Understanding the Qur'an: Themes and Style

by Muhammad Abdel Haleem

Overview

The tenets of Islam cannot be grasped without a proper understanding of the Qur'an. In this important new introduction, Muhammad Haleem examines its recurrent themes - life and eternity, marriage and divorce, peace and war, water and nourishment - and for the first time sets these in the context of the Qur'an's linguistic style. Professor Haleem examines the background to the development of the surahs (chapters) and the ayahs (verses) and the construction of the Qur'an itself. He shows that popular conceptions of Islamic attitudes to women, marriage and divorce, war and society, differ radically from the true teachings of the Qur'an.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781845117894
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/15/2010
Series:	London Qur'an Studies
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Muhammad Abdel Haleem, OBE, is King Fahd Professor of Islamic Studies at SOAS, University of London, UK. He is a world-leading authority on the Qur'an and the author of a highly-regarded English translation (2004-2016) in addition to Understanding the Qur'an: Themes and Style (I.B.Tauris, 1999) and Exploring the Qur'an: Context and Impact (I.B.Tauris, 2017). He is currently Editor of the Journal of Qur'anic Studies.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

1 The Qur'an 1

2 Al-Fatiha: The Opening of the Qur'an 15

3 Water in the Qur'an 31

4 Marriage and Divorce 44

5 War and Peace in the Qur'an 61

6 Tolerance in Islam 73

7 Life and Beyond 84

8 Paradise in the Qur'an 96

9 The Face, Divine and Human, in the Qur'an 110

10 Adam and Eve in the Qur'an and the Bible 126

11 The Story of Joseph in the Qur'an and the Bible 141

12 The Qur'an Explains Itself: Surat al-Rahman 161

13 Dynamic Style: Iltifat and Some Other Features 187

Conclusion 215

Notes 217

Index 231

Editorial Reviews

Both for students and for general readers interested in the foundation of Islam, Haleem (Islamic studies, U. of London) explores the document's major recurring themes of life and eternity, marriage and divorce, peace and war, and water and its symbolism, and places them within the context of the linguistic style. He also shows how the Judaic and Christian traditions, as reflected in the Bible, compare to Qur'anic approaches to similar themes. Assumes no knowledge of Arabic. Distributed in the US by St. Martin's Press. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

Booknews

[It] has a breadth of reading and attention to style that readers will welcome...Chapters on such topics as women, Adam and Eve, the afterlife and war and peace articulately present ways in which contemporary Muslims understand their scriptures. Choice

...in the present reviewer's view, is the most interesting and illustrative of qur'anic themes and style...
-Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations

From the Publisher