Dr Simon Reads...

The Night (al-Layl) Be A Good Boy And Give To Charity. 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 Night (al-Layl) 1-21 “By the night when it envelops, by the day when it brightens” It’s funny how, even though the chapters are sorted according to length, they quite often seem to bunch together by common theme. After The Sun and The Dawn, we get another surah that begins with an oath sworn by day and night. There’s one coming up called The Morning Brightness which I suspect may be similar as well. In this case, what is sworn to is that “ your endeavours are indeed unlike ”. By which the surah means to compare the righteous and un-r...

The Sun (al-Shams) Destroy a City? It’s Nothing. 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 Sun (al-Shams) 1-15 “By the sun and her forenoon splendour, by the moon when he follows her” The surah opens with a lengthy oath to the sun and moon, followed by other things which I’ll get to shortly. First: it’s interesting that the sun is seen as female and the moon as male. I’m so used to sun gods and moon goddesses that it’s unusual, but not unheard of, to see it the other ways around. Whether this is just an artefact of Arabic having linguistic genders like many languages (and if it is, this is the first time nouns have been given a g...

The City (al-Balad) Naturalistic vs. Theological Explanations for Altruism. 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 City (al-Balad) 1-20 “I swear by this town, as you reside in this town” I’m guessing that “ this town ” refers to Mecca, since this is an early Meccan surah (you can also tell it’s a relatively early one because it’s quite optimistic with a minimum of smiting. An oath is sworn on “ the town ” that Allah has made man “ in travail ” with faculties to understand the world, and then presented him with information so that he can use his faculties to choose between good and evil - “ Have We not made for him two eyes, a ...

The Dawn (al-Fajr) I Swear By Mathematics. 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 Dawn (al-Fajr) 1-30 ” By the Dawn, by the ten nights, by the Even and the Odd, by the night when it departs!” The summary annotation at the start of this chapter includes the sentence “ The surah compares the destiny of the ungrateful with that of the souls at peace ”, to which I groaned at the prospect of yet another description of drinking boiling water or gardens with green couches. But in fact, at the end, the comparisons are very brief – on the one hand “ On that day none shall punish as He punishes and none shall bind as He binds ” and on the ...

The Enveloper (al-Ghashiyah) The Menu in Hell: Prickly Pear served with Agave syrup and Tequila. 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 Enveloper (al-Ghashiyah) 1-26 “Did you receive the account of the Enveloper?” Did I? I think I missed that message. I’ve had one about the Rending and the Winding Up, are they similar? Apparently so, since later we are told that “ Some faces on that day will be humbled, wrought-up and weary ” and by contrast “ Some faces on that day will be joyous, pleased with their endeavour ”, so evidently the Enveloper is another expression for the Day of Reckoning. The middle section of this surah is divi...

The Most Exalted (al-A’la) Scum, Stubble, and The Prophet’s Homework Assignment. 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 Most Exalted (al-A’la) 1-19 “ Celebrate the Name of your Lord, the Most Exalted,” I don’t know enough (any) Arabic to be able to say if the title Most Exalted ( al-A’la ) is entonymically related to “Allah”, but if not it’s a pretty good homophone to use. Allah is credited with creating, proportioning, determining and guiding – the implication here is “you”, but it could equally be “everything”. No object is given for the verbs, as the verses then continue “ who brought forth the pasture, then turned it into a...

The Nightly Visitor (al-Tariq) Not Creepy Uncle Tariq. 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 Nightly Visitor (al-Tariq) 1-17 “By the sky, by the nightly visitor” This is another surah where I’ve seen the title coming a long way off and wondered who or what the nightly visitor was. It sounds a bit like a creepy uncle (Creepy Uncle Tariq), but actually, “ It is the brilliant star ”. Which one, we aren’t told. My guess would be either Venus or Mercury (which show up at dawn and dusk), but to be honest it could be any of a number of singular bright stars. Or not even one specific one, just the idea of the stars coming out at night....

