Islamic books

What do you think about Islamic Books?

Same thing I think about Christian books, or Jewish books, or any other religious books. Nothing, in the abstract. I want to know which book! If it is fiction, is it well-written, interesting, compelling? If it's non-fiction (say, a history of the religion), is it well-researched, does it teach me something?

If it's the religion's Holy Book, or commentaries thereon, then I don't know that it's my place to have an opinion, if I'm not a member of that faith. I am, though, always interested in learning about other people's beliefs and cultures.

Yeah, it probably makes sense to discuss certain books rather than Islamic books in general.

Has anyone read anything by Jeffrey Lang? I was wondering if his books were worth picking up...thanks!

I haven't actually read anything by him, but I have seen some positive reviews of his work.

I recently purchased The Holy Qur’ān : Arabic Text, English Translation and Commentary; and I'm wondering if you guys might suggest some essential reading?

Hi BOB81, I think the suggestions of "essential reading" will depend a bit on what you're looking for. :) E.g., are you a non-Muslim looking for introductory/explanatory works? Are you a new Muslim wanting to deepen your faith? Are you seeking scholarly works on Qur'anic exegesis and history? Looking for books only in English? Etc.

>7 Essa:

Sorry: I actually meant essential reading in the Qur’ān.

All of it BOB81, but for starters surat (chapters) 1 & 2, though it will not likely make much sense without the chronological and historical context, which is not much found in the Quran. Don't stress it, just read it, it will come together later as you keep studying. If the lack of context starts to really bother you, then you might want to get a biography of Muhammad and/or a chronological contextualized Quran (i.e., all the ayat (verses) are put in order and have added the history or biographical details in between as needed) to read first before reading your normal Quran alongside or afterwards.

ETA: the reason reading "all of it" is not so overwhelming is because the Quran's not as large as it might appear, since most Quran's have much space taken up by a column in Arabic script, maybe some commentary along bottom, as yours appears to have, and possibly even a transliteration column, so when the reader disregards all that, one is left with a very short book, about the size of only the New Testament portion of the Bible, very doable.

>9 EncompassedRunner:

Taking a look into the book, it seems that about 1/3 of each page is devoted to commentary: would you expect that to help me much, as far as context?

I was talking to a Muslim friend about how to dive in when I first got a copy. The advice that he gave me was to read it in reverse. I forget the exact wording of the reasoning, but he pretty much said that the later portions are more accessible and offer a softer introduction to the text.

The suras are in order of length, starting with the longest. So it is easier to absorb the meaning of the shorter suras.

>10 BOB81:, there are several reasons I would not read commentary with the first reading (but would read it much later), including that it will not give the needed context anyway, that commentary from one Quran to another varies enormously (sometimes shockingly revisionist), and most importantly I reading the Quran text only to be a very helpful approach in getting the full shock of the nature of the Quran's unintelligibleness (sorry, I don't think that's a word) without the aid of the Sunnah for context.

Another thing I found helpful on the first reading was to have some blank paper nearby to make a quick alphabetical topical index as I was reading. So, if I came across the creation story in one place, then on the first instance I'd write on my paper "Creation" and then every verse I wanted to remember that had to do with creation I'd write the verse number after the heading "Creation," this way by the time my first reading of the Quran was done, I had a nice little topical index.

I most definitely would not read the Quran backwards! Surah 2 is critical, read it first (of course after Surah 1, but that's just a blip of an introduction). Some people suggest reading Surah 2 last because its talk of fighting can be a turnoff (though that surah's not the worst when it comes to that).

Whatever you do, don't be discouraged if (actually, not if, but when) the Quran does not cohere in your mind -- that's the nature of the Quran. It will only come together once you later learn some of the Sira (biography) and Hadith (traditions), i.e., the Sunnah.

Hi BOB81, thanks for the clarification. You have already received some great suggestions. As EncompassedRunner notes, it is advisable to be cautious with the commentary. My own personal preference is for the Qur'an translation by M. A. Abdel-Haleem, which contains just enough footnotes and introductory matter to be helpful, without turning into actual "commentary."

If, after getting started, you feel confused or find yourself floundering, you could try a companion book to help you find your way. Ones that come to mind are Introduction to the Qur'an, by W. Montgomery; The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an; Understanding the Qur'an: Themes and Styles, by M. A. Abdel Haleem; and The Qur'an: a User's Guide by Farid Esack.

As for "essential" reading, "all of it" is probably pretty essential, as E.R. already noted. :D You should certainly read al-Fatiha, the short opening of the Qur'an -- this is recited by Muslims in prayer several times each day. "The Women" (an-Nisa) contains some of the verses that would later form the basis for some of the Islamic laws, such as those regarding polygyny, dowry, etc. The first few verses of "The Clot" (al-Alaq) are considered to be the first words that Gabriel uttered to Muhammad (i.e. the very beginnings of the Qur'an).

#13 & 14: on commentary,my experience:

I spent a little over a year reading The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, working my way, in order, through the suwar and found that the commentary just got in the way and broke the rhythm of the reading. I remember being pleasantly surprised at how much of it was accessible, and pertinent to my life (I distinctly remember thinking that certain parts regarding marriage and motherhood read like some of my issues of Mothering magazine – my reading in those days was almost always accompanied with an attached nursing infant).

But then (I think by surah 4 or so, certainly by 7) I needed to start reading the commentary again – did I just read what I think I read? And, sure enough, I had. Without interspersed commentary I couldn’t reconcile the beauty of certain passages with the ugliness of others – an ugliness which I took quite personally (a detached reading of the Qur’an, may be beyond my personal limitations). By the end, I stopped reading the commentary – just to finish it.

Perhaps it is time to re-read it again – my children are now school-age. I think I’ll take Essa’s suggestion and try the Abdel-Haleem translation.

-15 I have to agree that I read it without commentary. You can always refer to a commentary book (or sources online, etc) when you have trouble interpreting a section or are interested in historical context, but I think it is valuable to form your own understanding and opinion as well. I don't remember it being too impossible to read (I do remember being mystified by the adamant rejection of "daughter's of god", which lead me to learn about the satanic or bird's verses and pre-islamic arabic goddess, which was fascinating).

Well, I've started to read it without the commentary. Thank y'all for all the help!

I'm pretty much into "historical stories" when in comes to Islamic books. Then a few learning books. you know the ones where they use passages from the Holy Koran and use it for medical purposes.

I bought a copy of "Even Angels Ask", but didn't have much time to browse through it before it got packed up and put in storage, unfortunately.

Is this group still active? Nothing posted for several years. Check out Reclaim Your Heart by Yasmin Mogahed.

>21 Mashabooks: Please read the Terms of Service https://www.librarything.com/privacy
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I would add that 5* ratings and reviews by the author/publisher on a book that nobody else has entered are a big sign NOT to buy or read the book. We are not stupid.

This group and topic are old. The last message here was i 2013. The last message in the group was 2024 and was also spam.