The Holy Quran – Chapters 1 & 2

I’ve started listening to the Quran. Quran means recitation and was originally transmitted orally until it was written down after the death of Muhammad, so it is apparently better to hear it than to read it. Muslims believe that the Quran was dictated to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel and was then memorized and recited to others. Of course, Muslims believe it can only be properly appreciated in Arabic, so listening to it in English is not really the same, but hopefully I can understand the general meaning.

The Quran is divided into 114 surahs (chapters) which vary wildly in length, from just 3 ayat (verses) to 286. They also don’t appear to be in any kind of order, except maybe longest to shortest(? – too soon to tell). Some of them were apparently received by Muhammad while he was in Mecca (610-622) and others after his migration to Medina (622-632) but they are not in chronological order.

The first surah (Al-Fatihah - The Opening) is pretty short – just 7 ayat (verses) and is basically just a prayer to Allah.

The second surah (Al-Baqarah – The Cow) is one of the longest in the Quran and contains quite a diverse range of topics.

There are many verses praising Allah and testifying how powerful, how great, how merciful and forgiving he is. And there are an equal (if not greater) number warning of the awful, terrible, fiery doom and eternal torment that awaits his disbelievers.

There is a little bit of a repeat of some of the Old Testament stories, such as:

• Adam naming all the animals
• Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden (which was Satan’s doing)
• Moses leading the escape from the Pharoah in Egypt
• Wandering in the desert for 40 days and 40 nights
• Worshipping a golden calf while Moses’s back was turned
• Moses striking a rock to create a spring (or in this case 12 springs) for his people to drink

There are also some new stories. The one for which this chapter is apparently named concerns Moses instructing his people to sacrifice a cow. They thought he was joking at first, but when he insisted he wasn’t, they were very concerned to make sure they got the details right, asking for specifics about the age and colour of the cow. They eventually got it right and sacrificed an acceptable yellow cow (“although they almost did not”).

This is where Allah explains that Muslims must pray towards the Kaaba in Mecca rather than Jerusalem as they did previously, saying that those who recognise the truth of the Quran will have no problem doing this.

Allah’s omniscient nature is frequently emphasised: “Allah is not unaware of what you do”. And he is particularly concerned with whether people believe. People who only believe part of the scripture are consigned to the same “most grievous doom” as the rest of us disbelievers.

There are of course a few good points. Paying the poor-due is mentioned quite a few times. Giving money to orphans is encouraged a couple of times. There is something about setting slaves free.

And there are some practical matters:

• It’s fine to have sex with your wives in the evenings during Ramadan
• Fight unbelievers wherever you find them, but you should let them start it. Fight them as they fight you, but if they stop persecuting you, you can stop fighting them
• Instructions are given on making a pilgrimage to Mecca
• Alcohol and gambling are discouraged, and Allah says you should only spend superfluous money on these things.
• Muslims can’t marry disbelievers: a Muslim slave is better than non believing free woman even if you love her
• Don’t have sex with women while they have their period, but other wise, feel free to have sex with them whenever you want (they are your tilth to cultivate)
• Divorced women have to wait three months to make sure they aren’t pregnant
• Women have similar rights to those of men in kindness, but men are a degree above them
• Mothers should breastfeed for 2 years, unless she doesn’t want to. They can use a wet-nurse as long as they pay her properly
• If you die, your wife must wait for 4 months and 10 days and then it’s no sin on you if she marries someone else
• There is no compulsion in religion (although if you disbelieve in Allah you will be cast into the fire)
• If you borrow money, have a scribe write down the terms of the contact and have it witnessed. The witnesses should be two men, but if two men aren’t available, you can use a man and two women, so that if one woman forgets the other might remember.