READING THE QUR’AN FOR CHRISTIANS: THEOLOGY OF THE QUR’AN

With the Imam Khalil Abdur-Rashid

This is a six-week course on the six essential pillars of faith in Islam—belief in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Day of Judgment and Divine Destiny—as explained in the Qur’an. Each class session will be devoted to an examination of one of the pillars of the Qur’anic theology. Students will learn what it means to believe in each pillar, why such a belief is necessary, the benefit of having such a belief and how maintaining such a belief is relevant to being a believer in the Qur’anic sense. The content of this course will consist of readings from several verses from the Qur’an, occasionally excerpts from Qur’anic commentary, and class discussions. Recommended Text: The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an (Amana Publications), translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali—available online at Amazon.com as well as in major bookstores such as the Strand and Barnes & Noble.

Khalil Abdur-Rashid serves as Imam and Executive Director of Iqra Mosque in Brooklyn, New York and as Columbia University’s Muslim Religious Life Advisor.  Imam Khalil received his BSW degree in social work from Georgia State University; completed a specialization program in Islamic Law at the Dar al-Mustafa Institute in Yemen; and earned an MA in Islamic law at Marmara University and a doctorate in Islamic law from the Mirani Seminary, both in Turkey.  He is currently a PhD student at Columbia University, specializing in Islamic Law and Bioethics; and teaches at NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service.

Other Articles in this category