Table of Contents

List of figures; Notes on contributors; Introduction Jane Dammen McAuliffe; Part I. Formation of the Qur'ānic Text: 1. The historical context Fred M. Donner; 2. Creation of a fixed text Claude Gilliot; 3. Alternative accounts of the Qur'ān's formation Harald Motzki; Part II. Description and Analysis: 4. Themes and topics Daniel A. Madigan; 5. Structural, linguistic and literary features Angelika Neuwirth; 6. Recitation and aesthetic reception William A. Graham and Navid Kermani; Part III. Transmission and Dissemination: 7. From palm leaves to the Internet Fred Leemhuis; 8. Inscriptions in art and architecture Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom; Part IV. Interpretations and Intellectual Traditions: 9. The tasks and traditions of interpretation Jane Dammen Mcauliffe; 10. Multiple areas of influence Alexander Knysh; 11. Western scholarship and the Qur'ān Andrew Rippin; Part V. Contemporary Readings: 12. Women's readings of the Qur'ān Asma Barlas; 13. Political interpretation of the Qur'ān Stefan Wild; 14. The Qur'ān and other religions Abdulaziz Sachedina; Qur'ān citation index; General index.

Promotional Information

An introduction to the Qur'an (Koran), a text that has guided the lives of millions.

About the Author

Jane Dammen McAuliffe is Professor in the Departments of History and Arabic and Dean of Arts and Sciences at Georgetown University. Her numerous publications have focused primarily on the Qur'an, on early Islamic history and on the multiple relations between Islam and Christianity. Her books include Qur'anic Christians: An Analysis of Classical and Modern Exegesis (1991), and With Reverence for the Word: Medieval Scriptural Exegesis in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (2003), and she has edited the five-volume Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an (2001–2006),

Reviews

'This collection of essays, lucidly written and edited, will provide an indispensable resource for students, teachers, and scholars in Qur'anic studies and for anyone looking for an overview of past and present controversies in interpreting the Qur'an.' Michael Sells, John Henry Barrows Professor of Islamic History and Literature in the Divinity School, University of Chicago