A Muslim once gave a non-Muslim a copy of the Quran to read. With great enthusiasm and deference, the non-Muslim took the Quran, and read it from beginning to end. When the two next met, the non-Muslim returned the copy of the Quran with these words: "Now give me the other Quran to read." The Muslim thought that his friend wanted a different translation of the Quran, so he found one and handed it to him. The non-Muslim examined it for a few minutes, then said: "But this is the same Quran. What I meant was-give me the Quran that you people practice in your daily lives."Though this may seem like just an amusing tale, the fact of the matter is that the non-Muslim had hit the nail right on the head. The Muslims do have two Qurans, one which was revealed by God fourteen hundred years ago, and another which they themselves have written. The first is the real Quran. The second is not known as "The Quran" as such. It goes by the name of "Quranic commentary" and "Quranic interpretation". The commentary and interpretation of the Quran that the Muslims have made amounts to a parallel text. It is this second "Quran" which provides the foundation for their practices in the modern age. [Highlight1] The Quran teaches that Islam means submission, but the Muslims have-in their own commentaries-turned their religion into a source of pride. The Quran tells us that salvation depends upon a person's actions, but, from the interpretations Muslims have made of the Quran, one would think that it is enough to be a purely nominal Muslim in order to earn salvation. The Islam contained in the Quran teaches one to become conscious of one's own faults, and seek to correct them; but from what Muslims have made of the Quran one would think that Islam teaches one to pick on the faults of others, and ignore one's own. The Islam of the Quran is a universal religion, which belongs to everyone: but the Islam which Muslims have fashioned for themselves is that of a nationalistic heritage which belongs to them and to no one else.
Related Articles
Article
There is a common misconception that a man can say Talaq, Talaq, Talaq to his wife in a row and it will lead to Talaq. This is totally an unIslamic practice.While marriage is the rule of life, and divorce only an…
Article
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Islam Today | 11 Jan. 2005
There is a common misconception that Islam is a religion of Violence. There is no basis for this in Islam. Islam is a religion of peace.
The very first verse of the…
Article
Contrary to the common perception, monogamy is the rule in Islam and polygamy only an exception.In terms of the birth rate, men and women are almost equal in number. But subsequently, for a variety of reasons, the…
Article
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Islam Today | 10 March 2005
There is a common belief that Islam permits its adherents to over-throw corrupt Islamic governments. Such an act however, is totally UnIslamic.
This can be seen…
Article
Contrary to common belief, all non-Muslims are not Kafirs. Kafir literally means a 'denier'. This term was only used for certain contemporaries of the Prophet.The word kafir has never been used in the Quran to mean…
Article
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan | Islam Today | 7 May 2005
Contrary to common belief, Islam does not teach confrontation. In fact, Islam teaches the principle of avoidance at all times.
If you happen to be in an open field…