Understanding the Qur'an

The experience of the Qur’an in traditional Islamic countries is different from Western attempts to read it as a story with a beginning, middle, and end. For all Muslims, the Qur’an is first experienced in Arabic. When they are learning the Suras, they are not memorizing them like Westerners would, Sells says they are interiorizing the inner rhythms, sound patterns, and textual dynamics-taking it to heart in the deepest manner.

In response to JBK's post, Sells says "the Qur'anic sound figures occur in connection with 3 moments: prophecy, creation, and the day of reckoning. Because the Qur’anic experience is not about reading the text from beginning to end, one does not need to be a Muslim to have this experience, but I believe that one has to act like a Muslim and be open to reciting the text, just as Muslims do. This is because when you read the Qur'an, these 3 moments appear seperate. However, they become intertwined when they are said in Qur'anic recitation. Sells also references gender as a major aspect of Qur'anic sound figures. Although books like the Bible and Torah are male dominated, the Qur'an is gender balanced. He also talks about how the word spirit in Arabic can be both masculine and feminine. If the Qur'an lost these sound figures, it would ultimately damage the way Islam is perceived to treat women in society.