The Houses (al-Buruj) You Burn Us, We’ll Burn You. 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 And, for the record, I've no idea why these posts are suddenly coming in a Times New Roman style font when the originals are Calibri and have been since forever. As long as it's readable, I'll leave it. The Houses (al-Buruj) 1-22 “By the sky with its houses, by the Promised Day, by the Witness and the Witnessed: perish the Men of the Ditch!” Now there’s an opening! It bears going through and picking apart since the four verses that comprise it come with copious footnotes. “ By the sky with its houses ” – the eponymous houses are ...

The Splitting (al-Inshiqaq) More Apocalypse and Assertions. 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 Splitting (al-Inshiqaq) 1-25 “When the sky is split open and gives ear to its Lord as it should.” Again? Looking at the index, this one chronologically comes after The Rending as well. Really, was there a need for not only the same theme but the same imagery quite so soon? Well, anyway, the sky splits open, and the earth “ throws out what is in it ”, and people come back from the dead for their final reward/punishment, “ labouring toward your Lord laboriously ”. We have the people who are given their record in the right hand who...

The Defrauding (al-Mutaffifin) 1-39 Allah’s Office of Fair Trading. Plus: Ha ha! You’re in Hell! 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 Defrauding (al-Mutaffifin) 1-20 “Woe to the defrauders who use short measures” The surah starts with (and is named for) people that cheat in weights and measures. And it’s not a metaphor for anything either, it would seem. It really is God becoming concerning with fair trading. Now, I’ve mentioned this before in the Bible read-through about how odd it is that an omni-everything creator of the universe should be concerned with minor human commercial transactions. But it’s an established fact th...

The Rending (al-Infitar) It’s the End of the World, and Nobody Cares. 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 Rending (al-Infitar) 1-19 “When the sky is rent apart, when the stars are scattered, when the seas are merged, when the graves are overturned, then a soul shall know what it has sent ahead and left behind.” Haven’t we been here already? In the Winding Up, we are told of a time “ When the sun is wound up, when the stars scatter, when the mountains are set moving, when the pregnant camels are neglected ”. So, we’re again talking of the Day of Judgment, or, as it is called in this surah , the Day of Retribution. It’s ...

The Winding Up (al-Takwir) Vapourised Camels. 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 Winding Up (al-Takwir) 1-29 “When the sun is wound up, when the stars scatter, when the mountains are set moving, when the pregnant camels are neglected,” The “Winding Up” is the running down, the finishing, of the universe (an alternative reading to the quote above is “ when the sun goes dark ”. Now, some might consider that the sun winding up and the stars scattering is an accurate reference to the eventual energy death of the universe trillions of years in the future. But in which case, there will no longer be any mountains to set moving (...

He Frowned (‘Abasa) Confessions of the Prophet. 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 He Frowned (‘Abasa) 1-42 “He frowned and turned away when the blind man approached him.” As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been intrigued by who “He” is in this chapter title, and it turns out it’s the Prophet. I wasn’t expecting that. This is a chapter admonishing the Prophet for turning away from a blind man wanting a blessing and instead dealing with “ someone who is self-complacent ”. The Prophet is told by God that the blind man might have needed to hear the warning of the Qur’an, and that it is not the place of the Prophet to decide who does...

The Wresters (al-Nazi’at) 1-48 Soul-Stealing Angels and The Vagueness of Prophecies. 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 Wresters (al-Nazi’at) 1-24 “By those [angels] who wrest [the soul] violently, by those who draw [it] out gently” Now here’s a cool concept – angels that draw out the soul at death; some do so gently but others rip it from the body. Alternative titles for this chapter are“(Soul-)Snatchers, Extractors, The Angelic Pullers, The Forceful Chargers, The Pluckers, The Soul-Snatchers, Those That Rise, Those Who Pull and Withdraw, Those Who Tear Out”. It makes me think of the Soul Hunters from Babylon 5 – an alie...

The Tiding (al-Naba’) It’s Great News, Just Not Good News. Apart From The Heavenly Sex Slaves. 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 Tiding (al-Naba’) 1-40 “What is it about which they question each other?! [Is it] about the great tiding, the one about which they differ?” The verses for this surah are mostly very short, so I’m tackling it as one chunk rather than divisions of twenty verses. This may well become the norm from hereon in as the chapters get shorter and shorter. One of the alternative renderings for the title is The Great News, which is a gnat’s whisker from being the “Good News” of the Christian Gospels. I’...