Quran Read-Along: The Opening Verses of Al-Nesaa’

I’m very intrigued by the opening line to this sura, which says that mankind was created out of one living entity. The reason is that the latter part of the sentence makes sense: out of two (a man and woman or Adam and Eve), mankind came. Makes sense. However, the earlier part of the sentence [...]

Quran Read-A-Long: Al’-Imran 156-180 is the Return of Our Exploration of the Quran Together

156.  People are told not to presume that bad things would not have happened had others believed as they did, because believing as, say, a Muslim would doesn’t preclude bad things from happening, this verse explains. God decides what bad things happen and we must rest assured that whatever is happening is by God’s will [...]

Quran Read-A-Long: Al’-Imran 149-155 Criticizes the Archers at the Battle of Uhud

149-150 These verses continue the notion that I began with last week and that Kay reinforced: that these supreme themes run through the Quran and add strength and consistency to each of the  particular topics at hand. No God But God – Seriously, People Equating anything with God or claiming that anything, whether object, person, [...]

Quran Read-A-Long: Al’-Imran 144-148 Provides a Reflection on Quranic Themes

Asad does a great job explaining verse 144, both its more immediate relevance and its longstanding value. Though I understood the implication of the latter, the former is what occurred to me. That is to say that I understood this as being a reference to the near death experience of Mohammed at the Battle of [...]

Talking About Jesus Is a Great Way to Get Left Alone

Get a FREE Bonus Chapter from The Zen of South Park. Enjoy some hilarious Motivational Posters.

Quran Read-A-Long: Al’-Imran 130-143 Affected My Life Today

Monotheistic Usury Banning Usury is forbidden in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Now, many would say that usury is allowed in Judaism, but what the Torah says is that an Israelite can’t lend with usury to another Israelite. At the time of the writing of the Bible, this law certainly makes sense as well as why [...]

Quran Read-A-Long: Al’-Imran 121-129 Recall the Battle of Uhud

As Asad tells us, these verses can hardly be understood without an understanding of the Battle of Uhud, and so Asad provides us with a rousing description of this marked battle between the Muslim forces of Medina and the Quryash forces from Mecca. Significantly, Asad notes that many of the verses of this surah come [...]

Quran Read-A-Long: Al-’Imran 110-120 Warns About Relationships with Jews and Christians

The opening few verses here seem to indicate that we’ve returned to a familiar subject – the Jews and Christians (and in some cases more specifically the Jews) – and though it feels somewhat repetitive to me at this point, I have to remember that we are in a surah called Al-’Imran, which is the [...]

Quran Read-A-Long: Al-’Imran 102-109 Address Muslim Faith, Past, and Reward

How is it that verse 102 is being directed at those “who have attained to faith” but is warning them not to die until “you have surrendered yourselves unto Him?” That is, what’s the difference between one who’s attained faith and one who’s surrendered himself to God? I would have imagined those to be the [...]

Glide, Phish and the Pursuit of Happyness

My most recent Nashville Free Press article is all about the fascinating church in San Francisco called Glide, which is, interestingly, the name of a Phish song that comes eerily close to my thoughts on this church.