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Episode 28: Islamic Principles #3: Understanding the Quran
How can we make sense of Islam today? This is not only the name of this podcast, but a question that I’ve been obsessed with for decades. This series shares several first-principles that we need to keep in mind as we seek to answer this question. Some will seem basic (but need repeating) and others might be new. In both cases these meta-principles are essential tools to make sense of it all.
Episode Notes
Quran Mentioned
“We have revealed Quran and We have preserved it”, (15:9)
“no soul will bear the burdens of another”, (6:164)
if you are mindful of God He will show you a way out”, (65:3)
“I am sending a vicegerent on earth”, (2:30)
People Mentioned
Ernest Hemingway
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Understanding the Muslim Mind
If we could take all of Islamic intellectual history, what sort of patterns and principles could we deduce? More importantly, if we found someone who actually knew all this information, what would they look like, think like, talk like, etc.?
What is Usuli Islam?
In The Clock of the Long Now, Stewart Brand argues that religion is one of the most durable institutions of civilization that helps ground us all in timeless values. In his concept of the forces of innovation (rapidly changing) and durability (slow changing) of civilization, religion would definitely be amongst the more slow adapting forces.
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