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Quran Talk BlogExamine All Inherited Information (7:28 – 7:29)Quran 7:28 and 7:29 frame a study of blindly following parents' traditions, with verses on God never advocating sin and the duty to verify information using the hearing, eyesight, and brain God gave. It also asks whether one may pray in an idol worshiper's home, how to tell steadfastness from stubbornness, and covers the messenger's kindness, fair weather believers, ridiculed messengers, and traits of the righteous.February 23, 2016

Quran Talk BlogInnovated Prohibitions Condemned (7:32 – 7:34)Verses 7:32 through 7:34 of the Quran condemn prohibitions people invent, affirming that the good provisions God created are for believers to enjoy. The article lists the five things God does prohibit in 7:33, including setting up idols beside God and saying about God what one does not know. It also asks whether a righteous community's predetermined life span still ends, or whether it first turns unrighteous.February 23, 2016

Quran Talk BlogChapter 7: Purgatory (7:1 – 7:11)Verses 7:1 to 7:11 of the Quran are studied through questions they raise: whether every community receives a messenger, and whether we are born with instinctive knowledge of God. The study holds that those who deliver the message answer for its accuracy, not its outcome, and that leaders and teachers bear greater responsibility. It also asks whether the angels prostrated before Adam's body or soul.February 15, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Test Begins (7:12 – 7:27)Satan's refusal to prostrate, his arrogance and racism, and his vow to mislead humanity open a study of verses 7:12 to 7:27, with Adam and his wife duped into eviction from Paradise. Ingratitude is named as the reason people fall for Satan, his belief in power independent of God is called idol worship, and his methods are compared to a con artist's confidence, alongside 14:22 and Isaiah 14.February 15, 2016

Quran Talk BlogMathematics: The Ultimate Proof (6:157)The Quran's mathematical code is presented as the proven scripture of 6:157, with the verse number plus the gematrical value of Rashad Khalifa giving 1387, or 19×73. Verses 29:48 to 52 follow, explaining why God separated the Quran from its mathematical miracle by 1400 years and revealed it in the computer age through His Messenger of the Covenant, so that Muhammad would not be idolized.February 8, 2016

Quran Talk BlogReligious Sects Condemned (6:159 – 6:165)Verses 6:159 to 6:165 condemn dividing into religious sects and affirm devotion of the contact prayers, life, and death to God alone. Related verses on believers holding fast to God's rope, multiplied rewards for righteous works, eternal Heaven and Hell, and individual accountability accompany the passage. It closes by asking how submitters can fulfill 6:162.February 8, 2016

Quran Talk BlogRequirements of the Test (6:158)Belief in God alone does not guarantee redemption, as 6:158 and Pharaoh's last minute declaration in 10:90 to 10:91 show. Drawing on Appendix 15, the article presents the religious duties, beginning with the contact prayers Abraham asked for, as God's gift that nourishes and develops the soul so it can survive God's presence on the Day of Judgment and attain certainty.February 8, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Major Commandments (6:151 – 6:156)The commandments God lays out in 6:151 to 6:156 are listed one by one and set beside the parallel commandments of 17:22 to 17:38: worship God alone, honor parents, protect life and orphans' money, trade equitably, verify information, and fulfill the covenant with God. Related verses address intoxicants and gambling, orphans' property, God's covenant with the Children of Israel, and the scripture given to Moses.February 8, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Most Powerful Argument (6:149 – 6:150)God's most powerful argument, according to verses 6:149 and 6:150, is the Quran's mathematical code, a tangible proof that the Quran is His message. The article draws on Appendix One to explain the mathematical composition of suras, verses, words and letters that exposes any distortion. It adds verses on God's overwhelming evidence, His teachings sent through messengers, and the error of following opinions without His guidance.February 8, 2016

Quran Talk BlogAbusing God’s Provisions & Religious Innovations Condemned (6:136 – 6:140)Verses 6:136 to 6:140 serve as the basis for a study of how idol worship nullifies works set aside for God, illustrated with verses on nullified deeds and a simple example of a divided gift. Discussion follows on whether human innovations can prohibit what God made lawful, sincere intent in righteous works, child sacrifice, witchcraft, and whether aborting a fetus diagnosed with genetic disease violates 6:151.February 3, 2016

