Approaching The Qur'an In the seventh-century Arabia, a man named Muhammad began reciting what he said were revelations

to him from God. These revelations are referred to as the Qur'an. The Qur'an recounts stories of prophets with descriptions of their miracles. Muhammad is presented in the Muslim faith as being in the line of prophets that stretches as far from Jesus to Moses and Abraham in the Christian faith. The Qur'an is believed to be that of a miracle and was the answer for those who challenged Muhammad to perform miracles. The beauty of the Qur'an has been marred by some anti-Islamic groups as being the power of that of a Jinni, an Arabic demon which influences humankind for either good or evil, or even Satan. These same anti-Islamic groups are the ones that consider all Muslims as being extremists such as the terrorists associated and involved in the attacks of 9/11. Michael Sells, the author, believes that the sound of the Qur'anic recitation can move people to tears. For those who do not read nor understand Arabic and are unfamiliar with Islam, being able to understand what the Qur'an is about can be quite difficult, because it is believed the spirit is hard to find. The Qur'an is not arranged in chronological order, but written in accordance to when Muhammad received his first revelations. The Qur'an does not have a clear beginning, middle or end. In Qur'an schools the children memorize specific and key verses then the entire Suras. Many people assumed that the Qur'an was composed by Muhammad and believed that Muslims worship Muhammad the same way Christians worship Christ. One difference between Qur'anic and Biblical traditions is in narrative style. The Qur'an does not narrate history of the prophet Joseph. This way of storytelling is unusual to the Biblical

traditions and has aroused many judgments. However, there are various similarities between Qur'anic and Biblical traditions. For example, in the book of Psalms both the Qur'an and the Holy Bible are characterized by a hymnal and poetic quality. They both show a respect, honor, love, fear, and faithfulness to their respective God. In the 87th Sura entitled The Most High, I found numerous similarities to verses found in the New King James Version of the Holy Bible. The Sura starts out, "Holy be the Name of your lord most high. Who created and gave form. Who determined then gave guidance. Who made the meadow pasture grow then turned it to a darkened floor-swept remnant." The verse I found similar to the Sura is in Genesis 14:19-20, which reads, "Blessed be God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth." Both the Qur'an and the Bible depict God as being all seeing and all knowing and God knows ourselves more intimately than we ourselves do. The Most High centers on a repeated theme of the early Meccan Suras. Sells' purpose is to introduce the early revelations of the Qur'an that are embedded in Islamic life. When the Muslims encounter the early Suras of the Qur'an, they are learning about Muhammad's life. Sells attempts to approach the Qur'an in two ways. First, in the translations and commentary, he tries to bring across a sense of majesty and intimacy that makes the Qur'anic voice distinctive. Second, he sought to allow the reader who is unfamiliar with the details of Islamic history to approach the Qur'an in a way that allows an appreciation of its literacy character. The Qur'an is traditionally divided into three periods: the early Meccan Suras, the later Meccan Suras and the Medinan Suras. The early and later Meccan Suras are believed to have

been revealed to Muhammad before he made his famous hijra, or his flight from Mecca to Medina to escape persecution and which would bring about the beginning of the Muslim era. Suras from the early Meccan period focus on personal issues. The later Meccan period brings in discussions of sacred history. Most Suras used in the book begins with the phrase "In the name of God the Compassionate the Caring." The only exception to this is the first Sura in the Qur'an in which the phrase is an actual part of the Sura itself instead of a lead in. The first Sura is called The Opening and it has become the Islamic equivalent of the Lord's Prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 of the New King James Version of the Holy Bible. The Opening occurs at the very beginning of the Qur'anic written text. It is also the most recited of all Qur'anic Suras. It has become such a well versed Sura that it is a part of everyday activities such as at the end of business transactions. Both parties tend to recite The Opening as a sign of good faith and an affirmation to uphold each partner's responsibilities. From a center city rooftop, the Muezzin, the person who chants the call to prayer, calculates their exact time of the call to prayer because of the distances among the mosques. The call to prayer punctuates daily life five times, drawing people out of their everyday life. Those who perform the call to prayer are performing a kind of recitation. In Islamic cultures children begin their primary education by learning to recite the short Suras. Qur'anic recitations vary from country to country and from individual to individual, but there are two basic styles. One style is called tartil, which is a steady even chant. The second style is called tajwid which is a more elaborate style. Since the tajwid is more elaborate it is often difficult to finish an entire verse in one breath. In these cases the reciter will back up a few words

in the next breath recitation to begin from a logical break in the text, allowing for a kind of weaving of the verbal text through sound. Recitation of the Qur'an is typically based on elaborate breathing patterns and has an effect on the breathing patterns of those listening. Reciters are trained vigorously in the way of slowing down their breathing as it is an essential aspect in most meditative traditions. Qur'anic reciters use long phrases based on deep, slow exhalations, leaving a meditative silence during inhalation for those hearing the pattern to breathe more slowly and deeply as well. In conclusion, even though the Muslim and Christian faiths have several key points that differ they are not so different when it comes to their respective religious writings. When it comes to religions there are going to be those who are tolerant and those who are ignorant to other's religions regardless to how similar they may be.