Major religions have a form of text, such as the Bible or the Quran, that is deemed sacred. One controversial topic regarding these sacred texts is how they should actually be read. Through discussion of the origins and natures of the Quran and Paul 's letters, it is concluded that how a sacred text should be read is dependent upon various factors such as the origin and the socio-historical context it is written.
Some of the major factors that will contribute to deciding how sacred texts read are the origins and natures of the texts themselves.
While there are vague preconceptions surrounding the Quran 's origins, Islam is in no doubt of how it came to be. The Quran states that the words were spoken to Muhammad from Allah (The Noble Quran, …show more content…
The reason they have been doing this is because of its Godly nature. They most likely believe that because the Quran is the “direct” words of their God, they should just be taken exactly as they are. Whether or not this is the right way to read the Quran is dependent on the true origin and context of it. If it truly has a heavenly authorship, it should certainly be taken literally, like it has been, through recitation and memorisation; as to reverence the all-knowing God who made it. Since, a divine being wrote it then it must be true so it should be taken exactly as it is. But, If it was written by a human, it should be read critically as the words become irrelevant as time goes by and societal standards change. One reason why the Quran should be read critically if it has human authorship, is in order for Muslims to be able to fit in with today’s social context. For example, is there is a verse in the Quran that states that a man is able to marry up to four women. The reason for this is at the time of Muhammad, the fighting between the Meccans and the Muslims which caused a shortage of men. The remaining men had to marry more than one woman to allow them to survive. In this day and age, this no longer is a problem, and most societies do not allow more than one spouse per person. Another perhaps, more obscure reason, for Muslims to read the Quran critically, would be for them to gain a better understanding of the book that their God gave them. If they begin to study the actual words and find in depth meanings, they will be able to truly understand the purpose of their sacred text. At this point some may argue that social and historical context does not matter and that the words of a divine entity should be heeded no matter what era or society it
Some of the major factors that will contribute to deciding how sacred texts read are the origins and natures of the texts themselves.
While there are vague preconceptions surrounding the Quran 's origins, Islam is in no doubt of how it came to be. The Quran states that the words were spoken to Muhammad from Allah (The Noble Quran, …show more content…
The reason they have been doing this is because of its Godly nature. They most likely believe that because the Quran is the “direct” words of their God, they should just be taken exactly as they are. Whether or not this is the right way to read the Quran is dependent on the true origin and context of it. If it truly has a heavenly authorship, it should certainly be taken literally, like it has been, through recitation and memorisation; as to reverence the all-knowing God who made it. Since, a divine being wrote it then it must be true so it should be taken exactly as it is. But, If it was written by a human, it should be read critically as the words become irrelevant as time goes by and societal standards change. One reason why the Quran should be read critically if it has human authorship, is in order for Muslims to be able to fit in with today’s social context. For example, is there is a verse in the Quran that states that a man is able to marry up to four women. The reason for this is at the time of Muhammad, the fighting between the Meccans and the Muslims which caused a shortage of men. The remaining men had to marry more than one woman to allow them to survive. In this day and age, this no longer is a problem, and most societies do not allow more than one spouse per person. Another perhaps, more obscure reason, for Muslims to read the Quran critically, would be for them to gain a better understanding of the book that their God gave them. If they begin to study the actual words and find in depth meanings, they will be able to truly understand the purpose of their sacred text. At this point some may argue that social and historical context does not matter and that the words of a divine entity should be heeded no matter what era or society it