Oxford Handbook of Qur''anic Studies

The Handbook considers the state of Qur'anic studies; historical setting; textual transmission and codification; structural and literary features; content and concepts; applied discourses; and Qur'anic interpretation.

List of contents

• Introduction


• Part I: The State of Qur'anic Studies


• 1: Andrew Rippin: Academic Scholarship and the Qur'an


• 2: Oliver Leaman: Modern Developments in Qur'anic Studies


• 3: Herbert Berg: Islamic Origins and the Qur'an


• 4: Anna Akasoy: Qur'anic Studies: Bibliographical Survey


• Part II: The Historical Setting of the Qur'an


• 5: Muntasir F. al-Hamad and John F. Healey: Late Antique Near Eastern Context: Social and Religious Aspects


• 6: Harry Munt: Arabian Context of the Qur'an: History and the Text


• 7: Ahmad Al-Jallad: The Linguistic Landscape of pre-Islamic Arabia: Context for the Qur'an


• 8: Marianna Klar: Qur'anic Exempla and Late Antique Narratives


• 9: Reuven Firestone: The Qur'an and Judaism


• 10: Neal Robinson: The Qur'an and Christianity


• Part III: The Qur'an: Textual Transmission, Codification, Manuscripts, Inscriptions and Printed Editions


• 11: François Déroche: The Manuscript and Archaeological Traditions: Physical Evidence


• 12: Yasin Dutton: The Form of the Qur'an: Historical Contours


• 13: Mustafa Shah: The Corpus of Qur'anic Readings (qir¿¿¿t): History, Synthesis and Authentication


• 14: Sheila S. Blair: Glorifying God's Word: Manuscripts of the Qur'an


• 15: Sheila S. Blair: Inscribing God's Word: Qur'anic Texts on Architecture, Objects, and Other Solid Supports


• 16: Efim A. Rezvan: A History of Printed Editions of the Qur'an


• Part IV: Structural and Literary Dimensions of the Qur'an


• 17: A. H. Mathias Zahniser: Language of the Qur'an


• 18: Mustafa Shah: Vocabulary of the Qur'an: Meaning in Context


• 19: Michel Cuypers: Qur'anic Syntax


• 20: Muhammad Abdel Haleem: Rhetorical Devices and Stylistic Features of Qur'anic Grammar


• 21: Nicolai Sinai: Inner-Qur'anic Chronology


• 22: Mustansir Mir: The Structure of the Qur'an: The Inner Dynamic of the Sura


• 23: Ayman A. El-Desouky: Discussions of Qur'anic Inimitability: The Theological Nexus


• 24: Geert Jan van Gelder: The Qur'an and the Arabic Medieval Literary Tradition


• 25: Stefan Sperl: The Qur'an and Arabic Poetry


• Part V: Topics and Themes of the Qur'an


• 26: Ulrika Mårtensson: Revelation and Prophecy in the Qur'an


• 27: Stephen Burge: Doctrine and Dogma in the Qur'an


• 28: Joseph Lowry: Law and the Qur'an


• 29: Ebrahim Moosa: Qur'anic Ethics


• 30: Sebastian Günther: Eschatology and the Qur'an


• 31: Anthony H. Johns: Prophets and Personalities of the Qur'an


• 32: Stefan Wild: Politics and the Qur'an


• 33: Asma Afsaruddin: Jihad and the Qur'an: Classical and Modern Interpretations


• 34: Asma Afsaruddin: Women and the Qur'an


• Part VI: The Qur an in Context: Translation and Culture


• 35: Ziad Elmarsafy: Translations of the Qur'an: Western Languages


• 36: M. Brett Wilson: Translations of the Qur'an: Islamicate Languages


• 37: Muhammad Abdel Haleem: Presenting the Qur'an Out of Context


• 38: Bruce Lawrence: Popular Culture and the Qur'an: Classical and Modern Contexts


• 39: Jeffrey Einboden: The Western Literary Tradition and the Qur'an: an Overview


• Part VII: Qur anic Interpretation: Scholarship and Literature of Early, Classical, and Modern Exegesis


• 40: Andrew Rippin: Early Qur'anic Commentaries


• 41: Maher Jarrar: Exegetical Designs of the S¿ra: Tafs¿r and S¿ra


• 42: Kees Versteegh: Early Qur'anic Exegesis: From Textual Interpretation to Linguistic Analysis


• 43: Ulrika Mårtensson: Early Medieval Tafs¿r (Third/Ninth to the Fifth/Eleventh Century)


