[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Platapus

I will try.

1. The Quran needs to be read in the context of what each Surah is addressing. A common mistake people make is pulling out an isolated passage, removing it from the Surah context and proclaiming that "since it is in the Quran, it must be followed." which is simply not true. The Quran must be read with respect to the context of each Surah. This is one of the reasons why passages in the Quran are often repeated in several different Surah but not repeated in others. This is to maintain the context.

The Quran also needs to be read in the original language. This is why I have three separate English translations of Quran at my desk at work and I need to consult all of them in order to take into account the differences in translations. Sometimes I wished I had four as there are times when none of the three agree when it comes to translation.

Simply put, if you are not reading the Quran in Arabic, you are not reading the Quran. Since the vast majority of Muslims do not read Arabic, there is the Hadith or the interpretations of the Quran.

2. It is very risky, even for Musims who read Arabic, to attempt to interpret the Quran without using the Hadith. The Hadith is the closest document to the Christian Bible and like bible consists of a recognized selection of testaments and interpretations of what is contained in the Quran.

Like the Bible, the Hadith has its Canon and its Apocrypha. There are Hadith that are not part of mainstream Islam. Some of these more obscure Hadith are used by the extremists to justify their motivations. Other Islamic scholars deny these obscure Hadith.

While there is a set of Hadith that is commonly accepted, not every subsect follows the exact same list of Hadith. Even if the same Hadith are recognized, they may be interpreted differently.

Where there is conflict in the wording or the context of either the Quran or the various Hadith, Islamic scholars use what is called ijtihad which is a scholarly set of interpretations from groups of respected Ulama or Islamic scholars. To a greater extent than with the Hadith, there is wide disagreement, even among Ulama on these scholarly interpretations.

And this is just the tip of the Islamic iceberg. The important points are

a. There is much more to Islam than the Quran
b. The Quran is not blindly and literally followed by any Muslim. So taking isolated quotes out of the Quran and claiming that all Muslims must follow these words (especially if they are in a non-Arabic language) is a sure sign that the person is not knowledgeable in Islam.
c. Not all Muslims believe the same things concerning Islam
d. Even respected Islamic Scholars have disagreements concerning Islam

I hope this helps. Islam and Islamic politics is a fascinating but complex study.

Meine Fresse.

Hopeless.