Quran Talk BlogInnovated Dietary Prohibitions Condemned (6:143 – 6:144)Verses 6:143 and 6:144 condemn inventing dietary prohibitions and attributing them to God, naming eight kinds of livestock: sheep, goats, camels and cattle, male and female. Questions follow on whether animals such as bison, horses and donkeys count as livestock, whether pigs do, and whether pig's milk is prohibited, drawing on 5:1, 22:30, 51:49 and 53:45 and one person's stated opinion.February 3, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Only Dietary Prohibitions (6:145 – 6:148)The Quran prohibits only four foods: carrion, running blood, the meat of pigs, and animals dedicated to other than God, as shown in 6:145, 16:115, 2:173 and 5:3. The article contrasts these with the Jewish prohibitions of 6:146, holds that added dietary prohibitions amount to idol worship, and compares the idol worshipers' claim in 6:148 to Satan's words in 7:16 and 15:39.February 3, 2016

Quran Talk BlogZakat Must Be Given “On The Day of Harvest” (6:141 – 6:142)Zakat charity, based on verses 6:141 and 6:142, must be given on the day income is received rather than once a year. The footnote notes that God restricts His mercy to those who give Zakat (7:156) and that the proportion handed down through Abraham is 2.5% of net income. The verses also command eating from God's provisions, avoiding waste, and not following Satan.February 3, 2016

Quran Talk BlogChance to Remember God: Mention God’s Name Before You Eat (6:119 – 6:123)Mentioning God's name before eating anchors this study of 6:119 to 6:123, which treats following dietary prohibitions not instituted by God as idol worship. It holds that failing to say God's name, or saying another name, is the abomination rather than the food itself. Related verses on the two deaths and two lives, the souls bearing witness before birth, and deprivation for unappreciative communities follow.January 26, 2016

Quran Talk BlogQuestioning God’s Wisdom (6:124)Jealousy and ego lead people to question God's wisdom in choosing His messengers, as 6:124 describes and as Muslim scholars did with the messenger of the covenant. The article explains why God lets criminals scheme, ties it to freedom of choice, and notes that most messengers were rejected. It distinguishes understanding from questioning God's commands while urging readers to verify information for themselves.January 26, 2016

Quran Talk BlogQuranic Knowledge Far Ahead of Human Progress* (6:125 – 6:135)Verses 6:125 to 6:135 describe the disbeliever's chest as straitened like one climbing toward the sky, which the footnote reads as foreknowledge that oxygen diminishes with altitude, supported by linked videos on high altitude breathing. The passage also covers the jinns and their human companions on the Day of Judgment, and ranks commensurate with deeds, illustrated with 3:155.January 26, 2016

Quran Talk BlogA Consequence of Their Own Decision (6:111)Verse 6:111 teaches that no angel, speaking dead, or miracle can make people believe unless God wills it. Belief follows a person's own choice: whoever chooses God sees the miracles, while those who refuse God stay blind to the miracles right in front of them. A video of Bill Bryson on the four most remarkable things he knows accompanies the reflection.January 18, 2016

Quran Talk BlogHadith & Sunna: Fabrications by the Prophet’s Enemies (6:112)Hadith and Sunna are presented as fabrications by the Prophet's enemies, human and jinn devils, permitted by God to test believers (6:112). Drawing on Appendix 19, the article argues they defy the Quran's completeness, blaspheme the Prophet, and create false doctrines. It rejects accepting Hadith that agree with the Quran and cites the mathematical miracle as evidence that the Quran alone is the source of religious teaching.January 18, 2016

Quran Talk BlogImportant Criterion (6:113)The Quran's criteria for telling whether one truly believes in the Hereafter, drawn from 6:113, 17:45 to 46, and 39:45. Those who disbelieve in the Hereafter accept fabrications, cannot understand the Quran, run away when the Lord is preached using the Quran alone, and shrink with aversion when God alone is mentioned. Upholding any source beside the Quran reflects disbelief in it.January 18, 2016

