Experimental Blog # 222

Quotations from "What the Qur'an Meant - And Why It Matters" by Garry Wills

"... the Qur'an < > is a series of disjunct revelations made to Muhammad, as recorded by his followers on pottery shards or other handy surfaces. These were transferred to paper, then arranged by believers after Muhammad's death, not in chronological order but, < > according to length{longer ones earlier, shorter ones toward the end}."
"The oral traditions about Jesus and Muhammad did not take the forms we know for several decades after their death."

"A Desert Book"
"The Qur'an is haunted by < > the Arabian desert. < > One finds it in the yearning, everywhere, toward water < > Water as God's blessing. Water as miracle. Water creating oases. Water as reward. < > Water as the condition of happiness. Water as heaven."

"The Perpetual Stream of Prophets"
"People who have not read the Qur'an might be surprised at how much of it is devoted to prophets other than Muhammad. Over two dozen men{only men} are called prophets in the book. Each received a revelation from Allah, which he proclaimed by his preaching and his actions. From the time of Adam, these show a record of continual contact with all humankind..."

"... Muslims honor Mary, the mother of Jesus. < > She is the most honored women in the Qur'an - indeed she is the only woman named in the book."

"The Right Path{Shari'ah}"
"The word "shari'ah" occurs only once in the Qur'an, and there it does not mean "law". It is Allah's reassurance to Muhammad that he is traveling on the right "path"{shari'ah}. < > But the Qur'an does not furnish one with minute legal guidance."

"The economic world reflected in the Qur'an is not agrarian or industrial but commercial. Mecca < > dealt with merchant caravans coming and going, which involved the promises of payment < > and investment < > the instructions on Muslim business dealings show a hands-on expertise."
"God is a great accountant."
"The model for the true believers in Allah is the honest merchant."

"Muhammad < > did have thirteen wives{two marriages were unconsummated} and two concubines, and various women slaves. < > Like some Western monarchs, he had no male heirs < > and he had to rely on his own marriages and those of his four daughters to secure a legacy ..."

"Torah, Gospel, and Qur'an are all patriarchal, and therefore misogynist - as were the societies in which they took shape. But misogynism is not all that all of them are. In all three of them there are traces of dignity and worth intended by the Creator when he made women."
"Belief in women's inferiority is a long and disheartening part of each tradition's story."

"Reading the Qur'an is not initially an easy task. < > What is easy is to sense the overall tenor and priorities of the book. A few verses endlessly cited have to do with violence."
"The overall tenor is one of mercy and forgiveness, which are evoked everywhere, almost obsessively."