A Humanistic Interpretation of the Qur'an?

American Journal of Islam and Society

With The Blackwell Companion to the Qur’an,Andrew Rippin, an illustriousscholar in the field of Qur’anic studies, presents yet another impressivecontribution to previous collections of articles on the Qur’an that he hasedited: Approaches to the History of the Interpretation of the Qur’an (OxfordUniversity Press: 1988); The Qur’an: Formative Interpretations (Variorum: 1999); and, with Khaleel Mohammed, Coming to Terms with the Qur’an: AVolume in Honor of Issa Boullata (Islamic Publications International: 2008),just to name a few. Gathering the works of scholars from leading universitiesthroughout the world, Rippin has constructed a volume that is designednot only for the general reader “who may have little exposure to the Qur’anbeyond a curiosity evoked by the popular media” (p. x), but also to scholarsspecializing in the Qur’an. The overall aim of this large volume, which comprisesthirty-two articles, is to guide the reader to “a well-advanced state ofunderstanding the complexities ...

Muslim World, 2018

The book under review, The Qur'an (Norton Critical Editions), hereafter referred to as The Norton Qur'an, marks a new highwater mark in efforts to explore Qur'anic scholarship, and to offer fresh insight into the levels of meaning of the Qur'an itself. The author, Jane McAuliffe, is one of the leading North American authorities on all branches of Qur'anic interpretation, as evidenced by her editorial work on The Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an (Leiden: 2001-6), and Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an (Cambridge: 2006). The centerpiece of The Norton Qur'an is a revised, updated version of the 1930 rendition by Marmaduke Pickthall: The Meaning of the Glorious Koran, regarded by many as the best available English translation of the Qur'an, despite its several competitors, to be discussed below. But what exceptionalizes The Norton Qur'an is the cornucopia of original essays-at once provocative and productive-that are included as the template within which to consult McAuliffe's revised rendition of Pickthall. They are arrayed as four supplements. Supplement 1 explores Origins in two subsets: Muhammad and the narrative matrix of the Qur'an. Supplement 2 offers Interpretations and Analysis, in five subsets: classical and modern commentary, intellectual amplification, the spectrum of contemporary scholarship, literary studies, and finally Qur'an and Bible. Even more far reaching is Supplement 3, where the reader is challenged to absorb Sounds, Sights, and Remedies within a Qur'anic worldview marked by 3 subsets: learning, reciting, and memorizing; pharmacology and fortune-telling; manuscripts, monuments and material culture. The final, and shortest, Supplement 4 looks at The Qur'an in America, from two perspectives, a 19 th century slave account and a recent book on Thomas Jefferson's Qur'an, the 18 th century rendition of Englishman George Sale, The Koran (1764). The myriad details, and acute analysis, of these several essays should not distract the reader from their underlying, and guiding, principle: in the long history of Qur'an interpretation, spanning centuries, continents and languages, there have emerged two paral

This is the SUMMARY of my Iqbal Memorial Lecture delivered at The Dept. of Philosophy, University of the Punjab Lahore Pakistan on December 1st, 2023. This is Part-1 of my research on this subject. Part-2 will be published on Academia.edu soon. Title of this

Bulletin of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, 2003

“Re-interpreting the Qurʾān in the 21st century”, special issue edited by R.T., Religions, 12(8) (2021), https://www.mdpi.com/journal/religions/special_issues/21quran with introduction by R.T. (https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/2/134/htm, 5 p.).

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution

2018

This paper is concerned with the Qurʾānic methodology of Al-waḥda al-bināʾiyya li-l-Qurʾān and its impact in the arena of religious sciences and beyond. I provide a concise overview of the classical and contemporary debates concerning the genealogy of this method, including examples and a brief analysis of the works of a number of modern scholars who have contributed to the development of this methodology. Approaching the Qurʾān as a unitary structure, as a consistent hermeneutic, contributes to our understanding of critical issues not only in the Qurʾān and Sunna, but also in other religious disciplines, such as Islamic law. More importantly, I argue that this method provides an important hermeneutic resolution to critical debates surrounding Islam’s moral and ethical framework. I conclude by stressing that Al-waḥda al-bināʾiyya li-lQurʾān is essential for enhancing religious scholarship in general and for advancing the spheres where Islamic knowledge is applied.

