These last weeks i have alot contact with muslims, and iam also reading much books on the Islam by Christian writters, which are very helpfull.

Has anyone ever read the Koran, so that you might get a better understanding of the Islam religion ?

Do you think it is a problem to have a koran in your libery for reseach on the islam religion, or would you not allowed to have this book in your house because it's a false religion ?

Any thoughts ?

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* Ralph Wilms (7-10-1974)
* Church : Christengemeente Roermond (The Netherlands)
* 1729 Goat Yard Declaration of Faith & 1646 Baptist Confession of faith

"To our mind, either everything or nothing must be held in subjection to the will and providence of God. Even the wickedness of ungodly men is restricted by predestination, so that the wrath of man shall praise God, and the remainder of wrath He will restrain." - GILBERT BEEBE (1800-1881)

I have read it 7 times, as well as some of the works of Al-Ghazali.

Read it chronologically (the Koran is not chronological...google this and you can find lists of the verses by chronological order) and you can see the progression of Mhd's thought from a minority religion focused on re-ordering one's behaviors to a majority religion bent on domination.

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Pergamum


"If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice?"
-- David Livingstone

I don't have one, but if it became a topic of study I don't see any problem with it.

For years I had a Book of Mormon and a New World Translation (Jehovah's Witness Bible) for the same reasons you mentioned. I only got rid of them because I ran out of room and something had to go, so I dumped them along with a few other less worthy books.

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Steve Butts - Former SBC-er
Three Forms of Unity - Bradenton CRCNA - Bradenton, Florida
(A conservative member in a conservative congregation)

"Turning away to false Theology is equal to turning away to false gods" — Francis Schaeffer (Death in the City)

We've got one- It's in the fiction section of our library.

Theognome

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Bill Cunningham
Covenant Reformed Church, URC
Kansas City
There are three kinds of people- those who can count, and those who can't.

I have one and some of the hadith from the Suni and Shia.

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We shall not adjust our Bible to the age; but before we have done with it, by God's grace, we shall adjust the age to the Bible. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Lawrence Underwood, Jr.
Pastor - Providence Family Fellowship / Mobile, Alabama
1644/46 LBC
My Blog - Imprimis

I have a Quran, and I've read only parts of it. I try not to read very much of it and not very often......but only enough to get a better understanding. I did mission work before in a highly Muslim community....so it was useful for me to learn a bit of the Quran. But, honestly, you don't have to read it to be able to defend the faith.

I have a friend who was raised Muslim and became a reformed Christian, and he highly recommends this book, if you are interested:

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Yvonne
Reformed Presbyterian
Currently seeking a Church

"A man's most glorious actions will at last be found to be but glorious sins, if he hath made himself, and not the glory of God, the end of those actions." -T. Brooks

I possess a very nice copy of the Qur'an. I have read small portions of it for research and apologetic purposes. The copy I have is in the apologetics section along with my Catholic Catechism, New World Translation Bible, Mormon Bible and a copy of "Generous Orthodoxy" by McLaren (!). It is for information purposes only.

Paul speaks of "casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5

Personally I think it would be difficult to cast down an argument if you don't know what your opponent is saying. And if keeping a copy of the Qur'an in my library is wrong then I probably shouldn't have any Nietzche, Plato or Aristotle either.

One example of how this might work: I quoted from the Qur'an in a sermon on the Trinity to prove that Muslims explicitly deny the Trinity to expose the lie that Christianity and Islam are compatible.

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Rev. Daniel Kok
Pastor of Grace Reformed Church (URCNA)
Leduc, Alberta CANADA

"What sort of pledge and how great is this of love towards us! Christ lives for us not for himself!"
John Calvin, Commentary on the Hebrews (7:25)

Of course it's OK to have one. I have an Arabic/English one to help me remember what little Arabic I once learned. It is important to have a source to go to when confronting error.

It's right on the "Those Other Books for Research" shelf, next to the Schofield annotated Bible and Russell's "Why I am Not a Christian."

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Raymond Victor Bottomly
Providence Reformed Baptist Church, Tacoma, WA

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Yes, I have a couple of copies as well.... I've presented some lectures on Islam and that's pretty hard to do without actually reading and interacting with the Qur'an.