Quran Talk BlogQuran: Fully Detailed (6:114 – 6:118)A study of verses 6:114 to 6:118 on the Quran as the fully detailed and only source of law, weighing civil law, verification of information, and disputed readings of verses. It warns against following the majority, who mostly do not believe, and asks how to pronounce God's name before eating, linking that remembrance to the contact prayer and Appendices 20 and 27.January 18, 2016

Quran Talk BlogFalse Messengers Condemned (6:93 – 6:94) & Greatness of God (6:95 – 101)Verses 6:93 to 6:101 of the Quran condemn those who falsely claim divine inspiration and describe their death, then turn to God's greatness shown in seeds, dawn, stars, rain and fruit. Commentary explains humanity's creation from one person through Adam and Eve, how God decided each person's path, and the idolizing of jinns, citing voodoo as a modern example alongside 37:158 and 34:40 to 41.January 11, 2016

Quran Talk BlogGod 6:102 – 6:110Verses 6:102 through 6:110 of the Quran proclaim God as the sole Creator to be worshiped alone, forbid cursing the idols of others, and answer those who demand miracles. A commentary explains what 6:103 means by no vision encompassing God: He created time and space, so humans cannot perceive Him, while He sees through all perceptions and knows everything in the universe.January 11, 2016

Quran Talk BlogGod’s Messages to the World (6:91 – 6:92)A study of verses 6:91 and 6:92 on valuing God as He should be valued, through obeying His commandments, making Him our top priority, and choosing the Hereafter over worldly life. It affirms that the Torah and the Gospel came from God though some were lost or tampered with, presents the Quran as confirming and superseding them, and names America as today's most important community.January 11, 2016

Quran Talk BlogAbraham Debates with Idol Worshipers (6:74 – 6:81)Abraham's debate with his father Azar and his people over idol worship, as told in 6:74 to 6:81. The article asks why Abraham, already blessed with certainty, calls a planet, the moon, and the sun his Lord, and answers that he was giving his people an example. It then contrasts knowledge with wisdom, which only comes from God, citing 2:269 and related verses.January 10, 2016

Quran Talk BlogPerfect Security for Believers (6:82 – 6:90)Verses 6:82 through 6:90 promise perfect security to believers who do not pollute their belief with idol worship, and recall the argument God gave Abraham against his people. The passage names the prophets God guided, from Noah to Jesus, warns that idolatry would nullify their works, and calls readers to follow in their footsteps. Links to videos on the Book of Daniel and on Elisha follow.January 10, 2016

Quran Talk BlogRespect for the Word of God (6:68 – 6:73)Verses 6:68 to 6:73 show that a submitting society allows freedom of speech, and that the response to those who mock God's revelations is to leave their company rather than force them. Believers remind, lead by example, and do not coerce belief. Further topics include God's command Be, describing one's religion as Submission, the religion of Abraham, and idols who invent religious laws never authorized by God.January 10, 2016

Quran Talk BlogAlmighty God (6:59) & Death and Resurrection: Every Day (6:59 – 6:67)God's complete knowledge of every secret and His nightly taking of souls in sleep, with resurrection each morning, frame a reading of verses 6:59 to 6:67 and the footnote that the righteous never really die. Passages from Proverbs, a talk calling sleep the minor death, and 2:28 on two deaths and two lives follow, along with the point that disbelievers implore God only when in distress.December 24, 2015

Quran Talk BlogGod Alone Worthy of Worship (6:46 – 6:47)Verses 6:46 and 6:47 ask which god other than God could restore hearing, eyesight, and minds He took away, and warn that His retribution strikes the wicked. Alongside the verses are links to Daniel chapter 4 on Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the tree, a video of two blind sisters seeing for the first time, and a charity giving sight to twenty million people.December 24, 2015

Quran Talk BlogRole of the Messengers (6:48 – 6:58)Verses 6:48 to 6:58 present the messengers as bearers of good news and warners who simply follow what is revealed, preach with the Quran alone, and leave judgment to God. Commentary asks whether the greeting Salamun Alaykum may be offered to non-believers, citing Abraham's greeting to strangers, and stresses that each person is responsible only for his or her own neck.December 24, 2015

