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Quran Talk BlogBack in Egypt (12:69)Verse 12:69 of the Quran, where Joseph's brothers arrive at his place in Egypt and Joseph draws his brother close to reveal himself. He tells his brother not to be saddened by what the other brothers have done.December 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogJacob Senses Joseph (12:68)Jacob's instruction to his sons to enter Egypt through separate doors, as told in verse 12:68 of the Quran. A possible reason is offered, that eleven brothers arriving together might draw notice. The article then cautions that God calls Jacob's reason private, so readers should not build assumptions about what they do not know, citing 3:66.December 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogJoseph Attains Prominence (12:54 – 12:67)Joseph's rise to treasurer of Egypt and his brothers' return in Sura 12:54 to 12:67, with study notes linking 12:21 and 12:56, where God establishes Joseph on earth. The notes urge submitters to work for God rather than a worldly boss and to work hard through adversity. They also ask where Joseph gained his experience and whether 12:59 describes welfare or trade.December 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogJoseph Keeps His Brother (12:70 – 12:81)Joseph places the king's cup in his brother's bag so he can keep him, as told in Sura 12:70 to 12:81. The post asks whether Joseph was wrong or lying, compares the plan to Abraham destroying the idols, and weighs a Kite Runner quote calling theft the ultimate sin. It reads Joseph's scheme as strategy several levels deep, drawing on game theory puzzles.December 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogJoseph Interprets the King’s Dream (12:46 – 12:53)Joseph's interpretation of the king's dream of seven fat and seven skinny cows, read from 12:46 to 12:53, with his call to investigate the women and the governor's wife's confession. Study notes ask why the Quran emphasizes dreams, citing 8:43 and 52:32, and see Joseph's refusal to bargain for release as trust that God decides. They weigh selflessness against ego and pleasing God.December 12, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe King’s Dream (12:43 – 12:45)The king's dream of seven fat cows devoured by seven skinny cows, and of green and shriveled spikes of wheat, as told in Quran 12:43 to 12:45. The king's elders dismiss it as nonsense, and the freed prisoner remembers Joseph. The numbers in the king's dream and in Joseph's dream about his brothers stand for real numbers, with eleven planets for eleven brothers and seven cows for seven years.December 12, 2016

Quran Talk BlogGod Protects the Believers from Sin (12:23 – 12:42)Joseph's resistance to the governor's wife, his choice of prison over sin, and his preaching of God alone to his prison mates, read through Sura 12:23 to 12:42. The main lesson is his slip in asking the butler to remember him, which cost him years in prison. It asks whether forgetting is the devil's work and whether asking people for help, as with a recruiter, betrays reliance on God.December 5, 2016

Quran Talk BlogJoseph is Taken to Egypt (12:19 – 12:22)Joseph's sale to a passing caravan and his arrival in a household in Egypt, read through verses 12:19 to 12:22 alongside related verses. Parallels with Moses in Pharaoh's house, the trading of God's revelations for a cheap price, and the seduction attempt are drawn out. Wisdom and knowledge appear as God's reward for the righteous.December 5, 2016

Quran Talk BlogBelievers are Blessed with God’s Assurances (12:15 – 12:18)Verses 12:15 to 12:18 tell how Joseph's brothers throw him into the well, God inspires him with an assurance, and they bring their father a shirt with fake blood. Drawing on 12:86, the article asks whether Jacob was suspicious and argues he knew Joseph was alive and in God's care. It also asks why the brothers never confessed, pointing to 12:97 and 12:98.November 28, 2016

Quran Talk BlogJoseph’s Fate Already Decided by God (12:9 – 12:14)Joseph's brothers plot to kill or banish him and then persuade their father to send him with them, while God has already decided his fate, as everything is done by God and already recorded. Their jealousy is the belief that God's provisions are lacking, though God's provisions are infinite and need not be a zero sum game. Verse 17:100 on human stinginess closes the reflection.November 28, 2016

Quran Talk BlogSura 12, Joseph (Yousuf) (12:1 – 12:8)Study notes on Sura 12:1 to 12:8 ask why the Quran came in Arabic and argue that only the sincere can understand it. They explain Joseph's dream and the meaning of prostration, and say this history of the Great Feud was unknown before the Quran. Lessons follow on patience, scheming, lying, fate, and jealousy, with a call to treat all children, including adopted ones, fairly.November 28, 2016

Quran Talk BlogFollowing Our Parents Blindly A Great Human Tragedy 11:109 – 11:113Quran verses 11:109 through 11:113 warn against worshiping as one's parents did and against leaning toward transgressors. The reflection extends blind following beyond parents to any leader or peer whose information is accepted without question, holding that only God is beyond questioning. A link to a video on death and dynasties, a follow-up to Rules for Rulers, is included.November 14, 2016

