Peace "abrar",
Peace Jonny_k,
All those contributors got their sources from the same sectarian sources as well so they are not even reliable. Can you tell me that any of those contributers considered Sacred Mosque as a mental image ? Which dictionary does not state khimar as a head cover ?
JK- MAN have you actually gone to
http://www.studyquran.co.uk/PRLonline.htmLook up the root for "khumur" there, in lanes, and youll see tht the primary meaning is "cover" and not head covering. Then go and look up the rootfor "masjid" i.e. "sajada" and "haram" and youll find the meanings as "lowly, humble, submissive" and "forbid/prevent/prohibit respectively AND NOT SACRED MOSQUE.
You can make uncountable sects based on personal selection of various meanings of a single word as you please. For example a woman wants to wear a head scarf she selects Quranic term khimar as head cover and another woman wants to wear tea shirt so she uses another meaning of khimar by making use of analogies of the root word KHAMARA. Even modesty could mean diffrent things to different people so Quran is just a subjective opinion book.
JK- You havnt even looked at lanes lexicon have you? Go do that first.
What if the original meaning has been lost as other ancient languages lose over time ?
JK- Why would GOD make the original meaning get lost? If that were the case then there was no use of Him sending us Quran since we wouldnt be able to understand it. Thus this is an absurd point.
What if the original meaning is traditionally known and being unfairly rejected by the Quranists simply by the attribution of a grand evil conspiracy against the Quran by traditionalists? Where exactly do you draw the lines?
JK- We dont disagree with the traditional understanding of every word. Only with that which via cross referencing within the Quran has shown to be inconsistent or the meaning adapted by the sectarians is more of an implied than root meaning.
At some place God says in Quran that Salat could be lost by generations over time. whatever I have read in the Quranists' literature is that the times of salat vary from two times to three times which God clearly says is prescribed as a timed duty. The method of salat can be any thing from two units or even like sunnis and shia way as God does not specifically state the number of units and steps. What if its true that salat has been lost over time ? Which independent dictionary describes salat as communion ? Which dictionary says salat over the prophet means commune over the prophet ? What if the true meaning is lost ?
JK- Again goto
http://www.studyquran.co.uk/PRLonline.htm and check the meaning of "saad laam waw" under "saad" to see what it basically means. As for this being lost it means clearly that some people have lost to be in communion and they isolate themselves from each other. GOD also says that every bird knows its salat:
[24:41] Do you not realize that everyone in the heavens and the earth glorifies GOD, even the birds as they fly in a column? Each knows its SALAT and its glorification. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.
In other verses it is mentioned that birds and animals are in communities like us:
[6:38] All the creatures on earth, and all the birds that fly with wings, are COMMUNITIES like you. We did not leave anything out of this book.** To their Lord, all these creatures will be summoned.
This is how cross referencing can be used to clarify the meaning of words.
I will give you an example of a German philologist Christopher Luxenberg who made a research that Quran developed from Aramaic language so he developed a terminology of the Quran which is extremely absurd, funny and comic. Read more about it at the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Syro-Aramaic_Reading_Of_The_Koran
I have been reading a book "globalized Islam" by oliver roy which eloquently explains the personal struggle going on throughout the muslim world to define islam as a universal religion without the influence of any culture of any country or bias. Traditional ulema are losing authority to liberal and extremist muslims. There is a crisis of authority as muslims are increasingly making it an individual responsibility to understand Islam unbiased by any school of thought. But the sad truth is that there is no convincing answer that has been found yet. So in the meantime this verse gives me hope 39:18 "The ones who listen to what is being said, and then follow the best of it. These are the ones whom God has guided, and these are the ones who possess intelligence."
And I think that the promised talking animal in Quran would clarify everything that ever needs to be known about Quran.
JK- Yes much of the Quran is yet to be understood and the animal, daaba, is IMO a creature which would evolve in 200M years whilst wer out in space. Itd most probably be something like he "sqiubbon" as in the documentary "the future is wild":
http://pic.enorth.com.cn/0/01/26/71/1267102_957255.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squibbon#SquibbonYes this prophecy of the Quran is very much compatible with latest scientific predictions. GOD Bless!
