(Part 3) Reddit mentions: The best books about islam

Hmm... I am not the best person to ask but I want to help so I will try and make a few suggestions.

There are two very popular speakers called Nouman Ali Khan and Yasir Qhadi they have a lot of great videos on Islamic topics and maybe they might interest you, Yasir Qhadi has actually documented the entire life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in what we call the Seerah of Muhammad (pbuh).

He starts by explaining the scene before Muhammad even existed, its very comprehensive and like all important things takes time to learn. I watch one video a day and try and learn from them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOUp3ZZ9t3A&list=PLAEA99D24CA2F9A8F

Also this book makes the quran easier to understand while highlighting some of the miracles lost in translation:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Understanding-Islamic-Scripture-Translated-Commentary/dp/0321355733/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380047961&sr=8-1&keywords=selected+passages+from+the+quran

www.Quran.com is also a great resource but you have to be patient like when we study anything, but I assure you brother/sister your patience will pay off.

Also this video was designed for a non-Muslim audience and its a very basic introduction into the Quran and I highly recommend it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebfcIx1qbvE

(it took me ages to find that video bro/sis so you better watch that one at least! Ko)

Hopefully someone with more knowledge can offer better advice

Wow, talk about a wild assumption and attack.

Firstly, I suggest you read this book to get an idea of the philosophy behind belief in monotheist deity. Now theologically, the book discusses from the perspective of Islam, as the main tenant is the belief in the oneness of God.

​

Now as for me, I came to the conclusion that it is more rational to believe that there is a creator/force/deity/god, whatever you want to call it, for existence as we know it. This assumes that we humans are limited in our scope and knowledge. Meaning we can forever expand our knowledge, but we cannot ever understand beyond what we can empirically measure in some form or manner.

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So from what we already know as humans is that infinite regress cannot be a reality. There needs to be an origin to everything (this is the basis to the big bang theory and even to an extent evolution (since creatures cannot spontaneously come into existence)). Personally, it is more rational to believe in a creator that commanded and willed the progression of what we know than it is to believe that a series of multiple random occurrences led to where we are today. Whether God or random occurrences, both are not supported with empirical evidence, so at worst you can say the likeliness of either is equal.

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Now I chose to believe it was God and not random. I base this belief on the validity of the Qur'an. Reading it, reflecting upon it, and making an honest attempt to understand it has brought me to a point where I sincerely believe this is from something that is beyond our knowledge. It is from beyond our knowledge because of the knowledge we do have as humans, that we have obtained whether in the hard sciences and social sciences, it has only strengthened the position of the Qur'an.

​

Another worthy read is this book by Imam Ghazali as it really dives into the part of us that we ignore. I believe that to strengthen one's heart, it needs something just as our body needs food/water/exercise and our mind needs activity like reading and writing, our heart needs something too. Whether it's yoga, meditation, prayer, or whatever, it definitely needs something. I choose Islam because I feel it has the most balanced approach for everything I mentioned. It's moderate in it's rituals and it's moderate in it's practice.

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Peace be with you.

>A lot of people there had the good advice of reading the New Testament, which I will dive into this weekend. Any suggestions for the best way to go about it? Should it just be read in order or are there any books you'd advised to check out first or that are more important? I already know a lot about the story of Isa/Jesus from the Quran but also know the Bible account differs in many ways, though I'm also already somewhat familiar with that thanks to mentions in pop culture.

A good study Bible would help, though more often than not they have a specific political or theological bend that tends to obscure the actual words of the book. I am not a Catholic (I'm actually very much anti-clerical), but there is a small copy of the Gospels that is amazing, and probably a great first place to start - "The Four Gospels: Catholic Personal Study Edition (Little Rock Scripture Study)".

I am also personally partial to the JB Phillips "New Testament in Modern English", though it's sort of obscure, it's also phenomenal. Phillips started his translation as a minister to troops during WWII, and found that the average English soldier was not, shall we say, the most educated, and found the Bible to be hard to read. Considering that the NT was literally written in the common language of the people, using common - not high or eloquent - speech, Phillips set out to convey the NT in English as they read in the Greek. It's a real shame that the translation isn't more popular.

There is also an excellent translation of the Qur'an which compares passages to equivalent ones in the Bible. It was created to promote interfaith harmony, and if you are familiar with the Qur'an then it might actually be a good intro to the Bible. "The Qur'an - with references to the Bible".



As an aside, I really, really, really like to read, and though it's a bit more academic, one of my favorite books on Christian theology/Christology is "At the Origin of the Christian Claim". It's a short book, and actually made Jesus comprehensible to me.

>I've said the prayer accepting Mohammed (peace be upon him) as my prophet, and Allah as the one true god.

Saying and believing in this makes you a Muslim whether you left or converted/reverted.

>On charity. I help a LOT of homeless dogs, I give to animal charities, and I very often find homeless puppies and take them in, get them to the vet, and find them homes.

This is indeed a charity now how big or small is a better question for a scholar or someone much more knowledgeable.


>My wife is not Muslim but she is a person of the book. She was not a virgin when we married. How is my marriage to her affected?

Depending on which scholar you follow some will say it's okay as long as she's a person of the book others will say no. Ultimately it's better for her to become Muslim but Allah guides who he will. Inshallah you are both guided and things become easier for both of you.

