Muhammad and His Message

I will ask you to read in class a few selections from the Qur'an. That's really not enough to get a good feel for what the book is about.  If you have time, it would be good to pick a few selections to read on your own.

There is an excellent online translations of the Qur'an.  What's nice about this version is that it has a great search function.   You might find it hard to read complete Surahs, though, since this version goes back and forth between English and Arabic.

 You might find it easier to get a feel for the Qur'an by reading one of the Surahs (chapters) in this online translation of the Qur'an.  You might for instance, read through Surah 4 (women).

The Qur'an Surahs are organized according to length from longest to shortest.  If you want something short, you can look at Surah 114.

In addition to the Qur'an, Islam has what's called the Hadith "tradition."  These are teachings of Muhammad gathered after his life.  Browsing through this online version of the Hadith will also help you get a better understanding of Islam.

For extra credit, use the search feature for the online Qur'an and/or the online Hadith. Browse to a topic that interests you and comment on what you learned from reading the passage.  Do you see anything useful in helping you prepare on essay on  Islam as an attractive and compelling religion?

You might search for Noah, Jesus, Abraham, or Mary, noting what the Qur'an says about these figures.  You might also look for extra information on one of the pillars of Islam: faith, prayer, fasting, alms, and pilgrimage--or the almost-sixth pillar, Jihad.