Selected byChoicemagazine as an Outstanding Academic Title Most of what we know about attitudes toward Islam in the medieval and early modern West has been based on polemical treatises against Islam ...written by Christian scholars preoccupied with defending their own faith and attacking the doctrines of others. Christian readings of the Qur'an have in consequence typically been depicted as tedious and one-dimensional exercises in anti-Islamic hostility. InReading the Qur'an in Latin Christendom, 1140-1560, Thomas E. Burman looks instead to a different set of sources: the Latin translations of the Qur'an made by European scholars and the manuscripts and early printed books in which these translations circulated. Using these largely unexplored materials, Burman argues that the reading of the Qur'an in Western Europe was much more complex. While their reading efforts were certainly often focused on attacking Islam, scholars of the period turned out to be equally interested in a whole range of grammatical, lexical, and interpretive problems presented by the text. Indeed, these two approaches were interconnected: attacking the Qur'an often required sophisticated explorations of difficult Arabic grammatical problems. Furthermore, while most readers explicitly denounced the Qur'an as a fraud, translations of the book are sometimes inserted into the standard manuscript format of Christian Bibles and other prestigious Latin texts (small, centered blocks of text surrounded by commentary) or in manuscripts embellished with beautiful decorated initials and elegant calligraphy for the pleasure of wealthy collectors. Addressing Christian-Muslim relations generally, as well as the histories of reading and the book, Burman offers a much fuller picture of how Europeans read the sacred text of Islam than we have previously had.
Shedding light on a theme which affects Muslim-Christian conversation to the present day, this book describes the earliest extant interpretations of the Qur'ān's "tampering" verses which have been ...used to support the Muslim accusation of the corruption of pre-Qur'ānic scriptures.
The Holy Qur'an is considered the miraculous word of God, which falsehood never comes to. It is preserved by God Almighty, as it is distinguished by many important points, perhaps the most prominent ...of which is the power of its statement and the magic of its meanings. Which raises many questions and deep problems. From it, we will work on exploring the depths of this topic to find out some of those important and sensitive issues that the topic raises in a deep analytical study of the components of some of the chapters' openings and endings.
How is the Qur'an - central to all Muslim societies - to be understood today in order to meet the needs of these societies? Abdullah Saeed, a distinguished Muslim scholar, explores the interpretation ...of the ethico-legal content of the Qur'an, whilst taking into consideration the changing nature of the modern world. Saeed explores the current debates surrounding the interpretation of the Qur'an, and their impact on contemporary understanding of this sacred text. Discussing the text's relevance to modern issues without compromising the overall framework of the Qur'an and its core beliefs and practices, he proposes a fresh approach, which takes into account the historical and contemporary contexts of interpretation. Inspiring healthy debate, this book is essential reading for students and scholars seeking a contemporary approach to the interpretation of the Qur'anic text.
Wind is an important element in life on earth, both human life, animals and plants. In the Koran, wind is mentioned with the word riih in the singular form and riyah in the plural form. Various types ...of wind are mentioned in the Quran, among others: 'Aqiim winds, Sharshar winds,' Ashif winds, Qashif winds, Thayyibah winds, and Sakinah winds. Meanwhile, Al Quran also explains about the functions of the wind, including: helping the pollination process, moving the clouds so that it rains, moving the clouds so that it rains to fertilize the land, the wind influences the formation of sea waves, and as a warning bearer of doom.
This book challenges the dominant scholarly notion that the Qur’ān must be interpreted through the medieval commentaries shaped by the biography of the prophet Muhammad, arguing instead that the text ...is best read in light of Christian and Jewish scripture. The Qur’ān, in its use of allusions, depends on the Biblical knowledge of its audience. However, medieval Muslim commentators, working in a context of religious rivalry, developed stories that separate Qur’ān and Bible, which this book brings back together.
In a series of studies involving the devil, Adam, Abraham, Jonah, Mary, and Muhammad among others, Reynolds shows how modern translators of the Qur’ān have followed medieval Muslim commentary and demonstrates how an appreciation of the Qur’ān’s Biblical subtext uncovers the richness of the Qur’ān’s discourse. Presenting unique interpretations of 13 different sections of the Qur’ān based on studies of earlier Jewish and Christian literature, the author substantially re-evaluates Muslim exegetical literature. Thus The Qur’ān and Its Biblical Subtext , a work based on a profound regard for the Qur’ān’s literary structure and rhetorical strategy, poses a substantial challenge to the standard scholarship of Qur’ānic Studies. With an approach that bridges early Christian history and Islamic origins, the book will appeal not only to students of the Qur’an but of the Bible, religious studies and Islamic history.
Introduction: Listening to the Text 1. The Crisis of Qur’anic Studies. Excursus: Regarding the Dates of Jewish and Christian Texts 2. Qur’anic Case Studies 3. Qur’an and Tafsir 4. Reading the Qur’an as Homily
"This is a serious and well-argued book, it presents a powerful thesis which if it is true will have important implications for how we study the Qur'an. It is consistent throughout and the author's use of sources is invariably judicious and intelligent." - Oliver Leanman, Department of Philosophy, University of Kentucky, USA; Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies Spring 2011: Vol. IV No.2
Gabriel Said Reynolds is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Theology at the University of Notre Dame (USA). He works on Qur’ānic Studies and Muslim-Christian Relations and is the author of A Muslim Theologian in the Sectarian Milieu , the translator of ‘Abd al-Jabbār’s A Critique of Christian Origins , and the editor of The Qur’ān in Its Historical Context.
The research focused on the systems in Surat Al-Fatihah with clarification of some rhetorical phenomena and interpretation of verses with a grammatical study of the structures of the systems. The ...research dealt with the phenomenon of repetition and attention and the role of conscience, and the impact of the followers in the systems of Surat Al-Fatihah with an analysis of the supplication of praise that opened the surah. Hence, the reason for choosing Surat Al-Fatihah is because it serves as a beginning and an introduction to the Holy Quran. Just as Al-Fatihah includes: the purposes of one surah, the purposes of the entire Holy Qur’an in general, and the purposes of the verses. It also aimed to pay attention to Al-Fatihah. So, the study methodology chose the descriptive analytical approach based on analysis and comparison, and the study steps focused on repetition and its role in the Qur’an systems, the formulation of the supplication of praise and the followers in the cohesion of the systems and attention in Surat Al-Fatihah.
This is a descriptive, stylistic, linguistic study that addresses nominal predication from a new perspective that seeks to reveal the logical causative relationship between the nominal subject ...(ạl̊mub̊tadāủ) and the nominal predicate) ạl̊kẖabaru( in the nominal predication. The study is meant to identify the types of nominal structures that express causative meaning from other nominal predications. This study is unique in the sense that it follows and enumerates the structural forms of nominal subject (ạl̊mub̊tadāủ) and the nominal predicate (ạl̊kẖabaru) in Madni Qur'an. It is concerned with extrapolating the rich semantic meanings in them, defining the deep stylistic functions that explain the levels of structures according to the verbal and semantic context, and according to the status of the recipient and his willingness to receive the discourse with approval, doubt or denial, identifying the regular synthetic means that goes with the original rule or digresses from it by deletion, precedence and deferment and the resulting aesthetic effect and other various semantical rules.