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Wes Bredenhof
Pastor, Providence Canadian Reformed Church
Hamilton, Ontario
www.bredenhof.ca
Gospel Talk Radio Program

Better yet, create a "heresy shelf" (you can call it a "various religions shelf" when you feel the need to be PC)

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JC - PCA - PA...homesick for SC
A we n' de Ya, ho; I mak sikker; Deus juvat

Indicabo tibi o homo quid sit bonum, et quid Dominus requirat a te: Utique facere iudicium, et diligere, misericordiam, et sollicitum ambulare cum Deo tuo. Michaeas 6:8

"Who says you can't go back, been all around the world and as a matter of fact. There's only one place left I want to go, who says you can't go home" Bon Jovi

Thanks alot for your comments!

I just orderd free of charge books from some muslims organisations whom are sending these books for free:

http://www.muslim.org/books/free/form.php
Islamic Message
Welcome to World Islamic Network
Free Islamic Books mailed...

I used to have one. I would like to get another one soon. Although I never got around to peering into it much, I am positive it has more literary value than the book of Mormon (on the unassailable grounds that nothing could have less).

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Ruben
Moderator
F.P.C.I.
Indiana

Vanities and disguises have covered us, and thereby we are naked; licenciousness hath inflam'd us, and thereby we are frozen; voluptuousness hath fed us, and thereby we are sterved, the fancies and traditions of men have taught and instructed us, and thereby we are ignorant.
John Donne

Board Rules - Signature Requirements - Suggestions?

Calvinistas Conversando
Teología en Mexico
The Howling Wilderness

I have a bunch of them. You can get them free all over the net...google free qu'ran.

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Conscience may lash us, but it cannot replenish a languishing life. Conscience may be God's word and minister to you, telling you of your faults and your follies and your destitution. It may point out, but it will never supply you. Christ must give you new life. Hart has well expressed it: "He to the feeble and the faint, His mighty aid makes known; and when their languid life is spent, supplies it with His own." - J. K. Popham

I think its wonderful to be able to be familiar with the Koran. I have read parts of it, and its an absolutely fascinating book. Its really helped me understand some of what is going on in the world. I think its clear that Paul was very knowledgable about Greek and Roman thought and that he was able to use his knowledge and understanding to effectively preach Christ to the pagans.

Also, R.C. Sproul has co-written a really excellent book on Islam. It helped me to understand the religion and its followers much better.

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Kathleen M
nondenominational
Montana

Yes, I have one. Recently used it in a paper I was writing.

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Donnie MacLeod
Crossroads Presbyterian Fellowship (PCA), Maplewood, MO
MDiv Student Covenant Theological Seminary

You filled my heart with greater joy
than others may have found
As they rejoiced at harvest time,
when grain and wine abound.Ps 4:7, Sing Psalms 2003

I read it through in preparation for teaching our church about Islam. The Quran is an accumulation of one man's mind and, unlike the Word of God is almost entirely detached from historical context and the outworking of the Creator's plan for mankind through the ages. It is tedious reading but necessary if one plans to expose its dark roots.

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Bob, elder, RBC Louisville. 1689 LBCF

"... Of such also, or of those who make a credible profession of being such, all those particular churches consist, which constitute our Lord's visible kingdom. ... Consequently, all the subjects of His government must have spiritual dispositions, , and yield spiritual obedience- obedience proceeding from an enlightened understanding, an awakened conscience, and a renewed heart."- Abraham Booth 1788

I own a couple of second-hand editions... an old Penguin Classics paperback (N.J. Dawood translation, 1956) and an old Everyman's Library hardcover (Rev. J.M. Rodwell translation, 1861). The first I bought during a particularly dark period spiritually when I was still in the Roman Catholic Church; the second, as a reference text for an Islamic Philosophy course I took last semester.

Overall, I have found the Qur'an to be a very powerful piece of literature, containing quite a lot of truth. It is persuasive, effective. I can understand how one could be led to sincerely feel that it is a divinely inspired book. There aren't many like it.

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Nathan Tyler
Reformed Baptist
University of Toronto (Student: Hons. B.A. in Philosophy)
Ontario, Canada

1689'er

http://nathantyler.wordpress.com

I have one; I got it during my searching days, from a Muslim apologist type. I have read through the whole thing, and found it somewhat profitable for understanding what I actually believe about certain subjects.

