In the 1980s, I was enrolled in a Middle Eastern Studies program. In one class we had to read the Quran several times. The first assignment was to read the Quran and note how many times Muhammad was mentioned and describe the context.
The second assignment was to read the Quran again and note how many times Moses and Abraham were mentioned and describe the context. Other similar assignments followed, resulting in re-reading the Quran and discovering some interesting facts.
Moses is mentioned in 502 verses and Abraham is mentioned in 245 verses. Muhammad is only mentioned four times. And the context of the use of the "word" muhammad led one to believe it was used as a descriptive word, and not the name of a man.
Linguistic and other evidence proves that the original meaning of the word muhammad meant “praised be”. (1)
'Praised be' the Servant of God = muhammad un abd allah (abd means servant)
In another class, we had to read several translations of the Quran including those by Alexander Ross (1649), Abdul Hakim (1905), Ghulam Sreawar (1929), M. Pickthall (1930), Richard Bell (1937), Ahmed Ali (1964), and others.
The results were astounding.
Even the most basic of verses differed.
Then something interesting happened. Over a period of four years there was a massive influx of Muslim students. Each semester there were more Muslims and Muslim "events" began to be held on campus. Not long afterwards, those two classes were removed from the program.
Why? Because they pointed out some serious flaws in the Quran and brought up serious questions about Muhammad.
I eventually moved to Cairo, Egypt where I enrolled in Arabic classes and Linquistic classes at the American University in Cairo and furthered my studies.
Through my studies, and then my work as a researcher with the Ministry of Culture, I learned that the Quran was originally a Christian liturgical book written in Aramaic.
What is known as the Quran today was an evolving piece of literary work that began as a liturgical tool for missionaries who were spreading the Gospel. Between 750-1250 AD, these books evolved into the Quran and changed into a "control tool" for the Abbasid caliphs. Muhammad lived 570-632. See also: "Mecca and Islamic History is a Lie" in the link at the top of this page.
The first Qurans were written in Syrian Aramaic and changed over time as written Arabic was being created.
The Arabic used for the Quran is a written language only. No one speaks Quranic Arabic. No one has ever spoken Quranic Arabic. All of this is detailed in my book, including the scholarly sources, and is available on AMAZON and Barnes & Noble. What many people do not know is that there is an Egyptian Arabic, Lebanese Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Jordanian Arabic, Tunisian Arabic and so forth -- all drastically different dialects that are not understood by one another.
Quranic Arabic is even more drastically different from the various dialects. It differs in vocabulary, grammar, word formation, etc. Anyone who reads an Arabic Quran has to first learn Quranic Arabic like learning a second language.
Muhammad himself would not understand a word of an Arabic Quran.
As the Quran evolved and began being written in Classical Arabic, which is also called Quranic Arabic, many Aramaic words remained. This caused great confusion later as "scholars" studying the Quran could not figure out the meanings of many words. They were reading the words as Arabic, when the words were actually Aramaic.
Added to the problem of the Quran continuing to be partly in Aramaic, the early Arabic Qurans did not use diacritical marks (dots and markings that distinguish consonants from one another). The early Arabic Qurans also did not have vowels. Without diacritical marks to distinguish consonants, and no vowels, the earliest Qurans in Arabic were incomprehensible.
The first Qurans in Arabic did not have vowel markings because a vowel system had not yet been created. There were only consonants. But the consonants without their markings could not be distinguished from one another.
An Arabic consonant can be changed into a different consonant just by adding one dot, two dots, or three dots. These markings came to be written and codified at a much later time. Many Arabic consonants have the exact same shape. The only thing that can differentiate one consonant from another is the markings.
Adding a vowel and consonant markings created many possible variations for just one word. Now imagine an entire Quran written without consonant markings or vowels!
The grammar, syntax and vocabulary for Quranic Arabic were created and defined in the ninth and tenth centuries. The Quran was in a constant flux for 150-200 years.
The Quran was not revealed to Muhammad as Muslims are taught to believe. The Quran was created. The reason why so many biblical stories are in the Quran (though altered over time to suit the new leaders and the newly created religion), is because parts of Christian liturgical books were included in the earliest Qurans.*
During the first centuries of the Quran's creation, it continued to be deciphered. And this was the beginning of the wide range of interpretations and the vast amounts of commentaries made on the meaning of the Quran. It was also the period when the text of the Quran was edited to suit the rulers of the period.
By the late 900s, a system of intolerance developed and rulers began using the Quran to control people. The doctrine that the Quran was the eternal words of Allah became official with a death penalty to anyone who questioned it.
For more information, complete with sources, and other important information on the truthful history of Islam, information that can halt the spread of Islam in America, purchase Cheri's book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble
Below: A sample of how an un-marked word can have several meanings by adding markings. In the example below, the exact same shape can mean: to plant a seed, a girl, a house, to hop, to broadcast; or, to settle.
