Have you ever read the Quran from start to finish? If so, let us know if your perspective changed from the first to the second reading, etc.
There was a time (as a teenager) that I studied many different religions and we had a copy of the English version of the Quran which I would take up now and again, but I have never read it from the start to finish. As far as perspective - the writing style is understandable, but background information is definitely needed. Like the Bible there are texts that if used in one instance can refute texts in another instance therefore adequate interpretation is needed.
In the 1995-6 I attended a small Masjid (mini-mosque) in Sacramento, CA to learn about this religion and why it was spreading. What I learned about the Quran is that without the Hadith (comments/observations of Muhammed's companions, etc), many things remain obscure and subject to a wide variety of interpretation.
The other thing is that when Buhkari collected the 'pieces' (oral & written) and put together the 'official' Quran to replace all the varient collections... he ordered the surahs (chapters) by size and not by date composed. To better understand the evolution of Muhammeds message and thot's as cited in the Quran, it is better read it Chronologically. It makes more sense than the 'by size' versions common today.
My perspective changed very much reading it chronologically.
SteveB
The first time I read it I found it to be an interesting book, it was not boring at all. I would say next to my own Religious Scriptures, I would place the Qur'an next to them in order of important books in my life.
Rather off topic, but... SteveB, you mentioned that we should read the Qur'an in Chronological order. What is the Chronological order of the Chapters? |