Critical Thinking and the Chronological Quran Book 2 in the Life of the Prophet Muhammad

The Year 2 of the Revelation Muharram 1-Dhu al-Hijja 29, 12 BH/ ca. November 24, 610-November 12, 611 CE Book Year 2 begins with Lesson 7 and Quranic Chapter 81, which is the 7th Chapter revealed, followed by Quranic Chapters 87, 92, 89, 93, 94, 103, 100, 108, 102, 107, 109, 105, 113, 114, 112 and, finally, Chapter 53, the 23rd Chapter revealed. There are thirty books in this series. Books 1 to Book 24 consist of one book for each year of the revelation (23 years and less than 3 months) along with the history of that year in the life of Prophet Muhammad. The chapters or sections signs (ayat) are presented according to the 558 ruku or sections of the 114 chapters of the Quran. They each include the relevant chapter (surah) or chapters (when they are short) or sections, ruku (when there are multiple sections in a particular chapter) in chronological order. The chapters are numbered according to the chronological order of the Quranic chapters provided by al-Azhar University as the officially accepted order of revelation. Each section (ruku) is followed by a commentary by one of the well-known commentators. Books 25-28 are devoted to the Quranic stories of all other Prophets and Messengers in order of their dates. The last two are: Book 29: The Life of Prophet Muhammad from Birth to the Revelation and Book 30: Teacher s Manual, prepared for Lesson Plans. Each lesson begins with an exercise in critical thinking skills, namely: The Nine Intellectual Standards, The Eight Elements of Reasoning and their 35 Strategies and The Seven Moral Traits. There is no specific order as to how they should be incorporated into our thinking process. Once we understand the critical thinking skills and then apply them to the signs and sections of the Quranic message, we will close the gap between our beliefs and how we live our lives. They will each motivate the other. There will no longer be a disconnect between the two so that we claim to bear witness with our tongues, but our hearts are not on the same page as what our tongue expresses. Once the skills as presented in the Quranic message are put into practice with the grace of God, they coalesce into a sense of unity in our thoughts and behavior. Each lesson ends with questions for classroom discussion or for dialogue. At the end of each lesson there is an assessment/ assignment for students to use while they are developing critical thinking skills as they hopefully learn HOW the Quran teaches critical thinking.