Literary Structures of Religious Meaning in the Qur'ān


Book Description

This text examines the literary elements in the Qur'an and analyses how they function in conveying its religious message effectively.




Literary Structures of Religious Meaning in the Qu'ran


Book Description

This volume studies how the literary elements in the Qur'an function in conveying its religious message effectively. It is divided into three parts. Part one includes studies of the whole Qur'an or large segments of it belonging to one historical period of its revelation; these studies concentrate on the analysis of its language, its style, its structural composition, its aesthetic characteristics, its rhetorical devices, its imagery, and the impact of these elements and their significance. Part two includes studies on individual suras of the Qur'an, each of which focuses on the sura's literary elements and how they produce meaning; each also explores the structure of this meaning and the coherence of its effect. Part three includes studies on Muslim appreciations of the literary aspects of the Qur'an in past generations and shows how modern linguistic, semantic, semiotic, and literary scholarship can add to their contributions.




Literary Structures of Religious Meaning in the Qu'ran


Book Description

This volume studies how the literary elements in the Qur'an function in conveying its religious message effectively. It is divided into three parts. Part one includes studies of the whole Qur'an or large segments of it belonging to one historical period of its revelation; these studies concentrate on the analysis of its language, its style, its structural composition, its aesthetic characteristics, its rhetorical devices, its imagery, and the impact of these elements and their significance. Part two includes studies on individual suras of the Qur'an, each of which focuses on the sura's literary elements and how they produce meaning; each also explores the structure of this meaning and the coherence of its effect. Part three includes studies on Muslim appreciations of the literary aspects of the Qur'an in past generations and shows how modern linguistic, semantic, semiotic, and literary scholarship can add to their contributions.




God is Beautiful


Book Description

The melodious recitation of the Quran is a fundamental aesthetic experience for Muslims, and the start of a compelling journey of ideas. In this important new book, the prominent German writer and Islamic scholar Navid Kermani considers the manner in which the Quran has been perceived, apprehended and experienced by its recipients from the time of the Prophet to the present day. Drawing on a wide range of Muslim sources, from historians, theologians and philosophers to mystics and literary scholars, Kermani provides a close reading of the nature of this powerful text. He proceeds to analyze ancient and modern testimonies about the impact of Quranic language from a variety of angles. Although people have always reflected on the reception of texts, images and sounds that they find beautiful or moving, Kermani explains that Islam provides a particularly striking example of the close correlation, grounded in a common origin, between art and religion, revelation and poetry, and religious and aesthetic experience. This major new book will enhance the dialogue between Islam and the West and will appeal to students and scholars of Islam and comparative religion, as well as to a wider readership interested in Islam and the Quran.




Marked Word Order in the Qurān and its English Translations


Book Description

The literature on Balaghah (the art of Arabic eloquence) and commentaries on the Qurān stress that the style of the Qurān is beautiful, eloquent and inimitable. This literature identifies word order as one of the most distinctive aspects of Qurānic style. One of the main reasons for this is that, compared to English, Arabic has fewer restrictions on word order, thanks to its elaborate verb inflection system and case marking. This flexibility allows for the foregrounding of some elements within the sentence, resulting in a marked (or non-canonical) word order and fulfilling certain discursive functions, including specification, restriction, emphasis, amplification/ glorification, and denial. Marked word order is used to highlight or downplay certain elements in speech or writing. It constitutes one way of delivering meanings to the addressee, as these meanings are ordered in the mind of the speaker in terms of their importance, making the style a precise reflection of the speaker’s mind and feelings. This book is a descriptive study which attempts to examine how translations of the Qurān have handled āyahs (verses of the Qurān) that feature lexical foregrounding, focusing on ten published translations into English, carried out by translators from different ideological and linguistic backgrounds. It offers a systematic comparison of the ways in which the selected translators deal with the linguistic feature of word order variation, and examines issues relating to the translator’s style. Specifically, the book identifies and examines the following: instances of marked word order discussed by commentators on the Qurān, and the function served by each case of lexical foregrounding; secondly, the options and/or patterns employed by translators to render the different functions of marked word order; thirdly, the recurrent options and/or patterns for rendering different types of word order variation. Finally, the book explores the factors which may have influenced the choice of particular strategies by different translators, including the translators’ motivations and the various historical contexts in which the translations were made.




