Read the Qur'an/Koran in One Year (It's Short..like the NT) All Welcome :)

[umsami]

Hi Everybody, Assalamu Alaikum, Peace Be Upon You:

So, I thought I'd start a Read the Qur'an in a Year thread... after being influenced by the Read the Bible thread.

This is open to Muslims and non-Muslims.

I think an easy way to work it will be to post the reading for the week... and then people can write thoughts/comments or simply DONE... if they want.

If anybody/somebody wants to post any sort of background on the texts for that week, that's great too.

You don't need to own a copy of the Qur'an.. .there are plenty online.


There's also some Tasfeer online in English at tasfir.com Tasfeer is like commentary and such. If you have other recommendations, post them.
http://quran-online.net/

Basically, to get through it in one year... you'll need to read about 125 ayat (verses) per week. 21 per day... allowing one day to catch up.


If you're game, sign up... and let me know if you'd like to start on Monday Insha'Allah (God-Willing)...., and whether or not you're interested in just doing 21 or so ayat per day next week or want to try and catch up for the past 11 days or so.


Thanks

[umsami]

Week of January 12 - January 18th, 2009

Day 1
Surah Al-Fatiha (The Opening) 1-7
Surah Al-Bakarah (The Cow) 1-14

Day 2
Surah Al-Bakarah (The Cow) 15-39

Day 3
Surah Al-Bakarah (The Cow) 40-61

Day 4
Surah Al-Bakarah (The Cow) 62-86

Day 5
Surah Al-Bakarah (The Cow) 87-112

Day 6
Surah Al-Bakarah (The Cow) 113-141

Day 7
Make Up Day/Free Day

Questions:
What were your favorite parts?

Were there anything ayat/verses that you wanted to write down and perhaps memorize in either English or Arabic?

Was there anything that you found particularly troubling?

Which translation, if any, did you use?

Did you read any commentary/tasfir?

Do you think the amount of reading is do-able? Would you prefer it to be less?


Week 2 is on post 70

[Tradd]

Kinda OT, but not too far off. Just a curious question - how many pages does the Koran run in either Arabic or an English translation?

By comparison, my Revised Standard Version Bible (no study notes) has 928 pages for the Old Testament, 284 for the New Testament, and another 277 for the Deutero-canonical books. It doesn't have dinky type, either.

[Arduinna]

I am in, I already have a copy that I've read some of but I don't have the education to really understand it. I think the reading schedule you posted is fine, I've found that if I don't keep up every day I end up not doing it at all because I forget and it isn't a habit.

I have this one translated by M.A.A. Abdel Haleem which is hopefully good. I had tried to find a commentary before but had no idea where to start in choosing one.


Tradd, mine is about 400 pages, including the index.

Umsami, can you recommend a good source either online or in print for commentary?

I'm willing to catch up if anyone else wants to, otherwise I will just take this weekend to get a jump start for next week

[umsami]

Originally Posted by Tradd

Kinda OT, but not too far off. Just a curious question - how many pages does the Koran run in either Arabic or an English translation?

By comparison, my Revised Standard Version Bible (no study notes) has 928 pages for the Old Testament, 284 for the New Testament, and another 277 for the Deutero-canonical books. It doesn't have dinky type, either.

The only versions I have include both Arabic and English on the page. Let's see... the one that's closest is 580 pages. The English takes up most of the page... and then the Arabic is in a smaller font, to the right (although not that small... definitely legible if you read Arabic.)

I'll have to see if I have any English only versions. I do have some Arabic-only ones, but to be honest, my Arabic is so bad, I wouldn't trust myself to read the page numbers. :P

[IndigoRayne]

I'll sign up. Monday is fine with me.

[MuslimMama]

sign me up!! I think it is important for everyone to use the tafseer (explanation) along with the reading of the Qu'ran because it gives an essential background needed to give an acurate understanding. Like um Sami posted, tafsir.com is a great one!

Cant wait!! :

[Arduinna]

I was wondering why I couldn't find it, thanks for posting it again the spelling was wrong and I kept getting sent to ebay

[umsami]

Sadly, there's not a lot of English commentary out there. I have a few Qur'ans that include commentary with it... but it's sort of a hit or miss.

Probably one of the best known ones that comes to mind is called "In the Shade of the Qur'an" by Sayyid Qutb. I don't know if it's just me... but the one I have only covers the last Juz (part) of the Qur'an... so it's nowhere near complete.

