Written by E

Drawing Wisdom from the Qur’an: Al-Anfal to Yunus

Day 4

The 8th Surah of the Qur’an goes into detail about how to split the spoils of war. Just as the endless battles could unnerve me in Hebrew Scriptures, I find it equally unnerving here. Then again, I’m reading this in a time and place removed from the original composition. I’ve said it often in these four days, but I still get the sense I’m missing pieces of the puzzle…and I wonder when those will appear, if at all.

What I find myself deeply appreciating are the ayahs/verses that give shape to daily life for Muslims. I often wish my own religious tradition had similar distinct and visible practices. Not to put on airs or flaunt piety, but for the individual to physically feel the impact of their faith. Even beyond that, though, there are practices that aren’t so “visible” that I long to see. The ayah outlining exactly who to give charity to (9:60) is impactful, clear, and yet still has a great deal of freedom in it. The clarity is in a shared “mission” of sorts for Muslim charity. I feel like in my own tradition, we frequently have to feel our way through the dark, hoping to find a clear mission/vision for our religious practices.

The reading of this text is going much quicker now. I find myself waiting for something in this text, but I’m not quite sure what. I’ll have to think on that.

Crystal Mosque, Malaysia

Things I Noticed in the Text

  1. Surah 9:36, I found it interesting that the lunar calendar was referred to as an “ordained” number of months. I get it, right, if your holy days are tethered to that flow.
  2. Surah 9:60, I really liked this ayah as it describes the limits of Zakat — the Muslim spiritual practice of charity. It makes it clear that this is for the suffering amongst the people.
  3. Surah 9:97, Obviously there was some history with the Bedouins. But they are outright condemned here (at the time this was written) for actions I’m not privy to.
  4. Surah 10:98, This is probably the most interesting and challenging part of the Qur’an: References to familiar stories are made but not in great detail. Here we get a brief mention of Jonah.

This post is part of a larger series where I read the entire Qur’an in ~21 days. Take a look at the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.