Huston Smith Part 2

Chapter 4- The Standing Miracle

- Muhammad wrote the 114 chapters or surahs of the Qu'ran while barely literate and is described as beyond belief.
- The Qu'ran is scribed from voice segments over 23 years to Muhammad, from bells to Gabriel.
- The Qu'ran reads confusing to a european but in Arabic it is the sounds and rhythm that make it stand out.
- The text, though accepting of the old and new testaments that have been altered in translation, takes on a largely doctrinal and mildly historical tone.
- The Qu'ran is central to the Islamic beliefs and deeps each muslims personal journey.

This chapter focused on the Qu'ran and specifically the way it is written. It is a difficult text for foreigners to understand due to the language and methods at sharing the message. It retells a lot of stories from Jewish or Christian texts but clarifies them and validates discrepancies as lost in translation. The most memorized book in the world is vital to the practice of every muslim all over the world.

Chapter 5- Basic Theological Concepts

- Islam is in foundational, similar to its predecessors and focuses on the idea of the ultimate God.
- Islam is prided upon the idea that it is the only true monotheistic religion.
- God must not be brought down to human standards or given representation to prevent confusion of the two worlds.
- God is presented as graceful and peaceful and his wrath is kept to 17 lines compared to 192 references to his joy.
- Life is seen as a gift from God and Muslims must "surrender" to his power, and there will eventually be a reckoning where all actions will be judged.

Islam is based on simple concepts that bring the whole religion together. The belief in one all powerful God is one of the most important of these concepts. The peace of this God and the importance of becoming Muslim or surrendering to God is very important as well. This is because God created humans. Eventually ones life will reach judgement day where all actions will be judged to reduce falsities.