January 02, 2007
"Iqra Bismi Rabbik" Qur'an Tutoring Service Launched
The Qur'an Institute is pleased to announce the creation of its online Qur'an tutoring service, called Iqra Bismi Rabbik. Our tutors will teach how to read the Arabic Qur'an; from Arabic alphabets, all the way to professional level qirat/recitation and hifz/memorization. Instructions in Qur'anic and conversational Arabic will start soon.
We are currently working in a pilot mode, that is, we are testing the service. There is no charge for the service. Our goal is to offer it free of charge to anyone and everyone.
However, if you can afford to pay for the service, we suggest that you let us know so that we can use your donations to continue to expand this well-needed service, around the world, especially to the countries, such as, China, Central Asia, Africa, South America, etc., where people cannot afford to pay, AND to poorer segments of rich countries.
Important Note: Our tutors ARE NOT ALLOWED to discuss fiqh matters. Please consult your local Islamic institutions for such matters.
Posted by m12390 at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)
November 27, 2006
Text In Motion (TIM)
The Qur'an Institute (TQI) is pleased to announce that our "Text In Motion" project is going ever stronger. Our developer, Hoag, has been doing an amazing job. May Allah give him time and health to continue on many important TQI projects. We now have an Alpha (initial) version that is being tested at:
Please check it out and send comments to liaquat222 [at] yahoo [dot] com.
Important Notes: It is TQI's stated policy that we give prompt credits to those who assist us in our wide-ranging undertakings related to the Qur'an. "Text In Motion" is based on the innovative work done by Burhan on http://www.openburhan.com.
The Qur'an Institute thanks Burhan for allowing us to utilize his brilliant work for the betterment of humanity. May Allah give him manifold rewards in the world and in the Hereafter.
TQI also appreciate the superb linguistic data provided by Study Qur'an's
Posted by m12390 at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)
January 30, 2006
Muhammad -- The Praised One. (Peace Be Upon Him) (1)
Aside from positive or negative reports about Muhammad, written hundreds of years after his death (2), the image of Islam's Prophet among Muslims originates from explicit Qur'anic proclamations, such as, blessed (33:56), mercy towards all creations (21:107), emancipator of humanity (7:157), etc. According to Ibn Durayd's (837CE-933CE) Kitab al Ishtiqaq, Muhammad means one who is continuously praised. Muhammad's other name Ahmed (61:6) means pretty much the same. And the Qur'an declares Muhammad to be raised to the station of praise and glory, that is, “Maqamam Mahmood” (17:79). Still Muhammad is human (17:94) of the noblest moral character (68:4).
The Qur'an specifically prohibts Muslims from making mockery of other religions' personalities and practices. Therefore if a Muslim commits blasphemy against non-Muslim deities, personalities, or practices (6:108), or even fellow Muslims (49:11), specific Qur'anic verses could be invoked to stop him/her from doing so. These are universal and timeless Qur'anic ethical injunctions that are applicable in Saudi Arabia as they are in Indonesia. One may choose to ignore them, but that is his/her personal choice.
While the Qur'an approachs blasphemy from an ethically and philosophically mature standpoint, Muslims are dumbfounded by the never-ending juvenile jabs from certain quarters in the technologically and financially superior West. It seems that European academia and media continue to poke fun at Muhammad to flex their “intellectual” muscles. The most recent incident is that of 12 cartoons depicting Muhmamad as a terrorist. The cartoons were first published by Jyllands-Posten in Denmark and then by other media outlets across Europe.
It is unfortunate that, initially, not only Jyllands-Posten's editor, Carsten Juste, but also the Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, refused to take the sensitivity of the situation seriously. Mr. Juste asserted, “we live in a democracy where satire and caricature are generally accepted and where religion should not pose any limits on this.” (3) And Prime Minister Rasmussen hid behind, “This is a matter of principle. I won't meet with them [Muslim ambassadors] because it is so crystal clear what principles Danish democracy is built upon that there is no reason to do so,” said Rasmussen. (4)
Having briefly outlined Muslims' image of Muhammad, Qur'anic prohibition of various kinds of blasphemy, and Danish newspaper and government's subsequent hubris, I like to look at the issue from the Qur'anic vantage point. Verse 21:41 from chapter “The Prophets” says, "Mocked were apostles before thee; But their scoffers were hemmed in by the thing that they mocked.” So according to the Qur'an, prophets and mocking go hand in hand, and the Qur'an mentions a specific end-result for the mockers.
Also, in its characteristically mature style, the Qur'an instructs Muslims to “change the channel” when they walk upon senseless speech then disengage for a short period of time(6:68), and even wish peace and amicably disengage on a long-term basis (28:55).
