Hasan (Abla), On Pain and Suffering: A Qur’anic Perspective, Pref. Jonathan E. Brockopp, ("Lexington Studies in Classical and Modern Islamic Thought"), 2021, 213 p. ISBN 978-1-7936-5005-4

Author

Abla Hasan is associate professor of practice of Arabic language and culture at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Presentation

Driven by a detailed hermeneutical investigation of the Qur’anic story of creation, this book questions the hybrid Biblical/Qur’anic narrative that gradually erased the lines that define the authentic Qur’anic account. Abla Hasan argues that humanity’s divine status is the bedrock from which to investigate the meaning of human religiosity and address the problem of pain and suffering. The detailed analysis in this book answers many linguistic and logical pending questions in the Qur’an and is a serious departure from popular Muslim narratives that seek to alleviate our pain and suffering.

Table of contents

1 Rethinking the Beginning of the Journey: An Earthly Dwelling, Not Exile

2 The Divine Assignment: The Divine on Earth

3 Rethinking the Divine Status of Humans: A Key to Solving the Problem of Evil

4 Rethinking the End of the Journey: Reevaluating Islamic Apocalyptic Literature