I feel compelled to issue a warning: Islamic material will put you to sleep. It is poorly written, disorganized, and directionless. Do not attempt to operate your life while under its influence as serious injury or death may result.

The following pages are an exposé on early Qur'an surahs. Much of the material is incoherent. Devoid of context and chronology, these surahs are odious and repetitive rants. Yet their muddled message is the essence of Islamic religiosity, so I feel compelled to review them with you.

Maududi wants us to believe that the opposite is true. He claims that the religion of Islam, as presented in the Qur'an, is brilliantly comprises three fundamental doctrines: "Tauhid (the oneness of Allah) [whom we have yet to meet], the apostleship of Muhammad [whose apostleship is covered in the Sunnah, not the Qur'an], and the belief that the dead are raised bodily [not spiritually]. The 112th surah, "Pure Faith," teaches Tauhid, pure and undefiled.

Therefore, the Prophet regarded this one surah as equal to one-third of the Qur'an." Qur'an 112:1 "Say: He is God, (the) One; the Self-Sufficient Master, Whom all creatures need; He has begotten no one, nor is He begotten; and there is no one comparable to Him." Thank God for small favors. Two gods like this "One" would be two too many. But Muhammad's suggestion that this one-sentence surah was equal to one-third of the Qur'an, is too delicious for words. If only...