I've always thought sacred books shouldn't be sold. Who would put the Truth behind a commercial transaction? This heuristic has served me well numerous times: I've been denied Dianetics by the Scientologists, and The Book of Knowledge by a sect which assures their teacher is in direct communication with alien spaceships that navigate the solar system.
Books that I have been given to me freely after asking for them:
- The Bible
- The Book of Mormon
- The Bhagavad Gita
- The Tao Te Ching
- The Quran
This particular Quran was taken from a Sufi lodge in Sierra de Gredos, Spain. It was in a bookcase. I asked the master of the lodge if I could take it. He told me I wouldn't understand much without sufficient training, but I was free to take it.
In essence he was right, but I thought that a sufficient honest intention would glean something from a sacred book. What I got from it was the understanding of mystic devotion towards the all-mighty and all-merciful. The sound and poetry is best learned in the original language (Arabic) but the essence comes through in translation. It is true that a cultured background and understanding is necessary to get the most out of it.
I hope to obtain a Quran again, and study it with what I know now.