Let us not use context at all then

Submitted by Ashraf (India), Sep 7, 2007 at 23:47

What kind of statements do you expect to be revealed when Muslims are undertaking a defensive war against those presecute them?

Do you like to hear

"Kiss the unbelivers in their heads and toes and embrace them tightly with overwhelming love"?

or

"Strike their neck and kill them as they kill you"

If each statement of Quran is to be taken in isolation without recourse to the context, then the following statement should be taken as a global advice so that Muslims would strike the necks of every unbeliver they encouter.If that being the case, the only people who were muslims at that time should have survived, rest of them could havd their necks striken.

By your own logic if one were to totally exclude the recourse to context then what is the problem in taking the following verse as a context independent "General Advice".

"(Muslims!) God does not forbid you from being good to those who have not fought you in religion or driven you from your homes, or from being just towards them. God loves those who are just. God merely forbids you from taking as friends those who have fought you in religion and driven you from your homes and who supported your expulsion. Any who take them as friends are wrongdoers

As you are aware, Quran was not dropped as a single book from heaven , it was revealed over a period of 23 yrs, now are you expecting Muslims to understand each verse without knowing the context in which it is revealed.Using the historical context in understanding the message of Quran is a norm and not an strategy devised to reply to bashers of islam.

We cant hypocritically use context when it suits and abhor them when it is not.

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