Is the Qur'an supose to be taken litterally?

Question

With its poetry, parables and metaphors is it suppose to be taken literally?

Answer 1

Supposed to be taken practically.

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Answer 2

Every religion advocates you to be a good human being and you can be such an individual even without huge books.You just need to stick to simple values and you can acieve that.But some people feel that being a good individual or a good Muslim,Christian ,Jew or a Hindu can be possible only by going through religious books.So for them ,you've got these religious books.
I think you only need to take in what you feel is right.All religious books have certain rules which are impossible to believe.I've read some books which tell you to wake up at 3 in the morning,take a bath in cold water and have a long list on how to marry etcetc.C'mon God is not gonna tell you that just becoz you didn't wake up at 3 ,you can't enter heaven is he?
So just follow simple values and you can be the greatest of human beings.You don't need any book for that.

Answer 3

umm/.....It is very easy for someone to integrate a large multitude of meaning into small phrases. These metaphors can only offer next to nothing in terms of messages if taken literally.

Picture it this way, You want to write down everything you know about life and you only got 1 lifetime to do it.
Now..there are two ways to do this.

1. make a book that has nothing written in it (alla kino's journey) (however this can be useless to people who aren't so spiritual)

or 2. Make a bunch of metaphors and stories that can be riddled with hidden meanings (much more useful to the those who aren't so spiritual)

I'd go for number 2 as it makes more sense to me.

Even then, people can take a written phrase literally in different ways. So, even literally people can derive more than one meaning. It's the same with language. Translation is still required even if we both speak english or spanish , et.c

Answer 4

The bible? Which one out of the gazillion out there? Its pathetic how many "bibles" you have. The other day ive even seen a simplified bible for kids lol, most likey with comics inside. I mean seriously, does each one of you customise a bible according to their desires and interests? or maybe God keeps sending in new editions! lol. I only believe in the one bible sent to Prophet Jesus, for that was the true word of God, and you fake Christians, amended and changed it to suit your mentalities.

However, the Quraan is a miraculous. It is the word of God, and has been preserved for over 1400 years. Get any 2 Quraans from 2 different places in the world, and they will be identical.
The Quraan is full of scientific miracles and evidences, and in noway wouldve the prophet Muhammed written it, being an illetrate man. Besides, many of those miracles and facts were unknown to man 1400 years ago, when the Quraan was sent to the prophet Muhammed.
check this link out:
http://www.miraclesofthequran.com/

and as for the part of kill, kill, kill! That is not what the Quraan teaches in anyway. In the Quraan, it orders muslims to defend their religon, countries, and families against attackers, and stresses never to attack anyone unless they threaten you first. In islam, killing a tree, animal, or any innocent creature is a sin.
Lets think for a second about why the extremists act the way they do. Palestinians and Iraqis, Pakistanis and Bosnians, Africans, Chechens, Muslims everywhere! They are killed and opressed, humiliated and have no rights! I myself come from a Caucasian origin, from the Muslim Circassia which was destroyed and taken from its people by the Russians, they caused all the Circassians to flee their homeland and settle later in parts of the middle east.

How about the two world wars? wasnt it christians and communists (who are atheists) who started them and did zillions of inhumane genocides? Wasnt it the US who dropped atomic bombs on the innocent civilians of Japan, causing them damage and pain till the present day? Wasnt it the US who did the inhumance torture crimes in abu ghraib jail in Iraq? I am an American Muslim, and ive moved to the middle east a few years ago. I must say! ive found more democracy and tolerance here than in the US!

Answer 5

Well, if you're looking for irony or circular arguments, it's not that hard to do with religious works.

If you do not study them diligently, just like the law, it can get complex, unless you understand the "intent" behind the law. Sticking to the letter of the law is difficult if you don't use the brain God gave you.

I must admit, I am only casually familiar with the Qur'an. In the Bible, Paul tells us that everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.

As I understand it, those who practice Islam, believe that all things are predestined by Allah, therefore, perhaps there is no point to discussing this theory at all, unless of course God predestined it to happen.

If my concept is incorrect, I would appreciate someone setting me straight. God bless you all.

Answer 6

The Quran is Allah/GOD's message to all mankind. To fully understand it you need to know Arabic. BUT you can find what are called commentaries which are translations of the Quran. You can find one online at this address if you really want to know what the Quran teaches. http://submission.org/quran/

Some who claim to be Muslim have not truly read the Quran, but accepted teachings of men as Allah/GOD's truth. This is what has caused and is causing all the problems in Islam.

I still do not understand how suicide bombers think they will go to Paradise as a reward when the Quran condemns suicide. By the way, the Quran also condemns the killing of the innocent elderly, women and children during war/lesser jihad. So obviously, someone is not taking the Quran literally and following one other than Allah/GOD which amounts to idolatry, also condemned in the Quran.

Ahhhh.....human rationalization! Don't ya just love it?

Answer 7

The Quran is truly God inspired.
The text has never been changed.
The Quran was passed through Muhammad (PBUH) by the Resonance of Allah (God).
Literal interpretation is an unqualified term, for the "Wisdom" of the individual reading the Quran will dictate the message received from the passage. Mysticism abounds in the Holy Quran.
The same applies to the Hole Bible, "Wisdom" is needed to understand the messages given within the test...
Interpretation varies according to the "Wisdom" of the one doing the reading.

Answer 8

As a Christian, I think the Qur'an should not be taken literally. It is kind of like our Bible. More or less. Some should be taken literally like being good people but the majority has a deeper meaning.

Answer 9

Sometimes yes sometimes no. Pray to Allah that your eye could see the light from those poetry, parables and metaphors.

Answer 10

To read the Qur'an I would need to read Arabic. Which I don't. I have read some of the Haddiths which can be translated. They are kind of like the Bible. Stories meant to convey a lesson. People who don;t have the ability to get the lesson tend to think your supposed to take it word for word like a cook book. With both the Hadiths and the Bible they are missing the point.

Answer 11

It's hard to know what parts of the Koran you're referencing, but generally, yes.
The Koran makes a lot of strange and violent claims and commands, and the PC crowd like to pretend that they either do not exist or, when shown them, that they should not be taken literally or as a serious part of Islam.
Excuse me, but the Koran is the basis for Islam, just as the Bible is for Christianity. Bravo to Muslims that recognize that it should not be taken seriously, and so do not hold the Koran as truth, or read from it selectively; but that it is not true Islam. Choosing parts of your religion and ignoring others is not following that religion, it's creating a new one that adheres to a subset of tenets taken from the other religion.