The Holy Quran 2:2

Question: Sura #2:2 reads "This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah." (I hope I annotated that correctly.)
The bible also talks about fearing God. Yet the bible has more advanced teachings beyond that that teach to love God and that love drives out fear, demonstrating that one cannot both love and fear the same thing, and that love is stronger, more powerful and healthier.
So does the Koran also teach that there are better things than to fear Allah? Does it have any higher level teachings or is it just for beginners?
If it does have higher level teachings where are they? I have never been able to find any nor have I been able to find anyone who knows of any.

Answer: This is the trouble with translations. The word that's translated as fear, lil-muttaqeen, is actually a much broader term which can be more accurately translated as 'for the God-aware'. God-awareness encompasses much more, it is a state of consciousness where one acknowledges the presence and awareness of the Creator and Sustainer at all times, loving Him and fearing Him at the same time, and living a life seeking His pleasure. Compare the following translations:
Transliteration 2: Thalika alkitabu la rayba feehi hudan lilmuttaqeena
Yusuf Ali 2: This is the Book; in it is guidance sure, without doubt, to those who fear Allah.
Shakir 2: This Book, there is no doubt in it, is a guide to those who guard (against evil).
Pickthal 2: This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil).
Mohsin Khan: 2: This is the Book (the Qur'an), whereof there is no doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqun [the pious believers of Islamic Monotheism who fear Allah much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which He has forbidden) and love Allah much (perform all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)].
http://www.searchtruth.com/chapter_display_all.php?chapter=2

The subsequent verses further define who God-aware people are:
2 This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil).
3 Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them;
4 And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter.
5 These depend on guidance from their Lord. These are the successful.
http://searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=2&translator=4

Will insh'Allah post select verses of the good from the Quran later.

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J, further to our previous exchange, please note that fear of God also means fear of the consequences of our bad deeds.
Also, if there is no God, what drives you to do good, especially when doing good may not appear to be in your best interest?

You asked: Does it [the Holy Quran] have any higher level teachings or is it just for beginners?
Answer: Quran offers guidance for all. It is a beginner's guide and an advanced course, all put together. There are many shades of meanings to the verses, and every re-read teaches one something new. And the best part, each meaning builds upon or enhances the previous understanding.
To the beginner, it may appear as a simple book. Well, good for the beginner. Its easy to start with something simple.
As you progress, and re-read, you find that there is so much more to it, it just never ceases to amaze you!

Here are a few verses listing good deeds:
The Holy Quran, Chapter 17, Verses 23-37
23 Thy Lord hath decreed, that ye worship none save Him, and (that ye show) kindness to parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age with thee, say not "Fie" unto them nor repulse them, but speak unto them a gracious word.
24 And lower unto them the wing of submission through mercy, and say: My Lord! Have mercy on them both as they did care for me when I was little.
25 Your Lord is Best Aware of what is in your minds. If ye are righteous, then lo! He was ever Forgiving unto those who turn (unto Him).
26 Give the kinsman his due, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and squander not (thy wealth) in wantonness.
27 Lo! the squanderers were ever brothers of the devils, and the devil was ever an ingrate to his Lord.
28 But if thou turn away from them, seeking mercy from thy Lord, for which thou hopest, then speak unto them a reasonable word.
29 And let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening, lest thou sit down rebuked, denuded.
30 Lo! thy Lord enlargeth the provision for whom He will, and straiteneth (it for whom He will). Lo, He was ever Knower, Seer of His slaves.
31 Slay not your children, fearing a fall to poverty, We shall provide for them and for you. Lo! the slaying of them is great sin.
32 And come not near unto adultery. Lo! it is an abomination and an evil way.
33 And slay not the life which Allah hath forbidden save with right. Whoso is slain wrongfully, We have given power unto his heir, but let him not commit excess in slaying. Lo! he will be helped.
34 Come not near the wealth of the orphan save with that which is better till he come to strength; and keep the covenant. Lo! of the covenant it will be asked.
35 Fill the measure when ye measure, and weigh with a right balance; that is meet, and better in the end.
36 (O man), follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge. Lo! the hearing and the sight and the heart - of each of these it will be asked.
37 And walk not in the earth exultant. Lo! thou canst not rend the earth, nor canst thou stretch to the height of the hills.

