By Kamran Cheikh on
5/29/2009 4:09 PM
The concept of divine revelation has been an uncertain concept to mankind since the beginnings of civilization. Throughout history, different belief systems that hold a belief in some sort of a Supreme being have depicted their view of the concept of divine revelation, which ranged from being viewed by some cultures as an ability that could attained by any individual or as an ability believed to not be possible. From a historical perspective, the concept of divine revelation goes back quite far in human history. Although, all societies had some sort of religous system, universal philosophy or traditional worldview, the idea of divine revelation to particular individuals within their own traditional cultures did not exist in every society.
In fact, the idea of divine revelation to particular individuals only emerged in certain societies that developed a strong written language or oral tradition throughout the Middle East, Africa and South Asia and for centuries the...
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By General on
5/29/2009 3:18 AM
27 May 2009 by Andrew Robinson
WRITING is one of the greatest inventions in human history. Perhaps the greatest, since it made history possible. Without writing, there could be no accumulation of knowledge, no historical record, no science - and of course no books, newspapers or internet.
The first true writing we know of is Sumerian cuneiform - consisting mainly of wedge-shaped impressions on clay tablets - which was used more than 5000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Soon afterwards writing appeared in Egypt, and much later in Europe, China and Central America. Civilisations have invented hundreds of different writing systems. Some, such as the one you are reading now, have remained in use, but most have fallen into disuse.
These dead scripts tantalise us. We can see that they are writing, but what do they say?
That is the great challenge...
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By AY Mol on
22-5-2009 10:53
As it is out of print, and old copies are only available at university libraries, when I got the chance to buy one, I didn't need to think twice. As it is an important study, it is now scanned in and for the first time available online. Prof. JMS Baljon, from Leiden university, has written several important studies on modern Muslim thought, including one on Syed Ahmed Khan and on Shah Wali Allah, both which I also got my hands on and will be scanned in shortly.
"Modern Muslim Koran Interpretation" it is a great summary of 20th century Muslim advancement in understanding the Qur'an and one of the most important Western studies on modern Muslim Qur'an interpretation covering from 1880 till 1960. This book is one of the most quoted by scholars of the Qur'an in the West, Muslim and non-Muslim, as is Izutsu's "God and Man in the Koran".
Due to the large size of the scanned book, it has been split up in 6 parts:
Modern Muslim Koran Interpretation v1a (PDF) ...
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By AY Mol on
21-5-2009 16:35
An introduction and similarity between the Human Rights displayed in the Qur'an and that given by the United Nations. It is an ongoing work in progress.
Some examples:
1. Equal human dignity by birth:
ولقد كرمنا بنى ءادم
17:70 Surely, We have conferred dignity on the descendants of the human species (as a birth right, regardless of where the child is born).
قد خلقنا الانسن فى احسن تقويم
95:4 Indeed, We have created the human being (all of them) in the best design.
2 b. The only superiority over another is righteous conduct, not race, gender, nationality or creed:
يايها الناس انا خلقنكم من ذكر وانثى وجعلنكم شعوبا وقبائل لتعارفوا ان اكرمكم عند الله اتقىكم ان الله عليم خبير
49:13 O Mankind! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes so that you might (affectionately) come to know one another. Surely, the most honored among you, in the sight of God, is the one who is best in conduct. God is Knower, Aware.
ولكل درجت مما عملوا وليوفيهم اعملهم وهم لا يظلمون...
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By Kamran Cheikh on
5/20/2009 8:52 AM
Throughout history mankind has gone through countless number of wars, conflicts, political disputes and genocides. The revelation of the Qur’an in 7th century established an system that provided a framework for peace justice and progress unparalleled in history. Although, this particular system was lost after a few centuries, there remained a few empires throughout Muslim history that were able to retain some the principles of creating security and peace both inside and outside their empires. By the beginning of the 20th century many countries particularly those in the western world began to establish modern nation states and saw the advantages of creating a global system that would foster peace and justice worldwide. Largely influential in this movement were philosophers, intellectual and leaders who came after of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment who studied periods of history like the early period of Islam as well as philosophical theories of global peace by previous scholars and philosophers.
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