Quran Talk BlogThe System (6:44 – 6:45)God's system of leading on those who disregard His message, opening for them the gates of everything before sudden punishment, as described in 6:44 and 6:45. Supporting verses show that the disbelievers' prosperity only confirms their sinfulness. The story of Qaaroon, whose treasures and arrogance ended when the earth swallowed him and his mansion, illustrates the inevitable fate of tyrants and the real wealth of the righteous.December 24, 2015

Quran Talk BlogAnimals and Birds: Submitting Creatures 6:38Animals and birds as communities like us, drawing on 6:38 and Dr. Khalifa's Introduction, which explains that they repented after the original sin and now perform a submissive role without ego. Also addressed are whether animals are held responsible for their deeds, the hoopoe's report to Solomon (27:20), and the freedom of choice that humans accepted (33:72).December 15, 2015

Quran Talk BlogOverwhelming Miracle of the Quran (6:39 – 6:43)Reflections on Quran 6:39 through 6:43, where God tests communities with adversity and hardship so they may implore Him, yet hardened hearts turn away. The article pairs these verses with 7:94 and 3:186 on recognizing tests and blessings in disguise, and draws on Plato's Allegory of the Cave and Sebastian Junger's account of how disasters bind people together.December 15, 2015

Quran Talk BlogRearranging Our Priorities (6:32 – 6:37)Worldly life as illusion and vanity, set against the Hereafter, through verses 6:32 to 6:37 and related passages. Vanity is defined as anything done in this world only for this world. The study also covers why rejection of God's revelations is expected, why guidance comes only from God, the duty to listen with heart and ears, our response to the messengers, and failing to see God's signs.December 15, 2015

Quran Talk BlogIdol Worshipers Deny Their Idolatry (6:22 – 6:31)Verses 6:22 to 6:31 describe idol worshipers denying their idolatry on the Day of Judgment, raising the question of how we can recognize idol worship in ourselves. Studies on cognitive dissonance, conformity, and negative word of mouth sit alongside Appendix 27's teaching that your god is whatever occupies your mind most, with habits like the contact prayers for remembering God, and idol worship defined as believing anything independent of God can harm or benefit us.December 7, 2015

Quran Talk BlogOnly God Control Happiness (6:17 – 6:18)God alone controls adversity and blessing, as verses 6:17 and 6:18 of the Quran state. The article answers why 6:17 calls God Omnipotent when He grants a blessing, reading the verse as a statement of fact alongside 10:107. It also draws on 6:42 and 7:94 to present hardship as a test sent so that people may implore God.December 7, 2015

Quran Talk BlogQuran, the Whole Quran, and Nothing But the Quran (6:19 – 6:21)The Quran as the only source of religious guidance, drawn from 6:19 to 6:21 and verses calling it complete and fully detailed, with Hadith and Sunna rejected. The piece also asks whether those who reverted after the messenger departed would have stayed believers had he remained, and holds that God alone guides while messengers deliver the message that brings believers out of darkness.December 7, 2015

Quran Talk BlogRequirement of the Test (6:9 – 6:16)A study of Quran 6:9 to 6:16 on the conditions of the test: why God does not send angels to convince disbelievers, the fate of those who mocked earlier messengers, and God's decree that mercy is His attribute. It stresses that anyone spared from Hell is saved only by God's mercy, presents God as the Initiator of creation, and links the command to worship God alone with Luke 4:8.December 7, 2015

Quran Talk BlogDead Messengers Totally Unaware (5:109 – 5:111)Verses 5:109 to 5:111 show the messengers summoned by God on the Day of Judgment and saying they have no knowledge of how people responded. Jesus as a baby and making a live bird from clay appear in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, not the four Gospels. Jesus could not grasp his impact on mankind, and 4:85 and 34:40 to 34:42 address shared credit and the worship of angels.November 30, 2015