Quran Talk BlogLessons to be Learned 11:100 – 11:108Verses 11:100 through 11:108 recount the fate of past communities who wronged their own souls and whose idols could not save them when God's judgment came. Their retribution stands as a lesson for those who fear the Hereafter, the appointed day when all people are summoned and divided into the miserable, who abide in Hell, and the fortunate, who abide eternally in Paradise.November 14, 2016

Quran Talk BlogMoses 11:96 – 11:99Quran verses 11:96 to 11:99 on Moses and Pharaoh, discussed through questions and answers. It asks why Moses' signs came as escalating plagues, what Pharaoh's command to his people was, and which Pharaoh drowned pursuing Moses, pointing to Ramses II and 10:92. It also weighs whether believing in multiple gods is worse than believing in a wrong god, with Exodus 7 compared alongside.November 14, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThree of the Five Prayers (11:114 – 11:117)Study notes on Quran 11:114 to 11:117 explain how the contact prayers at both ends of the day and during the night bring us closer to God, and how righteous works wipe out evil works while idol worship nullifies all good works. Excerpts from Appendix 15 give the times and units of the five daily contact prayers, the Friday congregational prayer, and their origin through Abraham.November 14, 2016

Quran Talk BlogWhy Were We Created 11:118-11:123Verses 11:118 to 11:123 explain why God created us: to show whether we uphold or dispute the truth, and to give us another chance to be redeemed. The discussion covers freedom of choice, how Hell surrounds anyone apart from God, and the messengers' human shortcomings as a source of strength. It closes with advice to stay devoted to God even when no signs appear.November 14, 2016

Quran Talk BlogHomosexuality Condemned (11:77 – 11:81)Lot's people and their condemnation for homosexuality, read through 11:77 to 11:81 alongside parallel verses from Suras 15, 7 and 29. The study asks why Lot offered his daughters, likening it to Abraham's argument with the idol worshipers, and links his people's growing accustomed to sin with media conditioning today. It also cites 4:32 on the distinct qualities God gives men and women.November 7, 2016

Quran Talk BlogRepublic vs Democracy What Is The Real Form of the U S GovernmentWhether the United States government is a republic or a democracy, and what its real form is. The article weighs the two terms against each other to answer how the U.S. system should properly be described.November 7, 2016

Quran Talk BlogShu’aib: One and the Same Message (11:84 – 11:95)Shu'aib's message to Midyan and the People of the Woods: worship God alone and give full measure and weight without cheating. Verses from Suras 11, 26, and 83 trace their rejection and destruction, alongside Psalm 9. Linked material on modern cheating, inflation, the Federal Reserve, and a slack fill lawsuit over pepper tins applies the lesson today, with references identifying Shu'aib with the biblical Jethro.November 7, 2016

Quran Talk BlogSodom & Gomorrah Destroyed (11:82 – 11:83)Verses 11:82 and 11:83 of the Quran describe how God's judgment turned Sodom and Gomorrah upside down and showered them with hard, devastating rocks designated to strike the transgressors. The verses are paired with a link to a video claiming the ruins of the two cities have been found.November 7, 2016

Quran Talk BlogAbraham and Lot (11:69 – 11:76)Abraham's welcome of the angels in 11:69 to 11:76, with the news of Isaac and Jacob and his plea for Lot's people. A central question is why Abraham argued for the guilty but not for his son, and Sarah's words are compared across translations as strange rather than wonderful. Further notes cover angels appearing as men, Moses and his teacher, Abraham's kindness, and the Quran's references to three days.October 31, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Disbelievers Always Losers (10:63 – 10:68)The messenger Sãleh, the camel God sent to Thamûd as proof, and their destruction after they slaughtered her, read through Sura 11:63 to 11:68. The piece asks how Thamûd were annihilated, setting the quake of 7:78 beside the lightning of 51:44, and explains from 17:59 why such miracles were discontinued after earlier generations rejected them.October 31, 2016

Quran Talk BlogHud: One and the Same Message (11:50 – 11:60)Verses 11:50 through 11:60 tell how Hûd called the people of ʿĀd to worship God alone, asked no wage, disowned their idols, and was saved by mercy when they perished. Discussion questions ask why 11:58 says the believers were saved by mercy, what 7:156 to 157 require for attaining God's mercy, including Zakat, and why so few believe if worshiping God is instinctive.October 24, 2016

Quran Talk BlogSaleh: One and the Same Message (11:61 – 11:62)Sãleh's call to Thamûd in 11:61 and 11:62 carries the same message as every messenger: worship God alone, seek His forgiveness, and repent. His people answer by clinging to the worship of their parents, and the article ties their doubt to social conformity and the warning of 6:116 that following the majority diverts people from the path of God.October 24, 2016

