The following is a transcript of the video above, edited for readability.
I'm really focused on the Quran itself and what it specifically teaches, and I don't spend a lot of time on Jihad. I mean, that's what everybody wants to talk about because they've heard so much about it. The problem is, it's not that it's not an important subject, but if you don't understand what I'm dealing with and the wider context of the interaction of Muhammad with the early Christian communities that he encountered and things like that, then you'll never have the foundation to really understand what Jihad's about in the first place.
So for example, one of the big issues that people always bring up in regards to Muhammad is his marriage to Aisha, his child bride, which he consummates at nine years of age. I address that and I point out that it was far more scandalous in the days of Muhammad. That was not considered scandalous at all. In fact, Aisha took it as a sign of the fact that she was the only virgin bride Muhammad had. It actually elevated her in the eyes of the people over against the fact that there is a clear situation that was much more of a scandal. The Quran clearly shows it was understood to be a scandal in regards to Muhammad's marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh far more of an issue, but for most people in the West they could care less. Oh cousin, huh? Well big deal.
But that shows where the Quran really is coming from. I personally find it to be one of the most important issues in regards to the Quran because the fact that if you can have divine revelation that's supposedly from eternity passed all about how you are supposed to be able to marry the divorced wife of your adopted son, which results in destruction of adoption in Islamic lands, that says far more to me about where the origins of the Quran than anything about Aisha. You go online, all you'll find is about Aisha and how terrible this was and things like that.
So you try to pick what's actually really important that has the longest... Has the most relevance to the issues. In regards to the issue of Jihad, this is my take and it's really not a part of the book because those issues arise from the interpretation of the Quran. The problem is that the Quran... I do address this in the book, that's part of it anyways. The Quran is really not interpretable outside of what's called the Hadith literature. The Hadith are the actions, the sayings, the teachings of Muhammad and his companions. The Sunni have their Hadith, the Shia have their Hadith. The Sunni Hadith large body of literature, very large body of literature, the two most accepted and widely read of the Hadith Collection Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, nine volumes and eight volumes respectively in Arabic and English.
I've actually read all of these, at least Bukhari and Muslim, and my concern is that when you get "radicalized" Muslims and non radicalized Muslims debating these issues, which they do. The radicalized ones have much more oil money and hence, a bit bigger presence out there, what you have is they end up having to debate out of that Hadith material. I can tell you one thing, having listened to all of it, it's not consistent with itself.
So one group grabs hold of these scholars and one group grabs holes of these scholars and they interpret these Hadith in this way, and they interpret these Hadith in this way. My concern is there's really no self corrective mechanism within Islam to be able to answer these questions and to come to a final conclusion as to what the Islamic perspective would be of the Salafi, Wahhabi, Muslim that takes a very conservative view can build a real strong case.
I mean, Osama bin Laden was not stupid and he can build a real strong case from the sunnah of Muhammad and from choosing his material. But then a really smart person on the other side can come along and say, "No, you've missed this, this, this." They say, "Well, that's not as important as this." I just don't see that the materials from which they're drawing their debates are sufficient or consistent enough to actually answer the question.
(Article first published September 16, 2013)
What Is the Holy Book of Islam?
The Quran is divided into sections or Juz and contains 114 chapters or surahs. Verses in the Quran are referred to as ayats and are often cited in a similar fashion to Bible verses, with numbers for chapters with a colon separating verses.
However, there are no “books” in the Quran like the Bible. Instead, it is typically divided into thirty sections (Juz), which are equally spaced to promote regular reading.
Islam’s holy book is intricately connected to Arabic. Muslims view Arabic as the language of heaven and believe that the Quran is best read in its original language. There are no official translations of the Quran in other languages, including English.
Because of the importance of Arabic, recitation of the Quran is vital. The emphasis on recitation is taught in Surah 96:1, which says, “Recite in the name of your Lord who created” (Sahih International).
Another notable aspect of the Quran is that Muslims view their book as sacred and holy. Because of the perceived sacredness of the book, Muslims never place the Quran on the floor.
Christians who are seeking to minister to Muslims need to show sensitivity and respect while visiting the home of a Muslim.
The History of the Quran
Followers of Islam believe that the Quran is the received word of Allah. According to Muslims, Muhammad received the teachings of the Quran from the angel Gabriel. Over the course of 23 years, the “Quran was collected during the 7th-century C.E.”
Muhammad first encountered Gabriel in a cave in A.D. 610, when the angel forced him to the ground demanding him to recite (Quran 96:1-5).
Although Muhammad spoke about the teachings he received, they were never officially compiled until Abu Bakr, the first caliph of Islam, put together a book of Muhammad’s teachings.
Muslims believe that the Quran stands alone as a perfectly preserved revelation from God. The Quran claims that it is the true word of Allah (Quran 12:2; 15:9). According to the holy book of Islam, there is a heavenly copy of the Quran kept in heaven on a tablet (Quran 85:22).
Despite these claims, there are serious issues in the history of the compilation of the Quran. There were different variations of the Quran early in Islam’s history. Caliph Uthman burned all the other versions of the Quran and chose only one to preserve.
He had noticed variations and issued an official version of the Quran. The burning of other copies of the Quran is suspicious and should cause Muslims to pause and think: if the Quran is supposedly the true, word of God, then why were there other variations? Why would a leader need to burn all the other versions of the Quran if it is incorruptible?
Finally, in surveying the history of the Quran, Christians need to know that there are two major types of Muslims: the Sunni and Shiites.
Between these two groups, they approach the Quran differently. Shiites disagree with Sunni Muslims over the issue of the Quran’s compilation since they believe it was compiled while Muhammad was alive.
(Excerpted from "What Is the Holy Book of Islam?" by Sophia Bricker)
Further Reading:
An Unholy War: Answering Jihad
What Does the Quran Say about Other Religions and Believers?
Why the Growth of Islam Should Matter to Christians
Photo Credit: Getty Images/gustavofrazao
