Let's Get it Started in Here....

Let’s get some administrative items out of the way first. 

1.     I am not a scholar, and this is not an academic or scholarly endeavor.  What I intend to do with this blog is to explore a simple question: what does the Quran mean to me?  Specifically, this blog will take specific verses or themes from the Quran and comment on them.  That commentary is not intended to be, and should never be taken or understood to be, an analysis of the meaning of the Quran in some scientific, authoritative or definitive way.  I will not be compiling different scholarly exegeses and comparing them, nor will I be attempting my own comprehensive interpretive work.  My task is simpler and less ambitious.  I am merely going to comment on the Quran as I understand it, exploring the text in a way that is meaningful to me, and further exploring how that understanding interacts with my worldview.  If you disagree with my understandings or find my analysis lacking in some way, read a different blog.

2.     I am an American (born and raised), and I am Muslim.  I do not think the two concepts are contradictory.

3.     I did not study Islamic theology in any formal capacity.  I am not a “professional Muslim;” I have a regular job.

4.     I love Whoppers from Burger King (I never order the fish), I have a mortgage and I vote.  (Believe me, this is relevant information to other Muslims who want to size me up and label me).  I also brew Starbucks at home (the Pike Place Roast is splendid).  I don't think there is anything wrong with any of that (but I won't judge you or try to convince you otherwise if you choose to avoid those things in your own life).

5.      I believe in the Quran.  I believe in it wholeheartedly and unabashedly.  I believe it is divine revelation from The Lord of the Universe, The One God, The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.  I believe in it because of my experiences and interactions with it.  I believe in it because it confounds me.  It mesmerizes me.  It transports me to a place where I imagine myself standing solitary amidst a vast emptiness that surrounds me, where the world has disappeared and I am suddenly acutely aware of my own humble insignificance before an amorphous idea of an omnipotent God.  I believe in it because I find its words miraculous.  I have concluded that, in my estimation, no human being—no matter how talented a writer or eloquent a poet, no matter how intelligent, insightful or erudite—could have written this book.  I love the Quran.  I want to share my reasons for loving it with you.  You don’t have to read this blog.

6.     I will start from the beginning of the Quran and go in order for the first little while (maybe for the first three to five chapters), but I reserve the right to skip around whenever the mood strikes me.  I don’t think I will ever get through blogging about the entire Quran, and even if I did I’m sure I’d find more to say in a subsequent reading.

7.     Non-sequiturs: there will be many.  I like to think that I don’t take myself too seriously and, as I wrote above, I don’t intend this to be a scientific or academic work.

8.     I use Abdullah Yusuf Ali’s English translation for quotes, interpretations, English commentary, etc.  It’s my absolute favorite English translation (by a country mile).  The Quran was revealed (see number 5 above) in Arabic and the Arabic text is the ONLY Quran.  English translations are nothing more than the translators’ explanations of what they understand the Quran to mean.  Since all human beings are fallible, English translations can never definitively replicate the exact meaning and intent of the Arabic text, and in fact people’s understandings (and thus their interpretations and translations of the Quran into different languages) can evolve over time even though the original Arabic text remains unchanged.  I read and understand the Quran in Arabic, but I often refer to and almost always trust A. Yusuf Ali’s translation and footnotes to help me expound upon the Arabic text.

9.     It may be a while between posts.  Work, and life in general, will inevitably get in the way.

10.   If you choose to comment on a particular post, please be respectful.  I reserve the right to remove any comment I feel is inappropriate.  That being said, differing views are welcome; sincere, good-natured differing views are encouraged.  Also, please keep the politics to a minimum in the comments, and avoid foul language. 

That's it.  Hope you enjoy.

Peace be upon you all.