My First Impression of the Qur'an
I just finished reading the Qur'an for the first time and now I'm excited to delve into the book deeper. I'm looking forward to identifying Islam's core values and claims and seeing how they stand up to scrutiny. I have a particular project in mind that I can't wait to get started on.
But before I put my nose back in the book, I want to share my immediate thoughts and impressions; keeping in mind that I am far from an expert on the subject, nor have I experienced the full Qur'an in its most powerful form: oral recitation in Arabic. For these reasons I'll keep my thoughts short and try to refrain from making a final judgement regarding the book's merits.
The first thing that struck me was how repetitious the book is. So many of the surahs (short chapters) contain exactly the same messages with almost identical wording. Reading the book there's a sense of "copy" and "paste" from one surah to the next, as though the vast majority of the Qur'an is derived from a select few original surahs. This may not be the least bit surprising to those who are well studied in the Qur'an, but for me it's a very interesting discovery. I have to wonder how much smaller the book would be if its messages were made only once. And I can imagine that a Qur'an distilled down to its essential meaning would be far more accessible to non-Muslims, particularly for the purpose of philosophical and critical analysis.
The Qur'an's most repeated versus have to do with the severe punishment awaiting nonbelievers in hell. The warnings Muhammad delivers time and time again to nonbelievers are almost always paired with the true believer's reward of a beautiful, eternal paradise. This juxtaposition reminds me of the "good cop, bad cop" tactic deployed by officers trying to extract a confession from a suspect. The Quran relies primarily on a kind of persuasion that is very similar in its simple, yet effective nature.
Fear and selfish desire are base level human emotions, and the Qur'an exploits them for all their worth (as opposed to, say, appealing to our reason and capacity for love). It does so through repetition, but also by graphic depictions of hell and the punishment awaiting nonbelievers. It describes heaven as a shady paradise set alongside flowing streams, where delicious fruit and never-ending adult beverages (with no ill side affects) will be served by stunningly beautiful young people. Wives do not seem to be in the picture (I may be wrong...); but this isn't a problem, as sexual satisfaction will be easy to obtain from any number of young virginal handmaidens who stand ready to fulfill believers' every wish.
Another strong impression I got from reading the Qur'an was the psychological profile of the author. To state the obvious, I'm not a trained profiler. But while reading the Qur'an, It felt as though Muhammad's personality shone through. It was in the way the book dwelled on the arrogance and evil of nonbelievers, and seemed to fantasize about their punishment. It was the rants of a personal nature; like the author complaining about pesky and loud worshipers, and bringing up specific events and interactions that seemed to particularly vex him. It was the way the author kept protesting the charges that he was mad or that the Qur'an was just ancient myths. It seemed to me that he protested too much. It was in the way he repeatedly dismissed the prosperity of nonbelievers as God simply doing what he willed to whomever he wanted. It was in the Qur'an's narrow focus and high repetition; just like a musical artist who writes a few great songs that people love and spends the rest of his career performing those same hits over and over again.
Another thing that intrigued me about the Qur'an is the way the author tries to preempt criticism, skepticism, and doubt. He declares that evil nonbelievers will say that the Quran is just a collection of fables and that the Prophet is crazy. He warns believers of befriending nonbelievers or allying themselves with them. He condemns doubt and any kind of half-belief. Only complete submission to Islam is will send adherents to paradise rather than hell.
They say the best defense is a good offense. To Muhammad's credit, he deploys one heck of an offense in his verbal attack against disbelievers and doubters. It reminds me of a politician responding to allegations of misdoing. His defense of the claim that God exists and that he is God's chosen messenger is, on the other hand, almost non-existent. The Prophet repeatedly states that simple facts of nature are clear evidence of God's power. God brings the rain and transforms barren land into green, flowering landscapes. God delivers wind that suspends birds in mid-air and allows ships to sail. He holds up the heavens and keeps the sky intact. He turns the day to night and the night to day. He makes the earth tremble. To Muhammad, any natural event is evidence of God. But it's the more mysterious (by 7th century standards) phenomena that the Prophet tends to list as the clearest, most indisputable evidence-evidence so strong you'd have to be blind and arrogant not to see it. The Qur'an also points to tales of destruction of entire cities and civilizations as evidence of God's power. As for Muhammad's claim to be a chosen messenger from God, the only reason or evidence provided is the Qur'an itself (who else could produce such an amazing scripture, the author asks) and the claim that there were other messengers sent before him (Moses, Abraham, Noah, etc).
I found the Qur'an's use of reason and evidence baffling. It provided insight into how modes of thought and degrees of understanding can vary wildly across cultures and time.
One reaction I had upon reading the Qur'an for the first time has to do with its objectionable or offensive content. Now I understand that as with the Old Testament we are dealing with text written in a very different time and place. Slavery, polygamy, bought wives, and so on were commonplace at the time. But it's difficult to reconcile the notion of best moral standards with cultural norms and divine law. I'll leave that challenge for another time. For now I'll simply say that there are elements of the Qur'an that I-a white, male American living in the year 2014-find objectionable. Elements like slavery, sex with slaves, arranged and bought marriages, inequality and oppression of women, violent imagery/language (cutting throats, hanging by ropes, dragging bodies, scalding, etc).
One final thought: If the Qur'an's content lacks reason and wisdom (I won't ultimately conclude that it does or doesn't until much farther down the line), what then is Islam? Is the Qur'an really just a tool for assimilation through recitations that tap into some deep emotional well that has its source in instinct and ancient cultural identity? Maybe or maybe not; but one thing is for certain-whatever Islam is, it matters a great deal for the world to discover it.
