The Koran

By: Trout Lake Media

Narrated by: Alec Sand

The Koran is not only one of the most influential books of prophetic literature but also a literary masterpiece in it’s own right. Universally accepted by Muslims to be the infallible Word of God as revealed to Mohammed by the Angel Gabriel nearly 1,400 years ago, the Koran still provides the rules of conduct fundamental to the Arab way of life.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2009 Trout Lake Media

FOR ALL INTELLIGENT, NONVIOLENT PEACE PROMOTERS

Any additional comments?

Very helpful for finding ways to lessen any harming of little children and other nice people like what is happening in various parts of the world. “Be as innocent, as harmless as doves”, Matthew 10:16. Does The Koran offer a challenge for improvements in its verses? (Koran 4.82, 2.23,79,256) By listening to this Koran recording one may determine honest answers to some important questions like: Is the Koran a final message from God? (Koran 39.28, 98.2,3) Do references in the Koran reflect knowledge about science, biology and the Universe one would expect Our Creator to offer? (36.37-40, 50.6, 51.47-49, 73.18, 96.1,2) Does the Koran mostly encourage or discourage Muslims from functioning in ways similar to what we have seen in hurtful Islamic videos? (Koran 5.33,38, 8.12-16,41, 9.5, 47.4) Does the Koran encourage Muslims to be, “Compassionate, Merciful and Forgiving” toward those not accepting of what The Koran says in a way similar to what the Christian Scriptures do about what the Christian Scriptures say? (Bible, 2 Timothy 4:2, “The Lord...is long suffering toward us, not wanting for any to perish”, 2 Peter 3:9). (Koran, 3.61, 4.88-91,100,115, 30.29,30, 33.57-66, 35.36,) By listening one may also make an informed opinion as to whether the Koran's originator also gave the Christians their Gospels and the Jews their Torah and the Psalms as The Koran says. (4.163, 5.44-51, 46.10 ) One may consider if Islam is the only truth faith as the Koran asserts. (3.19,85-87, 4.56, 30.30) Is there significance in there being over 500 “hot” words reemphasizing that there is a hot place called “Hell”, also referred to as, “God's own kindled fire, the Destroying Flame, God's Scourge, the Conflagration, the Lord's punishment, eternal torment, etc.”, where one can be kept alive and burned forever for merely not having the right opinion of the Koran's Scriptures? (2.24,38,39, 2.174,175, 3.3-12, 4.56, 6.157, 7.35, 9.63, 10.15, 17.97, 22.19-22) Can a “hot Hell” teaching have a harmful effect on young hearts and minds, perhaps causing some of them psychological problems? One may note that the Christian Scriptures only have one place in a parable, not in a word for word depiction, in Luke 16, where “Hell” is used to indicate a mentally “hot” or an extremely, mentally, infuriating situation, (see Luke 15 through 17), and also note that Job, “a man who avoided evil”, (eschewed, Job 1:1, KJV), prayed to go there and be brought back out later, Job 14:13. One can acquire a Strong's Exhaustive or Young's Analytical concordance of the King James Bible on Amazon.com to find a complete list of all verses location in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures where there is a word that has been translated as “Hell”, though the words are not always translated to read “Hell”, and see for yourself that the Bible's “Hell” is not a hot place where people stay alive forever in an extremely hot tortured condition. There are free Bible word search programs that can find all important words in the many different Bible translations, one is called “Bible Explorer” one is called “BibleMax” By downloading the “Audible Manager” to one's Windows computer first to control the downloaded reading one can easily pause the reading by keeping on the “Pause/Play” button and easily make notes, underline or high-lite the verses, in a print copy, that one may find useful in a debate against terrorism and for a more peaceful and humane world. The “Penguin Classics Koran” is available on Amazon.com., in print or Kindle form with a FREE Kindle App to make it readable on your computer of phone.. By pausing and marking the bottom right of the odd numbered print pages on the first listening with the reading time location visible on the “Audible Manager” one can on relaxed listening later just pause and look at the “Audible Manager”, screen, time location” and turn to the pages where you have put that time location and make additional notes on an interesting passage that would be useful in encouraging people to become more humane. In the Bible, 1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God”. How does one “try or test the spirits”? Is it by knowing all that the Christian Scriptures says and all that the Koran says so as to become near an expert on what Our Creator really wants? An Alexander Scourby reading of the King James Bible on DVD is available on Amazon.com. It is the best of 10 different copies I have. I downloaded this Koran from Amazon.com for $4.99, WHAT A GREAT VALUE!

Misleading! Audible needs a better translation.

