammed's accounts of them.

Fool! Muslims believe that the words of the Koran are without price, and that the monetary cost of the Koran should only be for the printing and cost of getting the book out.You should have downloaded it instead.

Better yet still download it, as this translation may be a little differant than the one you have currently purchased. FWIW, I have both the above transation as well as the official translation put out by the Saudi Publishing house. The above translation is a good one, while the Saudi Version has a lot of footnotes and annotations that seems to support the Wahabbi / Salafi school of belief.

While you're at it, get yourself a Book of Mormon, too.

I agree with the posters who said it gets repetitive and that it is harsh towards the unbelievers. I’ve only read a little bit so far and these characteristics have already been established in my mind.

Actually I might add the Nag Hamadi to my list of recommendations. Its what you'd consider the gnostic books of Christianity (ie. 2nd, 3rd, 4th century A.D. by the likes of Valentinus and many of his deciples as well as other offshoots - its structure and ideas presented are almost psychedellic in terms of scope, intensity, acumen, etc.).

Supposedly Irenaeus sculpted the modern day bible back in 180 AD and at least took credit for which books made the cut and which didn't - that was 36 gospels cut down to 4! He has a counter-argument or antithesis to gnosticism which he discusses in his text 'Against Heresies', which I've been meaning to read side by side - still want to work entirely through the Christian Bible, the Nag Hamadi, and read Against Heresies as a capstone.

The Qur'an speaks to the spirit. I only read half of it so far. I pick it up and read a little every now and then. It makes me cry so I have to read it in small dosages.

When it talks about non-believers, hell is the hell we create for ourselves when we repent. If you have ever made a mistake in your life and then realized it, it is like going through hell. It says that non-believers will one day realize that they are wrong and on that day they will suffer self afflicted anguish. Don't take the hell word so literally.

I was a non-believer once so it really speaks to me. Plus, believers who get attacked by atheists should really get this. It's very hard to be put down for a strong conviction that is driven by a pure to uphold truth. This doesn't have to be all about being victimized for believing in God. It could be used to teach us to stick with our convictions about anything that we know is true, but which cannot be proven. The people who are activists for a cause, or people who have been wrongly accused of something are your common everyday martyrs.

The Nag Hamadi is very cool too. There are some stories in it which come from Mary Magdalene's visions of Jesus after his death. These teachings are much more mind blowing than anything I've read in the Bible.

Isn't the Qu'ran supposed to not be translated out of Arabic? You know, that whole thing that gives muslims the claim about Judaism and Christianity being corrupted religions?

Translations of the Qur'an are considered as "interpretations" by the Muslims, and these interpretations coexist side by side with the Arabic text in every print version. Bear in mind that there are two main Arabic "recitations" as well, ie, two different dialects. Hafs is the most common recitation. The verse orderings are also different in each recitation. Iirc, there were originally 7 or 8 recitations.

ive read parts of the quran. some of it is great, namely the shorter verses. some of it will certainly be intolerable to a "modern thinking" person. if you put down biases, or at least try to put yourself in a similar situation, you might be able to understand where the position comes from. its the same with the bible where the punishments of then would certainly be unacceptable to many of today.


the belief that god wrote the quran comes from the belief that muhammad was an illiterate and therefore incapable of writing something as "magnificent" as the quran. i for one find it hard to believe that a trader/merchant was incapable of writing until he found himself alone in a cave. but thats my belief.

ah, the holy koran. may allah bless you