Quran Higher than bible?

[curiosity]

Not sure if this should be here or body and soul? I work in a hospital and whilst tidying our office I moved the Quran book from on top of a filing cabinet and put it on the window sill next to the bible and a host of other books (basically where we keep the books) shortly after a colleague asked oh whose moved the quran? It has to be higher than the bible. All of us in the office were either RC or Cof E but we moved it back anyway. Our hospital chaplain apparently said it renders the Quran book obsolete if it is stored at the same height or lower than the bible. Can anyone enlighten us?

[ursula62]

Can't see why the hell it would matter, frankly.

Surely it's how the precepts contained in said books are lived out in our daily lives that matters, rather than where you stack the printed copy.

You can have as many holy books as you like on your bookshelf, but if you don't read,  inwardly digest what's in them, and live out the principles, you might as well have loo rolls on the shelf - and they'd be more useful in the long run!

[WaldoMcFroog]

The letters used in the Bible are heavier than those in the Quran. Once you move the Bible above the Quran, the letters begin to seep downwards and end up turning the Quran into a load of gibberish.

[jno]

Waldo, I expect that's how they produced the 100-minute Bible that was in the news the other day: it's just the bits that are left after the Quran has ingested all the good stuff.

[jno]

PS curiosity why not stack them sideways?

[jno]

oh, PPS, you're not even allowed to have Qurans at the same height. Sorry, I should have read the question more thoroughly. I can see this getting some Christians mighty upset; very polite of you not to protest and just move the Quran back where it was. Perhaps giving it a pile of its own away from the Bibles is the best solution.

[Fat Boy]

So what do the people upstairs do with their bibles?

[El D]

Why would christians get upset?

[kaktus]

fat boy I think that is an excellent question! What do people do if they are muslims and in the upstairs appartment a christian family with a bible live?.

[Tatty Rollox]

......... and here is one who reads the Quran, and here is one who reads the Bible ...........

[Laurinha]

Nice one Tatty Rollox! LMAO

[ursula62]

Surely someone somewhere on an aeroplane must have a bible in their luggage? Or maybe they left one on a space station back in the 60s?

[curiosity]

Thanks everyone, just got in from work, where believe it or not today again every time a "tidy" person enters the office they put the Quran on the window sill (with the books) and someone else comes in and says "oh no it has to be higher" we haven't really got time to debate the inner issues of this, but it has become a bit of a joke. We have a key cupboard higher than the filing cabinet, and a fuse box higher than that. We've decided to put the Quran on top of the key cupboard, therefore higher than all the other books (including the Cat in the Hat just in case) and high enough for it to not be in tidy up time space. However the timesheets and Payslips are going on top of the fuse box, cos that's what the majority of people seem to care about most. I'd still like to hear if there is any clout in this.

[silly moo]

Are there no Muslims on AB who could give a serious and informed answer to this?

I would imagine that Christians may get upset if they thought the reason for the Qoran having to be placed in a higher position than the Bible was that it was more important or more sacred.

Personally, speaking as a Christian, I can't see any problems.
All holy books are sacred and important to the believers of the religion concerned.

[curiosity]

Thanks Silly Moo I was actually expecting an informed answer. As it stands at work someone asked what do the christians think about that? My answer (again cos I didn't really have time to debate) was that I don't have a problem about where the bible is, but if it means the Quran is unuseable or someone finds it offensive where it is then it makes more sense to move it cos it's not affecting me either way (apart from the tidying up bit) I would still like an informed answer.

[Cetti]

No, this Christian is far from upset, in fact it's a thoroughly entertaining thread. A bible is only a load of paper after all.

I think I must be incredibly thick  as I cannot work out how the position of the Quran whether it be up, down or sideways can make it obsolete. Is it printed with vanishing ink, then? What happens if two friends, one muslim and the other christian go mountain climbing each with their 'bibles' - is the muslim always first? The possibilities are endless...

[Cetti]

This may go some way to an explanation curiosity. It's taken from the incident at Guantanamo Bay this year when Military Police threw a copy of the Quoran on the floor.

"You described a situation where your cell was searched by six or seven military police and a Qu'ran was thrown to the ground. Can you explain why that was so offensive to you?

In our religion, firstly, the Qu'ran is believed to be the word of God, who we refer to as Allah in our religion. Basically the Qu'ran is supposed to be treated with respect and most people believe that the Qu'ran should be placed in a high place in a house or only taken with respect in a certain condition of purification or ablution. It's never to be placed on a floor, on a dirty floor or to be treated or to be mishandled in any way."

[Kingnormie]

Could be that Islamic folk believe this as part of their faith.  Not specifically covered in Christianity, to the best of my knowledge.....I know that, as a lad, a Christian, I was taught to not pile other books & "stuff" on top of a Bible.....If a non-Islamic soul honors this tradition I would think it is out of respect for other faiths, nothing more.  Further along, though, there may be some Christians with ancesteral ties to Islam, thereby tinting their particular Christianity a shade different than others', kind of like many Americans who still seem to revere your English Queen.....She, and your governmental traditions do deserve respect but some Americans, with deep ties to Britain, take it a bit further.....

[Kenk]

I have a catholic mother, a Cof E father and a Muslim Great Grandfather. All i have to offer is 2 quotes. "When in Rome" and "Vive la Difference" Why the hell instill your faith on others? Oops....i used the word hell. Please forgive me.

[Octavius]

The Qur'an itself states that only those who are clean and pure should touch the sacred text: "This is indeed a Holy Qur'an, in a book well-guarded, which none shall touch but those who are clean..."  Most Muslims believe that only those who are physically clean through formal ablutions should touch the pages of the Qur'an.  So the rules (assuming non-muslims follow the same rules)...

1) One should make formal ablutions before handling the Qur'an or reading from its text.
2) One who is in need of a formal bath (after intercourse or menstrual bleeding) should not touch the Qur'an until after bathing.
3) A non-Muslim should not handle the sacred text, but may listen to tapes of the Qur'an or handle a translation or exegesis.
4) Those who are unable to handle the Qur'an based on these reasons should either avoid handling the Qur'an completely, or in necessity hold it while using some sort of barrier covering the hand, such as a cloth or a glove.

In addition, when one is not reading or reciting from the Qur'an, it should be closed and stored a clean, respectable place. Nothing should be placed on top of it, nor should it ever be placed on the floor or in a bathroom. To further show respect for the sacred text, those who are writing it should use clear, elegant handwriting, and those who are reading from it should use clear, beautiful voices.

So if you moved it, you must have touched it - and you are probably unclean -  so therefore you will be seriously told off in the afterlife.

Even muslims believe that God is All-Merciful and we cannot be held responsible for what we do in ignorance or by mistake.  So I think the bit about the Bible being higher or lower than ... an eight you say ... sorry (got a bit Brucey there) the Quran, is probably over-sensitive nonsense and maybe they should go side by side.

[Tatty Rollox]

........ speaking purely for myself, if I met a Musselman looking like this he could have his Quran as high as he wished .........