>Is swearing Ok? I swear a lot, it's a hard habit to break. Also is vaping, and listening to metal Ok?

We are created imperfect so as long as you repent and try to break your habit inshallah it'll be okay. Personally I'm a huge fan of music and even more of certain groups like halestorm, 5 finger death punch and in this moment among others but the same concept applies. I try to take breaks from music but i end up going back. Not saying you should go hogwild but understand your limits and try to set goals to improve.

>Can anyone give me some kind of guidelines on how to be a good Muslim and follower of the prophet (peace be upon him)? I honestly feel somewhat lost. I'm reading the trilogy books but I digest books badly, so I'd like some kind of bullet points.

Start with the basics learn how to pray now and start reading the Quran. Personally I recommend The Meaning of the Holy Qur'an in Today's English . Next I recommend trying to fast even if a few hours a day until you can do a whole day. Attend Friday prayers and get to know those around you usually you'll find someone to befriend because of the large diversity. I'll try to answer more when I get home inshallah.

If I start asking everyone whether they liked Hitler or not, it wouldn't be long before they figured out the negative connotations of such a question, and not only would the results probably be useless, but it could also cause problems for me at work. "Do you like Hitler" isn't something one generally goes around asking people if one values his job.

Nevertheless, I plan on asking the other strong English speaker (the issue will have to be approached delicately, of course), but he works on another shift, so I will have to wait until I switch shifts to do so. Until then, I'll have to settle for other methods of research. It's something that just sits in the filing cabinet in the back of my head until an opportunity arises for me to do more research, such as SaudiDude's AMA here.

I also bought and am in the process of reading Hans Kung's book on Islam, which is supposed to be excellent and without bias. I was going to buy another one about Nazi propaganda in the Arab world by one Prof. Jeffrey Herf, but decided to first read the one by Kung to lay the foundation for further research.

Note that just because my Iraqi friend claimed this, or that SaudiDude half-heartedly confirmed it comes nowhere near to proving this true in my mind. I require much more evidence than the opinions of two arab Muslims to close the book on this issue. Because this lends itself to politicization so easily, liberals have a tendency to believe I'm an Islamophobe or something when I ask questions such as these (which I'm sure SaudiDude also now believes) - but I just want to know whether it's true or not.

Hell, if it turns out to be true, I probably won't even tell anyone who would really care about it because a) it's such a potentially inflammatory issue, and b) most westerners would probably think I was crazy to claim such a thing anyways. I just want to know for myself.

AA - So I was raised Muslim but wasn’t really culturally accepted - until probably about my late teens. I had a number of friends over the years who are reverts and some close ones now who are part of our community around the IC in New York City.

There’s a new researched Quran with Bible citations -
The Qur'an - with References to the Bible: A Contemporary Understanding https://www.amazon.com/dp/099659244X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SsxYBb4TTTEMY

Which could serve as a reference for your friend - to start to understand the parallels and similarities between Islam and Christianity.

You should also find a reverts group in either your local mosque or one of your collegiate Islamic centers - Having close friends that don’t understand reverting or become more religious for whatever reason can be challenging.

But I suppose a short rebuttal might be something along the lines of Mary Magdalene is mentioned more times in the Quran than in the Bible and our religion gives great reverence to Jesus including discussing the second coming.

Terms like (peace be upon him) and a lot of our traditional lexicon should probably be explained in more contemporary terms that she could understand as well.

Jumu'ah Mubarak

Today's Ayah for Friday, 2016-11-18 / 18 Safar 1438

God makes it all good news for you so that your hearts will be at peace in Him. Victory is only from God, the Almighty, the Wise.

God meant this as a message of hope and assurance for your hearts, so you would know that victory is only from God. God is Almighty and Wise.

-- al-Imran 3:126 an al-Anfal 8:10 as rendered by Safi Kaskas

وَمَا جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بُشْرَىٰ لَكُمْ وَلِتَطْمَئِنَّ قُلُوبُكُم بِهِ وَمَا النَّصْرُ إِلَّا مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَكِيمِ


وَمَا جَعَلَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بُشْرَىٰ وَلِتَطْمَئِنَّ بِهِ قُلُوبُكُمْ وَمَا النَّصْرُ إِلَّا مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/3/126/ and http://www.islamawakened.com/quran/8/10/

(please share)


Study the Qur'an to understand what the good news is.

I'm sorry you feel that way but you obviously came here and felt the need to say something. If you have questions I am happy to answer for you so that I may shed some light into your darkness.

Edit: I would also like you to notice that you are the only person who is being negative. This community is far more understanding, forgiving and accepting than you realize and I implore you to do some research into what Islam really is. If you would like to check these out

The New Muslim's Field Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/1981328998/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_OsN1Cb99E8BEQ

The Clear Quran https://www.amazon.com/dp/097730096X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ItN1CbGKXHNWW


In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad https://www.amazon.com/dp/0195374762/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_PuN1CbMBE7QD9

If you want to really understand what you are making assumptions about DM your information or email I would be happy to send you some information so you may better educate yourself. Then you can formulate an educated opinion.

