Editors

• Angelika Neuwirth is Professor of Arabic Studies at the Freie University, Berlin
• Michael Sells is Professor of Islamic History and Literature, University of Chicago

Presentation

Qur’anic Studies Today brings together thirteen specialists in the field of Islamic studies to provide a range of essays that reflect the depth and breadth of scholarship on the Qur’an.

The volume analyses different aspects of the interactions between the Qur’an and other religious texts over the course of history. It features essays that probe certain Qur’anic figures or themes cross-textually within the Qur’an, such as an exploration of Qur’anic allusions to the wife of Lot, or an analysis of the Jonah narratives. Other essays focus on particular suras, such as a reading of Suras 10-15 as reflecting a moment of crisis in the career of the Prophet. The volume also offers extended discussions of extra-Qur’anic materials, including classical Arabic poetry, the bible and late antique Syriac source.

Together, these strong, scholarly examinations of the Qur’an combine theoretical and methodological clarity with close readings of Qur’anic texts. As such, they are a valuable resource for students and scholars of Islamic and Qur’anic studies.

Content

Introduction

• 1 Wansbrough, Bultmann and the Theory of Variant Traditions in the Qur’an – Devin Stewart
• 2 Lot’s Wife: Late Antique Paradigms of Sense and the Qur’an – Nora Schmid
• 3 The Sign of Jonah: Transformations and Interpretations of the Jonah story in the Qur’an – Hannalies Koloska
• 4 Divine Wrath in Qur’anic Texts: Different Approaches for Forming the Enemy – Issam Eido
• 5 Reinterpreting the Qur’anic Criticism of Other Religions – Mun’im Sirry
• 6 End of Hope: Suras 10-15, Despair and a Way out of Mecca – Walid Saleh
• 7 Taha 1-79: An English Rendition & Cast: A Close Reading of Surat Taha 9-79
• 8 Qur’anic Studies and Historical-Critical Philology: The Qur’an’s Staging, Penetrating and Eclipsing of Biblical Tradition - Angelika Neuwirth
• 9 Textual and Paratextual meaning in the Recited Qur’an: Analysis of performance of Surat al-Furqan by Sheikh Mishari Rashid Alafasy – Lauren Osborne
• 10 The Qur’an’s Theopoetic Manifesto – Ghassan Masri
• 11 The Sunnah of Our Messengers: The Qur’an’s Paradigm for Messengers and Prophets: A Reading of Surat ash-Shu’ara – Sidney Griffith
• 12 The Qur’an between Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism
• 13 From Clerical to Scriptural Authority: The Qur’an ‘s Dialogue with the Syriac New Testament - Emran Elbadawy