Okay, I want to learn more about the Koran so I can understand?

Question

why people say it is a peaceful religion, but at the same time I keep seeing videos which are appealing. I started reading it a few days ago but I had a difficult time understanding it. The first chapter freaked me out until I asked a Muslim what it meant, unfortunately I do not have a Muslim friend in real life, nor do I have the time to seek one out to explain the Koran to me.

I want to give an honest effort to try to understand the beliefs. I wish to be able to have honest debate with them without being ignorant. I want to understand their ways.. Is there any site out there that explains what the passages of the Koran mean?

Typo.. videos that are appalling sorry.

Answer 1

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/

http://www.irf.net/irf/faqonislam/index.htm

Answer 2

SIGH!!! while will human beings learn? That Islam isn't approximately Terrorism. That Muslims who use the Quran in a foul way or use Gods call in a foul way will burn in Hell alongside with each and all the Unbelievers... in the Quran it needless to say states that even people who misread the Quran and use it to their very own benefit would be in Hell on the Judgment Day. purely the honest and righteous would be admitted into Paradise. There are some Muslims that enable you to recognize the translated text cloth isn't thoroughly miraculous that's actual because of the fact once you translate something into yet another language you lose some words. they say you're able to study it in Arabic so which you're examining Gods words the way He meant them to be study and recited. God chosen Muhammad as his prophet to tutor Islam, God chosen Arabic because of the fact the language of Islam and the Quran. If He needed it to be in English he could have chosen an English speaking individual to talk His words. the comparable could be suggested relating to the Bible. no person is nicely examining "Gods" words because of the fact God spoke to Jesus in Aramaic. i think of whether it continues to succeed sufficient once you study it in despite language then that's all that concerns, you get the element and you experience what God is asserting.

Answer 3

Try reading English Quran & Ccommentary by Muhammed Esed
http://www.kuran.gen.tr/?x=s_main&kid=33
verse 5 to 20 does not appear but it will help you to understand
Have a good day

Answer 4

Try Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koran

Answer 5

Join the Army. You will have a lot of cultural exposure to muslim people who will tell you all about it.

Answer 6

http://www.iad.org/books/WAMY14.html

This tells what you need to know about Islam.

Answer 7

Peace be upon you, and thank you for asking a question about Islam in a respectful manner. :D
I'm Muslim, and I'd love to explain some Quranic verses to you, and if I can't help you understand them, I'll refer you to another Muslim or search myself.
Well, I hope I don't over-answer your question!!! Sorry in advance if I do.
To start with, the word "Islam" is an Arabic word that literally means "peace"; another of its meanings is "submission (to the Will of God)". (Ever heard of "slaam alaikum"? It means "peace be upon you".) "Muslim" is an Arabic word that literally means "one who submits to God's Will"; and that's exactly the purpose of a Muslim: to follow God in every way, to submit to His Will in every way, to worship Him the way He wants us to.
Hmm....Well, there's SO much I could say about Islam/Quran.... The important thing right now is to remember here is that it's being misunderstood by MANY people, and then there are those other people (anti-Islamic ones) who judge it based on how some uneducated-in-Islam Muslims practice the religion. They look at Osama Bin Ladin or other terrorists and then claim that Islam supports them in being terrorists. But that's not true. The Quran abhors terroristic acts, but people take verses out of context from the Quran and apply it to every-day life when that's not supposed to be the case.
Ever heard of how men get 70 virgins in heaven for killing others in Islam??? Well, know that thats NOT true; the Quran says ONE man to ONE woman in heaven (a couple).
Ummm... what specifically would you be interested in knowing about Islam, though? ....
I'll start with the terrorism part and how you keep seeing those videos even though Islam says it's peaceful.
There are a few verses in the Quran that are used by anti-Islamic people to try to prove that Islam doesn't teach peace at all and that it teaches its followers to kill those who're not Muslims. This is too untrue, and those verses are given below--and explained as well later on.

