Dr Simon Reads...

Divorce(al-Talaq) How A Husband Can Divorce His Wife. But Not How a Wife can Divorce Her Husband. Funny That. Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com Divorce(al-Talaq) 1-12 “ When you divorce women, divorce them at [the conclusion of] their term and calculate the term,” This chapter is mainly about rules for divorce, being one of those rare chapters where the title has much relevance to the subject. And as you might expect, the rules are for a man on how to divorce a woman, with nothing the other way around. The “ term ” mentioned in the quote above has been given to us before in some earlier chapters – generally it is three ...

Dispossession (al-Taghabun) God Created Sick Children. Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com Dispossession (al-Taghabun) 1-18 “The day when He will gather you for the Day of Gathering, that will be a day of dispossession” This is not, as might be assumed, an AS Byatt sequel, but it probably would have been more interesting had it been. The first four verses are familiar stuff about how Allah created everything and knows everything, etc. etc. After being created, “ Then some of you are faithless and some of you are faithful ”, which seems fair enough until you contrast it with a few lines later that “ He formed you and perfe...

The Hypocrites (al-Munafiqun) Stacked Logs and Neal Stephenson Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com The Hypocrites (al-Munafiqun) 1-11 “When the hypocrites come to you they say, ‘We bear witness that you are indeed the apostle of Allah.’ Allah knows that you are indeed His Apostle, and Allah bears witness that the hypocrites are indeed liars.” Before getting to the chapter itself, a diversion. In the Neal Stephenson book “Anathem”, some characters construct what amounts to a one man space craft. One of the characters, who we the audience know is French but the other characters assume to be from an alien world, pronounces...

Friday (al-Jumu’ah) Reading Is Magic (But The Jews Don’t Appreciate It). Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com Friday (al-Jumu’ah) 1-11 “O you who have faith! When the call is made for prayer on Friday, hurry toward the remembrance of Allah, and leave all business.” This chapter has three messages – God is great, the Jews are rubbish, and you should drop everything to pray on Fridays. That’s really it, but it is only eleven verses long so that’s hardly surprising. First of all the chapter declares that all things glorify Allah and that “ It is He who sent to the unlettered [people] an apostle from among themselves, to reci...

Ranks (al-Saff) Ahmad, the Mystery Apostle. Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com Ranks (al-Saff) 1-14 “It is greatly outrageous to Allah that you should say what you do not do” For a short chapter, this one is really all over the place. Each verse, although not particularly large, seems to jump to a different concept than the one before it, so consequently this review will probably be just as disjointed. So, first of all the concept of “ saying what you do not do ” in the quote above. Which, I guess, means hypocrisy, not practising what you preach, lying about what you are going to do. And not saying something like “I am una...

The Woman Tested (al-Mumtahanah) Cross-Cultural Marriage, And A Bit Of Gratuitous Violence. Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com The Woman Tested (al-Mumtahanah) 1-13 “O you who have faith! Do not take My enemy and your enemy for friends” This surah begins by warning he faithful not to aid or fraternise with “ the enemy ”, saying that they are untrustworthy. It then goes on to clarify that it specifically means “ only in regard to those who made war against you on account of religion and expelled you from your homes ”, and that if the fight is not over religion or expulsion from homes (for which I’m pretty sure are two of the...

The Banishment (al-Hashr) “I Done Nuffink” – Satan. Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com The Banishment (al-Hashr) 1-24 “It is He who expelled the faithless belonging to the People of the Book from their homes at the outset of [their] en masse banishment.” There’s a hefty wedge of background to this chapter, and I think perhaps I’ll just quote the heading notes in full here, because it pertains to various sieges, battles and intrigues: “ The surah that mentions The Banishment , God’s expulsion, of the clan of Banū al-Naḍīr from their prodigious fortress-settlement near Medina, in the mustering it calls the first of its kind...

The Pleader (al-Mujadilah) Strange Divorce Customs, Plus Allah Acts Like the Stasi. Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com The Pleader (al-Mujadilah) 1-22 “Allah has certainly heard the speech of her who pleads with you about her husband and complains to Allah.” There’s a more than normal stream of consciousness feel to this surah , probably because it starts with a purely legalistic matter and then goes off into talking about “ secret talks ” before getting carried away with how the Jews and the hypocrites will be burned in Hell. Yes, it’s a late Medinan surah, so we’re having a go at the Jews again. The opening matter, and...

Iron (al-Hadid) 1-29 Christians Are Okay, But Monks Are Rubbish. Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com Iron (al-Hadid) 1-29   “He makes the night pass into the day and makes the day pass into the night, and He knows best what is in the breasts.” Although this surah is titled “Iron”, iron only gets mentioned briefly in verse 25; “ and We sent down iron, in which there is great might and uses for mankind ”. There was an opportunity to extend this as a metaphor, how iron is strong but can be shaped and put to many uses, like, I don’t know, faith or something. But, no, it’s lost amidst one of those “Things Exist Therefore Go...

The Imminent (al-Waqi’ah) 1-96 A Bias Towards Right-Handed Males. Plus: What, I Was Supposed To Take This Seriously? Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com The Imminent (al-Waqi’ah) 1-20 “When the Imminent [Hour] befalls —there is no denying that it will befall— [it will be] lowering, exalting.” The “ Imminent Hour ” is the Day of Judgement – I like that the Qur’an brooks no disagreement that it will occur. “No,” it says, “it will, you can’t deny it.” No need to offer any proof other than the assertion, because It’s Written. I like the poetry of “ lowering, exalting ”, because of the different effects on what are described as th...

The All-Beneficent (al-Rahman) 1-78 Anakin Skywalker, Flat Earthers, The Gate of Tears and a really horrible spa. Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com The All-Beneficent (al-Rahman) 1-20 “The All-beneficent has taught the Qurʾān.” I haven’t really mentioned it before, but pretty much every surah (except, I think, one), begins with a declaration, the “ bismillah ” - " bi-smi llāhi r-raḥmāni r-raḥīm ”, meaning “ In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful .” So, it’s pretty evident what is meant by the All-Beneficent. These are short verses, so each section in this commentary will likely be brief. This is mo...

The Moon (al-Qamar) 1-54 A Broken Moon, Plus: Taste My Punishment, Beeyatch. Welcome to the next instalment of An Atheist Explores Sacred Texts (Qur’an version). In this series I work my way chapter-by-chapter through the Qur’an, commenting on it from the point of view of the text as literature and mythology. For more detail, see the introductory post https://bit.ly/2ApLDy0 For the online Qur’an that I use, see here http://al-quran.info and http://quran.com The Moon (al-Qamar) 1-20 “The Hour has drawn near and the moon is split.” The splitting moon appears to be some kind of symbol of the end times; although it’s phrased very simply and matter-of-factly here, it’s a great image; I love the way it was done in the Guy Pearce version of the Time Machine. Perhaps the less said, however, about the Doctor Who episode “Kill the Moon” the better. The verses then go on to say how the non-believers who claim things are just magic will emerge from their graves in the end times...