QURAN AND THE CROSS


Book Description




Spiritual Dimensions of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi's Risale-I Nur


Book Description

The Nur community is one of the most significant religious and social movements in contemporary Turkey, with millions of adherents and a strong institutional and educational system throughout the country. This volume presents a picture of its spiritual dimensions by focusing on the ideas of its founder, Turkish theologian Bediuzzaman Said Nursi (1877-1960). Prominent scholars in contemporary Islamic studies and comparative spirituality examine the various facets of Nursi's spirituality as revealed in his magnum opus, Risale-i Nur, which began to take shape in the 1920s and is considered Nursi's deep reflection on the Qur'an in light of rapidly changing conditions in Turkey. Nursi argued that Islam must be organically linked to empire in order to preserve its identity in the modern era, fostering a spiritual tradition that has steadfastly survived the secular project of Kemalism. Book jacket.




The Qur'an


Book Description

There is much more to the Qur'an than the selective quotations favoured by Islamic fundamentalists. This book provides a student-friendly guide to the many ways in which the Qur'an can be read. Designed for both Muslims and Western non-Muslim students, it examines the Qur'an in Western scholarship as well as giving an overview of the rich interpretive traditions from the time of the Prophet Muhammad to the present day. This guide is a concise introduction to all aspects of the Qur'an: history, understanding and interpretation, providing:coverage of both pre-modern.




Qur'ānic Studies Today


Book Description

Qur'ānic Studies Today brings together specialists in the field of Islamic studies to provide a range of essays that reflect the depth and breadth of scholarship on the Qur'ān. Combining theoretical and methodological clarity with close readings of qur’ānic texts, these contributions provide close analysis of specific passages, themes, and issues within the Qurʾān, even as they attend to the disciplinary challenges within the field of qur’ānic studies today. Chapters are arranged into three parts, treating specific figures appearing in the Qurʾān, analysing particular suras, and finally reflecting on the Qur’ān and its "others." They explore the internal dimensions and interior chronology of the Qur’ān as text, its possible conversations with biblical and non-biblical traditions in Late Antiquity, and its role as scripture in modern exegesis and recitation. Together, they are indispensable for students and scholars who seek an understanding of the Qur’ān founded on the most recent scholarly achievements. Offering both a reflection of and a reflection on the discipline of qur’ānic studies, the strong, scholarly examinations of the Qur’ān in this volume provide a valuable contribution to Islamic and qur’ānic studies.




Conciliation in the Qurʾan


Book Description

Conciliation in the Qurʾan addresses an existing imbalanced focus in Islamic Studies on conflict in the Qurʾan, and moves beyond a restrictive approach to ṣulḥ (reconciliation) as a mediation process in fragmented social contexts. The book offers a critical analysis of conciliation as a holistic concept in the Qurʾan, providing linguistic and structural insight based on the renowned pre-modern Arabic exegesis of Al-Rāzī (d. 1209) and the under-studied contemporary Urdu exegesis of Iṣlāḥī (d. 1997). This ambitious thematic study of the entire Qurʾan includes an innovative examination of the central ethical notion of iḥsān (gracious conduct), and a challenging discussion of notorious passages relating to conflict. The author offers solutions to unresolved issues such as the significance of the notion of iṣlāḥ (order), the relationship between conciliation and justice, and the structural and thematic significance of Q.48 (Sūrat Al-Fatḥ) and Q.49 (Sūrat Al-Ḥujurāt). Conciliation in the Qurʾan offers a compelling argument for the prevalence of conciliation in the Islamic scripture, and will be an essential read for practitioners in Islamic studies, community integration, conflict-resolution, interfaith dialogue and social justice.