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)
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)
December 31, 2004
The Qur'an Institute, Inc.
O Mankind! Now We have revealed unto you a Book that is all about you and it will give you eminence.
Will you not, then, use your sense? (The Qur'an 21:10)
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 understanding of the Qur'an.
Posted by m12390 at 03:57 AM | Comments (1)