Read some of the responses UNC freshmen wrote on their required reading assignment this summer, APPROACHING THE QUR'AN: THE EARLY REVELATIONS by Michael Sells. The book is a collection of translations and commentaries on the short chapters or suras of the Qur'an. It includes a compact disc recording of reciters chanting some of the suras:

While listening to the CD accompaniment to APPROACHING THE QUR'AN, images of a distant landscape took form. I pictured the lands that gave birth to the Qur'an, an ancient desert civilization not too far removed from my own Jewish ancestry. The Semitic language, precise formation of words, even chanting, and profound message easily translated across the two cultures and millennia.

The book's introduction brought forth many similarities between Judaism and Islam. The core monotheistic tenet of Islam resonates with my own faith. Other similarities attested to the close history of Jews and Muslims. Many words in Hebrew and Arabic bear close resemblance and meaning, for example zakat, a "pure offering" in Arabic, and tzedakah, often translated as "charity" in Hebrew but meaning more closely "righteousness." Each word implies the importance of giving one's self to others. The kinship between Islam and Judaism was further cemented when I listened to the reading of the suras. The Arabic recitations evoked many of the same emotions I feel when I hear prayers or pray in Hebrew.

There is a calmness and permanence that the recitations create. Both Arabic and Hebrew are ancient languages that attest to a long history and a sense of holiness. The words possess longevity and an innate power. The sounds are lulling, hypnotic and powerful, and they permeate all the senses. The vibrations of the syllables and the harmonies of the words create a total religious experience for the listener. In synagogue, the recitation of a prayer or the reading of the Torah in Hebrew creates a much more profound experience of body, mind and spirit, as with the recitations of the suras in Arabic.

For me, the text and the sounds of APPROACHING THE QUR'AN bridged the gap between two of the world's religions.

Paula Kweskin
Charlotte, North Carolina


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In many instances in life, society is forced to deal with decisions that reflect its character and standing. Sept. 11 united all Americans, but it also left many citizens asking countless questions about the Islamic faith. In APPROACHING THE QUR'AN, Michael Sells provides a great perspective and vivid description of the foundation and teachings of Islam. In his interpretation of the 90th sura, Sells unites both the outer world of nature and the equally harsh internal world of faith.

In the sura entitled "The Ground," the reader faces the realization that many of the elements that represent everyday life also depict a higher level of struggle that marks one's faith. In the translation, the sura begins with a description of what seems to be ordinary, common ground. In retrospect, the reader begins to understand that this ground is not ordinary, but it is the ground and land of God. In the extensive description one begins to understand how this land is representative of God's holy and gracious body. To desecrate or demoralize this turf would mean doing the same to one's faith. Thus, the struggle of protecting and sanctifying the ground is a reference to the continuous struggle of one's moral obligation of sanctifying religious beliefs.

Moreover, Sells continues his extended metaphor between nature and faith by describing a vision that epitomizes both. Sells translates: "Did we not endow him with eyes lips and tongue and guide him to the two high plains[.] And yet he did not climb the steep pass" (8-11). After reading such a vivid description of the gracefulness and utter magnificence of nature, one begins to understand how nature parallels one's faith. The plains symbolize the obligation that one has to his faith. Without his faith, the steep pass would be impossible to climb, but since there is a strong presence of faith, one does not even have to worry about the climb. Due to his respect and gratitude to his faith, God chooses to place man on this natural wonder. In retrospect, one can plainly see how the world of nature is directly linked to the inner world of faith.

Amir Barzin
Morehead, Texas


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When is the nature of man's innermost soul revealed? When are his actions least tainted by the motivations of ambition and mundane concerns? What deeds should be used to measure one's goodness? These are the questions answered in sura 107, "The Small Kindness." Here, it is not men's grand deeds, acted out for all to see that affect judgment, but instead it is actions as small as "[failing] to urge the feeding of one in need." In other words, it is not one's time in the limelight that determines the nature of his soul but his day to day living and commonplace decisions. It is the choices between generosity and greed, between compassion and indifference that will determine the direction of one's soul. By assuring men that judgment will be determined by the smallest decisions, the Qur'an transforms the distant, intangible concept of the day of moral reckoning into a concept with an immediacy that should count in every choice. No longer is judgment predestined or based on token acts of goodness; instead it will come as a product of one's tiniest everyday decisions.

"The Small Kindness" is applicable not only to mundane action but also to worship. Those who perform prayers without considering how they pray or the implications of those prayers are cursed, for their faith is but "a display" and they would "hold back the small kindness." The Qur'an establishes a concept of moral reckoning, the Day of Judgment, in a way that emphasizes the weight of even the smallest action and compels men to live in the present with a constant thought of its repercussions in the afterlife.

Mark Laabs
Memphis, Tennessee