• 44: Walid A. Saleh: Medieval Exegesis: The Golden Age of Tafs¿r


• 45: Roberto Tottoli: The Corpora of Isr¿¿¿liyy¿t


• 46: Walid A. Saleh: Contemporary Tafs¿r: The Rise of Scriptural Theology


• Part VIII: Qur anic Exegesis: Discourses, Formats, and Hermeneutics


• 47: Sajjad Rizvi: Twelver Sh¿¿¿ Exegesis


• 48: Ismail Poonawala: Ism¿¿¿l¿ Scholarship on Tafs¿r


• 49: Valerie J. Hoffman and Sulaiman bin Ali bin Ameir Al-Shueili: Ib¿d¿¿ Tafs¿r Literature


• 50: Alexander Knysh: Sufi Commentary: Formative and Later Periods


• 51: Tariq Jaffer: Theological Commentaries


• 52: Jules Janssens: Philosophical Commentaries


• 53: Kamal Abu-Deeb: Aesthetically Oriented Interpretations of the Qur'an


• 54: Robert Morrison: Tafs¿r and Science


• 55: Johanna Pink: Classical Qur'anic Hermeneutics


• 56: Martin Nguyen: Sunn¿ Hermeneutical Literature


• 57: Massimo Campinini: Modern Qur'anic Hermeneutics: Strategies and Development


• Index of Qur'an Verses


• Index of Bible References


• Index of Hadith Citations


• Index of Places


• Index of People

About the author

Mustafa Shah studied for his BA in Arabic with Linguistics at SOAS. He later completed his PhD in Islamic Studies with a thesis entitled Religious Orthodoxy and the Development of Arabic Linguistic Thought in 1997. He was appointed a lecturer in Islamic Studies at SOAS in 2002, having previously taught in the Department of Religions and the Near and Middle East Department. He is the editor of Tafsīr: Interpreting the Qur'an (Routledge, 2012) and The Haḍīth: Articulating the Beliefs and Constructs of Classical Islam (Routledge, 2009).

Muhammad Abdel Haleem was born in Egypt, and learned the Qur'an by heart from childhood. Educated at al-Azhar, Cairo, and Cambridge Universities, he has taught Arabic and Islamic Studies at Cambridge and London Universities since 1966, including courses in advanced translation and the Qur'an. He is now Professor of Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His publications include Understanding the Qur'an: Themes and Style (I. B. Tauris, 2010) and Sharīʿa and the Concept of Benefit: The Use and Function of Maṣlaḥa in Islamic Jurisprudence (I. B. Tauris, 2015).

Summary

Traditionally revered as the literal word of God, the Qur’an serves as Islam’s sacred book of revelation. Accordingly, its statements and pronouncements rest at the core of the beliefs and teachings that have inexorably defined expressions of the Islamic faith. Indeed, over the centuries, engaging with and poring over the contents of the Qur’an inspired an impressive range of traditional scholarship. Notwithstanding its religious pre-eminence, the Qur’an is also considered to be the matchless masterpiece of the Arabic language and its impact as a text can be discerned in all aspects of the Arabic literary tradition. Presenting contributions from leading experts in the field, The Oxford Handbook of Qur’anic Studies offers an authoritative collection of chapters that guide readers through the gamut of themes, subjects, and debates that have dominated the academic study of the Qur’an and its literary heritage. These range from chapters that explore the text’s language, vocabulary, style, and structure, to detailed surveys of its contents, concepts, transmission, literary influence, historical significance, commentary tradition, and even the scholarship devoted to translations. With the aim of serving as an indispensable reference resource, the Handbook assesses the implications of research discourses and discussions shaping the study of the Qur’an today. There exists no single volume devoted to such a broad review of the scholarship on the Qur’an and its rich commentary tradition.

Additional text

This Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies readily brings to mind the earlier multi-volume collection of articles Tafsir (Oxford, Routledge, 2012) edited by the same Mustafa Shah. Common to both works is the Orientalists' sheer wariness of the Qur'ānic text and the Muslim tafsīr tradition. In sum, it is a tendentious work which mainly propagates the agenda of the Revisionist school.

Product details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 07.12.2023
• EAN: 9780198896203
• ISBN: 978-0-19-889620-3
• No. of pages: 944
• Series: Oxford Handbooks
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Other religions; Cultural Studies, comparative religion, RELIGION / Comparative Religion, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / Cultural & Social, RELIGION / Reference, RELIGION / Islam / Koran & Sacred Writings, Criticism and exegesis of sacred texts, The Koran (Qur’an), Criticism & Exegesis Of Sacred Texts, The Koran