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Quran Talk BlogThe Places of Worship Belong to God AlonePlacing the prophet Muhammad's name beside God's name in mosques, and adding him to the declaration of faith, is idol worship according to the Quran. Citing 72:18, 47:19 and 3:18, the article argues that the places of worship and the Shahadah belong to God alone. It notes that only the hypocrites of 63:1 bear witness to Muhammad, and offers 39:45 as a test of true worship.July 10, 2020

Quran Talk BlogDrowned Out VoicesSura 17 seems to jump from Satan's exile to people stranded at sea, and the article explains the link through the Arabic word for entice in 17:64, meaning to scare or banish with his voice. Satan's followers drown out those who stand for the truth, as Moses, Lot, and David's petitioner felt. Believers who implore God for help must stay appreciative and not revert.July 9, 2020

Quran Talk BlogTower of Babel and The Deterioration of LanguageManipulation of speech is read as the sorcery taught at Babel in 2:102, linked to the Tower of Babel and to those who exploit multiple meaning verses in 3:7 to sow division. Euphemisms such as pleasure marriage and pro choice, and the redefinition of marriage, man, and woman, are presented as Satan's schemes that, per 35:43, backfire on their schemers.July 9, 2020

Quran Talk BlogCorruption – Lying by ObscurityThe connection between Quran 2:188, which forbids bribing officials, and 2:189, which says righteousness is being straightforward rather than beating around the bush. Evidence from Flesch Readability Scores of shareholder letters at well managed and scandal ridden companies, and from lobbyist Jack Abramoff's obscure legislative sentence, shows that confusing speech is a way to hide corruption in plain sight.July 8, 2020

Quran Talk BlogQuran and Freedom of SpeechFreedom of speech in the Quran, tested against Walter Williams' standard of tolerating despicable speech. God instructs believers to avoid those who mock His revelations rather than silence them, while disbelievers such as Pharaoh and the people of Lot threaten, banish, and kill to suppress opposing views. Blasphemy laws in so-called Islamic countries are shown to have no basis in the Quran.July 8, 2020

Quran Talk BlogA Heavy SoulRedeeming the soul, the real self, is the central aim of this life, since sin damages it in ways we cannot feel, much like congenital insensitivity to pain. Drawing on Sura 91 and the Arabic roots of its words for purifying and burying the soul, the article contrasts the heavy soul nurtured through righteous works with the neglected one, and how each fares on the Day of Judgment.July 4, 2020

Quran Talk BlogSatan As A KhalifaThe meaning of khalifa in the Quran, traced through its Arabic root and its two occurrences in 2:30 and 38:26. The article argues that David is a ruler, while the khalifa God placed on Earth in 2:30 is Satan, the alternative to God for the Children of Adam. It explains Rashad Khalifa's rendering as a representative (temporary god) and Satan's authority over those who choose him.July 2, 2020

Quran Talk BlogArabic Triliteral Roots & QuranArabic triliteral roots offer a deeper understanding of Quranic words whose full meaning an English translation cannot always capture. The article works through one such root as an example of how tracing a word to its three root letters enriches a reader's appreciation of the Quran.July 1, 2020

Quran Talk BlogEarth: Egg-ShapedThe Arabic word daḥāhā in verse 79:30, read as egg-shaped and spread, set against the Earth's oblate spheroid shape and the Arabian ostrich egg. The article compares the Earth's layered interior to an egg and links the word's sense of spreading to plate tectonics and continental drift. It also reads verses calling the mountains moving, pegs, and stabilizers as references to the Earth's plates.July 1, 2020

Quran Talk BlogHourin in the QuranThe meaning of ḥūrin, the spouses promised to the righteous in Paradise, examined through its Arabic root, its link to the word for the disciples of Jesus, and its four occurrences in the Quran. The article reads the term, with the descriptions of Paradise, as allegorical: chaste, beautiful companions perfectly paired with their spouses, their wide white eyes signifying mutual attraction.July 1, 2020

Quran Talk BlogPlanet Orbit and QuranArabic root meanings in the Quran are read as describing the rotation and orbit of the Earth, sun, and moon. Verses 21:33, 39:5, 31:29, and 36:40 are examined, including the palindrome in the phrase for each in orbit, the link between He rolls and the word for ball, and the sun's own course around the Milky Way.July 1, 2020

Quran Talk BlogWe Are The Plants, God is the FarmerHardship is likened to fertilizer, which looks unpleasant from the plant's side while the farmer knows what his plants need to reach their potential. We are the plants and God is the farmer, so the reader is urged to trust in God and stay positive through difficult situations.July 1, 2020

