Approaches to the Qur'an

by Hawting,G. R.; Hawting,G. R.

• ISBN13: 9780415057554
• ISBN10: 0415057558
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1993-05-10
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The past twenty years have witnessed a renewed academic interest in the Qur'an and its interpretation, focusing on such questions as how the text of the Qur'an achieved its existing form and its status for Muslims as scripture, its role in Islamic culture, and the various methods and approaches which Muslims have used when attempting to elucidate the meaning of their sacred text. In recent years, however, there have been attempts to widen the field of discussion from the Muslim tradition generally used for interpretation, and to experiment with approaches which develop insights gained from historical, biblical, literary critical and other studies. The result is that a variety of approaches to the Qur'an and the Muslim exegetical tradition are currently available.Approaches to the Qur'anconsists of thirteen essays by leading scholars, both Muslim and non-Muslim, in the fields of qur'anic studies and Islamic studies. Taken together, they offer a sample of the aims, methods andtopics of enquiry now being pursued. Each study has a full critical apparatus, and a consolidated bibliography is included which will be of great value to students and specialists.

Table of Contents

Contributors
Foreword
List of abbreviations
Aspects of the style and content of the Qur'an	p. 1
Images and metaphors in the introductory sections of the Makkan suras	p. 3
The quranic presentation of the Joseph story: naturalistic or formulaic language?	p. 37
Context and internal relationships: keys to quranic exegesis	p. 71
Aspects of the traditional and modern exegesis of the Qur'an	p. 99
Tafsir from Tabari to Ibn Kathir: problems in the description of a genre, illustrated with reference to the story of Abraham	p. 101
Exegesis and Hadith: the case of the seven Mathani	p. 141
An analytical survey of al-Tabari's exegesis of the cultural symbolic construct of fitna	p. 157
Akhbari Shi'i approaches to tafsir	p. 173
The sura as a unity: a twentieth century development in Qur'an exegesis	p. 211
Muhammad 'Izzat Darwaza's principles of modern exegesis: a contribution toward quranic hermeneutics	p. 225
The Qur'an and its exegesis in a wider context	p. 247
Interpreting the Bible through the Qur'an	p. 249
Two citations of the Qur'an in 'historical' sources for early Islam	p. 260
Law and exegesis: the penalty for adultery in Islam	p. 269
The impact of the Qur'an on the epistolography of 'Abd al-Hamid	p. 285
Bibliography	p. 314
Index	p. 326
Index of Quranic references	p. 335
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