Reading "Why I Am Not A Muslim" (link below) is the most informative book I've read about Islam to date. However when I went through my Qu'ran to highlight and bookmark passages I realized the author didn't have a proofreader before publication. I managed to find EVERY referenced passage usually a verse or two after his citation indicated. In a couple instances he even wrote them dyslexically and I found them by reversing the chapter and verse. If you can forgive that it's all you need to really know about Islam.
http://www.amazon.com/Why-I-Am-Not-Muslim/dp/1591020115

To really answer your question though, ISIS and their ilk DO NOT cherry pick their Holy Book. They use the "abrogation of verses" rule (which is the proper way to understand the Qu'ran) and only take Allah's last word on the topic. If you only focus on those sections then the Qu'ran becomes a very short read with very specific instructions, leading to the creation of nations like Saudi Arabia and groups like ISIS. Be glad that so far most Muslims actually DO have a heart and DO cherry pick from the Qu'ran. They're the reasonable ones, the peaceful ones, the sane ones... and they are the last hope for a bright future for Islam.

Hello person! I hope I can help you a bit here.
Just a warning, a lot of the answers you get will be tinted based on our own beliefs.

Overall, most Muslims are Sunni. Hanafi and Hanbali are actually 2 of the 4 main legal schools (fiqh) within Sunni Islam, along with Shafi and Maliki. I wouldn't compare these to Protestant sects because (AFAIK) the scholars from these 4 different schools of fiqh generally accept each other's validity. Although, I don't know if that's always been the case historically.

Sufism is difficult to define. I've heard different roots of the English word "sufi" but the one I hear the most is tasawwuf which is the science of purifying one's heart. Sufism isn't really a sect, like /u/Azeem259 says, Sunnis and Shias can be Sufis. It has to do with pursuing spiritual excellence, becoming close to God.

It's so diverse though and means a lot of different things to different people. There are traditional Sufi schools with teachers who follows chains of scholarship and worship that go back to the Prophet SAW. Some local sufi practices in some places are really iffy for other Muslims, like veneration of saints and their tombs. But again, that's some groups, that's not the heart of sufism. Sorry my thoughts about this are so scattered. There's a cool intro by William Chittick called Sufism: A Beginner's Guide.

Salafism (or Wahhabism if you want) is a school of thought (or rather, methodology) in Sunni Islam in which the practitioner strives to be as close to the Prophet SAW and his Companions in every aspect of his or her life. But even in this group, there's a lot of diversity. I don't want to talk too much about it, because I know very little, but Shaykh Yasir Qadhi wrote a paper on it.

First and foremost, I strongly recommend you cross-post this to /r/askphilosophy (and probably also /r/philosophyofreligion) since they'll be much more qualified than here to suggest topics and lesson-plans.

Second, you should probably include the Leibnizian cosmological argument alongside the Kalam, since they are sufficiently different. There's plenty of good material out there on this: Pruss' article for the Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology (this book is a very good resource, see here for more chapters) is pretty definitive, but both he and Richard Gale have written stuff on this.

Third, I think you should use different atheistic arguments. Drop Russell's teapot: especially given your expected audience you should stick to positive arguments against the existence of God. Russell's teapot you can work in as a side comment that argues that if the negative case (i.e. refuting theistic arguments) succeeds then we should be atheists, but other wise leave it be. Better topics I think would be the Argument from Non-Belief (see also here) and Hume's argument against belief in miracles (I have a bunch of resources on this I can send you, but the original argument in Of Miracles is pretty short and is free online). You might want to read one of Mackie's The Miracle of Theism, Martin's Atheism: A Philosophical Justification or Oppy's Arguing About Gods for a good source of atheistic critiques and arguments.

It's a really complicated issue because Islam is so fractured. It has to happen from a grassroots level mostly. Mainstream Islam needs to stop treating women like second class people and adopt 21st century values. There is a reformist interpretation of the Quran that is excellent, I always promote this as much as I can http://www.amazon.com/Quran-Reformist-Translation-Modern-English/dp/0979671507 . Mainstream Muslims also need to reject the Hadith, which are false and historically inaccurate teachings of the Prophet Mohammad. The extremists use Hadith, not the Quran, to promote their extreme ideology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Hadith

I think the best thing the west can do is support governments that are secular and democratic. As long as we support despotic regimes like Saudi Arabia, they will keep exporting their extreme interpretation of Islam. The people who did 9/11 were all Saudis, and Saudi royals often provide funding to ISIS and other terrorist groups.

Another thing the west can do is require Muslim immigrants to learn the language and culture they immigrate to. Those assimilated Muslims could help spread western values in the Middle East.

Abdul-Haleem's translation of the Quran is very good. He also wrote a good companion book "Understanding the Quran: Themes and styles" which I also recommend. If you prefer something a bit more archaic and poetic, I really like the Arberry "Koran Interpreted". You can get Arberry's (and many other translations) here: http://arthursbookshelf.com/koran/koran.html

As for Sufism, some of the best books, in my opinion, are:

Lings, Martin. What is Sufism?
http://www.amazon.com/What-Sufism-Islamic-Texts-Society/dp/0946621411/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335349461&sr=1-1

Helminski, Camille Adams. Women of Sufism: a Hidden Treasure
http://www.amazon.com/Women-Sufism-A-Hidden-Treasure/dp/1570629676/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335349480&sr=1-1


A practical guide for diseases of the heart:

Yusuf, Hamza (tr). Purification of the Heart
http://www.amazon.com/Purification-Heart-Symptoms-Spiritual-Diseases/dp/1929694156/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335349415&sr=1-1

Something more academic but fascinating. You might consider this if you want to really get into the guts of things:

http://www.amazon.com/Sufism-Theology-Ayman-Shihadeh/dp/0748626050

Alhamdulillah. May Allah swt make it easy for you. If you are looking for an introductory book for new Muslims, I recommend the following :

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01833W1KM

Translation of Quran by MAS Abdel Haleem is very good. Martin Lings' biography on Prophet is one of the best.