So with specific Qur'an references, we have seen that on one hand the Qur'an anticipates mocking of Muhammad as Prophets before him were mocked, and on the other hand outlines holistic and pro-active controls at various levels of engagements from the Muslim side. If a Muslim or a group of Muslims react to provocations in an immature or unethical fashion, it is bacause he/she has decided to act in a non-Qur'anic manner.
That said, the Danish media and government cannot hide behind the Danish freedom of speech “laws”. Such freedom of speech laws protect fancies of the subjects of their respective political entities. These laws are not necessarily portable, acceptable or applicable to other political entities that seek their ethical guidance from fundamentally different sets of rules.
When someone chooses to blaspheme Muhammad, especially for pre-meditated reasons, it is not an internal issue of a political entity. It is an international issue. Playing innocent after adamantly publishing the cartoons doesn't get anyone anywhere.
Mocking of Allah, Muhammad and the Qur'an does not “innocently” happen. Mocking the three is a stated and pro-active strategy of certain players who have access to the European and other Western media. Muslims can take “scoffers were hemmed in by the thing that they mocked” in verse 21:41 as a prophecy. They can also take it as a Qur'anic challenge in the light of verse 21:18 in the same chapter:
21:18 Nay, We hurl the Truth against falsehood, and it knocks out its brain, and behold, falsehood doth perish! Ah! woe be to you for the things ye ascribe.
Western provocations are opportunities in disguise to share Islamic teachings with fellow human beings--Western or otherwise. Shouting, burning, beating, killing, boycotting, etc., are not the most effective approaches to “hem” the mockers. The best jihad is through the Qur'an (25:52).
Liaquat Ali is the founder of The Qur'an Institute, Inc. Mr. Ali encourages readers to share Qur'anic Wisdom with him by bringing forth alternate/better understandings of the verses used in the article.
(1) It is customary, respectul Muslim practice to write Peace Be Upon Him (PBUH), Sallallaho Alaihi Wasallam (SAW), and comparable phrases to show respects to the Prophet of Islam.
(2) Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad's first biographer, was born in or around 704 CE. So it is safe to assume that he produced his work approximately 100 years after Muhammad's death. Ibn Hisham edited Ibn Ishaq's work approximately 100 years later. Ibn Ishaq's biography is extinct and only lives through Ibn Hisham. Tabari was born in 839 CE.
So all the "incidents" people so "authoritatively" talk about had long been happened before anyone wrote them.
(3) http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=77011&d=29&m=1&y=2006
(4) http://www.denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,610572&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&ic_itemid=880515&ic_nextitemno=1
Comparative Translations of Cited Verses:
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/33/56/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/21/107/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/7/157/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/61/6/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/17/79/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/17/94/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/68/4/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/6/108/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/49/11/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/21/41/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/6/68/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/28/55/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/21/18/default.htm
http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/25/52/default.htm
Posted by m12390 at 09:35 PM | Comments (1)
November 30, 2005
Free E.W. Lane's Lexicon (Dictionary)
(Revised: November 21, 2007)
After more than 24 months of FREE distribution of the Lane's Lexicon DVD, we now require a donation of $49.95 for the establishment of our new (hopefully) FREE worldwide service to teach the Qur'an http://www.quran121.com. Click here to donate.
THE LEXICON:
Edward William Lane's Lexicon is regarded as the best Arabic-English lexicon in the world, and is now available in the searchable pdf format.
Contents: All 8 volumes, each with its own folder, total 3162 pages. One large word-searchable file for each volume. Arrangement by roots, exhaustive meanings including derivatives, comments on grammar, examples of usage in the Qur'an & other sources.
[Disclaimer: Search is not 100% accurate at this time. Only English search is available. No Arabic search capability at this time.]
You may access the Lexicon online at: Lane's Lexicon Online.
After successful launch of the free distribution in United States, Mexico and Canada, we are now extending our offer to any address in the world. You may request free copies of the data DVDs by answering the mandatory questions below along with your postal address to the email address at the end of this page.
NO DVD WILL BE SHIPPED WITHOUT RESPONSES TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
1. How did you hear about The Qur'an Institute and/or this offer (before visiting this website)? Please try to be specific so that we know which method of putting the word out for the lexicon is working. Please don't say: "I heard from a friend who read it on a list." Say: "I heard from X (of Y organization) who read it on a Z list."