But before I put my nose back in the book, I want to share my immediate thoughts and impressions; keeping in mind that I am far from an expert on the subject, nor have I experienced the full Qur'an in its most powerful form: oral recitation in Arabic. For these reasons I'll keep my thoughts short and try to refrain from making a final judgement regarding the book's merits.
The first thing that struck me was how repetitious the book is. So many of the surahs (short chapters) contain exactly the same messages with almost identical wording. Reading the book there's a sense of "copy" and "paste" from one surah to the next, as though the vast majority of the Qur'an is derived from a select few original surahs. This may not be the least bit surprising to those who are well studied in the Qur'an, but for me it's a very interesting discovery. I have to wonder how much smaller the book would be if its messages were made only once. And I can imagine that a Qur'an distilled down to its essential meaning would be far more accessible to non-Muslims, particularly for the purpose of philosophical and critical analysis.
The Qur'an's most repeated versus have to do with the severe punishment awaiting nonbelievers in hell. The warnings Muhammad delivers time and time again to nonbelievers are almost always paired with the true believer's reward of a beautiful, eternal paradise. This juxtaposition reminds me of the "good cop, bad cop" tactic deployed by officers trying to extract a confession from a suspect. The Quran relies primarily on a kind of persuasion that is very similar in its simple, yet effective nature.
Fear and selfish desire are base level human emotions, and the Qur'an exploits them for all their worth (as opposed to, say, appealing to our reason and capacity for love). It does so through repetition, but also by graphic depictions of hell and the punishment awaiting nonbelievers. It describes heaven as a shady paradise set alongside flowing streams, where delicious fruit and never-ending adult beverages (with no ill side affects) will be served by stunningly beautiful young people. Wives do not seem to be in the picture (I may be wrong...); but this isn't a problem, as sexual satisfaction will be easy to obtain from any number of young virginal handmaidens who stand ready to fulfill believers' every wish.
Another strong impression I got from reading the Qur'an was the psychological profile of the author. To state the obvious, I'm not a trained profiler. But while reading the Qur'an, It felt as though Muhammad's personality shone through. It was in the way the book dwelled on the arrogance and evil of nonbelievers, and seemed to fantasize about their punishment. It was the rants of a personal nature; like the author complaining about pesky and loud worshipers, and bringing up specific events and interactions that seemed to particularly vex him. It was the way the author kept protesting the charges that he was mad or that the Qur'an was just ancient myths. It seemed to me that he protested too much. It was in the way he repeatedly dismissed the prosperity of nonbelievers as God simply doing what he willed to whomever he wanted. It was in the Qur'an's narrow focus and high repetition; just like a musical artist who writes a few great songs that people love and spends the rest of his career performing those same hits over and over again.
Another thing that intrigued me about the Qur'an is the way the author tries to preempt criticism, skepticism, and doubt. He declares that evil nonbelievers will say that the Quran is just a collection of fables and that the Prophet is crazy. He warns believers of befriending nonbelievers or allying themselves with them. He condemns doubt and any kind of half-belief. Only complete submission to Islam is will send adherents to paradise rather than hell.
They say the best defense is a good offense. To Muhammad's credit, he deploys one heck of an offense in his verbal attack against disbelievers and doubters. It reminds me of a politician responding to allegations of misdoing. His defense of the claim that God exists and that he is God's chosen messenger is, on the other hand, almost non-existent. The Prophet repeatedly states that simple facts of nature are clear evidence of God's power. God brings the rain and transforms barren land into green, flowering landscapes. God delivers wind that suspends birds in mid-air and allows ships to sail. He holds up the heavens and keeps the sky intact. He turns the day to night and the night to day. He makes the earth tremble. To Muhammad, any natural event is evidence of God. But it's the more mysterious (by 7th century standards) phenomena that the Prophet tends to list as the clearest, most indisputable evidence-evidence so strong you'd have to be blind and arrogant not to see it. The Qur'an also points to tales of destruction of entire cities and civilizations as evidence of God's power. As for Muhammad's claim to be a chosen messenger from God, the only reason or evidence provided is the Qur'an itself (who else could produce such an amazing scripture, the author asks) and the claim that there were other messengers sent before him (Moses, Abraham, Noah, etc).
I found the Qur'an's use of reason and evidence baffling. It provided insight into how modes of thought and degrees of understanding can vary wildly across cultures and time.
One reaction I had upon reading the Qur'an for the first time has to do with its objectionable or offensive content. Now I understand that as with the Old Testament we are dealing with text written in a very different time and place. Slavery, polygamy, bought wives, and so on were commonplace at the time. But it's difficult to reconcile the notion of best moral standards with cultural norms and divine law. I'll leave that challenge for another time. For now I'll simply say that there are elements of the Qur'an that I-a white, male American living in the year 2014-find objectionable. Elements like slavery, sex with slaves, arranged and bought marriages, inequality and oppression of women, violent imagery/language (cutting throats, hanging by ropes, dragging bodies, scalding, etc).
One final thought: If the Qur'an's content lacks reason and wisdom (I won't ultimately conclude that it does or doesn't until much farther down the line), what then is Islam? Is the Qur'an really just a tool for assimilation through recitations that tap into some deep emotional well that has its source in instinct and ancient cultural identity? Maybe or maybe not; but one thing is for certain-whatever Islam is, it matters a great deal for the world to discover it.
posted by Josh at
11:45 AM
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