I used this listing in order to read through the Qur'an in a chronological manner. This was much easier than reading straight through from front to back, and also interesting in that you are able to see the way in which certain ideas changed over time.

96 68 73 74 1 111 81 87 92 89 93 94 103 100
108 102 107 109 105 113 114 112 53 80 97 91 85 95
106 101 75 104 77 50 90 86 54 38 7 72 36 25
35 19 20 56 26 27 28 17 10 11 12 15 6 37
31 34 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 51 88 18 16
71 14 21 23 32 52 67 69 70 78 79 82 84 30
29 83 2 68 3 33 60 4 99 57 47 13 55 76
65 98 59 24 22 63 58 49 66 64 61 62 48 5
8-9 110

Dr. White has an entry explaining the way in which the text was structured.

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Matt
Reformed Baptist
Christ Community Church

I have one at my public library.

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Ivan R. Schoen, B.A., M.A., M.L.I.S.
Pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church (SBC)
Poplar Grove, IL, USA
http://maranatha-sbc.org

That's awesome.

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Ben Maas. . . . .Facebook
In college, attending First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), Ada, OH, and
Belle Center Reformed Presbyterian Church (RPCNA), Belle Center, OH
When at home, attending Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC), Mansfield, OH

“Prayer is as natural an expression of faith as breathing is of life.”
-Jonathan Edwards-

The good thing about the free Korans is that the do not come with two attached missionaries.

I have two but I find them mostly only useful for referencing although I have read them before.

What we read from the text when we just pick it up and start reading can be very different from what the Muslims see. It is better then to read a commentary or hear a sermon about the given passage or idea, otherwise you go to them and say "The Quran says this" and they say "No." Better to say "The Quran says this and xyz interpreted it this way" etc...

Its a bit like all the trash people manage to drag out of the Bible when people set about reading it just to defunct Christianity.

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Fraser,
Trinity Reformed Baptist Church
Hamilton, New Zealand.

That is one reason you really need to read the hadith. There's a bunch of it/them though.

Fiction section. Good idea.

I have mine next to Ken Taylor's Living Bible, and the Apocrypha.

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Sterling Harmon
Presbyterian Church of Coventry (PCA)
Coventry, CT
Deacon
________________

"Whatever is laudable in our works proceeds from the grace of God."
-- John Calvin, Institutes III:xv.3.

"Our Lord God must be a good man, to be fond of worthless fellows. I cannot like them, and yet I, myself, am one."
-- Martin Luther, Table Talk
Interim Pulpit Supply of New England

My Facebook

Owner/Administrator @ Reformed Theology Institute

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Kevin - PCA - Mississippi

"What, for some, is sin, others do to the glory of God. And the good Dr. Pentecost's remarks notwithstanding, I intend to go home tonight and smoke a cigar to the glory of God. It is a kind of incense drifting to Heaven." - Charles Spurgeon

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" - 2 Corinthians 9:15

I have one and have read it in its entirety once.

Lawrence, do you know where I could purchase a copy of the hadith?

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Justin Williams
Grace Reformed Baptist Church (Mebane, NC)
Burlington, NC

I received a very nice copy with parallel Arabic/English while I was in college. I have read it and I have written about it's Christology here:

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Rev. Daniel R. Hyde
Pastor, Oceanside United Reformed Church, Carlsbad/Oceanside, California
Th.M. candidate, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

Be careful. Our supreme leader kept calling it the "Holy" Koran today in his speech.

How important is it to know/cite the original? I have heard so many things about the way Muslims often look down on all translational efforts.

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Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

There are too many to gather all in one book:


http://http://www.uga.edu/islam/hadith.html

http://http://www.islamonline.net/io...nfo/hadith.asp

Our family has a copy of Koran (in English/Arabic). It was brought by my dad from Saudi Arabia where he worked for several years.

-----Added 6/5/2009 at 02:23:49 EST-----

I don't see anything wrong with having a Koran in your home as long as you use it for research purposes only. I have books and tracts defending beliefs and practices of false religions or sects (e.g., extreme Pentecostalism, Roman Catholicism, etc.).

We Christians also need to know what members of such groups believe. Experience shows that they respect Christians who do not misrepresent their false religions' beliefs and practices. Knowing what they believe is extremely helpful in presenting a case for Christianity (cf. 1 Peter 3:15).

