OK, so I was looking to get a bit of feedback from the Islam community on how to approach this.
It seems to me that Islam gets alot of stick from various groups and not alot of people know much about it unless they practise the religion.
So instead of getting older everyday and not finding out about the religions of the world, I wanted to find out more.
I am hoping to buy a Koran in the near future and read it. I have seen both good and bad press on Islam... the good press is what encouraged me to read up on this really.
So my question is, as a non-Muslim, how should I approach reading this text?? I've read that the Koran can be literally translated as "the guidance" as well as having other meanings attributed to it. Is the word of this book supposed to be taken literally or as a guide?
And as this book was written such a long time ago, is it still applied to us in society today??
I apologise if this comes across as ignorant or mis-informed but this is what I am here for - to learn more.
Hope to hear from someone soon
Hannah x
Hi Hannah
,
This is without reading all of the answers so far, so my apologies if I repeat [which I probably will do some of it at least ]
This dont come across as ignorant at all sister, for intellectual curiousity is the pivotal point of enlightenment.
The Quran litterally means, the recitation, hence it is a book to be recited; it is also called 'the Furqan' which means, the criterion of right and wrong, hence is the guide to a comprehensive way of life
from the Quran, one can get a gist of the basic realties, such as the historic events relating to the former prophets and their nations, the statement of Allâh’s bounties on mankind, the creation of the heavens and the earth, the cosmological signs of the divine power and wisdom, the pleasures of the Paradise and the torture of the Hell, and subjects of similar nature.
but to understand the acedemic guidance found in the Quran, such as the imperatives of
Islamic guidance, the provisions of Islâmic law, the details of doctrinal issues, the wisdom of certain injunctions and other academic subjects, one will have to study the indepth exegesis of it..., which can be found on the following links:
Tafsir.com Tafsir Ibn Kathir
Altafsir.com - The Tafsirs - ÇáÊÝÇÓíÑ
there are Quranic translations online too:
The Quran Translation by M. Pickthall
The True Call - ISLAM - Quran Browser
As to how you should approach the text; you can read it from start to finish if you want, or even choose to read whatever chapter you prefer too, but if you do decide to follow the Quranic guidance, i.e, convert and follow islam, then it is not enough to just follow the translation of the Quran [or even the Arabic Quran] according to your personal understanding, for there is so many verses that need to be put into context and one needs to understand the indepth exegesis of it; other sciences are a pre-requisite too, not least the Sunnah [words, actions and implicit consent] of the Prophet Muhamamd [saw], hence to follow Islam one can learn the matters of consensus from other Muslims [such as how to pray, fast, etc] and more acedemic matters from the Islamic Scholars
The Quran is wholly applied in society just as it was when it was first revealed, taking in consideration what we can and cannot given the laws of the country that we live in, but in general, the comprehensive practices of Islam pertaining to day to day matters, can be applied fully; the more one applies it to his life, the more better; and applying the obligatory matters is a must for all
hope this helps
Peace
