An Overview of the Qur'an

An Overview of the Qur’ān By Colin D. Smith 2 Introduction Islam is a centuries-old religion, and Muslims have been a part of Western society for nearly as long, and yet despite this, until relatively recently many have not felt the need to understand this religion and its teachings. Now it is evident that an understanding of Islam is vital not only for people to be able to relate to the growing number of Muslims in the West, but also for Christians to be able to effectively reach out both in ministry and in witness to Islam’s adherents. The first thing that needs to be understood is that Islam is not a religion based upon a person. While Mohammad is greatly revered among orthodox Muslims, and while he is considered to be a prophet chosen by Allāh to be an instrument of revelation, his role is simply that of revealer. He is an apostle, a messenger, a mortal man with a special commission. Essentially, Islam is about submission to Allāh and His commands as He has revealed Himself in the Qur’ān, the Islamic scriptures. Islamic law, society, and culture are founded upon the Qur’ān and its principles as elucidated by Mohammad and his followers. If one is, therefore, to gain an understanding of this religion and its adherents, it is vital that one understands the context and message of its scripture. The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with a grasp of the history, structure, and content of the Qur’ān. While the author is coming from a Christian perspective, the intent of this work is not one of Christian apologetic. The author has drawn not only from the Qur’ān itself, but also from sources that are either explicitly Muslim, or at least sympathetic to Islam so that the reader may appreciate how Muslims regard their holy book. The aim in doing this is to provide the reader with a clear picture of the Qur’ān as Muslims see it, with the hope that this will help the non-Muslim reader to better appreciate the Islamic perspective, which in turn will help the Christian apologist gain a more sympathetic hearing within the Islamic community. This paper will first present an historical overview giving the basic facts of Muhammad’s life, the Islamic perspective regarding the inspiration of the Qur’ān, and the subsequent rise of Islam in Medina and Mecca. The paper will then move to a basic outline of the Qur’ān, defining terms and providing the reader with a framework in which to understand the book. Finally, the paper will discuss important theological themes as they are understood in the Qur’ān, particularly the nature of Allāh, the nature of man, 3 salvation, and the afterlife. The discussion will pay particular attention to the way the Qur’ān views these issues in contradistinction to the Christian view. Again, the purpose in this is not apologetic, but to compare and contrast. The Christian apologist is encouraged to take these contrasts and develop them in his dialog with Muslim neighbors and co-workers. Historical Overview By the middle of the first millennium, both Mecca and Medina had become thriving commercial centers within the Middle East. Situated close to the western coast of Arabia, Mecca was ideally placed for merchants, and Meccan merchants had control over the entire coastline from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean. The people of Mecca were originally nomads and traders, and, therefore, not ignorant of other people or cultures. However, they had little sense of national identity, so they banded together into groups based largely on clan. One’s clan could be a powerful source of protection, both against rival clans and against wild animals. Alone, a person would be easy prey, but within the clan there were rules that would bind one to another. A wrong committed against a member of a clan would be repaid by the entire clan. Mecca was also a place where the divide between rich and poor, opulent and oppressed, was sharply drawn, and social injustices were often overlooked. Pre-Islam, Arabs were, on the whole, polytheists. They worshiped local deities, and may even have had a notion of a “supreme” god over all “lesser” gods. Judaism had already infiltrated the region, as had certain forms of Christianity (mainly in the commercial areas), but the vast majority of Arabs worshiped tribal and regional gods. Meccans in particular worshiped three goddesses: al-Lat, al-Manat, and al-Uzza. These three were considered daughters of the creator god, “Allāh,” meaning “the deity.”1 Lesser spiritual beings, in particular angels and “jinn” were recognized as actively involved in the material world. Angels were perceived in very much the same way as the Old Testament authors describe, being sent by God to do His work, and hence largely agents of good. “Jinn,” on the other hand, could be persuaded to work evil, and to them 1 John B. Noss, Man’s Religions, (MacMillan: Ny, 1956), p. 686. 4 was often ascribed the ability to turn men away from good. Fairies and ghouls also had a place in the supernatural realm of the ancient Arabs. Mohammad was born in Mecca sometime around A.D. 570 into one of the leading tribes of the region, the Quraysh. His father, ‘Abd Allāh had already died by the time he was born, and his mother died when he was six years old. He was raised by his grandfather, and, after his grandfather’s death, by his uncle, Abu-Talib. Muhammad is considered to have been a man of great moral standards, to the extent that his first wife, Khadija, married him after he had impressed her with his honesty and integrity in business. Although Mecca was materially prosperous, it had become, at least in the minds of many, spiritually bankrupt. Mohammad was one for whom this caused great consternation and he often spoke out about it.2 It seems he also frequently meditated on the situation,3 and it was while meditating in this way that he is supposed to have started to receive what he believed were messages from Allāh for the Meccans. These messages did not all come at once, but over the period from 610, through to the establishment of Islam in Medina. This is clear from the nature of the pronouncements which range from exhortations to worship Allāh, encouragement to the faithful during battle and persecution, and rules for the establishment of society. These messages from Allāh were initially communicated from memory by Mohammad to his family and friends (i.e., those who shared his views and would be sympathetic to them). However, as time went on, the nature of the messages demanded a wider audience, and it was at this point that Muhammad started to face resistance. As Mohammad and his followers encountered opposition and persecution, the messages from Allāh started to take the form of warnings against the ungodly, the fate of the wicked, and the bliss to be looked forward to by the faithful who endure. Eventually, the protection Muhammad had enjoyed from his clan was removed, and opposition became 2 H.A.R. Gibb, Islam, (Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1969), p. 17. The Qur’ān responds to the love of money and the abuse of the poor by the wealthy in Mecca in a number of places (3:14; 9:38; 70:19- 35; 11:87; et al.). 3Richard Bell and Montgomery Watt, Bell’s Introduction to the Qur’ān, (Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, 1970), p. 10. 5 so fierce, that it seemed clear that the small band of the faithful would have to leave Mecca and find a home somewhere more accommodating to them. Medina was also a prosperous commercial center, though embroiled for years in civil war between rival clans. The Medinans sent for Muhammad to come and resolve the dispute, in return for which he could settle there with his followers with the certainty that his religion would be respected. With nowhere else to go, in 622 Mohammad and his followers traveled to Medina where they were well received. Many Medinans accepted his claim to prophethood and established him as one of nine clan leaders. With help from the Medinans, he increased his power through military conquest, and eventually reached out to the Jewish clans in the region. Muhammad permitted the Jews to practice their religion provided they cooperate in the defense of Medina and show themselves loyal to Mohammad. However, the Jews in Medina showed little respect for the new religion, and were highly unreliable in times of conflict. In the end, the Jewish clans were expelled. Once established in Medina, Mohammad turned his sights back to Mecca. Given its political and spiritual significance to Arabs, Mohammad wanted very much to win the Meccans to his side. With a base of operations and an army of willing fighters, he led a band of about three hundred men against a large Meccan army at Badr and was victorious. In retaliation, the Meccans attacked Medina and Muhammad’s army lost the battle of Uhud. After an unsuccessful siege, six years later he led an army of ten thousand to march on Mecca, and he did so without much resistance. Since his aim was to bring the Meccans over to his side, Mohammad treated the people leniently, and many Meccans eventually acknowledged Mohammad as a messenger of Allāh. Mohammad went on to lead his forces into other battles, gradually expanding his sphere of influence, such that at the time of his death in 632, he was effectively the ruler of most of Arabia.

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