Table of Contents
Foreword Charles Amjad-Ali xi
Acknowledgments xv
Abbreviations xvi
Introduction 1
"Don't Jump on the 'Jew Bandwagon'"? 1
The Sources of the Quran Disputed? 3
Ban the Quran? 4
Jews, Christians, and Muslims: "People of the Way" 4
The Three Communities of the Way Go Their Separate Ways 8
Muhammad and the Christians of Najrân 9
The Qur'an and the One "Community" 10
Why Should We Read the Three Books Together? 12
I God as a Stranger 13
A Stranger Comes Calling 13
Do Jews, Christians, and Muslims Believe in the Same God? 14
The Silence of God? 16
Moses Was Not a Public Speaker?! 18
God is a Hidden God 19
Gods Hiddenness and Revelation in the Quran 20
God's Name 23
"Water and Fire": "God Lives in the Thorn Bush" 24
The Parable of the Olive Tree 25
Two Names for God in the Psalter 27
Elijah's Confrontation with the Dumb Gods 29
Elijah and the Judgments in the Quran 32
Elijah in Baalbek 33
Elijah and the Gentle Whisper 33
Elijah's Ascension 37
Moses' Encounter with God in the Qur'an and Isaiah on Idolatry 37
Horses and Donkeys 40
Riding on a Young Donkey 41
Visitors Come to Ebenezer Scrooge 42
What does "Visit" Mean in the Bible? 43
Visits in the Qur'an 45
"It's all a parable with a more than earthly mystery" 46
II Abraham Visited by Three Strangers 47
Introduction 47
Gods as Strangers in Classical Literature 49
Odysseus as a Stranger in his Own House 49
Philemon and Baucis Visited by Two Strangers 50
The Stranger in the Torah 52
The Traveler as the Preeminent Stranger (the Qur'an) 54
Hospitality in the Bible and the Qur'an 55
God as the Host 57
Rembrandt and the Three Strangers 58
Abraham with the Three Angels (Marc Chagall) 61
Abraham Shows Hospitality 62
Lot's Story 64
Lot's Hospitality 65
Lot's Hospitality According to the Qur'an 67
Sodom's Destruction Because of Its Lack of Hospitality 67
The Destruction of Cities 71
Moses as a Stranger 73
Abraham as a Stranger-An Example for Jews, Christians, and Muslims 74
III The Language of Canaan and Foreign Tongues 76
Introduction 77
The Biblical ABCs 78
The Language of Canaan in the Prophet Isaiah 78
The Grammar of the Exodus 86
Overcoming the Confusion of Tongues 90
Maimonides and the Language of Canaan Spoken with Pure Lips 92
The Arabs in Northern and Southern Arabia 93
The Grammar of the Hijra 96
Clear Arabic 98
The Good News of the Tanakh, the Gospel, and the Qur'an 101
The Good News Has One Language 103
IV Foreign Powers and Religion 105
"The French 9/11" 105
"The Psalm against Fear" 106
Wise Men and Fools 107
The Human Being: Caliph or King 108
"I'm an Atheist" 111
No Separation of Church and State? 112
"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's" 113
"Bring me a denarius" 116
"Give to God what is God's" 120
Islam-Religion and State in One? 121
God's Religion 122
Abraham's Religion 124
V The Foreign King 128
Introduction 128
The Man Born to Be King 129
Joseph as a Stranger in a Strange Land 131
The "Joseph Drama" in the Qur'an 132
The Joseph Cycle in the Bible: His Dream and the Dreams 134
"God intended it for good" 136
The Nature of Joseph's Kingship 138
Joseph as the Interpreter of Dreams in the Qur'an 140
Jacob and his Two Sons Joseph and Benjamin in the Qur'an 142
Josephs Shirt 145
Human Guile and Divine Guile in the Story of Joseph 147
Joseph as a Role Model for the Prophet Muhammad 151
Muhammad and Dreams 151
The Nightly Journey 152
The Moment of Truth (The Battle of Badr) 153
The Dream of Victory 155
VI The Desert and the City 157
Introduction 157
Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert and at the Wells (Beersheba and Mecca) 158
Ishmael in the Desert: Paran and Mecca 162
Abrahams Prayer for the Dedication of the Ka'ba 163
The Theophanies on Three Mountains 164
The Lessons of the Cities that Have Been Destroyed 166
The Parable of the Arrogant Rich Man 169
The Unbelieving City 171
The Fate of the Cities 172
The City 174
The Macrocosm of the City and the Microcosm of the Human Being 180
Living Together in the One Community 180
VII Humankinds Journey in the Wilderness 183
The Beginning of History: Cain and Abel 183
Cainites or Kenites? 185
Moses in the Desert 187
The Journey in the Desert as a Life Journey 188
The Three Masks of Cain 189
The Mask of Pharaoh: The Arrogance of Power 189
Human Arrogance 191
The Mask of Korah (Qârûn): "Money Rules the World" 193
The Mask of Balaam: The Spin Doctor 195
Political Satire 196
Two Talking Animals: The Serpent and the Donkey 197
Balaam in the Time of the Roman Empire 199
Serving the Beast 204
Food for On the Way 207
The Promised City, the Promised Land, the Promised World 209
Bibliography 211
Subject Index 221
Bibliography 231
