Is the Koran unreliable if there are differing interpretations?

[Paulpablo]

So you do accept that their are important laws which arent included within the quran that people should follow? also i find it pretty strange that youre saying my argument is wrong based on the fact i used the word section instead of verse... if you want you can re read the sentence i typed then just pretend it says verse and not section, its just a technicality, use whatever term you like "verse" "section" "bunch of words" "paragraphs" whatever you like.

In the verse regarding how to deal with theft its very detailed to the point of showing when to give mercy on thieves and when a theive should have his hands chopped off and it gives information on how to deal with theft under different circumstances wether from public or private property. But this is exactly why you can see it HAS left things out, for example copywrite laws, downloading crime internet crime music copywrite and so on and so on arent mentioned at all, almost as if the person who came up with these laws was a man who had no knowledge of the future.

ok thats better

[Paulpablo]

its basically the same arguments all the time i say i dont believe in god, muslims say what are you blind theres obviously a god look at the revelations within the quran, i read the quran in the only language i know and make comments on the parts that seem wrong to me and i just get "you dont even understand arabic your opinion is invalid"
the part where it says its ok to beat your wife if you fear rebelion from her seems wrong, its just because i dont understand arabic
the part where it says nothing is left out of the quran seems wrong to me, its just because i dont understand arabic
the quran doesnt seem to have a detailed explanation of the big bang, the development of the embyro or any of the other scientific claims some people claim the quran makes, its just because i dont understand arabic i cant see it.

[Jamiela]

Hi Paulpablo

Witchcraft is condemned in the Quran. The Quran speaks of the laws contained in the Quran, which are clear and parts which are unspecific. Those in whose hearts is a disease seek discord in the parts which are unspecific, which do not relate to the laws. The laws are pretty clear-cut in my opinion. I don't see the part which is hard to understand from my perspective.

As I mentioned at the start of my reply, the practice of witchcraft is condemned in Islam, but judgement is for God alone. We cannot possibly know where any soul will go as knowledge of what is truly in a person's heart is with God alone. Our responsibility is to uphold the laws of God. Deciding who is going to heaven or hell can only be done by God, as God is the 'Master of the Day of Judgement' in surat Al-Fatigah, the opening chapter of the quran.

The only way to know what really happened is if someone witnessed it. There is sometimes an alternate explanation to a crime, although unlikely. There are cases where people have been falsely accused of crimes in this way and spend their lives in jail for something they didn't do. It is the law of God and should be upheld. Has crime really been reduced by the introduction of DNA evidence analysis? Not from what I can see.

Better evidence gathering techniques is just adressing the symptoms of a problem. It is our lack of observance of God's laws that makes people want to commit sin. God's laws are designed for our own benefit. You cannot explain the feeling of peace and joy that comes with prayer, with remembrance of God if it is done with sincerity.

One of the best recitations or ways of remembering God is to say 'Laa ielaha Iel Allah' translated as 'there is no God but Allah'
A very good combination, if you have the time is
Sub ghaan Allah (Glory be to God) 33 times
Alghamdulillah (all Praise is due to Allah) 33 times
Allahu Akbar ( Allah is great) 33 times

People use prayer beads or counting with your thumb on the inside of your knuckles of your hands

You will feel such a lightening of your heart if you are able to do this with sincerity. Especially when experiencing difficulties, there is a joy the comes with praising God, thanking God for All that He has blessed us with, food, shelter, family friends, something not everyone has. Allahu Akbar reminds us how powerful God is and that no matter how dire our situation is, God can help us if He chooses to, if we obey Him. What God wants fom us is our remembrance. God gives us so much, makes us smile, but do we give thanks? It is the least that we can do to thank God for all our blessings, of which there are many.

Go in Peace, brother

[Paulpablo]

"Has crime really been reduced by the introduction of DNA evidence analysis?" yes
Repeat offenders are caught sooner, databases can be kept of criminals and their DNA plus finger print evidence. Rapists and other criminals have been imprisoned due to being caught by dna evidence therefore reducing the crime they cause.

"The only way to know what really happened is if someone witnessed it."
Somone telling you they witnessed something is no way of knowing anything, If somone says they witnessed anything that still isnt proof, witnesses can be bias, they can be in shock and be confused or just plain wrong. Obviously witness testimony goes a long way towards convicting a criminal but even this has to be based on reliable witnesses wether they are female or male. The quran seems to suggest females will be less reliable. Also that believers are more reliable witnesses than non believers.

[Paulpablo]

Also my question about wether or not people who have executed witches in the past would go to hell i was just asking for your opinion, ive done a little research and i know the quran is against witchcraft yet it doesnt mention any punishments for people who practice it that i can see ,except in the hereafter, im guessing meaning the afterlife, but what is your opinion personally on how evil the people are who executed people who they believed to be witches? Or the people who executed witches believing they were doing gods work because of the bible, i think in parts of the quran it says people of the book wont be punished in the hereafter but what if the book is the bible and they burned several witches alive thinking they were doing good work for god? The same question would go for other crimes too for example throwing acid in the faces of women who dont dress modestly, not mentioned in the quran but the people who do it, im guessing are doing it with the intention of doing good in the name of god even if they are ignorant to the exact word of the scriptures they are supposed to believe in.

