Have you ever Listened to Quran?

You have to admit that most of you don't have had any interactions with Quran apart from the quotes that some people spread completely out of context to promote their anti-islam agenda or whatever. And if your curiosity was big enough to actually read Quran, you probably only read the translations (which isn't a bad thing) but have you ever actually listened to Quran with its translation?

But before we get to that, here's a short introduction to the Quran:

The Noble Qur’an was revealed in the Arabic language, one of the richest languages in the world from the point of view of firmness of structure and abundance of vocabulary. The manner in which it conveyed various types of subject matter in the most concise of sentences it had nothing in common with the conventional language of the Arabs:

At the time that the Qur’an was revealed, the literary talent and eloquence of the Arabs was at its peak. Works created by poets and orators commanded the attention and admiration of everyone, and literature constituted the only art cultivated by the Arab elite.

The Qur’an, which constituted the documentary proof of the messengerhood of the Prophet of Islam and the raw materials of which its constituent letters and words was revealed over a period of twenty-three years in accordance with the particular needs that emerged over time. Thus it guided the Prophet and his companions step by step toward their exalted goals.

The words and expressions of the Qur’an are harmonious and its words are set together pleasingly and with the utmost beauty, and in complete accord with the subtle meanings they express. This unique combination of wording and meaning is a special feature of the Qur’an and another aspect of its miraculousness. With the revelation of the Qur’an, the Arabs made the acquaintance of a fresh and new form of speech which was neither prose nor poetry, but the melody of which was more beautiful and attractive than that of poetry and the discourse of which was more eloquent and effective than that of prose. Whoever heard it was drawn toward it and transformed by it. It was utterly different from all forms of human speech by virtue of the superiority of its concepts, the eloquence of its style and outward form, and its exposition of meanings in the most concise way.

www.al-islam.org...


As you listen to Quran you will notice that it is recited in a melodious way, that is because the Prophet (pbuh) used to recite the Qur’an in slow, measured, rhythmic tones as God had instructed him, not hurriedly, but rather he would recite a surah in such slow rhythmic tones that it would be longer than it would seem possible. He would stop at the end of each aayah. He commanded people to recite in a beautiful voice in a pleasant melodious tone. He said ‘Beautify the Qur’an with your voices for a fine voice increases the Qur’an beauty’ [Bukhari, strong narration]


And now we finally get to the part where you can listen to Quran.
I chose Surah 56 named 'Waqiah' or 'The Inevitable Event', translation included. Give it a try.



I posted all this for the open-minded ATS'ers because from the comments and threads I regularly see on here I have to conclude that most members don't like Islam or any other religion... I think most will skip my thread and go straight to the comments, lol. But if you actually took the time to read and listen to what I shared please feel free to share your thoughts.

Peace

a reply to: ElectricFeel

Beyond the content and meaning,... the Qur'an recited in Arabic is very beautiful and emotionally touching.

I listened to the video, and read the translation, and i must say i had the urge to turn it off pretty much constantly.

It's so monotone and ugly.

Nope, it's not for me..

originally posted by: Mianeye
I listened to the video, and read the translation, and i must say i had the urge to turn it off pretty much constantly.

It's so monotone and ugly.

Nope, it's not for me..

Furthermore, what makes it any better than



or



Or

Furthermore, what makes it any better than

The content.

a reply to: markosity1973

Well for starters, that is chanting while the quran is reciting poetry basically.. if you could understand the native language of arabic, so I guess you need to appreciate the words that are being articulated along with the melodic tones.

Big difference than what you posted it...

Its a bit like comparing an instrumental to a song with shakespear style lyrics

It's still a religion that wants to rule everyone's life in the name of a god that doesn't exist. It doesn't matter how "beautiful" it is when spoken. The Sirens in Homer's Odyssey looked and sounded beautiful too, but they lured men to their deaths.

originally posted by: ISeekTruth101
a reply to: markosity1973

Well for starters, that is chanting while the quran is reciting poetry basically.. if you could understand the native language of arabic, so I guess you need to appreciate the words that are being articulated along with the melodic tones.

Big difference than what you posted it...

Its a bit like comparing an instrumental to a song with shakespear style lyrics

It does not matter. The OP is presenting the Qu'ran as sounding beautiful.

Many of us disagree. Furthermore, other sacred texts can sound beautiful when recited as I show.

Arabic sounds gutteral to me to be perfectly honest. Most of the language sounds to my untrained ear like someone is constantly hoiking a great booger in their throat. That and straining on the toilet. Less than attractive to me.

And just to quantify that before I get accused of being racist, all languages other than English, French, Italian and Maori are unintelligible to me. I have had exposure to the ones I listed so my ear is trained to listen to them and I can distiguish words from the sounds. Otherwise they all sound strange to me so Arabic is far from alone in sounding weird to me.

a reply to: Klassified

Err... no it is not a religion that wants to rule everyone's life..

But if you picked up a Quran, english translation, then you can actually find that our for yourself.

a reply to: markosity1973

Great examples! I especially enjoyed Psalms 27.

All recitations, prayers, hymns, and chants that are uttered in sincerity blossoms from a very beautiful place that exists within all of us.

a reply to: markosity1973

I do not know who 'many of us' is, but it is funny how you bring a playground tone to the thread. Anyways - to each their own. I personally find it very beautiful.

originally posted by: ISeekTruth101
a reply to: Klassified

Err... no it is not a religion that wants to rule everyone's life..

But if you picked up a Quran, english translation, then you can actually find that our for yourself.