The second assignment was to read the Quran again and note how many times Moses and Abraham were mentioned and describe the context. Other similar assignments followed, resulting in re-reading the Quran and discovering some interesting facts.
Moses is mentioned in 502 verses and Abraham is mentioned in 245 verses. Muhammad is only mentioned four times. And the context of the use of the "word" muhammad led one to believe it was used as a descriptive word, and not the name of a man.
Linguistic and other evidence proves that the original meaning of the word muhammad meant “praised be”. (1)
'Praised be' the Servant of God = muhammad un abd allah (abd means servant)
In another class, we had to read several translations of the Quran including those by Alexander Ross (1649), Abdul Hakim (1905), Ghulam Sreawar (1929), M. Pickthall (1930), Richard Bell (1937), Ahmed Ali (1964), and others.
The results were astounding.
Even the most basic of verses differed.
Then something interesting happened. Over a period of four years there was a massive influx of Muslim students. Each semester there were more Muslims and Muslim "events" began to be held on campus. Not long afterwards, those two classes were removed from the program.
Why? Because they pointed out some serious flaws in the Quran and brought up serious questions about Muhammad.
I eventually moved to Cairo, Egypt where I enrolled in Arabic classes and Linquistic classes at the American University in Cairo and furthered my studies.
Through my studies, and then my work as a researcher with the Ministry of Culture, I learned that the Quran was originally a Christian liturgical book written in Aramaic.
What is known as the Quran today was an evolving piece of literary work that began as a liturgical tool for missionaries who were spreading the Gospel. Between 750-1250 AD, these books evolved into the Quran and changed into a "control tool" for the Abbasid caliphs. Muhammad lived 570-632. See also: "Mecca and Islamic History is a Lie" in the link at the top of this page.
The first Qurans were written in Syrian Aramaic and changed over time as written Arabic was being created.
The Arabic used for the Quran is a written language only. No one speaks Quranic Arabic. No one has ever spoken Quranic Arabic. All of this is detailed in my book, including the scholarly sources, and is available on AMAZON and Barnes & Noble. What many people do not know is that there is an Egyptian Arabic, Lebanese Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Jordanian Arabic, Tunisian Arabic and so forth -- all drastically different dialects that are not understood by one another.
Quranic Arabic is even more drastically different from the various dialects. It differs in vocabulary, grammar, word formation, etc. Anyone who reads an Arabic Quran has to first learn Quranic Arabic like learning a second language.
Muhammad himself would not understand a word of an Arabic Quran.
As the Quran evolved and began being written in Classical Arabic, which is also called Quranic Arabic, many Aramaic words remained. This caused great confusion later as "scholars" studying the Quran could not figure out the meanings of many words. They were reading the words as Arabic, when the words were actually Aramaic.
Added to the problem of the Quran continuing to be partly in Aramaic, the early Arabic Qurans did not use diacritical marks (dots and markings that distinguish consonants from one another). The early Arabic Qurans also did not have vowels. Without diacritical marks to distinguish consonants, and no vowels, the earliest Qurans in Arabic were incomprehensible.
The first Qurans in Arabic did not have vowel markings because a vowel system had not yet been created. There were only consonants. But the consonants without their markings could not be distinguished from one another.
An Arabic consonant can be changed into a different consonant just by adding one dot, two dots, or three dots. These markings came to be written and codified at a much later time. Many Arabic consonants have the exact same shape. The only thing that can differentiate one consonant from another is the markings.
Adding a vowel and consonant markings created many possible variations for just one word. Now imagine an entire Quran written without consonant markings or vowels!
The grammar, syntax and vocabulary for Quranic Arabic were created and defined in the ninth and tenth centuries. The Quran was in a constant flux for 150-200 years.
The Quran was not revealed to Muhammad as Muslims are taught to believe. The Quran was created. The reason why so many biblical stories are in the Quran (though altered over time to suit the new leaders and the newly created religion), is because parts of Christian liturgical books were included in the earliest Qurans.*
During the first centuries of the Quran's creation, it continued to be deciphered. And this was the beginning of the wide range of interpretations and the vast amounts of commentaries made on the meaning of the Quran. It was also the period when the text of the Quran was edited to suit the rulers of the period.
By the late 900s, a system of intolerance developed and rulers began using the Quran to control people. The doctrine that the Quran was the eternal words of Allah became official with a death penalty to anyone who questioned it.
For more information, complete with sources, and other important information on the truthful history of Islam, information that can halt the spread of Islam in America, purchase Cheri's book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble
Below: A sample of how an un-marked word can have several meanings by adding markings. In the example below, the exact same shape can mean: to plant a seed, a girl, a house, to hop, to broadcast; or, to settle.
