Peace Shabir.
I agree with many things said in this book. The author takes a path similar to many pioneers and believers seeking the guidance from the creator and sustainer of life.
This ,for me, is spot on and defines why people deviate from the truth when they take on a religion of traditional Islam ,then try to fit Qoran into it by following Hadiths, quote:
1-
When I say 'religionists', I mean the ruling elites along
with the priesthood from the bygone era who committed the
false doctrine of ritualism and dogmatism to the quran. This
false doctrine of ritualism and dogmatism were then carried on
throughout history and inherited by the present generation of
ruling elites and the priesthood, who now act as the gatekeepers
of the Quranic interpretation. The quran is for the whole
mankind; no single race or community has the permission or the
authority to be its guardians in interpretation. The mankind
should feel at ease to treat the quran as a gift from the creator
and invoke HIS guidance in learning and understanding it with
an open mind, perchance they may be awakened.
It is a big mistake to treat the quran as a religious book,
2
as the religious orthodoxies would want us to believe. Contrary
to this belief, there is nothing religious about the quran at all. In
fact, it strongly condemns all religious rites, rituals, dogmas and
practices as idolization. It is equally a big mistake to assume that
we need to believe in a religion to serve God and to follow HIS
scriptures.
3-
Believing in the quran and following it doesn't make one
belonging to any religion, but blind following does. Similarly,
'islam' is not a religion, but the proper noun Islam is. (Note the
capitalizing). The word 'islam' is an attribute, not a proper noun,
title nor a badge of honour. Therefore, no one has the exclusive
right to use it as identification.
As long as you understand this and are comfortable in using this
Arabic word 'islam', you will have no dispute in agreeing that all
the prophets including Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Jesus &
Mohamed were all following the same 'deen' called 'al islam'(the
peacefulness) for self-actualization and salvation. The islam is
for all of mankind and therefore the quran is for all of mankind
as well. This is exactly what allah says in the quran.
The disputes between the religious factions of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam stem from the assumption that the 3
respective prophets that they revere, brought in 3 different religions.
GOD bless you.
Peace.
