Following Muhammad and How to Read the Quran - Literature review Example

Introduction Islam is a religion that is practiced in almost every part of world. There are huge diversities inthe culture and language of people following Islam in different parts of world. Islamic religion is based on the words of Quran. Quran is the book central to Islamic belief and worship. How to Read the Qur’an by Mona Siddiqui and Following Muhammad by Carl W. Ernest; are the two books written on the beliefs of Islam. Both the books were written to provide completely diverse alternative to previously available books on Islam. Both the books contain teaching, thinking and writings based on Islamic culture and religion. Both the writers Siddiqui and Ernest have mentioned about the circumstances under which they have been inspired to provide their opinion on Islamic trends and cultures. Mona Siddiqui is a professor of Islamic studies and public understanding at the University of Glasgow. According to her book How to Read the Qur’an, the faith of Muslim community depends completely on the writings mentioned in the holy book Quran. The direct words of God have been mentioned in the Holy book. On the other hand the Following Muhammad written by Ernest provides information about the shaping of modern interpretation of Islam from Protestant Christian thoughts. Thesis Statement “How to Read Quran by Mona Siddiqui and Following Muhammad by Carl W. Ernest are two recognized books on Islamic culture, presenting a new dimension to enhance the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims”. Discussion The Qur’an is the complete resemblance of Islamic belief. Muslim people turn towards Qur’an not only for worship and prayer but also to understand the quintessence of their relationship with God. In the book How to Read the Qur’an; Mona Siddiqui has considered the understanding of the subject by Muslim people in the intellectual tradition as well as the modern and popular worships. The book quantifies about the prophecy, salvation, laws and sin and teaches about the God’s last revelation in the history. Mona Siddiqui also mentions in her book about the challenges and questions people had regarding the compilation of the Holy book Qur’an. Mona Siddiqui mainly focused on a major concern related to the establishment of ethical and social relation between Muslim and non-Muslim people. On the other hand the book Following Muhammad written by Carl W. Ernest emphasizes mainly on the interaction between history and religion. He uses a religious study approach in order to infer the establishment of modern interpretations from modern Protestant Christian thoughts. Ernest constantly used the historical contexts in his writing due to which the demonstration sets a perfect example of religious reality from social, political and economic factors. Ernest applied religious themes particularly the role of Prophet Muhammad along with spirituality, mysticism and gender issues. Ernest’s book mainly aims at non-Muslim who are required to come to terms with Islam as well as Muslims who are not satisfied with the belief that non-Muslims can come to terms with their own experiences and the history of world. Hence both the books have been written with different purposes however they focus on the similar issues related to Islamic community. Both the books have direct influence in the purpose and life of Islamic people as well as non-Muslim people. Both the books say about the importance of Qur’an and the purpose of the Holy book in the society. Based on the information obtained from the books the dictation of God’s last speech addresses the purpose of establishment of Islamic Religion and the objectives of Muslim people to make the world a better place. The book ‘Following Muhammad’ reflects a contemporary view of Islamic religion and it is easily accessible by general reader. The main strength of the book is the inception of Biblical comparisons as well as the contribution of Jews and Christians. This provides the opportunity to unite people of various faiths. The book ‘How to Read Qur’an’ provides information about the Holy book worshipped by Muslim people. The main purpose of Mona Siddiqui behind writing this book is that Muslims must look forward to Qur’an in order to re-generate new life with simplified social and ethical relations between non-Muslims and Muslims as well as maintain a relation of friendship and brotherhood so that global challenges could be taken care of with strong and distinct belief in the name of God. Ernest wrote his book because initially he became interested in Islamic thoughts through Persian poetry of Sufis. Ernest started his investigation on Islam through the ideologies of Sufism. Ernest’s main motive was to help the West overcome the existing challenges related to Islamic extremists and providing the idea of love and peace to common people. Comparison According to the book ‘Following Muhammad’ by Ernest, the history of the term Religion has been considered. The book also focuses on the changes from the time of early Christianity to early colonial period. The book provides modern philosophical understanding for scholars along with definitions related to Muslim concepts in their own term. The classification and existence of Prophet Muhammad and his preaching provide proper understanding for readers with historical evidence. Implementation of historical evidences has provided the book with a touch of religion realty and it has helped to enhance the knowledge of Muslims as well as non-Muslim people. On the other hand ‘How to Read Qur’an’ by Siddiqui providers readers with an interest towards the Holy book Qur’an. Qur’an is the direct word of God, unchanged and timeless. The Holy book not only provides the opportunity to offer prayer for Muslims however it also provides an understanding of the essence of people’s relationship with God. As per the book of Mona Siddiqui, big themes of prophecy, sin, law, Qur’an’s teachings and salvation are the main concepts of Islamic existence. The particular place of Islam as the last revelation of Allah is the major fact of human history. Mona Siddiqui has also mentioned how the Qur’an had been understood by Muslims in the intellectual tradition. According to her book Islamic people should have proper understanding of Qur’an in order to enhance social and ethical relations. On the other hand Ernest mentioned in his book a very similar concept. Ernest applied the methods to religious themes, such as law, Islamic religious ethics, spirituality, gender issues etc. This signifies that both the books contain themes that are directly related to the Islamic faith and beliefs. Ernest also used historical evidences to prove that religious reality is often sprouted from social, economic and political factors. In the fifth Chapter of ‘Following Muhammad’, Ernest discussed about the nature of Islamic art, which is very important. The theme of this chapter was to understand sacred and secular art with religious themes. The chapter also held information about Islamic art for non-Muslim people. The book finally dictates the re-imaging of Islam in twenty-first century. The book continuously defines about the role of Prophet