Below: A sample of Aramaic, an early Arabic Quran without markings, and an early Quran with markings.
|
|
|
Qurans written in Arabic are very different from those translated into English. The violence and hatred in the Arabic version is somewhat removed so that Westerners will not see that it is an instruction book of hatred and violence towards non-Muslims. An example is verse 32 in chapter five, translated into English something like this:
Whoever kills a soul, it’s as if he has slain mankind entirely.
And where he saves one soul, it’s as if he has saved mankind entirely.
This translation is purposefully mis-translated from the Arabic. Without knowledge of the Arabic Quran, this verse sounds “peaceful.” But this verse is used in mosques around the world to incite hatred and violence against Jews and non-Muslims.
A more accurate translation from Arabic:
Allah told the people of Israel if you kill one Muslim, unless for corruption of the land,
It is as if you killed the entire Muslim community.
If you save one Muslim life, the whole Muslim community is saved.
Our messengers came to the Israelites with messages and signs of Allah’s supremacy,
But Israelites continued to commit mischief and corruption on the land.
The punishment for those who wage war against Allah or Muhammad,
or who strive for mischief or corruption,
is Beheading, or Crucifixion, or the cutting off the right hand and the left foot.
As you can see, in Arabic, the words "Israel" and "Israelites" are used.
Jews are being warned that if they kill a Muslim, it is a crime of such magnitude that it is the same as if they killed the entire Muslim community (or village).
A Jew is not allowed to kill a Muslim -- it is a crime of great magnitude.
According to Islamic Doctrine, “mischief” or “corruption” of the land is when someone disobeys the laws of Islam (Islamic Law/Sharia).
The only time a Muslim can "lawfully" be killed is when it is according to Islamic Law, such as for apostasy, or when a Muslim kills another Muslim (an eye for an eye). A non-Muslim is not allowed to kill a Muslim under any circumstances.
But if a Muslim kills a Jew or a Christian (or any non-Muslim), it is not considered unlawful, so there is no punishment.
When a non-Muslim commits “corruption on the land” the punishment is crucifixion, beheading or cutting off a hand and a foot. But corruption on the land, sometimes translated as "mischief on earth," consists of an enormous category of offenses including:
Criticizing or questioning Islam;
Calling for a change in Islamic traditions;
Prejudice against Muslims;
Jokes about Islam or Muhammad;
An attempt to undermine the goals of Islam;
An attempt to undermine the interests of Muslims.
Whoever kills a soul, it’s as if he has slain mankind entirely.
And where he saves one soul, it’s as if he has saved mankind entirely.
This translation is purposefully mis-translated from the Arabic. Without knowledge of the Arabic Quran, this verse sounds “peaceful.” But this verse is used in mosques around the world to incite hatred and violence against Jews and non-Muslims.
A more accurate translation from Arabic:
Allah told the people of Israel if you kill one Muslim, unless for corruption of the land,
It is as if you killed the entire Muslim community.
If you save one Muslim life, the whole Muslim community is saved.
Our messengers came to the Israelites with messages and signs of Allah’s supremacy,
But Israelites continued to commit mischief and corruption on the land.
The punishment for those who wage war against Allah or Muhammad,
or who strive for mischief or corruption,
is Beheading, or Crucifixion, or the cutting off the right hand and the left foot.
As you can see, in Arabic, the words "Israel" and "Israelites" are used.
Jews are being warned that if they kill a Muslim, it is a crime of such magnitude that it is the same as if they killed the entire Muslim community (or village).
A Jew is not allowed to kill a Muslim -- it is a crime of great magnitude.
According to Islamic Doctrine, “mischief” or “corruption” of the land is when someone disobeys the laws of Islam (Islamic Law/Sharia).
The only time a Muslim can "lawfully" be killed is when it is according to Islamic Law, such as for apostasy, or when a Muslim kills another Muslim (an eye for an eye). A non-Muslim is not allowed to kill a Muslim under any circumstances.
But if a Muslim kills a Jew or a Christian (or any non-Muslim), it is not considered unlawful, so there is no punishment.
When a non-Muslim commits “corruption on the land” the punishment is crucifixion, beheading or cutting off a hand and a foot. But corruption on the land, sometimes translated as "mischief on earth," consists of an enormous category of offenses including:
Criticizing or questioning Islam;
Calling for a change in Islamic traditions;
Prejudice against Muslims;
Jokes about Islam or Muhammad;
An attempt to undermine the goals of Islam;
An attempt to undermine the interests of Muslims.
* pgs. 134-141 of An American Woman Living in Egypt detail the origins of the Quran and that it began as a Christian liturgical book.
References
(1) www.cheriberens.net/linguistic-studies-show-that-up-until-the-800s-the-word-muhammad-was-never-used-as-a-name-for-a-person.html
References
(1) www.cheriberens.net/linguistic-studies-show-that-up-until-the-800s-the-word-muhammad-was-never-used-as-a-name-for-a-person.html