2. What do you intend to use the lexicon for? Any specific project? (Sample comments from previous requesters.)
3. Do you have time/interest/ability, in any capacity, to help The Qur'an Institute toward its goals as described in it Mission Statement? TQI Mission Statement
4. Are you aware of any other organization that is involved in activities similar to The Qur'an Institute.
5. If you want to teach or learn Classical/Formal/Colloquial Arabic thru the Web, then please let us know. We are currently setting up infrastructure for it. TEACHERS: Please advise how much you want to charge per hour of instructions. STUDENTS: Please let us know the maximum amount you are willing to pay for each hour of instructions. If you cannot afford any money, then let us know as well. NOTE: Both teachers and students must have access to high speed Internet connections.
6. Are you interested in helping us with the testing of The Interactive Qur'an which is located at http://www.textinmotion.com? The link to start helping out immediately is http://www.textinmotion.com/contribute.jsp. If you have any questions, please ask.
Please send your responses and mailing address to:
m1239000-lane at yahoo.com. [Note: Replace " at " with "@". We have typed " at " instead of "@" to reduce spam mails from generous Muslims, especially from various African countries who continue to offer us millions of dollars for free. :) Also, domains ending with .ru, .it, and .fr have been blocked. Please send email using a domain that does not end with .ru, .it and .fr ]
FREE Lane's Lexicon is a Study Qur'an project. The Qur'an Institute is a sponsor.
Posted by m12390 at 09:41 PM | Comments (8)
June 19, 2005
The Open Burhan
The Open Burhan serves certain immediate needs of the Qur'anic Institute audience. Therefore, we are linking it from here. Resource permitting, we intend to develop or license similar technology for our audience:
There are three modes of browsing the verses of the quran
At any point all the words in verses displayed can be clicked on to display it's roots and linked words
Browse By Chapter
Click on chapters and then select a chapter number from the list
Browse By Word
Click on any word in a verse and then choose browse word from the left hand navigation
Browse By Root
Click on any word in a verse and then choose browse root from the left hand navigation.
Click on Roots and then select a root from the list displayed on the left.
Note: The Open Burhan is not a Qur'an Institute project.
Posted by m12390 at 11:33 PM | Comments (2)
May 31, 2005
Current Openings
WEB DEVELOPER & ADMINISTRATOR
Must be an expert in developing and maintaining websites. Excellent written English. Good familiarity with graphics design software. Proficient in Microsoft and Linux web tools and environment. You will develop and maintain the Qur'an Institute website and well as other allied web resources that will be developed in the future. You must be an independent worker, and will perform your job off-site with zero supervision. All coordination with be done through emails will occaisional phone conversations.
Location: India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.
EDITOR
We are looking for an editor who will initially help create the new edition of the QXP book. You will not only render the QXP text closer to the Arabic, but also improve the cross-referencing of various Qur'anic verses. The initial project may lead to other editing project as the Qur'an Institute site develops. Please submit your resume to jobs@quraninstitute.org.
Location: Preferably Yemen, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Pakistan, India. We will also consider applicants from other countries.
TRANSLATORS - ARABIC TO ENGLISH
We are currently looking for Arabic to English translators to translate numerous books from Classical Arabic to English. Must be Internet literate, and be proficient in English/Arabic wordprocessing software. We will provide you with books, and you will submit your translated manuscript through email. Please send an email to jobs@quraninstitute.org to collect sample pages that you will translate to demonstrate proficiency.
Location: Preferably Yemen, Egypt, Syria, Jordan. Will also consider applicants from other Muslim countries.
PROOFREADERS - ARABIC TO ENGLISH
We are also looking for proofreaders to proofread English translations from Classic Arabic. Must be Internet literate, and be proficient in English/Arabic wordprocessing software. We will provide you with books, and translated manuscripts, and you will submit your work through email. Please submit your resume to jobs@quraninstitute.org.
Location: Preferably Yemen, Egypt, Syria, Jordan. Will also consider applicants from other Muslim countries.
TRANSLATORS - URDU TO ENGLISH
We are currently looking for Urdu to English translators to translate numerous books from Urdu to English. Must be Internet literate, and be proficient in English/Arabic wordprocessing software. We will provide you with books, and you will submit your translated manuscript through email. Please send an email to jobs@quraninstitute.org to collect sample pages that you will translate to demonstrate proficiency.
Location: Preferably Pakistan or India.
PROOFREADERS - URDU TO ENGLISH
We are also looking for proofreaders to proofread English translations from Classic Arabic. Must be Internet literate, and be proficient in English/Arabic wordprocessing software. We will provide you with books, and translated manuscripts, and you will submit your work through email. Please submit your resume to jobs@quraninstitute.org.
Location: Preferably Pakistan or India.