Sura 8.12 "Remember thy lord has inspired the angels with the message. Give firmness to the believers and instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. Smite them above their necks and smite the fingertips of them."
Sura 9.5 "When the sacred months have passed, kill the idolaters whereever you find them."
Sura 47.4 "When you encounter the unbelievers, Strike off their heads. Untill you have made a wide slaughter among them tie up the remaining captives."
Now the explanations:
Sura 8 is about a BATTLE - the Battle of Badr - not just some daily affair. A battles take two side to occur. Are you under the impression that while these 'horrid' Muslims were fighting, the enemies were simply standing there like good little peaceful men?
Sura 47 was revealed during the first year of Hijrah when the Muslims were under *threat of extinction* by invasion from Makkah.
Sura 9 is interesting. Non-Muslims almost invariably quote verse 5 but leave out verse 4 and 6. Why? Because verse 4 says, "But the treatires are not dissolved with those Pagans with whom you have entered into alliance and who have you subsequently failed you in aught, nor aided anyone against you. So fulfill your engagements with them to the end of their term: for God Loves the righteous."
And verse 6 says, "If one among the Pagans ask thee for asylum, grant it to him so that he may hear the Word of God; and then escort him to where he can be secure."
So basically what has been done above is:
1. The background to each sura was shown. One cannot take a verse revealed for a battle and insist it is if for the daily affairs of Muslims.
2. It was shown how Non-muslims who wish to attack Islam, conveniently leave out verses before and after their quoted verse. Above, I have shown only one of the many examples.

