Before we delve into the teachings left for us within the Koran, we should examine the Koran itself. Those who follow Islam are rather proud in making the following statements; to read the Koran one must learn Arabic and there is only one version of the Koran.
Let us look at the first statement, to read the Koran one must learn Arabic, in all truthfulness, one can read the Koran in other languages. The proof of this is that you may purchase the Koran through the Scriptures page in this web site which offers a link to a Koran written in both Arabic and English. As it is available in English, one can safely assume that it can be found in other languages as well. However, I will not state that some meaning can be lost or other meanings implied, when any text is translated into another language.
The second statement, there is only one version of the Koran, requires us to learn the history behind the Koran to see the truth. The history of the Koran has been written about in various forms, of which, we will be looking at only one for this purpose. Truth seekers may wish to search out the other histories for comparison purposes. As this history is long, this is the abbreviated form.
The Koran is the written form of the oral teachings given by Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as He was not able to read. This is written within the Old Testament of Isaiah 29:12 "And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned." These teachings were not written down until after Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) left this earth by those who had listened to Him during those 30 years of teaching.
One man was charged with the gathering of the teachings from all those who had written down what was given. The urgency that started this was that some of those who had heard the Prophet speak had lost their lives in battle. They realized with the ongoing battles, more would be lost and the potential to lose all that was given was high. So with this he started to seek any and all writings that pertained to the teachings of Islam.
In collecting these writings, there were some that while written for the same teaching, disagreed with each other. It was then a process of deliberation to determine which version would be accepted and which would be rejected. After the Koran was compiled, others arrived with more writings that were not included elsewhere. These were not added to the Koran, much to our dismay.
When this new Koran was being distributed, it was rejected by some since their version of the teachings differed with what was being given. When the Caliph, the leader of the Islam faith, heard of this, an edict went out that any and all copies of teachings that were not in agreement with the Koran, or found in it, should be destroyed. This was not received well by those who had heard the Prophet's teaching first hand.
Over the years, through battles and movements, this version of the Koran was lost. The current Caliph, asked for those who had memorized the Koran and were well respected in their communities to write down the Koran. There were seven men upon whose shoulders this task fell and it is from these seven men that today's Koran is based upon. While most of Islam follows one version of the Koran, such as it is found in the Middle East, there are other versions which can be found throughout the world.
So again we find different versions of the Koran, which does cause division between those who follow Islam. The other aspect which divides the Sects is the number of Caliphs that are accepted as being true to the faith. They can be referred to as 5, 7, or 12s. This issue arrives when the current Caliph did not assign someone to be the leader of the faith after their death. So upon their death, another stood up to take on the role, only to be rejected by some of the followers for various reasons. That is why they are referred to as 5, 7 or 12s, because some accept only the first 5 Caliphs as being the true leaders, while others accept 12, or those who fall some where in between.
The other aspect is that the Caliphs left behind what is called Haddiths. Haddiths are teachings or sermons that were given in the light of the teachings of the Koran. An example of such teachings that cause a stir on the world stage, is the dress of women in the Moslem world. If we look to the Koran, it states women should be dressed modestly, it does not say that they should wear the burqa. This teaching came after disention arose from the definition of the word modest. What was modest to some was not modest enough to others.
While some truth is found within the haddiths, we must not let them overtake the truth found in the Koran. This same aspect is an issue within Christianity where the teachings of Paul overshadow and in some cases, contradict what Christ had taught. The simple solution is to return to the original teachings of all Prophets, and while we may retain the other writings, they should not be given the same credence of being from Allah/God as the original Message.
Islam teaches us that we should be Submitted only unto Allah, or if we can not be totally submitted, we should surrender the results of our actions to Allah. This is found in a few passages of the Koran:
No, but whosoever submits himself to the Will of Allah and does good, for him is reward from his Lord; they shall have no fear nor shall they grieve. Surah The Cow (Al-Baqarah) 112
O those who believe, be aware of your duty to God and be mindful of it, so you would not die but as one completely submissive to Him. Surah The Family of Imran (Ali'Imran) 102
The aspect that we must keep in mind and to be in accordance of His Will, is that we must realize that this is One World and One Humanity. In this frame of mind we must view the entire world as His and not limit ourselves to being concerned with just our community, region, country, etc. Failing to do this results in a feeling of being superior to others. Are we not all from the same Creator? When we see others who appear different than ourselves in race or status, it is only because their karma has required a different situation than where we find ourselves. If our karma had so dictated, we would have been the same as them, actually, we may have been in their situation in a previous life.
Surely it is God who sprouts the grain of corn and the datestone. Verily it is He who brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living. Such is God. . . Surah Cattle (Al-An'am) 96
Observe, therefore, the signs of God's mercy (everywhere), how He quickens the earth after its death! He is the One who gives life to the dead, for He is Able to do all things. Surah The Romans (Ar-Rum) 50