If you want any or all of the books, I would be glad to mail you by Amazon gift service.

Many translations are out of date unfortunately (tho' I love Pickthall's coz I love Pickthall). Mohsin Khan is pretty good as well.

In my opinion, the best for modern english is M.A.S. Abdul-Haleem's The Qur'an.

Martin Lings' Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources is popular for good reason.

But the best history book I've seen is the work of Dr. Ali M. Sallabi.

It's two volumes and like 2000 pages but it's fascinating read.

I have it on PDF if you want it.


**


For understanding context, Dr. Jonathan Brown is an excellent resource. He's got several books, including his most recent Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy (he's already working on 2nd edition lol...)

As someone mentioned the Ihya to you, I thought I would link a place where you can buy it on amazon.

The Marvels of the Heart: Science of the Spirit (Ihya Ulum Al-Din/ The Revival of the Religious Sciences)

I should note, the thing I linked is only a part of the whole book.

There is also the Kimiya-yi Sa'adat, which is " The Alchemy of Happiness" which you can buy here.

someone made a few short youtube videos with lessons from "The Alchemy of Happiness" where you can take a look at here.

Not a problem at all. I'd recommend a small book I translated called Qaddumi's Elementary Primer followed by Musa Furber's translation of Ibn Balban's text. John Starling has a text coming out soon as well which will be a great addition to the genre. Using these three books, I recommend you get as strong as possible in the Arabic and in the language of the Jurists, then transition to studying directly from Arabic works like Umdat al-Fiqh and Dalil al-Talib.

You wanted to be part of the intelligentsia, but throughout your philosophical journey, you always based your convictions only on authority and tradition instead of on evidence and arguments. Don't you realize that this is the epitome of anti – intellectualism?

It is correct that the New Atheists aren't the pinnacle of atheistic thought and didn't contribute many new ideas to the academic debate of atheism vs. theism or religion. But this was never their goal, and it is also unnecessary, since the academic debate is already over for many decades. If you want to know why the arguments for theism are all complete nonsense and not taken seriously anymore, why Christianity is wrong just about everything and why apologists like Craig are dishonest charlatans who make a living out of fooling people, your reading list shouldn't be New Atheists, but rather something like this:

Colin Howson – Objecting to God

George H. Smith – Atheism: The Case Against God

Graham Oppy – Arguing about Gods

Graham Oppy – The Best Argument Against God

Herman Philipse – God in the Age of Science

J. L. Mackie – The Miracle of Theism

J. L. Schellenberg – The Wisdom to Doubt

Jordan Sobel – Logic and Theism

Nicholas Everitt – The Non-Existence of God

Richard Gale – On the Nature and Existence of God

Robin Le Poidevin – Arguing for Atheism

Stewart Elliott Guthrie – Faces in the Clouds: A New Theory of Religion

Theodore Drange – Nonbelief & Evil



[Avigor Shinan – From Gods to God: How the Bible Debunked, Suppressed, or Changed Ancient Myths and Legends] (http://www.amazon.com/dp/0827609086)

Bart Ehrman – The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings

Bart Ehrman – Jesus, Interrupted

Bart Ehrman – Misquoting Jesus

Burton L. Mack – Who Wrote the New Testament?

Helmut Koester – Ancient Christian Gospels

John Barton, John Muddiman – The Oxford Bible Commentary

John Dominic Crossan – Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography

Karen Armstrong – A History of God

Mark Smith – The Early History of God

Randel McCraw Helms – Who Wrote the Gospels?

Richard Elliott Friedman – Who Wrote the Bible?

Robert Bellah – Religion in Human Evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age

Robert Walter Funk – The Gospel of Jesus

Robert Spencer's Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran is excellent. Very thorough. The tag is "I read it so you don't have to"

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Infidels-Guide-Koran/dp/1596981040

I'd say it's also worth watching the author's debates online.

Also check out Acts17Apologetics for humorous and informative videos on Islam. https://www.youtube.com/user/Acts17Apologetics

William Lane Craig is a good resource too.

Good luck with your research!

This is perfect! Thank you so much for the info and the link as well. I will definitely check those out :) Just in regards to Nahjul Balagha, do you know if this is the full version of it or just a part: https://www.amazon.com/Peak-Eloquence-Nahjul-Balagha-Abu-Talib-dp-0940368439/dp/0940368439/ref=mt_hardcover?

Great, I do read stuff like this. Now, we are on a Buddhism forum, right? You have heard of Thomas Cleary, a wonderful translator of Buddhist texts right, and a man of some decency? Well, take a look at his approach to the Koran too: http://www.amazon.com/The-Essential-Koran-Heart-Islam/dp/0062501984

Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan recommends this book to get a better understanding of the linguistics in the Qur'an.

I recommend this book of sirah to get better acquainted with Islam and its origins. Very easy reading.

