Arnold's Letter To A Sister About QXP

What is the Deen, System of Life, according to the Quran, and how and why is Islam a challenge to Religion?
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Dr. Shabbir
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Arnold's Letter To A Sister About QXP

Post by Dr. Shabbir »

Salaam dear Sis,

Very nice to see your post on the translation! There is so much to do, but we will get there, Edip and I finished the Critical Thinkers book and we are now tackling with the publisher over the format of the cover image, in the end, it always comes down to images.... :)

I can also suggest the QXP Quran translation, it is a linguistic non-Hadith translation and explanation/tafsir of the Qur'an.

It is done by American-Pakistani scholar Shabbir Ahmed (lives in Florida) who is one of my teachers. He has studied Islam and Arabic in Mekka and Medina for years and is an accomplished scholar.

His translation is non-dogmatic (which Edip's translations still is on some points as Salat, Hajj etc), and approaches the Qur'an from a universal humane point of view.

I have been assisting him on this translation for almost 3 years now and for me, it is the best translation out there because it approaches the Qur'an not as a religious book, but a divine guidebook for mankind that doesn't promote a religion, but suggestions to Mankind for further development of the species. In a sense, Cosmic Guidance.

As such, it is must be neutral about gender, religion etc. and thus also cannot focus on ritualism and it must be in conform with nature and not contain mythological ideas.

The Qur'anic Arabic is very neutral and flexible, and many dogmatic ritualistic ideas have been forced on the language due to Aramaic and Persian influences.

When taking away these dogmatic ideas, the Qur'an is even more universal then thought before. For example, Hajj means to debate/to cure issues/go on a noble quest, in 3:97 the whole of Mankind is invited to do Hajj.

Thus it is a global debate very much similar to the United Nations and world summits. Only here it also invites all people, not only the rulers or elite.

We can give hundreds of examples where the Qur'an discusses very pragmatic solutions and ideas, but which are neglected due to dogmatic translations of the words involved.

One more example is the word Ithm, which is always translated as 'sin', but in Classic Arabic it means 'enervation', something that deprives energy from the group.

Thus a Athmatun is a camel that is sick and holds back the caravan while journeying. A mua'thmun is something that goes slow and deprives energy (see Lane Lexicon Vol 1 page 22).

So instead of us committing 'sins' while committing crimes, the Qur'an says we are holding back humanity's journey forward. It thus reminds you on your social obligations (the word Din also means obligation).

When I first discovered this and started to research the dictionaries, I was amazed on the new potentials this has for understanding the Qur'an.

I would appreciate it if you would take a look at the marvelous job Dr. Shabbir has done, it is a masterpiece and he constantly updates it:

QXPiv (THE QUR'AN AS IT EXPLAINS ITSELF (Fourth Edition)
By Shabbir Ahmed, M.D.
http://ourbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/admin2/2007/08/qxp-iv.pdf

He has written many books against nonsense Hadith, he even attacks the Hadith writers, calling them the criminals of Islam. He is a staunch defender of human rights and freedoms.

You can find his other books here:
http://www.ourbeacon.com/?page_id=11605

He has written a book that is also a critique on Islam today, but he also discusses the Islam of the Qur'an, it is a short powerful book which is very popular among young people because of its humor:

ISLAM AS I UNDERSTAND (English and Urdu)
http://ourbeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/admin2/2007/08/iaiu.pdf

All of his books are available for free online and he also writes a blog which attacks dogmatic Islam.

I have cc'ed if you like to contact him personally.

Sincerely,

Arnold
Wassalam,
SA
Damon

Arnold's Letter To A Sister About QXP

Post by Damon »

Salaam 'Alaikum Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I have to agree with Brother Arnold that the QXP is the best English rendition of The Quran and is the one that I personally recommend to people who say they are interested in learning what the Quran says.

Salaam 'Alaikum,
Damon.
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