Sura 2: The Cow Verses 1-136

“8. Of the people there are some who say: "We believe in Allah and the Last Day;" but they do not (really) believe.

9. Fain would they deceive Allah and those who believe, but they only deceive themselves, and realise (it) not!”

10. In their hearts is a disease; and Allah has increased their disease: And grievous is the penalty they (incur), because they are false (to themselves).

The commentary to the above verse says “We now come to a 3^rd class of people, the hypocrites.”

Oops. That would be me. Still, better a hypocrite than an apostate, I thought.

A version of what heaven means.

25. But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. (an extract)

I love it. Very environmentally conscious. I’d choose to be at the Getty for a ‘heavenly’ day (nerd!), but I suppose Gardens and rivers will do too. HOT.

26. Allah disdains not to use the similitude of things, lowest as well as highest.

The commentary to that says “To Allah all His Creations has some special meaning appropriate to itself, and some of what we consider the lowest creatures have wonderful aptitudes”. Excellent. Woo hoo! No species-ism. Equality for all! HOT.

30. Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: "I will create a vicegerent on earth." They said: "Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood?- whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?" He said: "I know what ye know not."

According the commentary, angels had no independent will of their own. Man do. I’ve never been convinced by how ustazs tried to convince me that we have free will but yet Allah has dominion over our lives and much is already fated, but it’s nice to actually read a verse that says we do have free will. HOT.

34. And behold, We said to the angels: "Bow down to Adam" and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith.

Okay, so. The angels bow to Adam because they acknowledge Allah knows what they do not. But why demonise (no pun intended) the Devil just because he is not convinced of the worthiness of Adam? I hate it when I am told to do something, without being given a proper rationale to quell my doubts. Surely, God should have done a better job to convince Iblis. Disagreements are healthy. Blind obedience isn’t. NOT

Hell, even I don’t think Man is worthy, with all the damage we cause to the planet and all the greed (see Wall Street vs Main Street). Maybe the Fall wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Better to trash the planet than to trash Heaven, right?

49. They set you hard tasks and punishments, slaughtered your sons and let your women-folk live; therein was a tremendous trial from your Lord.

He’s obviously talking to the men-folk. He’s not even talking to me as a woman – so why do I have to live under rules directed at men? NOT

If I infer correctly, the verses in Section 7 deals with the story of Moses (I’ve wiped out my ustaz’s version from my mind but bits of the Prince of Egypt Disney version are floating around somewhere). I just realised that it difficult for me to follow since the verses are allusions to the story, but the narrative is missing. Rather convenient then, for other people to reconstruct the story and sell me their interpretation.

62. Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

Here I recall one of Karen Armstrong’s book that asserted that some of the Christians and Jews had given shelter to Muhammad and his ummah (at Medina?) when he was persecuted by his own kind in Mecca. Hah, so it means that D, being a Christian, won’t be going to hell after all. HOT.

Unfortunately, by questioning my religion, I will. NOT.

65. And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected."

Wonder what they would feel if told that sometime in the future, many people would think that we all descended from apes anyway!

68. (extract) Now do what ye are commanded!"

Gee. Being talked to like that would surely me what to do whatever the prophet wanted, now, wouldn’t it?

74. Thenceforth were your hearts hardened: They became like a rock and even worse in hardness.

What’s wrong with rocks? I’d love a diamond, me.

79. Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:"This is from Allah," to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.

Touche. I actually want to know how the Quran came about. Wasn’t it also a compilation of writings of certain followers – years after the Prophet died? Rather than being scribed by someone who was there when Prophet was giving his sermons?

81. Nay, those who seek gain in evil…

Sigh. What is evil anyway? How’s trying to kill someone for drawing a cartoon commentary that you just happen to find distasteful – is that type of evil condoned though?

83. Treat with kindness your parents and kindred, and orphans and those in need; speak fair to the people; be steadfast in prayer; and practise regular charity.

Now, one can’t go wrong following the above advice. HOT

89. And when there comes to them a Book from Allah, confirming what is with them,- although from of old they had prayed for victory against those without Faith,- when there comes to them that which they (should) have recognised, they refuse to believe in it but the curse of Allah is on those without Faith.

I might have understood my Baha’i friend’s explanation mistakenly, but even Baha’is claim that their religion is a continuation of the Eternal truth (my words) and the Prophets from the past are true Prophets, each suited to their own Time and milieu. I used to think that the main religions are so similar, that they must have come from the same source. Only lately do I realise that new religions always try to incorporate aspects of the incumbent or existing religions – usually to create legitimacy and ensure a sense of continuity and familiarity.

101. And when there came to them an apostle from Allah, confirming what was with them, a party of the people of the Book threw away the Book of Allah behind their backs, as if (it had been something) they did not know!

It was interesting that the commentary wrote that “the book of Allah here is meant not be Quran, but the book which the People of the Book had been given, the previous Revelations. Ironic then, the furore Muslims feel over the use of the word Allah and their need to have monopoly over it. For, then, the word existed long before Muslims themselves come about! Referring to Wikipedia, “While the term is best known in the West for its use by Muslims as a reference to God, it is used by Arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, in reference to "God". The term was also used by pagan Meccans as a reference to the creator-god, possibly the supreme deity in pre-Islamic Arabia^”

102. … They learned from them the means to sow discord between man and wife.

You don’t need magic, the Arts, or Science to “sow discord between man and wife”. Marrying a second, third, or fourth wife would do that just fine.

111. And they say: "None shall enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian." Those are their (vain) desires. Say: "Produce your proof if ye are truthful."

Oh, so I guess there’s still a chance I’ll run into X in hell then.

114. And who is more unjust than he who forbids that in places for the worship of Allah, Allah.s name should be celebrated?

This verse is referring to how Muslims had been turned away from the Ka’abah by the Pagan Arabs who also call it the House of Allah – inferring to the Pagan Arab’s intolerance of the new and rising religion of Islam. Yet, much of the Quran I have been reading so far seems to look down upon the other faiths! NOT

122. O Children of Israel! call to mind the special favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to all others (for My Message).

Hey! What happened to equality? (see 26.) NOT

Score:

HOT= 5 NOT=4

Okay, that's about all I can take for the day.

I am quite dismayed at my reading and thoughts reading the Quran. The point of the exercise was to find the good and bad (hence, the HOT and NOT), but it pretty much degenerated into cynicism.

I was told that I do not see the beauty of the message because I was not reading it in the right spirit (“You cannot use logic to understand that Quran” - I quote). Those in the Club of Allah will exhort the glory of the book, lack of logic notwithstanding. Those who stand outside the Islamic circle, on the hand, can try but will ultimately not be able to put it up on the same high pedestal, which 1/6 of the world’s population had done. I can try reading the book, I can try to understand what other Muslims see in the book – but ultimately, I still will not reach the same conclusion that yes, this is THE religion to be in. THE religion to follow.

So where is the middle ground? How can you stay true to the Quran and yet accept others who have different beliefs from you, as being equally valid?How can you treat others as an equal human being, if you smoulder with the pride that your brethren is the chosen one? How do I, as an agnostic, understand why I should follow archaic rules that governs my life but clashes with my own value system?