Course on The Qu'ran and Christian Texts: Assignment 2

Assignment #2: The Prophetic pattern. Read Surahs 11, 29, 37, 54.

1. Make a detailed outline of Surah 54, "The Moon", giving specific verse numbers.

Verses 1-8 describe the story of people who “denied (the Truth) and followed their own lusts” before Noah.

Verses 9-16 The story of the flood and Noah’s arc

Verse 17 says: “And in truth We have made the Qu’ran easy to remember, but is there any that remembereth?”

Verses 18-21 tells how “the tribe of A’ad rejected warnings” and was destroyed by gusts of “raging wind on the day of constant calamity.” 

Verse 22 refrains: “And in truth We have made the Qu’ran easy to remember, but is there any that remembereth?”

Verses 23-31 describes how the people of Thamud “rejected warnings” and were destroyed by turning them into “the dry twigs (rejected by) the builder of a cattle fold.

Verse 32 refrains: “And in truth We have made the Qu’ran easy to remember, but is there any that remembereth?”

Verse 33-39 describes how people of Lot except Lot himself were destroyed by “a storm of stones”

Verse 40 refrains: “And in truth We have made the Qu’ran easy to remember, but is there any that remembereth?”

Verses 41-42 describes how “the house of Pharaoh” was destroyed with a “grasp of the Mighty, the Powerful”.

Verses 43-55 warn other disbelievers that they cannot escape the same destiny, because “every small and great thing is recorded”.

2. How did you determine when one section ended and another began? Give examples.

The sections are separated by a rhetoric question “And in truth We have made the Qu’ran easy to remember, but is there any that remembereth?” which repeats in verses 17, 22, 32, and 40.

3. How are the middle sections in the outline related to each other? Explain in detail.

The middle sections are separated by the question: “And in truth We have made the Qu’ran easy to remember, but is there any that remembereth?”

4. How is the introductory section related to the middle sections? Explain in detail.

The middle section is preceded by a description of what awaits the disbelievers after their death. Verse 7 says: “With downcast eyes, they come forth from the graves…, and verse 8 continues: “Hastening towards the Summoner, the disbelievers say: This is a hard day.”

5.  How is the final section related to the middle sections?

The final section is related to the middle sections by a question: “Are you disbelievers better than those, or have you some immunity in the Scriptures?” The examples of non-believers who were destroyed are used to warn the readers: “And verily We have destroyed your fellows; but is there any that remembereth?”   

***This Surah is a good example of a typical pattern of the Qu'ran, which is discussed in previous post.

Next assignment is very interesting, because it is related to the comparison between the Bible and the Qu'ran.

Assignment #3: Review Surahs 3, 4, 5, 19; the Gospel of Mathew from the New Testament,
The Child Gospel of Thomas, and answer the following questions.
1. How many Gospels are there, according to the Qur'an? How many parts are in the
Hebrew Bible, according the Qur'an? How do those revelations relate to this one?
2. What are Jesus' miracles, according to the Qur'an?
3. Was Mary a virgin when she conceived Jesus, according to the Qur'an?
4. Was Jesus crucified, according to the Qur'an?
5. What does the Qur'an say about the Christian doctrine of the Trinity?
6. Compare and contrast the Qur'anic Jesus with other prophetic figures in the Qur'an.