TIMESTAMPS [FYI, Professor Abou el-Fadl spent 30 hr, 49 min delivering his commentary on Surah al-Baqarah, not including this Q&A session] Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem 11:42 where did Surah al-Baqarah feature in relation to the Professor's journey with the Qur'an and what drove the discovery process to the point at which he felt able to comment on the chapter? 32:40 Grace Song's commentary on book buying and the Tafsir\exegesis project. 35:27 the Professor on the difficulty facing Muslim believers breaking into and sustaining an academic career. 40:07 Grace's recounting the Professor's pioneering academic career. 42:40 is a deep knowledge of the Jewish and Christian traditions an essential prerequisite to fully understand Surah al-Baqarah? Is the chapter the earliest form of comparative religion? 1:01:21 Grace reminding the Professor of the conference hosted by Bernard Lewis which he attended in Washington DC in the early 2,000's. 1:04:35 in relation to the context of marriage related in Ayah #221, is there a need to re-examine the criteria for what constitutes the translation of the word "idolator"? 1:10:00 what does the Professor feel about modern Muslim scholarship - mirroring the established Jewish scholarly tendency towards reverse engineering their own theology - cherry picking evidence from different Ayat to support (co-opt) their outlandish theological claims? 1:11:12 is there a relationship between the concept of Amanah\trust and the usage of the terms "O you who believe" and bearing the message? 1:23:30 the subject of Amanah, the Qur'an explaining why the Israelites lost the trust to the Muslims and why this lapsed due to the community's eventual alienation from the Qur'an, devoid of institutions to rectify this state. 1:31:03 is there a reason why the covenant has not been theorised or elaborated much in the Islamic tradition? 2:07:51 could the Professor explain Ayah #259 which was not covered during his commentary? 2:23:03 does "no compulsion in religion" deal with compulsion in religious practice or belief as well as compulsion leaving and entering the religion? How would this relate to the use of shame and exclusion to pressure Muslims to behave in certain ways and believe in a certain school of doctrine? Does this maxim relate to the spiritual abuse that is sometimes used in families and mosques? 2:32:29 is there a connection between usury and the obsession with prophets being satanic and Satan promising poverty? Is the Qur'an saying the use of debt and interest rates taking advantage of people's needs leads to poverty not just for particular individuals but for the majority of society? 2:33:13 one of the well known scholars of Islamic Finance has just defined Riba as usury amounting to economic exploitation rather than simple increase, particularly of the modest kind provided for according to modern banking practice, is this correct? Does Riba refer only to high and not low interest rates? And what does one do with the small amount of money given to us by banks in the form of interest? What is the main moral principle in Ayat #275-#281 that can be used to navigate the new financial practices and instruments represented by Fintech, cryptocurrency or non-fungible tokens and decentralised finance? Does the Professor agree with the Indonesian Ulama Council ruling on the prohibition of Bitcoin etc because they amount to قمار\qimâr\speculation and ميسر\maysîr\gambling? 2:46:15 the Professor extending the understanding of Riba to include sexual exploitation as well as general disempowerment. 2:54:26 please comment on the concept of al-Maruf in the context of the moral insignificance of history? Is there a logic to the order of legal rulings addressed in Surah al-Baqarah or is it based on the chronological order for which these issues arose? And is there a reason that the chapter comes second in the Qur'an after Surah al-Fatiha? What is it about Surah al-Baqarah specifically that makes it hard for magicians to defeat? Are the narrations around reciting the chapter to ward off evil authentic? 3:07:45 the Professor addressing the issue of the Fatwa\legal ruling issued from some religious scholars in Indonesia. 3:17:55 the Professor addressing previous questions: Could the Professor comment on the concept of al-Maruf in the context of the moral insignificance of history? Is there a logic to the order of legal rulings addressed in Surah al-Baqarah or is it based on the chronological order for which these issues arose? And is there a reason that the chapter comes second in the Qur'an after Surah al-Fatiha? 3:30:23 [Ameen]
