Sarah Dorra’s Reviews > القرآن الكريم > Status Update

Would it be considered rude for a Christian to read parts of the Quran Sarah? I've always been interested in how other religions see rights, and in particular the stories, such as the squivalent of creation etc

Oh my God, of course not! I even remember our professor at university telling us to read King James' Bible.

Will send you a link on Facebook :-)

Or let me put it here -- http://quran.com

The home page has all 114 chapters of the Quran. You could click on any of them and see what this book says ;-)

(Thanks for your interest, by the way.)

Thank you, I wasn't quite sure where to find an English copy

I use this one in translation. It's one of the best. I'd love to know what you thought of it.

I'm skipping about at random, the only bit that oesnt translate is the chapter titles. Do you have a favourites or must read sections?

I found a free copy on kindle that explains what terms means as it goes in the text, which seemed helpful, but comparing it to this the meaning has become very different. Fr example passages such as this need a separate dictionary for me. I went to a Church of England school, so all we studied was Christianity, I expect others fare better than me

Who believe in the Ghaib and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), and spend out of what we have provided for them [i.e. give Zakat , spend on themselves, their parents, their children, their wives, etc., and also give charity to the poor and also in Allah's Cause - Jihad, etc.].

Oh, of course! These are Arabic words. You could ask me about anything you don't understand.

Ghaib -- the things we do not see but still believe in like heaven, hell and the afterlife.

Zakat -- a form of alms/money we have to pay when our saving reach a certain number . If a year goes passes without using one's savings (starting from around twenty something thousand Egyptian pounds), 2.5% of the money should be given out to the poor, the relatives, etc. The aim is to always invest money instead of just piling it up without using it for the benefit of oneself or society.

Jihad has two meanings-- the famous meaning which terrorist use to cover up for what they do. That is, to fight for the sake of Allah (which is exactly the opposite of what they do).

And to fight against the desires of oneself (psychologically).

Thank you Sarah, that makes much more sense. I'm sure you can imagine what I found when I googled Jihad!

I like the idea of Zakat, I think our family tries to do that. It's not always money, but sometimes time, like mum gets the disabled neighbour's medication from the shop when he can't and will make him a meal if he hasn't eaten

I found this version on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quran-Made-Ea... which explains some things in rackets as it goes.

If it is free on your Amazon, could you take a second to see if it is accurate please? It might save me turning up often with a list of terms to bother you

Hmmmm, I will see about that. (I love how determined you are to learn about other religions, especially in such a young age, BTW.)

When I was at school in the wheelchair I soon discovered most bullying and general prejudice was because they didn't understand.

I think the same is true for religions. It is far too common to see people think muslim and terrorist are the same thing, again largely due to lack of understanding. I know that is not true, you are one of the kindest people I know. I want to be educated, but maybe as an offshoot from that if I better understand what something means I can help others.

This world needs more love, not hate. And yes, I do eventually plan to work my way through most major religions

I am amazed by the tolerant way in which you see school bullies. Most people would easily judge them because of their deeds instead of saying, like you did, that they simply don't understand.

I asked my English teacher at school (who also teaches Quraan to non Arabs) about the best translation for the Quraan. She recommended this: http://www.noblequran.com/translation/

She also added the following:
'They all have mistakes, though. None can give the multiple meanings implied in Quran ayahs, not to mention the spirit. Strange thing is it still touches their hearts subhan Allah and they all say they could feel that it's the TRUTH.'

Please let me know your feedback.

Thank you very much for your interest!