A brief history of the development of the modern Islamic concept of the eternality of the Qur'an in light of tawhid and its development from Mu'tazilite and Ash'arite theology. A defense of the Christian view of the Bible as the eternal Word of God in light of the trinity.

Journal of the American Oriental Society

The Qur’an: A Historical-Critical Introduction. By Nicolai Sinai. The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2017. Pp. viii + 242. £90 (cloth); £24.99 (paper).

Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations, 2023

The present article is constructed as an argument for Islamic humanist hermeneutics. In the first part of the article, I propose a more comprehensive, multidimensional definition than has previously been set out of 'humanist hermeneutics', i.e. any theory and methodology of interpretation that recognizes and asserts the inherent presence of the human factor and/or limitation of human comprehension on any part of the following levels: the source of the revelation, the process of the revelation, the product of the revelation, and the interpretation of the qur'anic text. In the second part of the article, I explore the nature of humanist hermeneutics, offering a condensed explanation of its main characteristics. The whole article brings into discussion the interdependency that exists between theories of revelation and the epistemologies that determine various types of hermeneutics.

American journal of Islam and society, 2009

just to name a few. Gathering the works of scholars from leading universities throughout the world, Rippin has constructed a volume that is designed not only for the general reader "who may have little exposure to the Qur'an beyond a curiosity evoked by the popular media" (p. x), but also to scholars specializing in the Qur'an. The overall aim of this large volume, which comprises thirty-two articles, is to guide the reader to "a well-advanced state of understanding the complexities of the text and its associated traditions" (ibid). The journal's book review editor generously allowed me to scrutinize the book for three semesters. Thus, I had the chance to check the relevancy of its contents for my students in several undergraduate ("Introduction to the Religion of Islam," "Readings in the Qur'an," and "Qur'an Exegesis") and graduate ("Modern Approaches to Qur'an Interpretation") courses. Added to this is my professional interest in more than a few of the articles as a researcher of Islamic theology. Hence, this review aims, first and foremost, to evaluate this volume's value for teachers and students as well as its merit for scholars and specialists. The book comprises five parts. The first, "Orientation," introduces the Qur'an and the complex relationship between the text and its reader. Tamara Sonn's "Introducing" is a very good overview of the text, its names, structure, history, themes, and interpretation. Describing the Qur'an's relationship with other scriptures, its role in ritual, art, and the making of Islamic law, this article is best for undergraduates. Christopher Buck's "Discovering" applies the terminology of literary criticism on different readings of the Qur'an (i.e., inside-outside readings and religious-secular readings). His article is a useful springboard for leading a discussion on the difference between reading the Qur'an as an object of literary research and criticism and reading it as a revealed scripture. Abdullah Saeed's "Contextualizing" is an excellent introduction to the method of reading the Qur'an within its historical context. For graduate students struggling with Fazlur Rahman's (d. 1988) writings on the subject, Saeed's article provides a smooth entrance to the world of contextualization. The second part, "Text," deals with different aspects of the Qur'anic text: its structure and language, textual and contextual readings, the development of the written text, and even the influence of prominent figures on its content. In "Linguistic Structure," Salwa M. S. El-Awa deals with the problem of the apparent discursive style of the Qur'an, and especially with the distinctly loose structure of the longer suwar (sing. surah, chapters). While

Review of “The Qur’ān: What Everyone Needs to Know®”, 2021

This is an Accepted Manuscript (AM) of an article published by Taylor & Francis in the Journal of Religious & Theological Information on March 31, 202, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10477845.2021.1904371