Muhammad as the highest defining figure in his Islamic experience. Hence it constitutes of distinct knowledge about the historical evidence related to the prophecy and descriptions about Muhammad. Mona Siddiqui in her book defines that Muhammad is commanded to read about the existence of God. The book also describes that Qur’an speaks directly to Muhammad. He was entitled to inform people about their birth and the life Islamic people should follow in order to get the blessings of God. Hence it proves that both the books have some similar themes related to Islamic belief. Contrast Carl Ernest’s book Following Muhammad presents religion background of Muslims along with vivid history about historical time. Ernest mainly tried to emphasize the attitude of Euro-Americans in the colonial and postcolonial eras. The book mainly describes about the relations of Muslim and non-Muslim communities in the western world along with the existence and teachings of Prophet Muhammad. In the first chapter Ernest mentioned about the cultural scenario and religious expressions of Muslims over the previous two decades. The author also mentioned about the anti-Islamic attitudes. On the other hand Mona Siddiqui in her book presented the approach and importance of Qur’an. According to Siddiqui Qur’an tells about the way to live peacefully and prosperously in life. It also tells mentions about the path, which people can follow to reach God and his eternal love. Siddiqui also describes that Qur’an is the direct words of God hence it is for every person in the world regardless of their religion. This shows that both the books have difference in their content and moral meanings. Carl Ernest has detailed about the problems associated with the western society and how they can overcome those problems. Ernest’s book mainly mentions about Sufism, Islamic art and Muhammad rather than ritual and religious beliefs only. Ernest’s purpose behind writing the book was clearly visible with the themes he included. The most important purpose was to make people believe that Muslims are innocent people as other people are. It is the activity of anti-Islamic people who spread terror to discriminate one person from other and divide people based on religion. Ernest also provided many examples of historical times to prove his statements. On the other hand Siddiqui provides people an approach towards the holy book Qur’an. Siddiqui mainly aimed that people should know about Qur’an and understand what it says. Since Qur’an is a religious book so it includes difficult texts that could be difficult for non-Muslim readers. Siddiqui used a simpler language to summarize Qur’an for people along with explanations. This proves that the purpose of both authors were different behind writing the books hence it is reflected after reading them carefully. According to the book ‘Following Muhammad’, the change in the tradition of Islamic religion from medieval period to modern world is vigilant. Ernest tried his best to conceptualize the personal terms of Muslims after he researched in several countries. Ernest also mentioned that there are huge diversities in the Islamic culture based on demographics. Asian countries have different language and different set of theories whereas Western countries have different language and understandings. Siddiqui failed to focus in a broader way of Islamic culture. Siddiqui in her book definitely detailed the purpose and preaching of the Quran but she did not compare present day actions with the words of Quran. This distinguishes both books from each other despite the books are written on same subject i.e. Islamic culture. The book following Muhammad by Carl Ernest is completely different from other books written to understand Islamic culture. Ernest mainly focused on the issues that people have been facing from the postcolonial era to modern culture. Ernest mentioned about the spiritual, cultural and ethical practices of Muslims as well as non-Muslims in order to reduce the difference between different religions. Moreover, Ernest has made several attempts to motivate readers with the positive influences of Islamic tradition. Ernest has completed his work after researching and getting ideas from different countries and cultures. Hence his work is based on real-time facts and issues. Ernest’s writing has some minor mistakes and it can-not be regarded as a scholarly writing. Following Muhammad is a book that is written in easy language for better understanding of non-Muslim people and it majorly emphasizes on the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad. How to read Quran by Mona Siddiqui is based on the intellectual tradition of Muslims. It also mentions about the relation of people with God. According to Siddiqui the holy book Quran teaches about the valuable aspects of Islamic religion, their tradition and it is regarded as the last revelation of God. The purpose behind writing this book was to portray the early Islamic thought, classical laws and ethical issues. Being a British Muslim, Mona Siddiqui has presented her works beautifully that can effectively hold the interest of readers. Carl Ernest and Mona Siddiqui both have presented their themes in a distinctive manner with the same purpose to understand Islamic culture. Though the books hold different contents and they provide different conclusions but their direct motive is to provide readers better understanding of Islamic culture. Ernest has tried to make people understand that Muslims have a distinct history from very beginning and they should not be subject to any kind of criticism. Siddiqui on the other hand has highlighted the important texts of Quran in order to provide good direction and guidance to manhood for people. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that Following Muhammad and How to Read Quran are two important books that resemble the Islamic tradition and culture. Both the books have some common themes related to Islamic culture however they are distinct from each other. Siddiqui has tried to simplify the texts of Quran in her book in order to gain reader’s interest. She has also provided many examples to relate the issues of Muslim culture with non-Muslims. Ernest on the other hand gained his interest from poems of Sufi’s. His book emphasizes on modern day challenges of Muslim community and how they can be reduced by understanding each other. Undoubtedly both books are master-piece of Islamic religion, based on their social and ethical beliefs. The content of both books are different with difference in thoughts and views of both authors but the motives were common. Quran is the complete resemblance of Islamic belief and Muslims turn towards Quran to worship their God. Following Muhammad provides a clear picture of Prophet Muhammad and his life. Hence both books are important to the Islamic culture in their own manner and it can be concluded that, How to Read Quran by Mona Siddiqui and Following Muhammad by Carl W. Ernest are two recognized books on Islamic culture, presenting a new dimension to enhance the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims. Work Cited Siddiqui, Mona. How to read the Qur’an. London: Granta Books, 2014. Print. Read More