sofia_reading's review
5.0
Sharour, like all of Islam's greatest thinkers, is ahead of his time, and yet sadly despite the need for voices like his to be given ear and raised and pushed into the forefront, they are silenced, quashed, and accused of heresy (only truly by either those who haven't read the book or those who have a stake in maintaining the status quo). He makes an excellent point in this book about synonymity in the Quran; pointing out that in regular use of the Arabic language one has to pay attention as to which word has been used in a sentence, in lieu of another similar word because of the nuance each word brings with it. How can it not be so then, with the Words of God Himself!? To relegate words to synonymity, is to strip the Quran of its nuance and to deprive the Word of God (if you do believe it to be) of its miraculous nature. And so he sets the ground to look at words like Muslim, Islam, iman, mu'min, kufr, kafir; all words that, as Muslims and even non-Muslims, now take their meaning for granted, but imagine using the word orange to mean purple, or the word walk to mean fly, it makes a big difference when you realise the difference.
Definitely worth a read (at least of the intro and chapter on Islam and iman if not anything else) and is available online for free http://www.islam-and-muslims.com/Quran-Morality-Critical -Reason.pdf
Definitely worth a read (at least of the intro and chapter on Islam and iman if not anything else) and is available online for free http://www.islam-and-muslims.com/Quran-Morality-Critical -Reason.pdf
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