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As you may have noticed, as the chapters of the Qur’an have got longer, I’ve pretty much resorted to only doing only one a day. Yesterday, I went back and recaculated<\/a> when I’m going to finish the Qur’an. I’ve concluded that, if I stay at a rate of about one hundred verses a day, I should be finishing the Qur’an at\u00a0the end of January.<\/p>\n Here are today’s verses:<\/p>\n Surah 11 – “Hud” (Hud<\/a>) <\/p>\n We now have the retelling of prophet stories…<\/p>\n Prophet Noah Allah then tells Noah that everyone who will<\/span> be believe has already<\/span> believed. He should now forget the rest and start\u00a0building the ship. The waters come and Noah is told to load his family and his followers into the ship. We have heard Noah’s story told many times before, but we finally get a mention of animals on the Ark, “each [creature] two mates”<\/span>, but there is no distinction given to the clean and unclean animals.<\/p>\n Noah’s son, however, refuses to get on the boat. Noah prays to Allah, but Allah tells him that he is no longer his son and the boy drowns. I’ve watched a video<\/a> where the apologist Zakir Naik uses this story to justify disowning a child who renounces Islam.<\/p>\n When the water subsides (there is no mention of Noah sending out birds), the Ark comes to rest on the mountain of “Judiyy”<\/span>. Noah praises Allah for following through on his threat and for not showing preferential treatment to his disbelieving\u00a0son. Allah responds by saying that he\u00a0wasn’t Noah’s son, being as he was a worker of unrighteousness.<\/p>\n Prophet Hud<\/strong> Prophet Salih Prophet Abraham<\/strong> When the shock of all this wears off, Abraham begins to plead for the people of Lot. The angels are unmoved, declaring that the decree\u00a0has come from Allah.<\/p>\n Prophet Lot<\/strong> The angels tell Lot to set out before dawn and to not look back. Previous chapters of the Qur’an have indicated that Lot’s wife is left in Sodom, rather than the Biblical account of her looking back and being turned to salt. This chapter seems to strike an ambiguous middle ground, saying “…and let not any among you look back – except your wife; indeed, she will be struct by that which strikes them”<\/span>.<\/p>\n Prophet Shu’ayb (Jethro)
\n<\/strong>The first few pages of this chapter are filled with\u00a0very standard stuff:<\/p>\n\n
\n<\/strong>Once again, we have this idea that Noah had followers among the simple folk and, for this reason, the elite rejected him. It is emkphasized once again that Noah didn’t ask his hearers for money.\u00a0Words are put into Noah’s mouth which speak to Muhmammad’s critics, particularly in reference to Noah not bringing treasure and an angel. Noah’s critics challenge him\u00a0to prove his truthfulness by bring the judgement he’s foretelling, but Noah responds by saying this is the decision of Allah.<\/p>\n
\nThe Prophet Hud to the people of Aad, calling them to worship Allah alone. Again it’s emphasized that he doesn’t ask for reward from the people. \u00a0The people themselves respond by saying that their\u00a0deities have possed Hud with insanity. For rejecting Hud’s message, “[the people] were followed in this world with a curse and [as well] on the Day of Resurrection”<\/span>.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Prophet Salih goes to the people of Thamud and calls them to worship Allah. As a sign, Allah sends them\u00a0a she-camel and the people are told not to touch her, but they rebel and hamstring her. Salih tells the people to enjoy themselves in their homes for three days because Allah’s promise of judgement is true. There is a blast from the sky and all the unbelievers die.<\/p>\n
\nWhen angels visited Abraham he greets them, saying “Peace”<\/span>. The angels bring him a roasted calf, but when they did not join him in eating it, he is\u00a0filled with apprehension. This is because when guests refused to eat, it\u00a0signified that they intended to do you harm. The angels\u00a0respond by saying that they will be visiting judgement upon the people of Lot. This pleases Moses’ wife no end, and then the angels tell her about her future offspring\u00a0“Isaac and after Isaac, Jacob”<\/span>. Again, it’s not obvious from this whether the author of the Qur’an knows that Jacob was the son of Isaac, rather than his brother.<\/p>\n
\nWe then\u00a0have a retelling of the Biblical account of Sodom. The angels come to Lot. The people come seeking the angels and instead Lot offers them his daughters, although the footnote explains that these daughters are “the women of his community who were avaialble for marriage”<\/span>, rather than Lot’s\u00a0literal, biological daughters.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Sua’ayb is sent to the people of Midian, calling them to worship no one but Allah and also condemns them for unjust trading practices. Shu’ayb is told by the people that “if not for your family, we would have stoned you”<\/span>. \u00a0I think is meant to parallel with Muhammad’s situation, who was protected in Mecca by his Uncle\u00a0Abu Talib. Eventually punishment comes upon the people of Midian, in a manner much like the people of Thamud.<\/p>\n