10-12-2004, 05:05 PM
Ronniv93,
''But there are varying interpretations of the Quran just as there is for any other document. I'm a little confused by that statement. Even though a majority of Muslims today read from a standard text, there is yet variation....''
''O mankind! verily there hath come to you a convincing proof from your Lord: For We have sent unto you a light (that is) manifest.'' The Qur'an 4:174
First of all you MUST keep in mind that the Qur'an is not 'a document'. It is the REVEALED UNALTERED WORDS OF ALLAH, SWT, IN ARABIC forwarded via Jibreel to the Last Prophet Muhammad, SAWS. So this CANNOT even be thought of as trying to compare it with a common document. We are talking of REVEALED WORDS here!
Secondly if you like to call this 'a standard text' then this is your choice of wording, I prefer to call it the words revealed by Allah, SWT, in Arabic.
About different sects. This has NOTHING to do with the Qur'an - if there would be a thousand sects there still will be only ONE Qur'an.
''I have never understood this argument, because there is not a faith system on earth that doesn't have people with differing views/opinions.''
But there is still some FUNDAMENTAL BELIEFS that has to be fulfilled to be able to call oneself belonging to a special faith, no matter opinions.
''How, for instance, could a person claim to be a Muslim but then they also believe that Muhammad was not the last prophet? Wouldn't that be denying a very basic tenet/belief of Islam?''
Do you KNOW that there are any Muslims that do it? You forget that there is a MINIMUM demand to be able to call oneself a MUSLIM and that is to adhere to the five pillars of Islam. To believe that there is only One God and that is Allah, SWT, AND THAT MUHAMMAD IS HIS PROPHET, to pray 5 times a day, to pay Zakat, to fast during Ramadan and to go on Hajj. These 5 'points' are OBLIGATORY. So the belief you refer to should be easy to leave out, is in the first pillar, and you cannot pretend it isn't there. Maybe to fool yourself, but certainly not Allah, SWT.
''I guess I need to add that I agree that for the most part, you won't find a Muslim saying that the Quran has been altered. But then, that is probably just below blasphemy in Islam. ''
''Thus is the word of thy Lord proved true against those who rebel: Verily they will not believe.'' 10:33
You still are trying to get to the point that the Qur'an is not what Allah, SWT, states that it is. And I am sure you will still struggle much to find a Muslim that agrees with you. But Allah, SWT, has given you the challenge in the Qur'an to do just that, to prove what you state.
''Even when I've read the articles and documents that speak of the various manuscripts (and there are more than just 7 different variants and not just about pronunciation either), even then these same people will somehow deny that any substantial changes have taken place. Yet when I read their work, they clearly say that some wordings are different.''
You could leave some references.
Now is the question, from what SOURCES are you going to learn about the Qur'an? If you decide to do it from the Islamic point of view, which logically should be the right one if you want to know the truth, then we surely will be able to help you. BUT if you like to take it the other way around, from non-Islamic sources, and there are a LOT of them out there, then that is your choice.
Would you learn about the fundamentals of Christianity through Islamic and Jewish sources in first hand?
As I said, IF you are willing to learn from Islamic sources, we can help.
I am quite sure there might be a thread here somewhere of this subject, but I have not been hanging aroung long enough to know them all. Maybe some of the sisters of brothers can direct to them?
Regards