"Say, 'I am only a human being like you. It is revealed unto me that your God is one God. So whosoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him perform righteous deeds and make no one a partner unto his Lord in worship."
Quran 18:110
I suppose as Muslims we shouldn't have "favorite" surahs, but, I guess, here's another example that I am not a particularly good Muslim because I'm culling out an example from one of my favorite surahs: al-Kahf, usually rendered as "The Cave," the eighteenth surah. I'm a little surprised that I haven't delved into this surah more thoroughly so far, but that may also be an indication of how much I love it. As we'll discuss down the road, it's a richly metaphoric surah, and one that surprised me the first time I read it (trapped, as I think I was, in the belief that the Quran was a harsh and painfully literal work). However, that's another discussion for another day. I chose this passage, the last in the surah, because it emphasizes one of the key elements of Islam, the notion that while Muhammad was an incredibly important prophet he was just a man. Recently I started reading Kecia Ali's The Lives of Muhammad, so expect a series of posts related to perceptions of the Prophet. After making this point clear the message then returns to a central theme of the Quran: the path to the next world is for those who "perform righteous deeds and make no one a partner unto his Lord in worship." So, Muhammad is revered, but he's not the point.
Quran 18:110
I suppose as Muslims we shouldn't have "favorite" surahs, but, I guess, here's another example that I am not a particularly good Muslim because I'm culling out an example from one of my favorite surahs: al-Kahf, usually rendered as "The Cave," the eighteenth surah. I'm a little surprised that I haven't delved into this surah more thoroughly so far, but that may also be an indication of how much I love it. As we'll discuss down the road, it's a richly metaphoric surah, and one that surprised me the first time I read it (trapped, as I think I was, in the belief that the Quran was a harsh and painfully literal work). However, that's another discussion for another day. I chose this passage, the last in the surah, because it emphasizes one of the key elements of Islam, the notion that while Muhammad was an incredibly important prophet he was just a man. Recently I started reading Kecia Ali's The Lives of Muhammad, so expect a series of posts related to perceptions of the Prophet. After making this point clear the message then returns to a central theme of the Quran: the path to the next world is for those who "perform righteous deeds and make no one a partner unto his Lord in worship." So, Muhammad is revered, but he's not the point.
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