Quran Talk BlogLivestock (6:00 – 6:8)A study of Sura 6, verses 1 through 8, on God as Creator of the heavens and the earth and on disbelievers who turn away from every proof. It asks why 6:3 says heavens in the plural, citing the seven universes, and why disbelievers are not shown an angel, explaining that such a sign would end the test, as 2:210 and 6:158 describe.November 30, 2015

Quran Talk BlogOn The Day of Resurrection (5:116 – 5:120)Jesus, son of Mary, answers God on the Day of Resurrection in 5:116 to 5:120, denying that he told people to idolize him and his mother. The article links this exchange to verses on one God, one message and one religion, and on never questioning God's wisdom. It explains that God asks questions whose answers He already knows so that the rest of us can understand.November 30, 2015

Quran Talk BlogThe Feast + Greater Miracles Bring Greater Responsibility (5:112 – 5:115)The feast Jesus requested from the sky for his disciples (5:112 to 5:115) shows that greater miracles bring greater responsibility, and that God tests our claims of belief. Abraham's request to see the dead revived illustrates every believer's need for reassurance. Jesus' miracle was limited to its time and place, while the mathematical miracle of the Quran is perpetual, and God expects righteousness from us.November 30, 2015

Quran Talk BlogAll Creatures of the Sea Lawful to Eat (5:96 – 5:97)All creatures of the sea, including shellfish, are lawful to eat according to 5:96, which places no prohibition on any sea animal. The article sets this beside 6:145, which limits prohibited food to carrion, running blood, the meat of pigs, and meat dedicated to other than God. It also covers the ban on hunting during pilgrimage and the one Sacred Masjid of 5:97.November 23, 2015

Quran Talk BlogAllying With Disbelievers (5:80 – 5:81)Quran verses 5:80 and 5:81 describe people who ally themselves with disbelievers, incur God's anger, and abide forever in retribution. The verses say that had they believed in God, the prophet, and what was revealed to him, they would not have befriended them. The verses are paired with a linked video titled The Bystander Affect.November 23, 2015

Quran Talk BlogApathy Condemned (5:79)Apathy toward evil is condemned in 5:79, and believers are called to uphold the truth and remind one another with compassion. Group think and peer pressure are presented as sources of apathy, against the reminder that one with God is the majority and each person is accountable for his or her own actions. Verses 16:78, 3:110, and 29:25 support the call to use the mind God gave us and trust in God.November 23, 2015

Quran Talk BlogChoose Your Friends Carefully (5:77 – 5:78)Peer pressure and the pull to conform, read through Quran 5:77 and 5:78, which warn against following those who have gone astray. Choosing friends carefully, thinking for oneself, and following what is best in the Quran are urged. Using 6:68, the article answers what to do when a friend mocks your religion or insults you, and links videos on conformity experiments.November 23, 2015

Quran Talk BlogDo Not Follow Your Parents’ Religion Blindly (5:104 – 5:105)Inherited religion and the Quran's call to examine faith rather than follow parents blindly, drawing on 5:104 to 5:105 and 2:170 to 2:171. Worrying about one's own neck is presented as consistent with no compulsion in religion and the absence of hierarchy in Submission, since each person is responsible for himself. Verses on avoiding those who mock God's revelations close the discussion.November 23, 2015

Quran Talk BlogDo Not Prohibit Lawful Things (5:87 – 5:88)Verses 5:87 and 5:88 warn believers not to prohibit good things that GOD made lawful, and the article argues that personal preference is not prohibition and that adding rules does not make anyone more righteous. It draws on 10:59, 7:32 and 2:61 to examine human-made dietary prohibitions, the difference between good and lawful, moderation in eating, and how prohibition can become aggression.November 23, 2015

Quran Talk BlogDo Not Take God’s Name in Vain (5:89)Oaths and intentions according to verse 5:89, where God holds people responsible for their actual intentions rather than the mere utterance of oaths. The atonement for a broken oath is feeding or clothing ten poor people, freeing a slave, or fasting three days. Moses's killing of a man illustrates unintended acts, and the article notes that intention matters in the contact prayer as well.November 23, 2015

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