Quran Talk BlogAnt CommunicationSolomon's exchange with an ant in Sura 27 is read alongside biologist E. O. Wilson's account of how ants signal danger and colony identity through scent. The feminine Arabic form in 27:18 is noted as fitting the fact that worker ants are female. Both points are offered as evidence that the Quran is from God and untampered, answering those who ridicule the passage.June 30, 2020

Quran Talk BlogAyat, Kitab, Wahi and InfallibilityDistinguishes ayat (signs), kitab (scripture), and wahi (inspiration) in the Quran, arguing that only God is infallible and that prophets and messengers erred personally but never in delivering the message. Applies this to Rashad Khalifa as a messenger who received ayat, such as the mathematical miracle, and wahi but no kitab, so his core teaching stands while his every word is not beyond critique.June 25, 2020

Quran Talk BlogBlack Hole Heart of DisbelieversThe hardened hearts of disbelievers are compared to a star that fuses iron, explodes as a supernova, and collapses into a black hole that emits no light. Drawing on Sura 57, Iron, and on 2:74, the article traces three responses of the heart to God's miracles. It closes with the hypocrites begging the believers for light on the Day of Judgment.June 22, 2020

Quran Talk BlogHuman WeaknessHuman weakness takes two forms in the Quran: the physical weakness God creates in infancy and old age (30:54), and a spiritual weakness of our own making. A reading of the Arabic of 4:28 traces the second to our choice before Earth to question God's absolute authority and accept the responsibility of freedom of choice (33:72), which brought us here bearing sin (95:4 to 5).June 22, 2020

Quran Talk BlogThe Quran is Not a Single VerseVerse 4:89 of the Quran, cited by critics as a call to kill disbelievers, is read here against 2:190 to 194 and 4:90 to 91 to show it concerns wartime self-defense. The article argues the Quran upholds a non-aggression principle and that no interpretation of a single verse is valid if it contradicts other verses.June 22, 2020

Quran Talk BlogIs America Systematically Racist?Argues against the claim that America today is systematically racist, holding that historic discriminatory laws were overturned long ago. Places the root of the problem in a victim mentality rather than lasting effects of old policies, pointing to immigrants such as Nigerian Americans who rise despite greater disadvantages, and stresses personal decisions over external factors.June 14, 2020

Quran Talk BlogProhibition of Intoxicants in the QuranIntoxicants are prohibited in the Quran, against the claim that 4:43 forbids only praying the contact prayer while intoxicated. The article warns against reading a single verse in isolation, then examines 5:90 and 5:91, which call intoxicants an abomination of the devil and command believers to avoid them. It compares that command with God's order to Adam and Eve not to approach the tree.June 13, 2020

Quran Talk BlogGod’s Response Regarding Noah’s Son (11:46)Noah's plea for his drowned son and God's reply in 11:46 are examined through the Arabic phrase most translators render as a judgment on the son's conduct. The singular word for deed points instead to Noah's single request as the unrighteous act, a reading that fits God's warning not to ask for what he does not know. Translations by Yusuf Ali, Pickthal, Shakir, and Sher Ali are compared.June 1, 2020

Quran Talk BlogHearing, Eyesight and BrainsThe four Quranic verses naming the hearing, the eyesight, and the brains follow the order of human development: hearing forms first in the womb, then eyesight, while the brain keeps developing for about 25 years. The article then ties hearing to death through 2:19 and the sealed ears of the Sleepers of the Cave, noting that hearing is the last sense lost when dying.May 29, 2020

Quran Talk BlogProphet (Nabi) vs. Messenger (Rasul)The difference between a prophet (nabi) and a messenger (rasul), drawn chiefly from the covenant in 3:81: prophets are given the scripture, while messengers confirm, recite, and teach it. The article traces this pattern across the Quran and argues from the phrase messenger prophet in 19:51 and 19:54 that every prophet is a messenger, though not every messenger is a prophet.May 27, 2020

Quran Talk BlogProphets (Nabi) vs. Messenger (Rasool) and 4:136 and 57:25The distinction between a prophet (nabi) and a messenger (rasool), answering the claim that 4:136 and 57:25 show messengers receive scripture. Drawing on 3:81 and the Arabic verbs for giving, sending, and sending down, the article argues that only prophets are given scripture while messengers confirm, recite, and teach it. It reads messenger prophet in 19:51 and 19:54 to mean every prophet is a messenger.May 27, 2020

Quran Talk BlogWhat kind of keys did Qaroon have?Qaroon's keys in verse 28:76, which were almost too heavy for the strongest band, and what that description means. The Arabic word for band is shown to mean a group of men, as in 12:8, 12:14 and 24:11. The large wooden crossbar locks and pin tumbler locks of Ancient Egypt explain why such keys could burden strong men.May 25, 2020