:)

Thoroughly recommend Professor Abdel Haleem's translation of the Quran:

The Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0199535957/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_DL6QwbQXJ0J9V

My recommendations mostly more recent stuff, I think written well for a western audience

Understanding Islam and the Muslims: The Muslim Family, Islam and World Peace https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1887752471/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_QM6QwbPQHCTB9

The Messenger: The Meanings of the Life of Muhammad https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0141028556/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_1O6Qwb8M0D5KQ

Understanding the Qur'an: Themes and Style https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1845117891/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_QK6QwbGS8EN0D

Being Muslim: A Practical Guide by Asad Tarsin et al. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01833W1KM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_udp_awd_1L6QwbC9BNTXA

The Messenger: The Meanings of the Life of Muhammad https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0141028556/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_1O6Qwb8M0D5KQ

Worth YouTubing:

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
Professor Tariq Ramadan
Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad

> I would like to see an atheist debate someone like Plantingna

It's not a debate, but if you're interested in a more philosophically-focused response to Plantinga's reformed epistemology, I'd recommend checking out Prof. Tyler Wunder's content. If you just want a brief overview, here's an interview with him covering the content of his dissertation critiquing Plantinga. The link on that site to his dissertation is dead, but I reached out to him via e-mail a while back and he sent it to me. I can forward you a download link if you find yourself interested.

Also, Michael Martin treats much of Plantinga's ideas in some depth in his book Atheism: A Philosophical Justification. There are plenty of atheist philosophers that are much more careful than Hitchens and co. if you look for them. I'm not interested in an extended dialogue on their arguments, but since you seemed intrigued by Rowe, I thought I'd point out some similar resources. Graham Oppy's Arguing About Gods was recommended to me along with the Michael Martin book, but I haven't checked it out yet. I've only read certain parts of Martin's book too (it's a long read if you were to go straight through).

After a bit of research, I read this translation as it seemed to be the consensus online and between people I know. There's a book with annotations and key passages to go along with it, though I just read the Wikipedia entry for each chapter (sura) as I came to it and felt like there was a good deal of context and commentary.

The translation itself was very easy to read, but beautiful all the same.

I have a subjective non-transferable experience of his existence. Faith is not belief without evidence. That would be arbitrary, like waking up one morning and exclaiming for no reason, "I have faith God exists!" No Christians do this. Their evidence is experiential and it varies.

As for conventional proofs with broader applications, I advocate the KCA alongside follow up argumentation.

You have to be careful what you read out on the interwebs when it comes to critiquing the argument. Most is written by amateur philosophers, as far as proffesional philosophers who've actually READ the work that they are critiquing. Such as, Wes Morriston, J. L. Mackie, Graham Oppy, also discussed by Oppy in. Though, even their published critiques are well, not good. Not going to go into detail atm.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say "emotionally not critically".

I did some digging, which I should have spent more time doing before I asked for help, and found some things that I think look interesting (here they are in case you are curious):

http://www.amazon.com/Questioning-Islam-Questions-Answers-Religion/dp/1500336203/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416328416&sr=8-1&keywords=questioning+islam

http://www.amazon.com/Why-I-Am-Not-Muslim/dp/1591020115/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416328436&sr=8-1&keywords=why+I+am+not+a+muslim

http://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Islam-Apostates-Speak-Out/dp/1591020689/ref=pd_sim_b_16?ie=UTF8&refRID=18AP881NZ4JVSDVSR2V5

http://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Islam-Apostates-Speak-Out/dp/1591020689/ref=pd_sim_b_16?ie=UTF8&refRID=18AP881NZ4JVSDVSR2V5

The last one might be especially relevant to this sub (self explanatory).

Thanks for the response either way

Uhhhhhh....

Graham Oppy wrote one of the most brilliant books on atheism ever.

J.L. Mackie, probably one of the top atheist philosophers of the 20th Century, also wrote what's often considered to be the best book on atheism ever written.

The expertise is in refuting the arguments for God's existence, and then putting forth arguments that God cannot or is unlikely to exist.

The Meaning of the Holy Quran in Today's English is a great translation and tafsir that has a lot of explanation behind important verses and explains a lot of misconceptions in footnotes.

Leaving the Fold

Leaving the Fold: Testimonies of Former Fundamentalists

Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist

Why I Am Not a Muslim

Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships

In Search of the Light: The Adventures of a Parapsychologist

Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back

>About the knowledge of Islam:

1. Not at all. The average Muslim in my experience barely knows how hadith works, who the major narrators are, no knowledge of detailed Islamic history, or what methodology to use when interpreting the Qur'an. There's a reason why interpreting legal rulings and such is done by scholars who have spent several years in training.
   
   1.1. Not really. Imams and scholars function as both sources of religious interpretation and knowledge (much like doctors do for the medical field for ex.) as well as community leaders. It's an institution that has been going on for 1400 years and I doubt it will change.
   
   1.2. The only thing they can't do is lead men in prayer. Other than that, history is filled with female religious scholars.
   
   >About the relation between hadith and Quran:
   
   
2. Of course it is. It's why the entire field of hadith science and verification exists, to determine the reliable from the unreliable. I would recommend reading Misquoting Muhammad by Jonathan Brown for more on this topic.
   