I'll keep looking to see what I can find.

I guess, for those who are interested, I'll tell you that surahs (chapters) are usually designated as either Meccan or Medinan. Basically, that refers to when they were revealed (in Mecca or Medina). It refers to the hijra... migration... when Prophet Muhammad and his followers moved from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE/AD.

The way the surahs are organized is not chronological... so you can go from a Meccan surah to a Medina one. They were all revealed and written down in the lifetime of the Prophet, though.

Let's see... Surah 1, Al-Fatihah, is a Meccan surah. It's often compared to the Lord's Prayer in Islam.... perhaps because it's repeated so often, perhaps because it sort of contains Islam in a nutshell. It's only seven verses long... and it is a required part of prayer. So if a Muslim is praying the five times per day, they're supposed to... they're actually repeating Al Fatihah at least 17 times.

Surah 2, Al-Bakarah (the Cow), is a Medinan surah. It's the longest surah in the Qur'an... so I always feel a sense of accomplishment when I read through it. OK, just found this on wiki to make my life easier...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Baqara It goes into a lot of details and such.

Here's another good introduction on the Surah http://www.islam.us/Quran_ArbEng/i002.htm

When we get to it, I'll try and remind you to make note of verse 255, also known as the Ayat-al-Kursi. It's another famous verse that many people memorize. You'll see people with plaques of it and such in their homes. A lot of people recite it before bed and such.

Hope this helps...

[Dar]

I'm in too!

My English-only version is 423 little pages (Abdullah Yusaf Ali version)and my bilingual one (Majid Fakhry) is 637 bigger pages... I try to read it in both languages, because I do find differences, or things that are clear in Arabic but not so clear in English, if that makes sense.

I was mostly reading back to front, because the shorter surat were much easier for me to wrap my head around... so it will be good to have a group!

dar

[Tradd]

Thanks for your answers to my question!

[athansor]

I'm in!

[Liquesce]

Originally Posted by umsami

Probably one of the best known ones that comes to mind is called "In the Shade of the Qur'an" by Sayyid Qutb. I don't know if it's just me... but the one I have only covers the last Juz (part) of the Qur'an... so it's nowhere near complete.

He actually did cover the whole Quran, but it is many, many volumes, and a little expensive to obtain the lot (like most commentaries, come to think of it). Just a kind of a side note, in case you were interested in it for personal reference ... not recommending it for the purposes of this thread. islamicbookstore.com sells them.

[MyLittleWonders]

I'm in! I will pick up a copy tomorrow at the bookstore - any good recommendations on translations? I don't do well reading too much on the computer; plus I like the feel of a book in my hands.

[ChasingPeace]

I'm in! I'll read online.

[Turkish Kate]

:

[Tuesday]

I'm subscribing to this thread. I'm non-Muslim but very interested in studying and educating myself about the Qur'an. I'm going to read online until I find myself a copy or two of the Qur'an.

The translations I'm interested in finding are an older one by A. J. Arberry and then a very recent version by Tarif Khalidi. Both translations have been favoured by Ziauddin Sardar, a British Muslim whose own work I enjoy reading.

"and whether or not you're interested in just doing 21 or so ayat per day next week or want to try and catch up for the past 11 days or so."

Either option is fine with me.

[MuslimMama]

oh i am so excited! tomorrow is the first day!!!:
I am going to read my stuff tonight so that i can post some notes online. Cant wait!!

[Phantasmagoria]

I'm intrigued. I've just begun digging into the Bible as well, so I may decide not to study them both at the same time, but I'm willing to try.

I would like some advice regarding version/commentaries, considering:

- I am totally ignorant regarding the Qur'an and Islam; my interest is to not remain ignorant on the Qur'an and Islam
- I enjoy beginning to look at a piece of writing in its barest essence with an eye to the historical/cultural context from which it originally emerged; I prefer a translation that isn't geared to a specific denomination or sect (if Islam has that sort of thing)
- I like translations which explain why they translated certain words a certain way, or, if the English doesn't cut it (English often isn't as expressive as other languages), expands upon the fuller meaning of a word or phrase in the original language
- I prefer commentaries that include multiple interpretations/perspectives
- I only read English

Any advice on where to start in terms of translation/commentaries considering this?

Phanta

[Arduinna]

I want to thank Umsami for starting this thread and wish you all well in this endevour. It's inspired me to make a commitment to increasing my own spiritual practice, so I will be bowing out. Good luck to you all though!