And the Quran is the ONLY Holy Text that says, "Let there be no compulsion in religion; Truth stands out clearly from Error..." (Quran, 2:246).
In the Qur'an, the principle of fighting is purely self-defensive.
"Permission [to fight] is given to those against whom war is being wrongfully waged and, verily, God has indeed the power to succour them; those who have been driven from their homelands against all right for no other reason than their saying, 'Our sustainer is God!'" (22:39-40).
Now, anyone can commit acts of terror and aggression and say, "it's in self-defense." In fact, that is precisely what Al Qaeda is doing: they claim by killing 3,000 people in New York City and Washington, D.C., they are "defending" the Muslim nation against "Zionist and Crusader" aggression against the Muslims. What sheer rubbish! They're NOT following the Quran!!! They're killing others for personal pleasure as have done many, many other religious freaks throughout history.
The Qur'an clearly states, in the remainder of 2:190:
"...but do not commit aggression, for verily, God does not love aggressors."
"Committing aggression" includes killing innocent civilians in Tel Aviv, Beslan, New York, Baghdad, or wherever. Furthermore, when the enemy ceases its hostility, fighting must cease:
"...but if they desist, then all hostility shall cease, save against those who [willfully] do wrong" (2:193).
Another verse repeats this insistence that hostility must cease when the enemy stops its aggression against you:
"But if they [the enemy] incline to peace, incline thou to it as well, and place thy trust in God: verily, He alone is all-hearing, all-knowing! And should they seek but to deceive thee [by their show of peace] - behold, God is enough for thee! He it is who has strengthened thee with His succour, and by giving thee believing followers" (8:61-62).
Thus, even if the enemy is feigning a peaceful posture, the Muslims are still commanded to cease hostility and "place their trust in God."
It is quite clear that fighting is in self-defense, and aggression is not allowed. Now, Muslims have waged wars of aggression in the past, for sure, and they even called them "jihad against the infidels" in order to justify their desire for territorial expansion. In fact, one of the most pertinent examples of this was the Ummayad Dynasty, which enacted a policy of "jihad" as perpetual warfare. But, such a policy is not Islamically correct, and as the collapse of the Ummayad Dynasty showed, not sustainable.
Those who kill others in the name of Islam are NOT doing God's will; (they DON'T get 72 virgins in heaven! This is a dumb lie created by some hungry men who wanted others to support them in killing innocents.)
The Quran says, "Life for life, eye for eye, nose or nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal. But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself..." (Quran, 5:45).
Further, the Quran teaches us, Muslims, that we are to respect others, whether younger or older, but mainly elders, neighbors, guests, poor, rich, people regardless of skin color and race and so on. It allows us to fight wars ONLY if we're being oppressed by another group of people and/or if another people attack us (as in, in self-defense); hence, there's no such thing as fighting wars in order to gain innocent people's lands and whatnot (Quran, 22:39-40).
We're taught to respect and love all prophets (Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Isaac, Ishmael, Noah, Muhammad,...) equally; one's not better than another. We believe in Jesus but only as a prophet sent by God; we don't believe he was crucified, either. Neither do we believe that God would let someone else (or himself?) die for your sins (even if he was resurrected after a while); the Quran strictly says that each individual will be rewarded/punished according to his deeds/intentions, and NO one else will bear someone else's punishment.
During wars, Muslims are NOT permitted by God to kill children, women, religious leaders (priests, imaams, rabbis, etc.), or the elderly; we're not permitted to destroy places of residence, animals (unless they're being used in the war--as has been the case in past history), or places of worship like Mosques, Churches, Temples, etc. If Muslims disobey this law, that's between them and God, and God is Most Fair.
The Quran says that the reward for your good deeds is ALWAYS multiplied (from 10 times possibly up to 700 times), but your punishment is never multiplied. These rewards/blessings are multiplied in this world and then again on Judgment Day, if you deserve it.
This Holy Book strictly says, "Do NOT take women against their will....On the contrary, live with them on a footing of KINDNESS AND EQUITY..." (4:19).
Muhammad, the last prophet whom God sent to mankind in order to help us see Light and Truth and Guidance, lived life as can be seen from the instances below:
-- There was a woman during his time who hated his guts for absolutely no logical reason. Every time he'd be walking by on the street, she'd throw out her garbage over his head from the top of her house! But he'd simply ignore. This one day he was walking by, but the woman didn't throw anything over him, and he wondered why. When he asked others if the woman was okay and all, he found out that she was sick. You know what he did after finding out that she was sick? He went and visited her and prayed for her.
-- When he'd be sitting down somewhere or passing by the funeral of some non-Muslim, he'd stand up in respect for the dead and even join in the walk during the funeral. He taught his followers to do the same.
-- A man came to him once, telling him that he (the man) lies, cheats, drinks, and does many other such things; he asked Muhammad (pbuh) to suggest something that'll make him stop all this. Muhammad (pbuh) immediately told him to stop lying; once you stop lying, it's very easy to gradually stop the other sins as well.
-- He taught people to respect their neighbors and guests more than anything and to have good relations with them, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims.
-- When it comes to women, he taught:
"Fear Allah (God) regarding women. Verily you have married them with the trust of Allah, and made their bodies lawful with the word of Allah. You have got (rights) over them, and they have got (rights) over you in respect of their food and clothing according to your means."
He also taught:
"Among my followers, the best of men are those who are best to their wives, and the best of women are those who are best to their husbands. To each of such women is set down a reward equivalent to the reward of a thousand martyrs. Among my followers, again, the best of women are those who assist their husbands in their work, and love them dearly for everything, save what is a transgression of Allah's laws."
The Quran also has extremely beautiful teachings. (Did you know that MANY of the scientific discoveries made in TODAY'S world are mentioned in the Quran, which was sent over 1400 years ago?.... Scientists back then didn't have enough knowledge for anyone to put this scientific info in the Quran, which means only God could've done it... and He did. http://msa.evansville.edu/pagesfornonmus...
I'll try to put some of the Quranic verses here, but you can visit this link http://www.usc.edu/dept/msa/quran/... to search the verses online IF you want.
For instances, it says: "Never will I [God] suffer to be lost the work of any of you be it male or female: you are members of one another ..." (Qur'an 3:195).
And, "And serve Allah and do not associate any thing with Him and be good to (your) parents and to the near of kin and the orphans and the needy and the neighbor of (your) kin and the alien neighbor, and the companion in a journey and the wayfarer and those whom your right hands possess; surely Allah does not love him who is proud, boastful" (4:36).
And "O ye who believe! stand out firmly for Allah, as witnesses to fair dealing, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice. Be just: that is next to piety: and fear Allah. For Allah is well-acquainted with all that ye do" (5:8). "To those who believe and do deeds of righteousness hath Allah promised forgiveness and a great reward" (5:9).
Or "Those who rehearse the Book of Allah, establish regular Prayer, and spend (in Charity) out of what We have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for a commerce that will never fail; For He will pay them their meed, nay, He will give them (even) more out of His Bounty: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (service)" (5:29-30).

