Hi Grteful,

Today's random verses, from 'The Cleaving':

82.13] Most surely the righteous are in bliss,
[82.14] And most surely the wicked are in burning fire,
[82.15] They shall enter it on the day of judgment.

Sorry, not very illuminating, except to point out the extreme binarism, either-or, of so many early or primitive religious texts, and not just Islamic either. Manichaeism was an early Christian heresy, for example. In the modern world, (and possibly always), there is often a multitude of nuanced alternatives, not just (a) or (b), and that dilemma (polylemma?) forces us to try to understand a situation as fully as possible, rather than just accept somebody's word for it - i.e. to think for ourselves. That's a lifelong quest, of course :)

I wasn't really serious about those other verses predicting the bombing of Raqqa, by the way. I don't believe in prediction. But I suppose it would be consoling to know that Allah would call down such punishment for ISIS, and join the international coalition against it, wouldn't it ?

Joe
www.firstsources.info

Random verses from the Koran for today (from 'The Clans'):

[33.26] And He drove down those of the followers of the Book who backed them from their fortresses and He cast awe into their hearts; some you killed and you took captive another part.

[33.27] And He made you heirs to their land and their dwellings and their property, and (to) a land which you have not yet trodden, and Allah has power over all things.

[33.28] O Prophet! say to your wives: If you desire this world's life and its adornment, then come, I will give you a provision and allow you to depart a goodly departing

[33.29] And if you desire Allah and His Apostle and the latter abode, then surely Allah has prepared for the doers of good among you a mighty reward.

[33.30] O wives of the prophet! whoever of you commits an open indecency, the punishment shall be increased to her doubly; and this IS easy to Allah.

Perhaps the context is necessary.

These passages seem to lurch from an account of attacks on Jews to remonstrances to women, particularly Muhammad's wives. A cut-and-paste job ?

By the way, here is a list of abrogations, verses which replace earlier verses:

http://wikiislam.net/wiki/List_of_Abrogations_in_the_Qur%27an

For example, this one:

It is not lawful for thee (to marry more) women after this, nor to change them for (other) wives, even though their beauty attract thee, except any thy right hand should possess (as handmaidens): ...

is replaced by this one:

O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Makka) with thee; and any believing woman who dedicates her soul to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed her;- this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large); ...

More tomorrow, if anyone's interested.

Joe

Loudmouth,
That last bit you quoted seems to prohibit moslems to marrying
their cousins. Banned that is except for the Prophet.
So do a very large number of moslems live in sin ?
Very strange. Sauce for the goose ---

Hi Bazz,

Do you mean by

"this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large); ..."

that the prophet was to have access to women for whom he had paid their dowers, and women seized in war, as well as his female cousins (on both sides) but that nobody else was to have these privileges ?

Nobody else ? That passage does seem to confirm what you suggest. After all, it says it in a book. But perhaps learned scholars could interpret 'this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large); ...' to mean for the Believers as well ? Otherwise, ......

Cheers,

Joe

Well Joe why do the words "only" & "not" appear ?
I guess someone would have to look at the original Arabic.

Bazz

I don't know, Bazz, maybe if a person is a wise and deep scholar, they can easily explain that 'not' means its opposite, and 'only for thee' means for anybody who reaches some level of goodness or achievement, or has no 12-year-old slave girls of his own.

Ours not to reason why: questioning, analysing - or 'deconstructing' - can be too dangerous.

Joe