Understanding Islam, and reading the Qur'an chapter-by-chapter

[Small L]

I think I'll do this with you. I have a copy of the Qur'an that has been sitting unread on my shelf for a while.

[Small L]

So far I've only read Sura 1 (my translation says it's an important part of Islamic worship, which is cool). Although I haven't been completely lazy! I did read the 30+ page introduction from the translator.

Which translation are you using, Blue? I have the one by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem. It seems pretty good so far. He adds a brief introduction before each sura and there are footnotes as well.

[Small L]

I wonder how many people know how to translate the word "Allah"?
I think that a lot of people don't know about this. Maybe not people here, but people in general. It is important to know this possibly before knowing anything else about Islam.

Isn't Allah just the Arabic word for God? I do know that a god called Allah was worshipped by the polytheists of Muhammad's time as a head of the pantheon type figure. I also know Christians were using the word for God before Muhammad was born.

I'm still reading the first sura, and I noticed that 2:83-86 appears to be a condemnation of Jewish infighting. Pretty interesting.

[Small L]

Very cool. You're doing great! Your commentary is fun to read.

I think I finished the 3rd sura a few days ago. It talks more about Jesus. The similarities and differences between the Muslim and Christian outlooks on Jesus are very interesting. Anyway, it's finals week so I haven't been reading so much lately.