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| Introduction | |
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| About This Book | |
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| Conventions Used in This Book | |
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| Foolish Assumptions | |
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| How This Book Is Organized | |
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| Icons Used in This Book | |
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| Where to Go from Here | |
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| Revealing the Word of God: The Book | |
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| Getting to Know the Koran | |
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| Receiving Revelation Straight from the Source | |
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| Guiding the Way: Prophet Muhammad | |
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| Discovering the Basic Messages of the Koran | |
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| Naming the Revelation | |
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| Hearing the Words: The Audience of the Koran | |
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| Knowing the Essentials about Islam and Muslims | |
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| From Revelation to Written Book | |
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| Revealing the Koran to Muhammad | |
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| Collecting the Koran as a Book | |
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| Memorizing Miracles: Preserving the Koran throughout History | |
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| Experiencing the Koran as Divine Art | |
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| Mapping Out the Structure of the Book | |
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| Discerning the Structure of the Koran | |
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| Discovering Surah Names and Themes | |
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| Finding Your Way Through the Moral Narrative | |
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| Simplifying the Moral Narrative of Shorter Surahs | |
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| Discovering the Language of the Koran | |
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| Arabic: Plain, Clear, and Eloquent | |
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| Literary Style in the Sacred Scripture | |
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| Hearing the Voice of the Koran | |
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| Relating the Koran to Abrahamic Revelations | |
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| Previous Revelations: Between Sacred and Corrupted | |
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| Linking the Three Faiths: Common Experiences in the Scriptures | |
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| Contrasting the Koran with Judeo-Christian Scriptures | |
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| Searching for the Soul of the Koran | |
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| Interpreting the Koran | |
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| Coming to Know the Guidance | |
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| Drawing Out Interpretations | |
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| Understanding Interpretations of the Koran Today | |
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| Getting to Know Famous Commentators of the Koran | |
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| Influential Movements of the Twentieth Century | |
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| Another School of Thought: The Shi'ites | |
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| Seeing the Koranic Worldview | |
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| Meeting God, Prophets, and Mankind | |
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| Conceptualizing God | |
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| Prophets of God: Preaching a Divine Message | |
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| The Status and Nature of Man | |
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| Divining Nature, the Universe, and the Unseen | |
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| The Divine Ways of Nature | |
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| Inheriting the Earth: The Role of Mankind in Nature | |
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| The Unseen World: Angels versus Satan | |
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| Accounting for the Soul | |
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| Taking the Koranic View of Other Faith Traditions | |
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| Islam: One Religion under God | |
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| Honoring Freedom of Choice and Respecting Diversity | |
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| Examining Some Controversial Passages on Interfaith Relations | |
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| Living the Koran | |
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| Following in the Footsteps of Muhammad | |
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| The Scripture Speaks about Muhammad | |
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| Doing as God and His Messenger Do | |
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| Looking at Some Key Prophetic Sayings | |
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| Putting Meaning into Ritual | |
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| Declaring Faith: More than Just Words | |
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| Conversing with the Divine: Prayer | |
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| Raising the Soul Over the Ego: Fasting | |
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| Purifying Wealth, Uplifting the Needy: Almsgiving | |
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| Journeying to the House of God: Pilgrimage | |
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| Understanding the Koranic View of Self | |
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| Connecting the Three Dots of Self Awareness | |
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| The Seven Gates to the Heart | |
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| Blessed Is the Baby's Soul, a Soul without Sin | |
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| The Soul's Journey: From Pre-Birth to the Hereafter | |
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| The Muslim Self: A State of Being | |
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| The Kafir: A Faithless Self | |
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| Achieving Koranic Ethics and Morality | |
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| Discovering Ethical Principles in the Koran | |
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| Leading the Life of Good Virtue and Character | |
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| Purifying the Heart | |
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| Raising a Family the Koranic Way | |
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| Healthy Family Equals Healthy Society | |
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| Looking for a Spouse: Let the Search Begin | |
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| Celebrating Marriage as the Basis of Family | |
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| Bringing Up Children | |
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| A Matter of Inheritance: Who Gets What | |
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| Tackling Divorce in the Koran | |
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| Relating the Koran to the World | |
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| Connecting the Koran to Society | |
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| Divining a Community of the Middle Path | |
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| Witnessing the Truth | |
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| Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil | |
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| Uniting a Community with the Rope of God | |
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| Leadership and Citizenship in the Koran | |
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| Jihad: Struggling in the Path of God | |
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| Purifying Society through Islamic Law | |
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| Defining Shariah | |
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| Extracting and Interpreting Sacred Law | |
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| Searching for Rulings and Principals | |
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| Exploring the Contents of the Sacred Law | |
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| Understanding the Islamic Penal Code | |
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| Looking at the Four Schools of Law | |
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| Struggling for God: Jihad | |
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| Finding the Spirit of Jihad | |
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| Connecting Qital with Islamic Law | |
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| Understanding Martyrdom | |
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| Looking at Jihad in Today's World | |
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| Discussing Women in the Koran | |
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| Finding Equality in the Scripture | |
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| Discerning Women's Rights in Divine Law | |
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| The Koran and Modernity | |
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| Differentiating between Modernity and Modern Culture | |
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| Promoting Social Progress | |
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| Focusing on Issues of Modernity | |
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| Imagining an Islamic Democracy | |
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| The Part of Tens | |
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| Ten Misconceptions about the Koran | |
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| Muhammad Wrote the Koran | |
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| The Koran Is Incoherent and Unorganized | |
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| The Koran Is Void of Reason | |
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| The Koran Espouses Polytheism | |
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| The Koran Says That God Belongs to One People | |
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| God Is Wrathful and Unloving in the Koran | |
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| The Koran Preaches Fatalism | |
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| Jihad Means "Holy War" | |
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| The Koran Discourages Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation | |
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| The Scripture Values Men More Than Women | |
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| Ten Ways to Dig Deeper into the Koran | |
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| Comparing "Translations" | |
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| Listening to the Koran | |
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| Looking at Different Interpretations | |
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| Reading Books | |
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| Studying Arabic | |
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| Studying the Koran | |
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| Surfing Web Sites | |
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| Taking Classes | |
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| Talking to Muslims | |
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| Visiting Your Local Mosque | |
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| Glossary of Koranic Terms | |
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| Finding Prophets in the Koran | |
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| Index | |