[Guest myself]

All sacred writings, such as Quran, Bible, Talmud, Veda etc were human made at some period of time. We have to understand the background culture of the people who wrote it. I admit that all of the sacred writings are at least insipired by personal experience with God, Allah or supreme beings. In context of Quran, the inspiration came to the prophet, but to Christian Bible and Jews Talmud, the inspiration came to many people over some period of time. Because of it, interpretation is the key to understand the exact meaning of each sacred writings. But unfortunately, in the course of history, when religion have a taste of sovereignty and used as tools of the ruler, they are biased.
As for Quran, actually before it was standardize by the Uthman Calliph, there were six version. And Uthman standardized it and burn the other version. So the Quran we have today may not the same version as the one in the time of the prophet. And so does other sacred writings, like Bible it has translated and retranslated to various language, so the Bible in my own language maybe have different interpretation from the one written in English. What I want to say that Sacred writings are good for our own moral conduct but we should not try to impose on other because it may not acceptable to be compared. Let us take one assumption if one said the Talmud is incorrect then it means the Bible and The Quran also incorrect. Because Quran at some extend had some story taken from Talmud and so does the Bible.

[shaad_lko]

So you do accept that their are important laws which arent included within the quran that people should follow? also i find it pretty strange that youre saying my argument is wrong based on the fact i used the word section instead of verse... if you want you can re read the sentence i typed then just pretend it says verse and not section, its just a technicality, use whatever term you like "verse" "section" "bunch of words" "paragraphs" whatever you like.

In the verse regarding how to deal with theft its very detailed to the point of showing when to give mercy on thieves and when a theive should have his hands chopped off and it gives information on how to deal with theft under different circumstances wether from public or private property. But this is exactly why you can see it HAS left things out, for example copywrite laws, downloading crime internet crime music copywrite and so on and so on arent mentioned at all, almost as if the person who came up with these laws was a man who had no knowledge of the future.

ok thats better

firstly, Quran is not a legal document per se so one can have many laws apart from it and this has always been the case in Muslim history. Now, if it had claimed to be an all-encompassing legal document, and then left out laws on music piracy (which was going to occur in the future), then of course your argument that it was written by a man could have some weight, but right now your argument is premised on incorrect assumptions hence it is unsustainable by itself.

Now, difference between section and verse is that a verse is standalone while a section presumably should have some context around it - there is no section in the Quran dealing with theft.

[shaad_lko]

its basically the same arguments all the time i say i dont believe in god, muslims say what are you blind theres obviously a god look at the revelations within the quran, i read the quran in the only language i know and make comments on the parts that seem wrong to me and i just get "you dont even understand arabic your opinion is invalid"
the part where it says its ok to beat your wife if you fear rebelion from her seems wrong, its just because i dont understand arabic
the part where it says nothing is left out of the quran seems wrong to me, its just because i dont understand arabic
the quran doesnt seem to have a detailed explanation of the big bang, the development of the embyro or any of the other scientific claims some people claim the quran makes, its just because i dont understand arabic i cant see it.

its not only Arabic, many non-Arabs have good understanding of the Quran, but they dont open their mouth without understanding. Its like a primitive tribal not believing that the earth could revolve since to him it is apparently flat.

[Paulpablo]

So you do believe the quran is a book that just mentions a few legal matters of ritual, alms-tax, property and treatment of orphans, inheritance, usury, consumption of alcohol, marriage, divorce, sexual intercourse, adultery, theft homicide and so on here and there but isnt a legal document and it left out some laws for humans to create themselves?
"its not only Arabic" what isnt only arabic?

[Paulpablo]

what does the quran claim to be? the word of god, the god that specifically states some laws in great detail over 1000 years ago but then just cuts off communication and lets us figure out everything else for ourself, yeh that seems like the perfect set up, nothing has gone wrong with it so far........

[Paulpablo]

Just another example, if sony created a complex piece of technology and included instruction books with this complex piece of technology if it was a really good effective instruction book would you expect it to be in one language in which sony claims cant be translated. If so then would you STILL say its a good effective instruction book when people die or end up killing other people while trying to use the instruction book? Would you expect them to use poetic language in the instruction book, or to use straight forward language so it can be clearly understood?
I expect your answer to be something along the lines of " the quran isnt an instruction book per se"
But then if the quran isnt a legal document or an instruction book than what else is it baring in mind it is a book that provides laws and instructions supposedly given by god.
Another reply anticipated is for somone to say "the quran is a warning not an instruction book" this is basically a different way of phrasing the same thing, an instruction book created by sony could be considered a warning on how not to use their products, its like saying "i didnt tell you what to do i just told you everything you arent supposed to do"