Quran Talk BlogAll Power Belongs to God (11:31 – 11:37)Noah's exchange with his disbelieving people in verses 11:31 to 11:37, where he disclaims any power over God's treasures, the future, or the doom they demand, and affirms that all power belongs to God. God inspires him that no more of his people will believe and commands him to build the ark. Links to an NPR podcast with Suroosh Alvi and a short documentary on Malcolm X follow.October 17, 2016

Quran Talk BlogHe Who Laughs Last Laughs Best (11:38 – 11:43)Noah's people mock him as he builds the ark, and verses 11:38 to 11:43 show that those who believe have the last laugh when God's judgment comes. The footnote explains the ark was built of logs tied with ropes, the flood was limited to the area around the Dead Sea, and only Noah's livestock were carried. Noah's son refuses to board and drowns. A Joel Osteen video is linked.October 17, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Myth of Intercession (11:46 – 11:49)Noah's plea for his son in 11:46 to 11:49 frames a case against intercession, compared with Abraham arguing for Lot's people and failing to help his father. Reproducing Appendix 8, the article calls belief in intercession by Jesus or Muhammad idolatry and Satan's bait. It explains why Muhammad knew nothing of Noah, and closes with verses on total submission and imploring God directly.October 17, 2016

Quran Talk BlogWhere Did the Ark Land (11:44 – 11:49)Noah's plea for his son in verses 11:44 through 11:49 raises the question of whether the son had already perished when Noah implored God, given that the transgressors were declared dead and Noah had asked that no disbeliever be left. The article also asks who proclaimed the commands to the earth and sky, comparing God's command to the fire for Abraham, and notes the ark resting on the hills of Judea.October 17, 2016

Quran Talk BlogNoah (11:25 – 11:30)Noah's mission as a clear warner calling his people to worship GOD alone, set out in verses 11:25 to 11:30. The disbelieving leaders scorn him as merely human and despise his humble followers, and he refuses to dismiss the believers or ask for any wage. Related verses from Suras 38, 26, 11, 10, and 6 show that judging the believers belongs to God alone.October 10, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Believers (11:23 – 11:24)Verses 11:23 and 11:24 contrast the righteous believers who devote themselves to their Lord, the dwellers of Paradise, with the disbelievers, likened to the blind and deaf beside the seer and hearer. Verse 8:22 adds that the worst creatures in the sight of God are the deaf and dumb who do not understand. Links to videos on Plato's Allegory of the Cave and simulated reality accompany the verses.October 10, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Disbelievers (11:20 – 11:22)Verses 11:20 through 11:22 describe the disbelievers, who cannot escape GOD, find no lords or masters to help them, and face doubled retribution because they failed to hear and see. Their idols disown them and they become the worst losers in the Hereafter. Related verses 8:22 and 22:46 identify the real blindness as blindness of the heart.October 10, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Quran’s Mathematical Code (11:17 – 11:19)Verses 11:17 to 11:19 and their footnotes present the Quran's 19-based mathematical code as built-in proof of divine authorship, noting that the word for proof appears 19 times. Verse 46:10 identifies Rabbi Judah the Pious as a witness from the Children of Israel who found the same code in the scripture, quoted from Appendix 1, alongside verses condemning those who fabricate lies about God.October 10, 2016

Quran Talk BlogGod’s Revelations is Heavy (11:12)Verse 11:12 tells the messenger he may wish to disregard some of what is revealed to him and be annoyed by it, while disbelievers demand treasure or an angel. The article reflects on why God's revelation feels heavy, the warner's limited role, and God's control of all things, using the Karate Kid's wax on, wax off lesson as an illustration.October 3, 2016

Quran Talk BlogProvisions Guaranteed (11:6 – 11:11)God guarantees the provision of every creature, so believers should keep their priorities straight and not trust in wealth, as Quran 11:6 through 11:11 teaches. Jesus' teaching on treasures in heaven and not worrying appears beside the Quranic parables of the garden owners, the two men with gardens, the rich believer who gives to charity, and Solomon tested with vast wealth.October 3, 2016

Quran Talk BlogSura 11, Hûd (Hûd)Sura 11, Hûd, opens with the claim that the Quran's verses are perfected, then elucidated, and comes from a Most Wise, Most Cognizant. The footnote to 11:1 points to two phenomena in the Quran, its mathematical code and its literary excellence. A note defines elucidate and suggests fortunate as a more accurate word than lucky.October 3, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Quran: Impossible to Imitate (11:13 – 11:16)God challenges those who claim the Quran is fabricated to produce ten suras like it, with a footnote tying its inimitability to the Quran's mathematical miracle. Failure to meet the challenge shows the Quran is revealed with God's knowledge and calls people to submit. Verses 11:15 and 11:16 then warn that those pursuing only worldly life receive their pay here and forfeit the Hereafter.October 3, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Quran: Messenger of God (11:2 – 11:5)Verses 11:2 through 11:5 frame a reflection on the Quran as a messenger from God, supported by 14:1 and 65:10 to 11, where the message sent down is identified as the messenger leading believers from darkness into the light. Drawing on Appendix 20, the article describes the Quran as taught and guarded by God. It also offers a test for moral decisions based on God knowing our innermost thoughts.October 3, 2016