Posted by m12390 at 10:26 PM | Comments (1)
May 30, 2005
Mission Statement
What started in December 2001 as the "Qur'an As I Understand" (QAIU) Project has now been formally transformed into The Qur'an Institute, Inc. The Qur'an Institute is a not-for-profit, educational organization that is dedicated to a broad-based, linguistic and conceptual understanding of the Qur'an.
MISSION STATEMENT
To help bring about Qur'anic insight, as outlined in the following verse:
39:18 Who listen to the Word, and follow the best of its application. Such are those whom Allah guides, and they are the insightful ones.
MAJOR GOALS
A. We believe that pre-written exegeses are inherently limited medium for the understanding the Qur'an, and that the Qur'an is better understood when one engages with it. Therefore, we will make lexicons and other learning tools available for people so that they may engage with the Qur'an at much deeper levels.
B. We believe that the Qur'an belongs to the whole humanity, and not just Muslims. So we plan to deconstruct Qur'anic wisdom at a level where its components can be succinctly approached by specialists and non-specialists alike to develop "products" for general human consumption.
C. We intend to develop a curriculum to teach people to engage with the Qur'an through Arabic lexicons, Jahiliah poetry, Hadith as well as Qur'anic contemplation methodologies developed by Muslims during the past 1,400 year.
D. We intend to develop cross-referencing and phonetic search capabilities for lexicons, Hadith books and Jahiliah poetry.
We anticipate that the above-mentioned goals will be refined as we progress with our projects, attract additional talent and resources, and get feedback from our well-wishers and critics.
Posted by m12390 at 06:07 PM | Comments (5)
Discussion Forum
Our Qur'anic discussions are currently carried out here:
Posted by m12390 at 04:40 PM | Comments (1)
April 11, 2005
Empowerment Through the Qur'an
By Liaquat Ali
Empowerment, by definition, is a social process, since it occurs in relationship to others. Empowerment is a process that is similar to a path or journey, one that develops as we work through it. Other aspects of empowerment may vary according to the specific context and people involved, but these remain constant. In addition, one important implication of this definition of empowerment is that the individual and community are fundamentally connected (Czuba, 1999.)
To create change we must change individually to enable us to become partners in solving the complex issues facing us. In collaborations based on mutual respect, diverse perspectives, and a developing vision, people work toward creative and realistic solutions. This synthesis of individual and collective change (Wilson, 1996; Florin & Wandersman, 1990; Speer & Hughey, 1995) is our understanding of an empowerment process.
In order to understand if empowerment is possible in any human domain, we need to first understand what the power is in that particular domain. The second thing -- a pre-requisite -- is to see if the power is transferable. The third thing is that if power is expandable (Czuba, 1999.) Unless power is expandable, the result of empowerment would be linear, not exponential. That is, each individual who gets the power utilizes it in his/her own capacity.
The power in the Islamic domain is the Qur’anic wisdom. The understanding of the true meaning of the Qur’an has the power to transform individuals, communities, nations and the entire human population. The interesting thing is that as far as this life is concerned, one does not have to be a Muslim to benefit from the Qur’anic wisdom. If you look around the communities and nations that are prospering in the world, you will see the elements of the Qur’anic wisdom that are being implemented. Since the Qur’anic wisdom reached the leaders of those societies indirectly, they may not be consciously aware of it.
How did God plan to share this knowledge with humans? The first words revealed in the Qur’an talk about reading and writing (96:1-5). He revealed the message in Arabic (26:195), a powerful language, to people who were masters of the language. He protected Prophet Muhammad for the next 23 years till he was fully able to explain the Qur’anic wisdom to his followers. Then he made sure that not only the Scripture, but also the language was preserved (15:9.)
The ideas of freedom, equality, individual struggle for the actualization of self, individual accountability, empathy, forgiveness, inner peace, outer security, and many other topics of human interest are described so elegantly that whether one is Muslim or a non-Muslim, he/she is truly empowered be the Qur’anic wisdom.
The third aspect of the empowerment is the expansion of the power. God also provided communal commands for the believers so that they may implement the message of the Qur’an collectively, thus exponentially expanding the wisdom and hence human achievement (17:70).
Why are Muslims not empowered by the Qur’an today? There are two possible reasons. The people who are supposed to transfer the power – the Qur’anic wisdom – don’t “get” it, or that the leaders look at it as a zero-sum game. That is, if they share the wisdom, then their power would be diluted.
Both are true. Today, most Muslims follow historical, man-made "Islams". Then there are movements, sects and cults that follow their – live or dead – leaders who learned to revolve Islam around themselves instead of empowering the mankind.
If Prophet Muhammad wanted to take the second approach, he would have made sure that only his close family and friends understood the message of the Qur’an. Then Islam would have stayed limited to certain geographical areas. But since he conveyed it to anyone who wanted to learn, the Qur’anic wisdom created a unified Arab nation of self-actualized citizens. The world then saw the expansion of the Qur’anic wisdom throughout the known world.