Quran Talk BlogWhen should someone no longer be allowed to frequent a masjid?Barring someone from the masjid, weighing aggressive conduct against beliefs that defy the Quran, with reference to 49:9 and 4:88 to 89. The article argues that 9:17 is misused to banish people for their beliefs. Read in context, it refers to idol worshipers of opposing communities who come to openly declare a false Shahada, not to community members who differ on a Quranic topic.May 24, 2020

Quran Talk BlogThe Ultimate PrayerVerse 10:10 and whether its ultimate prayer means the best prayer or the final one. Reading the Arabic in the context of 10:9, the article traces the sequence for those who reach Heaven: they are first invited with Be You Glorified, our god, then greeted with Peace, and finally say Praise be to God, Lord of the universe.May 17, 2020

Quran Talk BlogUnderstanding the Meaning of Sura 7: The Purgatory (Al-A‘arãf)The Purgatory, named in the title of Sura 7, is a state on the Day of Judgment between Heaven and Hell whose dwellers recognize each side by their looks, as told in 7:44 to 7:49 and Dr. Khalifa's footnote. The Arabic root of Al-A‘arãf, meaning recognition and universally known righteousness, is traced through 60:12 and Mount Arafat in 2:198.May 17, 2020

Quran Talk BlogWhat is the meaning of وَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ in 4:34 of Quran?The Arabic word وَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ in 4:34 is broken down by its root, which in the Quran means to strike, to travel, or to cite an example, and the article concludes it means strike. It then asks how a Most Merciful God allows this, reading the verse alongside the bans on aggression and the abused verse on intoxication and the contact prayer, as God's path to redemption for sinners.May 14, 2020

Quran Talk BlogMost of them are unappreciativeSatan's challenge in 7:17 that most people would prove unappreciative, and why the Quran's Arabic uses one word for unappreciative and disbeliever. Abundance tends to breed ingratitude, and the article proposes deprivation as the remedy, either imposed by God as in 16:112 or chosen willingly through the Ramadan fast to renew appreciation of God's blessings.May 3, 2020

Quran Talk BlogMecca – A Plantless ValleyAbraham's prayer in 14:37 describes Mecca as a plantless valley, and the article rejects the claim that the phrase only means uncultivated land. A study of the root ز ر ع across its fourteen Quranic occurrences, contrasted with حرث, shows the word covers both planted and naturally growing crops. Mecca, it concludes, had no plants at all and could not be cultivated.April 30, 2020

Quran Talk BlogSalat – Word by WordThe contact prayer (Salat), taken word by word. The page points readers to a podcast, a Quran translation app for iOS, a Quran translation website, and additional resources.April 27, 2020

Quran Talk Blog[95:4] We created man in the best design.Whether God's creation of man in the best design in 95:4 refers to physical or spiritual design, argued from the Arabic root of taqweem, meaning upright. Reading 95:5 and 95:6 alongside it, the article favors the spiritual sense and illustrates it through Adam's honor above the angels, his fall from Paradise to the lowly world, and his redemption.April 16, 2020

Quran Talk BlogIs 91:15 addressing God or the human being?Verse 91:15 is usually translated as God not fearing the consequences, while Rashad Khalifa renders it as later generations remaining heedless. A word by word look at the Arabic asks whether the he refers to God or to the human being. The context of Thamud slaughtering the camel supports reading it as people who do not fear the consequences of their own actions.April 16, 2020

Quran Talk Blog[86:7] From between the spine and the visceraCritics argue that verses 86:5 to 86:7 are scientifically false because semen does not come from between the spine and the viscera. Comparing the Arabic words for semen, tiny drop, liquid, and mixture across several verses, the article reads 86:6 as liquid within a woman, describing a child formed between her spine and viscera and born through poured out amniotic fluid.April 15, 2020

Quran Talk BlogTwo Male WitnessesThe Quran specifies the sex of witnesses only once, in 2:282, where a loan requires two men or a man and two women. Other translations, such as Sahih International, render the Arabic dual dhawai in 65:2, 5:95, and 5:106 as two men, though the word for men does not appear there. The word means possessors of, and its masculine form applies to both sexes.April 10, 2020

Quran Talk BlogKnowledge, Authority & WisdomSolomon's story in Sura 27, The Ant, shows how knowledge, authority, and wisdom differ. He receives knowledge, inherits David's kingdom, and commands jinns, humans, and birds, yet his wisdom first appears when he heeds a single ant and thanks God. Drawing on verses about power breeding unappreciation and on the good samaritan experiment, the article explains why wealth and busyness make people less grateful and less sympathetic.March 8, 2020

Quran Talk BlogTrue PowerReal power belongs to the one with knowledge rather than the one with authority or strength, drawn from the history of Solomon in Sura 27. The hoopoe brings news of the Queen of Sheba that Solomon lacks, and the one with knowledge from the book outpaces a mighty afrit in bringing her palace. A story of a congressman and a diner server opens the point.March 8, 2020