The Holy Quran

On a question about what is the Quran:
We believe that The Holy Quran is the final revelation of God for the guidance of mankind. We also believe that its been protected across the ages so that nothing has been added to or subtracted from the Arabic original, thus it retains its pristine beauty and is free from human interpolation. It has been translated into many languages, but as these are done by humans, in spite of utmost care and research, there are some differences to be found among the translations. Two recommended translations are by Abdullah Yusuf Ali and M Pickthal.
More than 1400 years ago, God chose Muhammad as His prophet, and The Holy Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years. Different verses were revealed at different instances. These were later ordered and compiled together (orally, that is commited to memory) during the final years of the Prophet's life, in the form we see it today. The compiled written text is, we believe, a true replication of that oral tradition, as it was achieved during the lifetime of the Prophet's companions. The direct addressee of the Quran is thus Prophet Muhammad and the people of Arabia, especially Mecca and Medina to whom the Prophet was directly preaching. The beauty of the Quran is that when you read it, you feel its directly addressing you, your thoughts and concerns, and answering your questions. It also challenges the reader to think, explore, evaluate, understand and then believe. Do read it, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
A good resource online is www.searchtruth.com In the tab Quran, you can click on List of All Suras, ie Chapters. Another good site is http://quranexplorer.com/
For more information, visit Dr Khalid Zaheer's website http://www.khalidzaheer.com/

The very obvious stupidity contained in every belief system

Question: A thinker wrote:
The very obvious stupidity contained in every belief system is the result of accepting as true the statements of others without checking against personal experience. This is made even worse by the mental laziness that people use in order to take short cuts. All the different classes of belief do the same thing and consequently the world is in a mess caused by lazy, expediency focused thinking.

Answer: Very true about most denizens of planet Earth. The very first, most important thing to do is to observe with all our senses, and use our intellect to determine whether or not this Universe / Multiverse came about itself, or if there is an/are multiple intelligent designs behind it. If there is/are, then what is more plausible: one intelligent creator or multiple creators?? If authority can reside with only One person, then who is this person and how do we find this Creator/ how do we revere and worship/ and is that the purpose of our creation/ what is life, and is there or not a life beyond this Earth/ and if so, will there be a reckoning??? Is there a message that this God has sent, how do we know which is the true message when there are so many multiple faith systems, so many religions, so many claims????? My personal method is to evaluate all Holy Books for accuracy/ truth/ consistency/ evaluation of scientific data/ mathematical data/ moral code/ fairness and justice, and only one Book has met all of these parameters…. The Holy Quran….. so, I believe that it is the Word of God. Since God himself says in the Holy Quran that He is Allah, that Muhammad is His messenger, and that the Quran is a Book without doubt; a Guidance for the Muttaqeen (those who are aware of Allah all the time; love him for his Love for us, and fear Him as He is the only one to be feared; and as the Day of Reckoning will definitely come). May the true God guide us all.

Modern Science would have been impossible but for Muslim discoveries?

Question: ....and showing that modern science would have been impossible but for Muslim discoveries

Answer: I do not agree to this part of the statement….. muslims or anyone else can only advance in science if they keep their minds open to question and research, education and the pursuit of the frontiers of knowledge…. Quran is not a textbook of science___ yet whatever it contains is the absolute truth___ we can attempt to understand the various verses commenting on the physical world around us in the light of science, but we cannot ‘do’ science by studying the Quran alone. What Maurice Bucaille and others have done is simply reinterpreted the verses in the light of modern science. That is the difference between our religion and other religions__ while our religion, Islam, is based on truths and facts, other religions are based on baseless beliefs.
We cannot compel anyone to belief in the Islamic belief system, what we can do is fearlessly keep exploring the frontiers of knowledge and truth, discovering and showing just how compatible the two are!

The central message is the same of all divinely-inspired religions

Question: Where do you think that the Holy Books of the other world religionsand belief systems came from ? Are they incomplete books written bysincere persons who thought that they knew what God wanted them to write, but failed to correctly understand. Or are they simply theproduct of cunning human minds seeking power and influence?

Answer: In the very beginning of the Quran, we are told that:
http://searchtruth.com/chapter_display.php?chapter=2&translator=4
1. Alif. Lam. Mim
2.This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil).
3.Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them;
4And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter.
5These depend on guidance from their Lord. These are the successful.
So, you see, we are required to believe in all the sacred, holy books of religions before Islam as the source and message were essentially the same…… Allah sent His messengers from time to time to guide humanity. What happened, we believe, is that, with time, part or most of the essential message was lost, varying from nation to nation, people to people. The Holy Books came to contain a mixture of Divine revelation and human interpolation. The result was a parting of ways from the original, true spirit and teachings of the Prophets. The Quran came as a confirmation of the prophets and prophecies of old, and as a ‘sift or seive’…. To distinguish between ‘the truth and the false’ in what people among different religions had come to believe. Thus, you will find, in the Quran, mention of the prophets of old, but how and what the Quran relates is quite different from accounts given in the other scriptures. Sometime earlier, a muslim brother had posted the passages about Prophet Jesus……….. did you read it? Wasn’t it so different?Also, reading any of the divine books, whether it is the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Vedas, etc, doesn’t the radiance, the brilliant sparkle of the divine message shine through certain verses, while at other places one wonders could the Prophets or God/gods have spoken and behaved so and so, can this actually be true, is this actually of divine origin? Whereas, when you read the Holy Quran, morally and ethically it is so sound, so perfect, and all Prophets have been mentioned with such respect that…. it is so easy to believe in it!
So, Yes, the central message is essentially the same of all divinely-inspired religions.