   1.1. It can be understood and explained to a certain extent, but for much of it, critical historical context will be missing such as: reason for revelation, context in which certain events occurred, determining references to certain battles or events or people, etc. Hadith is not a text of human creation: revelation came in two parts, the first being the Qur'an and the second being the commandments of the prophet (sawa) and his words that explained and expounded on the Quran and that we are ordered to follow as the Qur'an says,
   
   "By the star when it descends, Your companion [Muhammad] has not strayed, nor has he erred, Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. It is not but a revelation revealed" 53:1-4
   
   "And whatever the Messenger has given you - take; and what he has forbidden you - refrain from. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is severe in penalty." 59:7
   
   "And obey Allah and obey the Messenger; but if you turn away - then upon Our Messenger is only [the duty of] clear notification." 64:12
   
   >About being Islamic in today's world:
   
   
3. As a scientist and researcher, I'd say little effect to strengthened my belief in Islam. Yes much of the moral and legal code of Islam was framed a long time ago, but I don't see what morality has to do with the passage of time. I don't subscribe to moral relativism. Other legal aspects of Islam include within them the ability to include certain conventions of the society one is in (a.k.a. 'urf) in passing out rules and judgement. I see Islam like a tree: rooted in a solid foundation, branching into a variety of opinions, but with the flexibility to bend (up to a degree) in the wind as needed.
   
   
4. Maybe, maybe not. Aside from larger political and power struggles in the middle east, most sunnis and shias have lived in peace for centuries. Conflict is not necessarily because of different Islamic interpretations, it's political power struggles that have taken a religious bent or centered around religious identity. For more on this I recommend reading The Shia Revival by Vali Nasr which has excellent insight on the reasons and background behind the modern struggle between sunnis and shias in the larger middle east.
   
   
5. It's mostly fine, aside from a handful of countries. Beware of summing the 57 or so muslim majority countries in the world with Saudi Arabia and Iran. Sure, they can leave if they want to and a number of people in my wider social circle have done so quite publicly in my muslim majority home country. No one cares.
   
   
   >About the presentation of Islam:
   
   
6. I'll leave that for a non-Arab to answer.
   
   
7. Not a big fan. I'm sure they're doing their best in dealing with an influx of millions of pilgrims, but some things could use huge improvement, especially the destruction of certain historical sites of huge importance to muslims.
   
   >About the criticism of Islam:
   
   
8. I'm fine with it. No I don't think they are "interpreting Islam" when they are violating clear unequivocal commandments of Islam and the Qur'an.
   
   1.1. I don't know. I think they'll either decrease or will have to change to something less takfiri of others. They have hit a critical point where irresponsible and divisive sectarian takfiri hate speech in parts of the muslim world has laid the groundwork for a lot of the problems we see today, and which was ignited by the instability caused in the Iraq war and then the Syrian civil war. The money pumping won't last forever. Again, I recommend reading the books linked above.

Don't play dumb. Katua is a honorary term used for Muslims.

> Can you suggest any good book so that I can learn about them?

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Infidels-Guide-Koran/dp/1596981040

https://www.amazon.com/11-Versus-Terrorist-Teachings-Koran/dp/0982027303

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0940368439/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469754242&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=nahjul+balagha+english&dpPl=1&dpID=61twubE6aLL&ref=plSrch


It's available for free online as well

http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/wife-beating.htm

You'll also find some good stuff in The Truth about Muhammad http://www.amazon.com/Truth-About-Muhammad-Intolerant-Religion/dp/1596980281 and the Complete Infidels guyed to the Koran http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Infidels-Guide-Koran/dp/1596981040/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Hi Jay. Haven't read either of those books. I am a fan of Martin Lings, having read his biography of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). He also wrote a book entitled What is Sufism? that seems to be highly regarded.

Idk if its exactly the same, but try this its by Abdul Wadod Shalabi

its a very interesting book.

It's an excellent book for new converts to Islam

https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Muslims-Field-Guide/dp/1981328998

No, you did read one hadith about Aisha saying she was six probably from a propaganda website and ignored all the other hadiths that contradict this one, that "6/9 years old" hadith is not reliable and not part of the earliest and most trusted hadith collection (Muwatta), Muslims who lived in Medina at that time rejected that hadith as fabricated and it came from Iraq and not Arabia.

Shit like that exists because of the shia/sunni split, of course Muslims couldn't resist fighting eachothers for power, Aisha was a political figure not a little girl and she led a rebellion that's why many slander hadiths exist about her. That specific hadith was canonized in the 12th or 13th century with the rest of bukhari by an Ottoman vizier iirc and had absolutely no value before that.

Early Muslims didn't give a shit about hadiths because of their unreliable nature, I doubt you're interested in reading anything that isn't propaganda but since it's my field I'll recommend you two books on this topic The Introduction of ḥadīth in al-Andalus by Isabel Fierro and Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy by Jonathan Brown

TL;DR : Hadiths were the equivalent of shitposting for early Muslims, Aisha was a strong political figure and many contradicting hadiths about her age exist.

I think it depends highly from which perspective you are looking into it:

If you are a conservative muslim and you are searching legitimization/answers to questions and how sufism is related to traditional understandings of Islam, do not look further than: "Realities of Sufism", by Sunnipubs.

If you are not like that, but you are in search of a good introduction, not overwhelming, not too technical, then I'd say go with William C. Chitticks Sufism - A Beginner's Guide.

