Quran Talk Blog

The Tashahhud ( تَشَهُّد ) is the testimony of faith which is to be recited during Salat while in the sitting position. It is derived from the shahadah ( ٱلشَّهَادَةُ ), which occurs in various forms throughout the Quran approximately thirty-plus times. [3:18] GOD bears witness that there is no god except He, and so do … Continue reading Tashahhud & Hadith

Shirk ( شرك ) in Islam ( Submission ) is the sin of idolatry. This is an unforgivable sin if maintained until death, as mentioned in the Quran (4:48, 4:18, 40:66). The term shirk ( شرك ) is typically understood as associating partners with God, but it is even more subtle than that. The Quran informs … Continue reading No Partners (Shirk)

Wikipedia has a list of English translations of the Quran. According to their list, they have the translation by Dr. Rashad Khalifa as the 23rd English translation of the Quran, except, as we will see, this is not an accurate depiction. Alexander Ross, 1649, The Alcoran of Mahomet: Translated out of Arabique into French by the … Continue reading 19th English Translation

If one consults traditional sources, e.g. Hadith, regarding the compilation of the Quran, the typical narrative is that: The Quran was revealed in seven modes (ahruf) and various styles of recitation (qira'at) Muhammad was illiterate and therefore had others write the Quran for him The Quran was not compiled in its final form until after … Continue reading Three Big Lies Regarding the Compilation of Quran

Dr. Rashad Khalifa provided the following translation for verse 40 of Sura 22, Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj / الحج ) of the Quran. [22:40] They were evicted from their homes unjustly, for no reason other than saying, "Our Lord is GOD." If it were not for GOD's supporting of some people against others, monasteries, churches, synagogues, and masjids—where … Continue reading 22:40 Monasteris, Churches, Synagogues

In the following verses of the Quran, we are informed that during Muhammad's life that the believers were commanded to change their direction of prayer, Qiblah ( قِبْلَة ). In 2:142, it states that the fools will say, "why did they turn from their direction of prayer, Qiblah, that they used to have." This informs … Continue reading Change in Qibla

One of the challenges upholders of Hadith fall into is if they categorize the Hadith besides the Quran as divine revelation or not. If they claim it is not divine revelation, then there is no obligation to uphold any Hadith besides the Quran. If they believe it is divine revelation, then this creates many potential … Continue reading The Problem with Calling Hadith Revelations

In Classical Arabic poetry, there is a poem from Hassan ibn Thabit that states: حَصَانٌ رَزَانٌ مَا تُزَنُّ بِرِيبَةٍ وَتُصْبِحُ غَرْثَى مِنْ لُحُومِ الْغَوَافِلِ Here is the word by word translation of this expression. ArabicTranslationحَصَانٌA chaste [woman],رَزَانٌrespectfulمَاnotتُزَنُّshe conceives a suspicionبِرِيبَةٍin doubt / suspicion / evil thoughtوَتُصْبِحُand [she] becomesغَرْثَى[she] hungersمِنْforلُحُومِ(the) fleshالْغَوَافِلِthe unaware [women] Put another way: … Continue reading Backbiting Idiom

There was a time when the followers of the Quran were leading the world in science, technology, philosophy, and education. This period is referred to as the Islamic Golden Age, and took place in Baghdad which was the world's largest city at the time. This period began during the reign of the Abbasid Khalifa Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809 CE) with … Continue reading How Hadith and Sunnism Destroyed Islam and Rationality

The Quran often cites scientific facts embedded in its verses. For instance, the Quran describes the orbit of planets when it makes the statement, "each floating in its own orbit" ( كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَ ). https://media.giphy.com/media/D3sbTsuhZzN0A/giphy.gif [36:40] The sun is never to catch up with the moon—the night and the day never deviate—each of them … Continue reading Tidal Locking