Quran Talk BlogAll Power Belongs To God (10:107 – 10:109)God alone holds power over hardship and blessing, as verses 10:107 to 10:109 declare, while idols, intercessors, and even the messenger possess no power to harm or benefit. The Quran stands as the ultimate reference, and worship counts only when done with right understanding rather than ego. An excerpt from Appendix 7 explains the original sin as failing to uphold God's absolute authority during the Great Feud.September 26, 2016

Quran Talk BlogGuaranteed Victory (10:103 – 10:106)God's promise in 10:103 to save His messengers and the believers, and what full submission requires: recognizing that only God can benefit or harm us and overcoming the ego as the last idol. Drawing on Jonah, the three who stayed behind, and Solomon, it asks why the messenger says he was commanded to believe, and whether the saving belongs to this world or the Hereafter.September 26, 2016

Quran Talk BlogBelieving Nations Prosper ( 10:98 – 10:102)Verses 10:98 to 10:102 teach that any community that believes is rewarded, as the people of Jonah were relieved of humiliating retribution and made prosperous. The post asks whether humiliation is a form of retribution, citing 2:90, and offers Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi as examples. It also notes that no soul believes except by God's will and that believers cannot force others to believe.September 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogHumans Insist on Their Original Sin (10:74)Verse 10:74 is read alongside Appendix 7 to explain why humans keep rejecting God's messengers and clear proofs. The original sin is not Adam's eating from the tree but our failure to uphold God's absolute authority during the Great Feud. Verses 15:9 to 15:15 are tied to God's messenger of the covenant, and idol worship is shown as the one unforgivable offense.September 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogMoses and Aaron (10:75 – 10:78)Moses and Aaron bring God's proofs to Pharaoh and his group, who arrogantly dismiss the truth as magic. Verses 10:75 through 10:78 of the Quran record Moses asking whether this is how they describe the truth, and the reply that they will not abandon what their parents did. A linked video on intelligent design accompanies the passage.September 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogNoah (10:71 – 10:73)Noah's message to his people in 10:71 to 10:73 is read alongside 11:29, raising the question of whether he preached out of love or spite and noting that he asked no wage. The article ties his call to be a submitter to 22:78, where Abraham originally named believers Submitters, and closes with 50:23 to 50:29 on the fate of stubborn disbelievers.September 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogPharaoh’s Body Preserved (10:92 – 10:93)Verses 10:92 and 10:93 of the Quran, where God preserves Pharaoh's body as a lesson for future generations, with Dr. Khalifa's note that God gave the Egyptians exclusive knowledge of mummification and that Pharaoh's mummy is displayed at the Cairo Museum. It asks which era 10:93 means when the Children of Israel disputed the knowledge that came to them, and points to a video on the body of Ramesses II.September 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Gross Blasphemy (10:68 – 10:70)Verses 10:68 through 10:70 of the Quran and the claim that GOD has begotten a son, with 2:116 and 2:117 alongside. It explains why the verse ties this blasphemy to God being Most Rich, since many see children as a sign of wealth, and asks whether fabricators failing to succeed refers only to the Hereafter, given their temporary share in this world.September 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Messenger’s Doubt (10:94 – 10:97)Verses 10:94 to 10:97 tell the messenger to ask readers of the previous scripture if he has any doubt about what is revealed to him. The article asks what he could be doubting, since chapter 10 is the 51st revelation, well into his messengership. It reads the verses alongside 17:73 to 17:77 from the preceding revelation, where God strengthens him against pressure to fabricate something else.September 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogThe Truth Prevails (10:79 – 10:91)Verses 10:79 to 10:91 recount Moses facing Pharaoh's magicians, the few who believed, and Pharaoh's belated declaration of submission while drowning. Study questions follow on increasing trust in God through worship, why a deathbed repentance comes too late, whether Moses' prayer against Pharaoh was wrong, and how God answers His servants. Verses from Sura 60 set out the basic law regulating relations with unbelievers.September 19, 2016

Quran Talk BlogHappiness: Now and Forever* (10:62 – 10:67)Perfect happiness in this world and the Hereafter, as promised to God's allies in verses 10:62 to 10:67, with a reading of the soul as the seat of happiness. Study questions ask how believers prove themselves God's allies through mandatory tests, how perfect happiness is defined, whether it survives hardship like a broken finger, and how contentment fits with striving. Abraham and Adam serve as examples.September 7, 2016

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