Peace to all,
This is my first blog post in DRC -- thanks a lot to brother Arnold for giving me a spot. I am still preparing an actual entry for this blog, so this introductory post will not be too specific. If you happen to have read my short bio, I would be dealing mostly with how the qur'an can relate to us in a human way. What is that supposed to mean anyway?
Well, for one thing, it means I am trying to limit my discussions from including arguments that such and such is as ordered by God (or something similar along that line). I find this necessary because regardless of my personal view of how the contents of the qur'an was initially inspired, in the end, the contents of this book will be presented to -- and judged by -- fellow human beings. Hence, treating the qur'an as human as possible, hopefully, would produce a healthier set for open discussions and intellectual pursuits without supernatural damnation of any kind.
Another reason is that "God" (or "Allah" or whatever the word being used to represent the concept) has been severely misused (and probably still would be) by groups of individuals to inflict harm to other people. I live in Indonesia and in a mostly Muslim neighborhood, so the negative impact of such misuse is pretty much immediate. Blaming God or Allah is just too easy, especially if the misuser is dressed in an "Islamic" clothing. In the end, a lot of people think that the relationship with God/Allah will just render the qur'an to be a book with one sole purpose only: to enable men to get laid with 72 virgins.
The third reason is that if the qur'an is given the chance to convey its message in a simple human way, it might just prove to be worthwhile. However, some ground premises are needed for this kind of approach:
- I will not be using hadiths, either Bukhari's version or Al-Khulayni's for qur'anic discussions. These hadiths have done enough damage than I could possibly imagine. Other writers of DRC, I believe, have dealt with this issue.
- Anything from the qur'an can be questioned and evaluated, including things that mostly be accepted as axioms
- Whether the inspiration came from God or otherwise, the qur'an ultimately was written by a person or a group of persons during a certain period with a certain cultural background
Oh, I will sometimes write in English and sometimes in Bahasa Indonesia.
But I will try to get both translated into the other if possible.
=adley=