Hi, I have read and re-read the Qur'an and have found much within it to challenge and broaden my faith in God. I have tow questions.

1. What other books along with the Qur'an constitute the books on which you base you faith?
   Second are there study aids to help look up surah and ayat on particular subjects? I know the bible has concordances...does the Qur'an?

It is wonderful to see you again David.

In addition to the Qur'an we have the Hadith as guides. The hadith can be more than a bit confusing for people asking about Islam.

What seems to confuse most people is that we divide hadith into categories Authentic and non-authentic and that within the Authentic we have degrees of reliability. It is best for non-Muslims to just read the Authentic hadith that have high reliability.

Here is a good starting link.

http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamen...unnah/bukhari/

For books about Islam some that I find to be very helpful can be found here:

http://www.convertstoislam.org/resou...amic-books.htm

http://www.al-sunnah.com/free.htm

this one I recommend highly.

http://sultan.org/books/

No the Qur'an does not have a concordance like you are accustomed to. However there are some excellent commentaries. My favorite is that of Yusuf Ali. That was one of the first in English.

Here is a link to where it can be bought. You probably can find it at a lower price or even online:

http://store.talkislam.com/b3923.html

But, keep in mind that all commentaries are the opinion of the writer. The Writers are human and are capable of error. Although commentaries are helpful in gaining some understanding of Islam they should not be relied upon as being infallible.

Hi

I don't recommend you read the hadiths directly (as in open the book and start reading), they are very confusing to read, because it is like bits and pieces here and there and stuff needs to be put together and well you don't really benefit much from it... also you will probably misunderstand things and just get confused about a lot of things.

I personally suggest you read (mainstream, authentic and reliable) books written by people who have proper knowledge if you wish. This has the advantage of allowing you to address specific topics and issues.

Hello,

For Qur'an translations and commentaries - have a look at these threads:

http://www.islamicboard.com/basics-i...ons-quran.html
http://www.islamicboard.com/islamic-...ons-quran.html

There are some other useful links in there too.

Hi David,

I compiled the following list of books specifically for the purpose of helping muslims and non-muslims learn more about Islam from accurate sources:
http://www.islamicboard.com/discover...resources.html (Studying Islam - List of Resources)

From that list I would recommend that you read 'Islam the Natural Way' by Abdul Wahid Hamid, and the biography of the Prophet written by Adil Salahi since the prophetic teachings constitute the other primary source in Islam besides the Qur'an, and understanding the life of the Prophet is a must for understanding his teachings.

Regards

thank you that is very useful

David, I think you would be well suited reading "No god but God" by Reza Aslan. I'm reading it right now, this book lead me to Islam. Aslan was on the Daily show I believe, giving his book some publicity, though it hardly needs it, it's a fabulous work and is recognized for that. Though I have not reverted, this book has given me a thirst for knowledge about Islam that I cannot seem to quench. I mean this in a good way though, every thing I read enthralls me - about the Prophet Muhammad, the development of each sect of Islam, and the clarification of misconceptions about Islam. Buy it, it's amazing.