In the early morning rain (we slept in the ruins).

Like the Torah in Judaism, the Koran is considered the fountainhead of all knowledge dealing with human life.
Furthermore, the arrangement of the Suras, the nomenclature for the new religion, and the pillars of Islam seem to have Jewish backgrounds.
The term Koran is probably derived from the Hebrew and, like the Bible, it is known as "The Book."
In fact, whole tribes seem tom have gone over to Judaism and accepted monotheism long before the rise of Mohammad.
The division of the Koran into 114 Suras follows similar divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures.
The veneration of the Koran by the Moslems, as well as the practice of reading it at Friday Assemblies and other religious holidays,
follows the Hebrew pattern.

Islam is built on Iman {religious belief} & Din {religion or practice}: Iman involves six major principles, i.e. Belief in G d, in his angels,
in his "scriptures", in the prophets, in the Last Day & in predetermination of good and evil! The religious duties of the Moslem center upon five canonical obligations: the SHAHADAH, or the affirmation that there is no G d but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger; the observance of prayer; the payment of ZAKAH (legal alms); the pilgrimage to Mecca; & fasting in RAMADAN. The canonical obligations or the pillars of Islam as well as a great number of names or narratives in the Koran have their biblical and Aggadic counterparts: Adam, Noah, Abraham are mentioned each 70 times; Ishmael, Lot, Joseph, Saul, David, Solomon, Elijah, Job & Jonah also figure prominently. Moses' name occurs in 34 Suras ...

The story of the Creation and the Fall of Adam is cited five times and the Flood and Sodom eight times.

Like the Jew, the Moslem affirms the unity of G d: god is one, eternal, merciful, compassionate, beneficent, almighty, all-knowing, just, loving & forgiving. Like Judaism, Islam does not recognize saints serving as mediators between the individual and his Creator & in both the Jewish and Moslem religions any learned man of good character may conduct the prayer service: like the Jew, the Moslem believes in the immortality of the soul and in personal accountability for actions on earth & negates the doctrines of original sin and redemption. And like the Jew, the Moslem believes that each individual is to follow a righteous path and secure atonement by improving his conduct & by sincere repentance.

In short: religions represent the development of human nature through time and space. Each stage is thus worthwhile to (re)consider (for us) because it tells us about ourselves, the situation of the world, and which remedies we might apply to advance our position in the universe.