I've read enough of it to know it is certainly no better than Christianity or Judaism. I couldn't make it past several chapters. It sounded too much like the aforementioned Abrahamic religions.

originally posted by: ISeekTruth101
a reply to: markosity1973

I do not know who 'many of us' is, but it is funny how you bring a playground tone to the thread. Anyways - to each their own. I personally find it very beautiful.

It is perhaps you who are offended by our dislike of the OP material. There is another post that also dislikes it and the stars that it has attracted show agreeance from other people.

You're going to find people who agree with me and you are going to find people who agree with you on this one. The OP and following posts are neither right nor wrong, as it is their opinion only.

a reply to: Klassified

'I've read enough' is never enough, certainly not enough to begin forming a conclusion. If I am going to post my opinion on something, I'd want to make sure I'm well informed on the subject matter, I don't just start talking when I know so little about the topic. Whether the content sits well with you or not is largely irrelevant.


Secondly, who's comparing? See you haven't even read enough of the Quran to realise that the Quran is accepting of previous scriptures that where sent down as part of the Abrahimic faiths, when they were revealed to the messengers in their original form.

Quran is only like 600 pages or something, really that hard to read through it all? Wow, you must be very busy.

a reply to: markosity1973

You misunderstand me, I couldn't care less if you like it or not - if you read my reply properly you will note I said 'to each their own'

So clearly, I am not bothered either way, as I know for sure it won't sit well with everyone. I was only responding to your input in comparing it with the chants and such that you posted. If anything I was annoyed with your choice of words in detailing just how much you didn't like the OP's shared content.

originally posted by: ISeekTruth101
a reply to: markosity1973

You misunderstand me, I couldn't care less if you like it or not - if you read my reply properly you will note I said 'to each their own'

So clearly, I am not bothered either way, as I know for sure it won't sit well with everyone. I was only responding to your input in comparing it with the chants and such that you posted. If anything I was annoyed with your choice of words in detailing just how much you didn't like the OP's shared content.

Well the OP said it sounds beautiful. To me it sounds like a cat fight - it is not what I would classify as beautiful sounding. But then I would say the same thing about heavy metal music too. To me that is just industrial noise with a disaffected teenager screaming his lungs out.

The actual words when translated are standard stuff that could be from the bible so that part is just ordinary to me.

And for intellectual sake, the New Testament is not poetry. The Old testament contains poetry in the psalms. When recited in it's original (Hebrew) language it sounds just as weird to me. When set to music in English it is a lot more meaningful and sounds a lot nicer.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

This classic old psalm was a favourite in church on sundays - heck I used to play the organ arrangement for it. To me ie purely subjective, this is more beautiful than the Qu'ran piece presented in the OP

ETA. to show that I not totally against the Arabic language and song, I have always like this little tune about watermelons - even though I have absolutely no idea what she is saying

a reply to: ElectricFeel

The over the top use of digital reverb got to me after a while. I must confess, I got less than half way through it before stopping it.

My western accustomed ears found it limited in range, repetitive and lacking in meter or rhythm. There is a beauty in chant but I would hope for more.

Here are some alternate pieces that I find beautiful:

a reply to: ISeekTruth101

'I've read enough' is never enough, certainly not enough to begin forming a conclusion. If I am going to post my opinion on something, I'd want to make sure I'm well informed on the subject matter, I don't just start talking when I know so little about the topic. Whether the content sits well with you or not is largely irrelevant.

Agreed that I've read(some) but not studied the Quran. I spent too much of my life buried in the bible. Never again. However, I can form an opinion of the religion itself from the parts of the Quran I have read, as well as articles written by Muslim's and Non, the videos I have watched by Muslim's and Non, and also from observation of those in the faith.

Secondly, who's comparing? See you haven't even read enough of the Quran to realise that the Quran is accepting of previous scriptures that where sent down as part of the Abrahimic faiths, when they were revealed to the messengers in their original form.

Actually, this I did know. Which is why I made the above statement. If you accept the scriptures from Judaism and Christianity, I know all I need to know to make up my mind. That doesn't however, mean I'm closed to learning something new about any of the three.

Quran is only like 600 pages or something, really that hard to read through it all? Wow, you must be very busy.

I do lead a busy lifestyle, but that isn't the reason I haven't read it all. As I said, I spent many years with my head buried in a bible. That isn't going to happen again. I've seen and experienced the damage that religion does firsthand.

I have no problem with the possibility of a creator or creators of the universe or humans. But there isn't a religion or belief system on this planet that represents the creator(s). Nor can their be from my perspective.

On the day any of the Abrahamic religions say with sincerity, "we believe we are right, but we don't know for certain, any more than other religions do". That's the day I will applaud all of you that confess it.

a reply to: ElectricFeel

I don't like the way the syllables are stretched out to form a melody. The Jews use a similar method which I dislike as well. The reason being, is that the Bible (in its original languages) is meter (syllable counts per paragraph are evenly divisible by 7). When the syllables are stretched out in recitation, it becomes difficult to accurately hear and parse the pattern.

Is the Qur'an metered?

a reply to: ElectricFeel

No, have never listened to it. My hearing is shot and I don't do well with audio media. I've read it though, twice. I didn't read much that gave me pause. I could say the same about the other two religious works whose genesis was Abraham. There are bits in the Qur'an, the Holy Bible and Torah that I believe are cultural writings for the times that seem brutal or excessive (to me) as projected toward modern society. For me, these aren't things that should be cherrypicked as evidence of their lack of validity. They are cultural issues for a people at a time that has long since passed.

There is beauty in all three, if one is looking for it.