If you have no other choice for readings of the Quran, this will do, but keep a copy of Yusuf Ali or Muhammed Shakir's translations on hand for parts that sound bizzarre. Abdullah Yusuf Ali translations are free at Islamic information centers and larger Masjids.

Narrator has an Irish accent, so the mood of the reading sounds like you're taking part in a political party meeting for some strange Islamic offshoot of the IRA. The tone is very serious, since much of this book is a continuous repeat of what happens to "unbelievers".

There are a number of things that are just wrongly translated in a manner that is misleading to Western culture. There are a couple of passages that talk about being waited on by "virgin boys" in heaven - This is a mistranslation. The two other translations I have say young boys or youth (cherubs?). "Virgin boys" obviously has a sexual connotation, the correct translation does not. There's also passages that describe "beating" your wife if she will not lay with you -- this is also a mistranslation. There's yet another passage that mentions not to take Christains and Jews as your friend. This is also a mistranslation.

***NOTE TO AUDIBLE*** Audible.com has two blockbuster readings of the bible (Zondervan KJV and "The Word of Promise" NKJV). It's about time they step up to those same standards and bring us some quality readings of the Quran in either the Yusuf Ali or Muhammed Shakir translations - which modern muslims agree to be more correct. Though most muslims I speak to say it's very difficult to translate Arabic meanings to English ones. Much is dependent on context and much can be misunderstood without clear guidance.

So listen, but listen with caution - and with someone near who can answer questions. It is against Islam to lie about the contents of the Quran, so true muslims should be able to answer your questions as close to the truth as you can possibly get - without learning Arabic

I finally decided to read the Koran

I always hear on the news how it's a book about peace and love.

Not even close.

The Old Testament and Testament are Cryptic but point to a time when man will love one another and sin and tears will be done away with.

The Koran allows men to beat their wives (but not kill them because God is merciful) and chop of thieves hands and feet (but not kill them because God is merciful).

If that's what God is like then I was born in the wrong universe. This God is sadistic and cruel.

Not an easy book to listen to

Basically if you don't believe you are going to hell in a hand basket. This book took me three months to listen to and it was not easy. Alec Sand does an excellent job narrating it but it does become repetitive and tedious. I image other religious books are going to be the same. Perhaps in Arabic it has a mantra feel or musical quality but in English it is a little dry. I don't think this book will enlighten you to the Islamic faith.

Koran complete and unabridged

the narration is basiscly what I was expecting, bu there are times that the translation doesn't completely change all Arabic word into english. for me that is okay becaus I have studied a little Arabic. If you want to hear the words of the Koran this is an okay translation. I wish though that they would have placed more breaks in the translation. The reason is that you cannot listen to it all at once and one time I bumped my ipod back to start of book 1 and had to fast forward 5 hours.

Useful Information

What did you like best about this story?

It helped me understand my own religion better.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

I didn't really like it, per se but it wasn't horrible. It was a bit slow and some continuous bad pronunciation. How do you pronounce scourge?

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me realize why I could never be Muslim, no disrespect to those that are but many parts of the text describe the exact opposite of my own beliefs. However, it is a must read for anyone interested in religions and I would think, every Muslim.

Very accessible; clear narration

Excellent way to gain a familiarity with the teachings of Islam. Easy to understand; narration is excellent; no need to read a book about Islam first. The rhetorical style and harsh tone is tough listening at times. Helped dispel some of my misconceptions and reinforced other notions about the differences between Christianity and Islam.

difficult to get through

it feels like this was either a bad translation or an edited version as the story jumps around and feels very unorganized to me. perhaps it's just the unrefined ye olde style of writing. excellent narration though, and nothing wrong with the editing

A Clear and Sober Reading

I have long been looking for an audio version of the Quran. This is the first that I have found that was easily available and not divided into so many parts as to make it too expensive. This is N. J. Dawood's 1956 translation published in Penguin Classics with the Suras in the correct order. The reader is very clear, sober and rather monotone in his presentation. I wish that there were a way to navigate more easily and find particular Suras. The translation is in modern English prose with no real attempt at poetic quality, but the power of the Quran's language comes through. I found myself grateful for a solid presentation of this very important work.

Take the First Steps Toward Understanding Islam

What did you love best about The Koran?

Listening to this work showed me some deep differences between God as portrayed in Judaism and Christianity and God as portrayed in Islam. It was very informative.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, unfortunately it wasn't quite possible though.

Any additional comments?

Mr. Sand gives a good reading of the text, giving the it the solemnity it deserves most of the time. However, it seems like he gets tired as he reads on, speeding up and losing his composure. The sample of his reading on Audible is representative of him at his best. In any case this is a deal for the price.