I didn't even think about commentary. I feel like a simpleton now!

I honestly have no issues with purchasing a Quran if it comes with commentary.

Highest reviewed one I could find was:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/091332101X?pc_redir=1408373579&robot_redir=1

For a comprehensive scholarly book, Hans Küng, Islam: past, present and future.

If you prefer lighter reading to introduce you to the main issues in contemporary islam, I recommend Ziauddin Sardar's [Desperately Seeking Paradise](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Desperately-Seeking-Paradise-Journeys-Sceptical/dp/186207755X
).

Their translation of the Holy Qu'ran have subtle differences when compared to the mainstream used one. It's known by many people to be better translated though

Ahmadiyya Holy Qur'an
http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Quran-English-Translation-Commentary/dp/091332101X/ref=pd_bbs_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208702621&sr=8-3

Yusef Ali Holy Qur'an
http://www.amazon.com/English-interpretation-Holy-Quran/dp/1930097468/ref=pd_bbs_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1208702621&sr=8-11

All translations are........meh imo.

Brother, link them to the Islam On Demand YouTube channel. There's a wealth of information there for the uninitiated.

Edit: Or how about an introduction written by a leading Christian thinker Hans Küng - Islam: Past, Present, Future

I'd suggest buying Jonathan Brown's book Misquoting Muhammad which provides a very good introduction to the science of hadith, the formulation of the hadith corpus, and the application of it.

OP, buy Joe Bradford's and Musa Furber's books.

Read through them and note down your questions.

Check to see if Sheikh Joe has already answered them on joebradford.net.

If not, send him an email with your question.

Check locally to see if any imams can teach you the madhab.

This is better than learning from only a book.

I bought this one. It's good.

There's a book translated by Shaykh Joe Bradford (he recently did an AMA here). It is a primer in Hanbali fiqh titled "Al-Qaddumi's Elementary Hanbali Primer:100 Issues of Instruction according to the Hanbali school". I highly recommend purchasing it if you are follower of that school.

http://www.amazon.com/Qaddumis-Elementary-Hanbali-Primer-Instruction/dp/149236049X

This one is quite good its by Abdul Shalabi, and edited by Tim Winter, its on amazon.

Check these out.

https://www.amazon.com/Qaddumis-Elementary-Hanbali-Primer-Instruction/dp/149236049X?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc

https://www.amazon.com/Hanbali-Acts-Worship-Balbans-Synopsis/dp/1944904034/ref=sr_1_2/159-7497958-7831225?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469405426&sr=1-2&refinements=p_27%3AMusa+Furber

Read Ibn Warraq, the scholarly ex-Muslim from Pakistan.
http://www.amazon.com/Why-I-Am-Not-Muslim/dp/1591020115/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372205869&sr=8-1&keywords=ibn+warraq

Including the Edip Yüksel translation?

http://www.amazon.com/Quran-Reformist-Translation-Modern-English/dp/0979671507

Here is the desktop version of your link

Read every religious book and then read Christopher Hitchens. Probably check the local library?

Found this on Amazon

Ibn Warraq has written multiple books - Why I am not a Muslim

​

Also online check out r/https://wikiislam.net

Check out 'Why I am not a Muslim' by Ibn Warraq

I recommend the Quran first as Islam tends to be a hot button issue recently. Also it's quite different from the Bible. As far as translations go, the "default" one is the King Fagd Quran http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/996077015X/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1374528231&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY190


But if you want one that has a shit ton of footnotes that explains what it's talking about get this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/091332101X/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?qid=1374528338&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX110_SY190

I found this it's a Reformist translation of the Quran done by 2 men and a woman. Idk if it cuts out all the bad or not but if their description is accurate at all it is supposed to.

>contradicting stories throughout its sects, its theology is severely flawed, and not to mention, the bible sounds like a 9 year old wrote it.

You might want to read this.

I agree 100% about seeking out the best of each side. Too many people think philosophy of religion is some kind of tug of war, with any acknowledgement of an opponent's strength being too big a concession.

I'm with /u/ludi_literarum in that I think that this question is better dealt with in writing, so I'll start with some book recommendations; I think some of the best, most substantial arguments for theism can be found in The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology and Aquinas. For the best atheist arguments, I always recommend The Miracle of Theism, Arguing About Gods, and Logic and Theism.

Of those on your list I have some experience of, the good:

1. William Lane Craig. The debate king, whether or not you think his arguments are sound. Always smart, organised, and prepared.

2. Matt Dilahunty. I don't believe I've ever seen Dilahunty in a debate context, trying to make a positive case for atheism to an audience, but I've seen quite a bit of The Atheist Experience. He listens patiently to anything that anybody has to say in support of anything supernatural, even when the caller is rude or their argument idiotic, then politely explains why he finds the argument wanting. You have to respect him.

3. Christopher Hitchens. Only ranks up here because of his wit and eloquence, not because I think highly of his arguments.

The bad:

4. Lawrence Krauss. He earns his spot down here for his main contribution to the theism debate, A Universe from Nothing. We all constantly see it appealed to as a solution to the problems of the cosmological argument, which it simply is not—for those who want details of this, see David Albert's review of the book in The New York Times. What does Krauss have to say about this review? Dr Albert "was a philosopher, not a physicist, so I discounted him." (16:20–16:35)

5. Sam Harris. I watched him debate William Lane Craig on whether there can be objective moral values apart from God. Craig tore him apart, largely because Harris chose to merely assert that Craig's interpretation of his book was wrong without explaining how and then waste all his time giving obviously canned speeches about how stupid it is to believe in God.