It is the religion of Islam that has given women more rights than they can imagine. When you look at today's world, you see how women have the freedom to choose their own spouse, the right to vote, the right to be educated, the right to have any job she wants, and so on; but the fact is that these women didn't get these rights until VERY recently (say, a few decades or a couple of centuries ago--if not less). In fact, even today, in 2007, in most jobs/professions, men get 30% higher income than women with the SAME job/profession do. Islam doesn't agree with such things, and it is only the religion of Islam that gives women all these rights and many, many more. For instance, it is the Quran/Islam that obligates every Muslim parent to educate his/her children (males AND females) equally and to treat them equally in all other matters as well. (You won't read about educating your children equally in other religious texts.) It is the Quran that says that male and female children are an EQUAL blessing to their family; in other religions, the female birth is considered a loss, an omen.
Now, generally speaking, Islam teaches that God is One, as in, purely without son/father; God says in the Quran, "Say: He is Allah, the One and Only; Allah, the Eternal, Absolute; He begetteth not, nor is He begotten; And there is none like unto Him" (112: 1-4). This is why we Muslims reject the concept of Trinity: becauseGod is not like anyone you've ever seen/met/imagined (hence, Jesus was/is not a part of God or God Himself).
Islam is a logical religion (God's Truth has never been illogical), and God's Guidelines for His human Creation are perfect and reasonable since He created us and knows EVERYTHING about us--what's good for us and what's bad, and so on.
Islam DOES promote peace, but some of its followers just don't follow Islam properly, and that's an unfortunate thing for the other Muslims because their entire Faith is being antogonized by non-Muslims simply due to those terrorists and all.
When citing the Quran, you'll see something like, say, 11:3. 11 is the chapter of the Quran, and 3 is the verse of that chapter; there are 114 chapters in the Quran, and the latter ones are much smaller than the beginning ones. The Quran is not written chronologically. For instance, you'll read something like, "This day, I've perfected your religion for you and made lawful for you all that's good for you and forbidden for you all that's not good for you.... This day, your Book of guidance has been completed...." (or something like that) (Quran, 5:3).
That was the last verse sent in the Quran, but it's in chapter 5. You see what I mean?
The following website is a perfect translation of the Quran (done by three different interpretors/translators). http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/reference/searchquran.html Here, you can learn practically everything about Islam, not just about the Quran, BUT the verses of the Quran are not explained; most of the verses are actually quite self-explanatory, you see? But if you need help in understanding them, feel free to email/IM me.
If you wish to learn more about Islam, joining some Islamic groups (like, on Yahoo! or MSN) is a great idea as well. They send out many Islamic emails every now and then, and they're VERY informative.
HOWEVER, the problem arises when hadiths are mentioned..... Hadiths are the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that have been recorded by others and passed down from generation to generation.... I've read MANY of them that are purely against the teachings of the Quran, and the Quran says that if any hadith/Islamic teaching doesn't coincide with the Quran itself, then Muslims mustn't accept it as true.
Just keep in mind that Islam is a logical religion, so most of the time, if you come across some illogical teachings that claim to be Islamic, know that there's a low chance for that to be true. Or then ask me, and I'll tell you. This website http://www.irf.net/irf/main.htm is a GREAT one, for Muslims as well as non-Muslims. It's designed by the crew of a brilliant and respected Muslim Scholar named Dr. Zakir Naik. He doesn't know just about Islam but about EVERY religion, and on this website, you'll get the chance to read TONS of questions asked by Muslims and non-Muslims and Dr. Naik's logical, truthful answers to them.
Anyway, IM/email me if you wish; I'll be happy to answer other questions of yours if I know the answers.
Peace and blessings be upon you and your loved ones! :)