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Albert, The Republic of the Philippines
Pasig United Covenant Reformed Church (a Reformed church plant)
United Covenant Reformed Churches in the Philippines (UCRCP)
Three Forms of Unity and Westminster Confession of Faith

Psalm 27:1a (AV) The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
“Perseverance is the badge of true saints. The Christian life is not a beginning only in the ways of God, but also a continuance in the same as long as life lasts.” -

From the Muslim perspective, very important. A few Muslims have told me that I have not read the Qur'an until I have read the Qur'an in Arabic. Most Muslims seem to be of the view that it cannot be 'translated' (as any other book can be), the Arabic language and its stunning use here being such an important component of the experience of reading the Qur'an.

In a way, though, that's just a 'realist' view of translation, which any Classics professor might have regarding the Greek and Latin classics -- the best English translations of Homer and Seneca that the Greekless and Latinless student has are really just creative interpretations of the texts. You haven't really experienced Homer unless, etc...

Thanks for the help Pergy. I couldn't open those links, however.
Here is a pretty extensive website that I use:The Hadith Database

Thanks Lawrence and Pergamum

I have two "interpretations" of the Koran. As Reformed Thomist pointed out, above, Muslims only consider the Arabic version the Koran (e.g. only Arabic verses are memorized, even by Muslims who do not understand Arabic). I remember wondering last year, when a Muslim organization did a mass distribution of Korans on Houston doorsteps, how they rationalized disrespecting the book they are not allowed to place on the ground; that's when I learned their reverence only extends to the Arabic text.

If you want to understand what the majority of Muslims believe, i.e. Sunnis which compromise ~93% of Muslims, you need to track down the interpretation used by English Practitioners. I did, and it wasn't simple; in fact, it almost seemed like there was a conspiracy on the part of Western media to keep this version from inadvertently falling into the hands of idle curiosity seekers for whom it could compromise their understanding of "the religion of peace."

It turns out Interpretation of the Meanings of The Noble Qur'an in the English Language. Translated by Dr. Muhammad Taqui-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan is the most widely distributed English version. This is the version Sunni mosques promote for English-speaking Muslims and the version English-speaking pilgrims receive when they make the Hajj to Mecca. It's also the version I could not find in any mainstream bookstore. They all stock the Penguin Classic, and/or other similar versions which I found are very different in that they dilute the raw anti-Christian and anti-Jewish sentiment. I finally went to a Muslim bookstore, where they were well-stocked with three different editions of the Hilali-Khan interpretation.

Muslim apologists often say the Hilali-Kahn interpretation is "radical" and not indicative of what mainstream Muslims believe. It remains, nevertheless, the most common version of English believers and its distribution is subsidized by the Saudi government. It contains many detailed footnotes, similar to a study Bible.

I haven't read through the entire Koran, but I've read significant passages, both in the direct Hilali-Kahn and in the comparatively boring and innocuous Penguin Classic version. The Hilali-Khan starts right off in the first Sura stating that the Jew has earned Allah's anger. It also contains appendices attacking Jesus' divinity and calling Muslims to Jihad

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SW
Church of the Highlands, San Francisco, CA

Here is a website which has a downloadable pdf format of the version which you reference, Interpretation of the Meanings of The Noble Qur'an in the English Language

Translation of the Meanings of The Noble Quran in the English Language - English

It may take a while to download, but it is worth it.

I have got one but do not keep it with the rest of my books

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Martin - Reformed
Husband to the most godly, honorable and loyal wife Line
Searching for a Church
Webpage www.5solas.dk
Free Online Reformed Seminary - http://www.tnars.net
Soli Deo Gloria

I have a nice one that was given to me by some Muslims that I was dialoging with. They gave it to me so I could have some knowledge of the Koran. It's good to have one in this day and age.

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Timothy Johnson
First United Presbyterian of Moline
PCUSA (Yea, I know)
Theology/Philosophy Sunday School Teacher
Davenport, IA

I have read the Koran in the translation by N.J. Dawood. It has pictures of some nice-looking mosques. It's good to think that they will be (Reformed) churches some day.

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Richard
communicant member, FCoS
Perth, Scotland UK

His Name forever shall endure;
last like the sun it shall:
Men shall be blessed in Him,
and blessed all nations shall Him call (Ps. 72:17)

Yeah, I liked statement too.