Quran Talk BlogCan We Encompass A Single One of God’s Blessings?Verses 14:34 and 16:18 both say we cannot encompass God's blessings, but the first uses the plural and the second the singular. The article reads 16:18 to mean that even one blessing is beyond our full appreciation, illustrated by Abraham's prayer, through which God blessed generations with the contact prayers, Hajj, the Quran, and Submission.January 16, 2020

Quran Talk BlogMan: The Best Design & CircumcisionCircumcision is reconciled with God's statement that He created man in the best design. The human form predates Adam and shares the foreskin with other mammals, but clothing, shame in nudity, and sex for pleasure and bonding make it less useful for humans. Hygiene, infection risk, longer intercourse and oxytocin are discussed alongside Quran verses on garments and cleanliness.January 16, 2020

Quran Talk BlogThe name JesusTraces the name Jesus from the Hebrew Yehoshua through Greek and Latin, and its link to Joshua, whom Moses renamed from Hoshea in Numbers 13. Because Yehoshua means God is salvation, the name itself testifies against the Christian belief that Jesus is God, a point supported by Quran 4:172 and 3:45. The article closes by noting the open question of why the Quran calls him Isa.January 16, 2020

Quran Talk BlogA simple test to determine if we are monotheists or idol worshipers:A simple test for telling monotheists from idol worshipers, framed by one question: does knowledge gained from the Quran make us more united with the believers or more divided from them? The article invites readers to examine the effect of their own study on their bond with fellow believers.December 31, 2019

Quran Talk BlogBible vs. Quran – Raising of Mount SinaiThe Quran's account of God raising Mount Sinai above the Children of Israel as He took their covenant is compared with Exodus 19 and Deuteronomy 4. The Hebrew words usually translated at the foot of the mountain, tachti and tachath, also mean beneath or underneath. That reading supports the Quranic depiction of the mountain lifted over the people.December 29, 2019

Quran Talk BlogMilat Ibraheem (Religion of Abraham) in the Hebrew BibleThe Quranic expression religion of Abraham, millat Ibraheem, and whether it appears in the Hebrew Bible. The article traces the Arabic root mim lam lam to its Hebrew counterpart, which carries the sense of circumcision, and points to Genesis 17:26 and 21:4, where circumcision follows Abraham's name. It links this to Quran 2:124, where God tests Abraham with commands, and to the Jewish covenant of circumcision.December 29, 2019

Quran Talk BlogBakka vs. Mecca – Why Two Names for The Same Location?Becca in 3:96 and Mecca in 48:24 name the same place, the site of Abraham's shrine and the Sacred Masjid where Hajj is observed. The Quran also gives two names to other places and people, such as Medina and Yathrib, Jacob and Israel. Psalm 84's Valley of Baka, with its single spring, is offered as a surviving biblical mention of Mecca and Hajj.December 14, 2019

Quran Talk BlogWhy do some people think Bakka means weeping?Becca, the name for Mecca in 3:96 of the Quran, comes from the root ب ك ك, meaning crowding, lack of water, and breaking of the neck, each tied to Mecca. The idea that it means weeping traces to an early Greek mistranslation of the valley of Bakka in Psalm 84. Arabic baka, to weep, is likewise a different word that only sounds similar.December 14, 2019

Quran Talk BlogAre Tattoos Prohibited in the Quran?Tattoos are not prohibited, the article concludes, since the Quran alone is the source of religious law and nothing it leaves unprohibited is forbidden. It weighs two arguments against tattoos, the best design of 95:4 and Satan's distortion of God's creation in 4:119, and rejects both. It also separates personal preference from prohibition, warning that calling something forbidden attributes lies to God.December 4, 2019

Quran Talk BlogI speak Arabic therefore I understand the QuranNative Arabic speakers often claim that knowing Arabic means understanding the Quran, and the article answers that claim on two grounds. God makes the Quran accessible only to the sincere, as 56:79 states, a verse often misread as requiring physical cleanliness. The Quran's Arabic also differs in grammar and vocabulary from Arabic spoken today, much as Shakespeare's English differs from modern English.November 23, 2019

Quran Talk BlogSura 19:31 & 19:94; Count of Y: How the Quran’s Mathematical Structure Preserves the Quranic TextThe count of the initials Kaf Ha Ya Ain Saad in Sura 19, totaling 798, or 19×42, is defended against a claim that verses 19:31 and 19:94 should contain three more Ys. An early Berlin manuscript spells both words as modern Qurans do, and the mathematical structure of the Quran serves as the test for which manuscript spelling is correct. Verses 49:6 and 17:36 call for verifying information first.November 23, 2019

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