6. Richard Dawkins. His replies to famous theistic arguments in The God Delusion can be most charitably described as very inferior to what can be found in academic literature, and I think his "who designed the designer" argument shows a lack of appreciation of certain traditional attributes of God (as Dr Gary Gutting wrote about at length here).

If you're accusing someone of committing adultery, yes. You have to have complete confidence that your testimony is absolutely correct. You are, afterall, accusing someone of committing one of the worst sins and crimes they can commit, which even if the accused are innocent of, can ruin their life, reputation and business; which in turn could harm their family and friends’ reputation as well. There can be no place for doubt and you need to know exactly in what order every act was committed. If you cannot recall it, you have no obligation to testify.

You're not accusing someone of theft or rape. Adultery is different. Especially if they're doing it in public. It's not as simple as 2 people getting aroused, making out and then getting caught and stopping. And then 4 people or more see them re-dressing themselves and walking/running away. We would logically conclude they were having sex and got caught but in this case in Islam, we need to make excuses for them unless we know that they did the crime 100% and with the intention to cause civil unrest. Them being caught and re-dressing themselves without the act being carried out would not satisfy the requirements of the Hudud punishment. The act of adultery has to be committed and everyone has to see it.

To clarify, 4 independent witnesses have to see their genitalia and the act of penetration, in addition to describing other intimate events that took place. In what world do 4 independent witnesses see people having sex and keep watching, including staring at their privates? If it’s done in private and you see 2 people having sex (eg. through a window), you would conclude they were married and look away. Not report it to the police and accuse them of committing adultery.

This law is in place so people know the seriousness of the crime and that it is not a petty issue. Sin should not be allowed to become commonplace like it has become today. This law exists in Islam by giving Muslims perspective on how serious the sin/crime is and how serious the punishment in the afterlife is if they do not repent. And regardless of whether it is done in public or private, the person is not immediately condemned to hell. They have the chance to repent. But for the Muslims in society today, they need to know how serious of a matter the sin is. That is the basis of Hadd punishments. Deterrence.

Non-Muslims committing adultery in private would not be ruled under this law as that would be a private act and they would be ruled under the law of their choosing (depending on what their faith is). If they had no faith, there would be no punishment. I say this again to emphasise that it is referring to public sex. Non-Muslims talk about this law out of ignorance and describe it as if the intent is to police what everyone is doing in their beds and in an Islamic country, people are being killed on every corner. This is not true at all.

The purpose of the law is not to go around flogging and killing everyone. It's to first let the Muslims know how serious the sin is and second to let them know how serious it is to make an accusation like that against someone if the accused is innocent. Otherwise, people would go around making accusations against their enemies, which cannot be tolerated. And thus, for those who would be interested in exploiting the law like this, there needs to be a deterrent against them. If corrupt people knew their slanders could get them punished, they would not make such an accusation against the innocent. Just look at how excited everyone is today to accuse potentially innocent celebrities of committing immoral sex acts (even though liberals say there is nothing wrong with it, they still make a fuss about it). Such slanders can ruin lives and even lead people to commit suicide.

By the way, based upon one interpretation, the death by stoning punishment applies to those who are married and commit adultery in public. Those who are not married, and have not been married, get flogged according to Qur’an 24:2 (flogging cannot cause bleeding or scarring – it’s not the kind of ISIS flogging that you think where someone is on the brink of death and covered in blood). The death penalty ruling is not derived from the Qur’an, but from hadith. There are other interpretations that that ruling regarding the death penalty is based upon Mosaic/Jewish law, not Islamic law, as Jews came to the Prophet SAW and said 2 people were accused of committing adultery. So, he referred to Jewish law out of respect for their faith to decide their punishment (non-Muslims have this right), which turned out to be death by stoning. The Qur’an does not say this and the only punishment that is outlined is flogging. Thus, they say death by stoning is not a part of Islamic law, but Jewish law.

Paraphrased: ‘Those that argue the punishment is flogging would argue that the Prophet SAW after 24:2 was revealed, avoided death by stoning for adultery as that ruling was derived from Mosaic law, which is considered corrupted by Muslims and abrogated by the Qur’an’. The previous sentence is from the book (reinterpreted in my own words based upon a very long paraphraph): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meaning-Holy-Quran-Todays-English-ebook/dp/B003XREATO/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?keywords=The+Meaning+of+the+Holy+Qur%27an+in+Today%27s+English+extended&qid=1554955673&s=digital-text&sr=1-2-fkmr0 The book is not arguing in favour of this interpretation or ruling, so there is no bias. Rather, the author is presenting that there is a different opinion and was a different opinion during the time of the Sahabah.

If it is not obvious, this ‘4 independent witnesses’ requirement only applies in the case of adultery. Which by the standards for prosecution has to be done in public. I mean in a really public place where everyone can see everything you’re doing clearly and will not forget the order in which you’re doing it. Which nobody would do anyways. Regardless of how strict and impossible the requirements for prosecution are, Muslims would turn away from and run away from this sin if they knew how severe the punishment was. Thus, the purpose of Hadd punishments.