The Qur'an: Misinterpreted, Mistranslated, and Misread. The Aramaic Language of the Qur'an by Gabriel Sawma (2006-04-15)

Very happy with my purchase, this book it's up there amongst the best thank you very much indeed very much appreciated.

More pieces in the puzzle.

Great book

Gabriel Sawma has written a book which has one main thesis: The Qur'an was NOT written in Arabic, but in Aramaic!This thesis is not just "controversial" but inflammatory, since it directly implies one of the biggest blunders in the history of religions. You might look at it as  The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Koran  on steroids.The author appears to be in control of his sources and his languages. His written English is a bit weak, and the book could use a good editor, but the ideas are explosive and cannot be contained.As just one example, Sawma joins Luxenburg in demolishing the idea of the 72 virgins supposedly waiting for Muslim martyrs. Muslim "scholars" have misread this for centuries. What really is waiting for those suicide bombers? Delicious water and raisins.If nothing else, the book is an excellent reference. We learn with fascination that the first biography of Muhammad appeared some 200 years after his death, while Jesus was the subject of four detailed biographies, beginning some 30 years after his death and resurrection.For language fans, this is not a book to be missed! The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Koran

The book covers in the first few chapters the location of various languages, for example, that Syriac is a dialect of Aramaic in the northeast region of mesopotamia. It provides an explanation for the name of cities, such as Damascus= Stream of damm= stream of blood, etc.. it is fascinating. It describes the various tribes of antiquities and how they interacted. Then, it delves in to the text in the Quran and it was fascinating to see how many words in it are actually aramaic.

Prof. Sawma's work is nothing short of brilliant. His remarks on the influence of Syriac Aramaic on the Arabic text are breathtaking. The academic quality of this book more than warrant a 5 stars rating for this book.However, I really wish that in the future a 2nd edition appears (not only another reprint of the same edition), but with better typesetting and editorial work, so that the text is more appealing to the eyes. Many thanks for your work.