Qur’an

NYTimes: Quran fragments perhaps as old as Islam

On Wednesday, researchers at the University of Birmingham revealed the startling finding that the fragments appeared to be part of what could be the world’s oldest copy of the Quran, and researchers say it may have been transcribed by a contemporary of the Prophet Muhammad. “We were bowled over, startled…

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Lindsay Lohan’s [partial] conversion to Islam?

“Lindsay Lohan was seen carrying a leather-bound copy of the Koran on her first day of community service – prompting speculation that she’d converted to Islam. However, this might not be the case. Despite reading the Muslim text, she is apparently not “fully converting” to Islam.” Does this mean she’s…

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Reclaiming the Radical Feminism of the Quran

“As a feminist, how could you willingly subject yourself to such a misogynistic religion?” It’s disheartening to think how many times I’ve been asked this question since I converted to Islam. However, given my own misgivings towards the status of women in Islam before I became one myself, I’m not…

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Sacred readings

Over the last fifteen years I have collected dozens of books on Islam: Tariq Ramadan, Al-Ghazali, Ingrid Mattson and Martin Lings, along with many other authors, share the bookshelf. My passion for collecting Islamic literature quickly outpaced my ability to read the books I bought and many still languish on the shelf with unopened bindings. Every Ramadan I make an effort to make my way through two or three books in hopes of slowly shrinking the “To Read” section which far outnumbers the “Read” section.

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Teaching Kids The Holy Quran – Surah 18: The Cave

In the first book of the Read with Meaning series, Mezba Mahtab employs his celebrated technique of using Legos to tell stories from the Qur’an. This book conveys the story of Chapter 18, entitled “The Cave” (known as Surah Al-Kahf). Mahtab’s creative spin on Qur’anic storytelling is bound to spark the imaginations of Muslim children and adults alike, and is very effective in driving home the lessons of this Surah.

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Part 2: What a difference a kasrah makes

<< From the AltMuslimah Archives >> Now, whenever I come across something within early scholarship on the Qur’ān that calls for liberating women, I usually brace myself for someone who will come along and try to undo it. I naturally assumed, after reading al-Farrā’, that Ṭabarī was going to sell us out. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t! He affirms his predecessor’s reading: “This reading, with the kasrah on the qāf, is the one I consider to be most correct, for, if it is from waqār as we have chosen (‘alā mā akhtarnā), then there is no doubt that the reading must have a kasrah on the qāf.”

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