THE QUR’ANIC REVELATION: A REFORMED UNDERSTANDING

Both the curious and the believer alike find themselves pondering the same question: What is the Qur’an, and what is so special about the Qur’an that drives almost one-quarter of the world’s population to believe in it? The Qur’an is not what one would consider an easy read, whether talking about Arabic speaking peoples reading the Arabic Qur’an or non-Arabic speaking peoples reading translations of the text in other languages. Most people think that reading the Qur’an once or even several times readily enables them to understand what the Qur’an is saying. That surely would be true if one were a native Arabic speaker living in the space-time of the revelation fourteen hundred years ago. However, for us living in other space-time, the present author assures the reader that such is not the case.

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■ Series Info: Learn about "The Qur’anic Revelation: A Reformed Understanding."

This series explores the Qur’an through a fresh lens, looking at its message, contexts, and implications in ways that are accessible and relevant today.

The series, “The Qur’anic Revelation: A Reformed Understanding,” attempts to unravel what can be described as the confusion surrounding the understanding of the Qur’an. It argues that this confusion experienced by Muslims and non-Muslims alike is a confusion arising from and depicted in the available interpretations of the Qur’anic revelation, the numerous interpretations of Islam. The only thing the present author takes for granted is that the Qur’an is the speech of God that was revealed to Prophet Muhammad, everything else is put in doubt. Alternatively, for those who do not recognize the Qur’an to be the speech of God, this series would represent a study of the Qur’an as an independent source of religious knowledge.

This work presents a perspective on what the Qur’an is saying—through a voice independent from the three major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It presents an interpretation of the Qur’an and explains how it would apply to people living in today’s world. It is written taking into consideration those who have no previous knowledge about the Qur’an. It is the outcome of years of studying and contemplating the Arabic Qur’an.

As the series has grown, it has also turned to the calendars of the ancient monotheistic world: the lunisolar calendar of the Qur'anic era, and the earliest systematic account of the fixed Jewish calendar.

■ Book Summaries: Downloadable previews of the first three volumes:

The first three volumes of this series—published concurrently—argue that the religion of Islam or rather the numerous interpretations of Islam are unacceptable representations of the Qur’anic revelation.  

The proposed interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation challenges the standpoints of Traditional Islam on three key issues: inclusiveness, the sources of religious knowledge, and the composition of any acceptable Qur’anic-based interpretation of religion. Each of the first three volumes of this series is dedicated to one of these topics, respectively.

► Volume 1: "The Qur'an and Its Message Versus the Three Major Monotheistic Religions"

In this book the author argues that the religion of Islam is an unacceptable representation of the Qur’anic revelation. Furthermore, that the religions based on God's revealed scriptures, as we know them today, including but not limited to the religion of Islam, deviate from the essence of God’s revelations—mainly bringing Judaism and Christianity into the discussion. The author puts forward his own interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation and, in this volume, primarily addresses its inclusiveness aspect by exploring how the Qur’an understands both inclusiveness and religion.

For a more detailed description of Volume 1 and to download a PDF preview, please click here.

► Volume 2: "The Sunna and the Hadith Through the Lens of the Qur’an"

In this book the stance of the proposed interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation in regard to the Sunna (teachings of Prophet Muhammad) and the Hadith (reports on the Sunna) is addressed. The proposed interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation recognizes—in reference to the followers of the Qur’an—the Qur’an to be the sole source of religious knowledge. It does not consider the Sunna to represent an independent or complementary source of religious knowledge. Furthermore, it does not consider the Hadith to represent the Sunna, nor does it consider the Hadith a source of religious knowledge.

For a more detailed description of Volume 2 and to download a PDF preview, please click here.

► Volume 3: "The Illusion of Eternal Religious Law"

In this book the stance of the proposed interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation on law is addressed. This position will prove to be of special significance particularly in the context of modernity—and the modern state. Furthermore, Islamic law and its relationship to the religion of Islam is explored. The proposed interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation does not see religion to be the source of law, but rather it sees religion to be a source of ethics. It sees that any acceptable interpretation of religion that is based on revealed scripture should have no law component. It rejects religious law altogether and calls for the implementation of secular law. In consequence, the proposed interpretation of the Qur’anic revelation would be redefining the role of religion and its domain of operation.

For a more detailed description of Volume 3 and to download a PDF preview, please click here.

■ On my desk: Volume 4 and a Companion Study

Two books, from one research project, are forthcoming.

Volume 4 is devoted to the calendar that was in place in the space-time of the Qur'anic revelation—and, as will be argued, for some time after the death of the Prophet. It is not the calendar in use in Islam today.

What if the calendar of the Qur'anic era was not lunar alone, but lunisolar—kept in step with the seasons, shared among the region's monotheistic communities, and the calendar whose shadow falls across the earliest accounts of the crucifixion? Volume 4 reconstructs it.

The companion study is independent of the series but grows from the same inquiry. It is a book about a short Arabic treatise, some 1,500 words, written in Baghdad in 823/24 by Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi—the man whose name became the word "algorithm." The treatise is the first systematic account of the fixed Jewish calendar, written by a Muslim mathematician at the court of the Abbasids. It survives in a single manuscript, copied in Mosul in 1234, twenty-four years before the Mongols emptied the libraries of Baghdad into the Tigris. What it contains has been hiding in plain sight for twelve centuries.

More will be announced closer to publication.

■ Interested in a Free eBook?

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Best regards,

Joseph The Monotheist

The books of "The Qur’anic Revelation: A Reformed Understanding” are written in English. In the following paragraphs, I present a translation in Arabic of the introduction given above. I offer this translation in order to avoid any mistranslation that automated translators might give and to make sure the translation captures the essence of the intended meanings.