How to Learn to Read the Qur'an
This article deals with learning to interpret the Qu’ran, not how to learn to read it in Arabic. The Qu’ran is a complicated book because it was written in the mid 600s, and for the modern reader, it may be hard to comprehend. Often for readers, it takes time and willingness to be persistent in order to understand its message. There is a lot of controversy surrounding the Qu’ran and its teachings.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Challenging
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Copy of the Qu’ran (Koran) from Saudi Arabia
- Scholarly books on the Qu’ran
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Leaning About the Qu'ran
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Understand that Muslims believe that God is One, and Muslims refer to God as Allah. He is the creator of everything earthly and heavenly. Unlike Christianity, He is not a triune god as in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Allah is the only God. Muslims view Christ as one in the line of prophets from God. Muslims believe that Muhammad is the last prophet of Allah who presented the last prophecy of Allah and gave Allah’s final word on anything religious.
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Find a good copy of the Qu’ran and read it. If you can, obtain a copy of a Qu’ran from Saudi Arabia. These are most like the best translations you can get. If there is a local mosque in your town, the Imam there should be able to help you obtain a copy. The Qu’ran is organized into sections called surahs. In modern versions of the Qu’ran, the surahs are numbered like Bible verses. However, the surahs are not organized in a chronological order or listed in order of importance.
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Attend classess at a mosque to learn how to interpret the Qu’ran. Islam is growing in popularity, so a lot of mid-sized cities have mosques. If you are a woman, you will take a class separate from male members of the mosque.
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Go to meetup.com, if you can’t find a mosque in your town. Search words such as Qu’ran, Koran, Muslim, Moslem, or Islam and enter your zip code. These groups will be amateur groups and may not have members that have truly been educated in the study of the Qu’ran, but they will be interested in learning about the holy book. They will probably have been exposed to literature about the Qu’ran and can help you in your journey in learning more about Islam.
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Learn from diverse sources. You must also learn about the Qu'ran from other perspectives. Not all people think it is a positive book. You can find out about the Qu'ran from Christian churches, university courses, humanist groups, and sites on the internet. (See resources links.)
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Tips & Warnings
Try to get your copy of the Qu'ran from Saudi Arabia. It should be a more accurate translation because the translator will be a native Arabic speaker and will know Arabic thoroughly.
