Day 1

Let’s get this out of the way. The Qur’an is going to take some getting used to. It’s cadence, structure, flow, and focus are quite different from the Hebrew or Christian scriptures. And that’s okay! But just delving into these first few surahs and it’s very noticeable. This also means my reflections will look a little different. I’m not getting reacquainted with an old friend as with the Bible. Instead, I’m journeying with something that I am both familiar with but never really took the time to understand. It’s one thing to study something…it’s another to immerse yourself in the text. So, I’m treating the text as I would any other text: How is it impacting me and what do I notice?

The centrality of God and Muhammad is evident so far. That’s Islam 101 for you. But I don’t think people realize just how much those two topics anchor Islam. Furthermore, the centrality and importance of the Qur’an is far more intense than the Bible. Now, I could be wrong. A Jewish friend might have opinions about the centrality of the Torah. More literal minded Christians the same with the Christian Scriptures. Right now, though, I’m left feeling like the Qur’an is different in this regard. It isn’t just central, foundational, and of prime importance…it’s…more than that. I don’t quite have the words.

There are some familiar references. Adam participates in naming the animals, the Torah is received on Mount Sinai, David and Goliath make an appearance, and even Jesus shows up in these first few surahs. But always, there is a calling back to 1) God 2) Muhammad and 3) the Qur’an. It becomes almost chant-like how those three things are continually emphasized.

The closest thing I can relate this reading to, so far, is reading the Book of Psalms. Lyrical language presents its own challenge in reading and the Qur’an was first recited (hence the name), not written. It’ll take some adjusting, but that’s part of the journey here.

Things I Noticed in the Text

1. Surah 2:29, I found it interesting that “seven heavens” were mentioned. Will I learn what these are? Is there something more to this imagery? Curious about cosmology here.
2. Surah 2:31, A major difference here is that Adam doesn’t name the animals, but was taught them.
3. Surah 2:61, Salvation is given to Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Sabians here. These are the “People of the Book.” Now, I had to go look up who the Sabians were. Not much is known about them, but there’s a few good guesses.
4. Surah 2:136, This feels like a succinct belief statement for Islam.
5. Surah 3:49, A story that is not in the Bible (but is in some gnostic texts) is the story of Jesus taking clay birds and bringing them to life.
6. Surah 3:81, I like how it makes it clear that all prophets, throughout time, are in covenant with God. Now, I wonder about the limits of this covenant and maybe I’ll learn more about that. Why? Well…
7. Surah 3:85, It’s not entirely clear what the limits of interfaith acceptance are here. People of the Book are saved, but…are there instances where they are not?
8. Surah 3:192, I just have to point this out. The Qur’an talks about hell a lot. I mean…a lot. It leaves me wanting to learn about the development of this belief in monotheism and why it was so prevalent at the time of the Qur’an.

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.