So much so, that within 12 years after the passing away of the Exalted Prophet, inhabitants of thousands of cities and towns, who were previously ruled by regional variations of the Aristotelian philosophy of "some men are adapted by nature to be the physical instruments of others," were emancipated from the slavery (7:157) of their respective elites through the use of the Qur’anic empowerment.
References:
Czuba, Cheryl E. (1999) Empowerment: What is it? Journal of Extension, October 1999, Volume 37, Number 5.
Florin, P., & Wandersman, A. (1990).An introduction to citizen participation, voluntary organizations, and community development: insights for empowerment through research. American Journal of Community Psychology, 18(1), 41-54.
Speer, P.W., & Hughey, J. (1995). Community organizing: An ecological route to empowerment and power. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23 (5), 729-748.
Wilson, P. (1996). Empowerment: Community economic development from the inside out. Urban Studies, 33(4-5), 617-630.
Posted by m12390 at 09:51 PM | Comments (1)
April 10, 2005
A Learning Approach to the Qur'an
For those who aspire to be "rationalist" and want to study the Qur'an, please allow me to suggest the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis: "This is the book that claims to be the unadulterated word of someone who claims to have created me. Why should I believe it?"
Then "distance" your hearts and minds from any previous knowledge you may have about the Qur'an, Muhammad (saw), Islam and Muslims. I used the word "distance" because in the beginning it would be difficult to "clean" yourself:
56:79 Which none shall touch but those who are clean:
Then, use any number of tools that are available on-line and off-line to start understanding the book.
Please also allow me to share a couple of additional things about the book, not in terms of the contents (YOU make a determination about the contents), but in terms of study hints.
I look at the Qur'an as a "system". Translations serve a very narrow purpose, and should only be taken as the starting point to understand the Qur'anic system. Some people say that a translation of the Qur'an is not the same as the Arabic Qur'an. I believe that even an expert in the Arabic language cannot understand the Qur'an using the linear approach of reading the Qur'an.
One not only needs to understand individual verses, but also the "tauheed" of the Qur'an; the "big picture" or "unity of message", if you will. You constantly need to go to 35,000 feet level, and then come back down to a very detail level. I call it macro-micro-macro and micro-macro-micro contemplation techniques.
What happens when you do the above? Either the Qur'an will make sense, or it will not make sense. If it makes sense, you update your initial hypothesis, and BELIEVE.
If it does not make sense, then you forget about it and play more golf (or whatever is a better use of your time.) There is no compulsion.
You also have a choice to waste your time to confront the Qur'an. I am NOT aware of anyone who could be considered a Qur'anic critic par excellence. Those who claim to critique the Qur'an seem to dance around peripheries of the book, and NOT the book itself.
On the other hand, if you do know of good Qur'anic critics, please let me know. I would love to look at their work.
Posted by m12390 at 02:07 AM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2005
Adjectivized Islam?
By Liaquat Ali written 01/08/2002
Islam, at its core, is gender equal, pluralistic, anti-slavery, individual-centric yet community and environment friendly.
Strong monotheism, individualistic reward and accountability, non-intercessional role of "clawless" clergy, emphasis on mutual consultation, universality of scope and encouragement of philanthropy provide a strong foundation for the application of the Qur’anic Laws in a society that is interested in creating an ideal human existence.
Islam, as it was revealed to the Beloved Prophet (saw), does not need any fixing. The Mullah Islam that is being fed to us through the Mullah Mafia is the problem. Since many people are not able to, in some case don't want to, differentiate between the Real Islam and the Mullah Islam, they come up with adjectives, such as, Liberal Islam, Moderate Islam, Progressive Islam, American Islam, etc., to define a humane version of Islam that is not as irrational, dogmatic and bigoted as the Mullah Islam.
Adjectivized Islam may provide euphoria to limited number of activists and intellectuals, but will never resonate with the Muslim masses. The Real Islam is what humanity in general and Muslims in particular are yearning for.
Whereas the Mullah Islam represents fossilized sets of interpretations of Islam that were done more than a millennium ago, the Real Islam is based on the Divine guidance that is preserved for humanity in the form of the Qur’an. Therefore the Real Islam can simply be extracted using a process that I call, "From the Qur’an Outwards" or FQO.
FQO, in short, is a process of the interpretation of Islam where the Qur’an sits at the driver seat, and all other sources of knowledge and wisdom, though extremely useful, take the back seat.
Posted by m12390 at 02:08 AM | Comments (3)