The Story of the Qur'an E-Book

Ingrid Mattson

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 557

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

This popular introduction by a well-known Islamic scholar has been updated and expanded, offering a balanced portrayal of the Qur’an and its place in historic and contemporary Muslim society.

• Features new sections on the Qur’an and its relationship to democracy, science, human rights, and the role of women
• Contains expanded sections on the Qur’an in the life cycle of Muslims, and in Islamic ethics and law
• Incorporates additional images and student features, including a glossary.
• Supported by an accompanying website (available on publication) hosting a range of additional material, including student resources, links to important websites, news stories, and more
• This title is also available as an eTextbook on the CourseSmart platform, as a Wiley Desktop Edition, or via your preferred eTextbook vendor; eTextbooks offer convenience, enhanced electronic functionality, and flexible pricing options – learn more at www.wiley.com/college/wileyflex

Leseprobe

EXTENDED CONTENTS

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO THE SECOND EDITION

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

Citing the Qur’an

Arabic Transliteration

Dates

1 GOD SPEAKS TO HUMANITY

God Hears and Responds

Defining the Qur’an

Ancient Origins of the Meccan Sanctuary

The Arabian Context

The Arabic Language

The Jahiliyya: A Time of Lawlessness and Immorality

The Early Life of Muhammad

Muhammad as the Messenger of God

2 THE PROPHET CONVEYS THE MESSAGE

Historicizing the Qur’an

The Medium and the Message

God Is One

Moral Conduct and Its Ultimate Consequences

Servants of God

Persecution of Believers Past and Present

Establishing a Viable State and a Just Political Order

Building Community

A Door to Heaven Is Closed

3 THE VOICE AND THE PEN

A Sacred Pedigree

Recited and Written

The Prophet and the First Collection of the Qur’an

The Early Generations: Regional Schools of Recitation and the Elaboration of the Mushaf

Standardizing the Curriculum

Qur’anic Recitation and Ritual Life

Breaking the Tradition

The Value of Memorization

Transmission of the Qur’an in the Modern Age

Conclusion

4 BLESSED WORDS

The Qur’an as the Word of God

The Qur’an and Sacred Architecture

The Elevation of the Qur’an

Language, Naming, and Common Expressions

Ritual Purity and Purifying Rituals

Death, Mourning, and the Afterlife

5 WHAT GOD REALLY MEANS

Exegesis before Hermeneutics

The Epistemological Challenge

Intertextuality: The Isra’iliyyat

Occasions of Revelation

Understanding the Language of the Qur’an

Relating the Sunna to the Qur’an

Deriving Legal Norms from the Qur’an

Consensus and Diversity in Legal Reasoning

Modernity: Making the Words “Reasonable”

Some Contested Issues

Conclusion

6 CONCLUSION

GLOSSARY

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Studies

Primary Sources in Arabic and in Translation

English Translations of the Qur’an

INDEX OF QUR’ANIC CITATIONS AND REFERENCES

INDEX

Praise for The Story of the Qur’an

“Ingrid Mattson offers fresh, thoughtful, and learned insights into the Qur’an that are rich in scholarly and historical detail, cultural depth and breadth, and personal meaning. This book will enlighten and engage the novice reader as well as those already familiar with the Qur’an. I recommend it as an excellent companion to the study of Islam or the Qur’an itself.” Marcia Hermansen,Loyola University Chicago

“Dr Ingrid Mattson takes her readers, effortlessly, through the Qur’an with her eloquent Zen-like writing style. The book takes its readers on a journey of discovery into Islam’s Holy Scripture. It is an excellent introduction for students of Islam as well as non-academic circles as it touches upon the personal effects of the Qur’an on the believer and its impact on society and culture, at the same time maintaining a historical perspective on its formation.” Khaled Keshk,DePaul University

“In The Story of the Qur’an, Second Edition, Professor Ingrid Mattson achieves a rare synthesis of cutting-edge scholarship and Islamic piety. With the Holy Qu’ran as her guide and lens, Dr Mattson graciously introduces the reader to Islam in all its major facets, from its origins to the present. This valuable book – written by one of the great leaders of North American Islam – should be must-reading for Muslims, Christians, Jews, and all who would understand the Qu’ran and its followers. Recommended for ­university, church, synagogue, and mosque classes and reading groups.” Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky,Jewish Theological Seminary

Related Titles

Islam: A Brief History, second edition by Tamara Sonn

A New Introduction to Islam, by Daniel W. Brown

This second edition first published 2013© 2013 John Wiley & Sons, LtdEdition history: Blackwell Publishing Ltd (1e, 2008)

Wiley-Blackwell is an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, formed by the merger of Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical and Medical business with Blackwell Publishing.

Registered OfficeJohn Wiley & Sons, Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

Editorial Offices350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UKThe Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell.

The right of Ingrid Mattson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mattson, Ingrid, author.The story of the Qur’an : its history and place in Muslim life / Ingrid Mattson. – Second Edition. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-470-67349-2 (pbk.) 1. Koran–Theology. 2. Koran–History. 3. Koran–Criticism, interpretation, etc. 4. Koran–Theology. 5. Koran–History. 6. Koran–Criticism, ­interpretation, etc. I. Title. BP132.M39 2013 297.1′2261–dc23

2012042779

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Cover image: Sheikh Lotf Allah Mosque, Isfahan. © tunart / iStockphotoCover design by Nicki Averill

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS TO THE SECOND EDITION

The second edition of this book includes corrections to printing errors, misstatements of fact, infelicities of style, and missing citations in the first edition. This revised edition also includes additional discussion on suffering, death, mourning, and the afterlife as well as an expanded discussion of various hermeneutical approaches to the Qur’ an and controversial legal issues.

I am grateful to all those readers and reviewers whose comments on the first edition helped me improve the book. Special thanks are due to Professor Shawkat Toorawa for his extensive corrections and to HRH Ghazi Bin Muhammad for his valuable suggestions. I am greatly appreciative of Rebecca Harkin, my publisher at Wiley-Blackwell, who requested the ­second edition and who has always been responsive to my concerns and inquiries.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

I chose to write this book after teaching an introductory, graduate-level course on the Qur’an at Hartford Seminary for a number of years. To that end, it reflects my interest in having an academically grounded but accessible introduction to the Qur’an. I have tried not to burden the general educated reader with too many specialized terms and concepts. At the same time, by referencing a number of important Islamic thinkers and providing annotations to specialized research, I have sought to make this book a starting point for those interested in a deeper study of the Qur’an and Islam. I have included both English-language studies and original Arabic sources in the Bibliography. When available, I have referred to English-language translations of Arabic sources to facilitate further study by a broader readership.

In many ways, this book reflects my personal perspective on the Qur’an. In an introductory work like this, the author can select only a small number of Qur’anic verses to discuss, refer to only a fraction of the important Muslim thinkers and writers in this field, and highlight only a handful of significant historical incidents and cultural developments. At the same time, the reader might notice that I approach the Qur’an from the perspective of a Western academic who is also trying to live as a faithful Muslim. This is not the only perspective on the Qur’an, but it is one that, perhaps, has been underrepresented in the literature.

The Qur’an has been a topic of great interest on the part of Western media and the general public in recent years. Unfortunately, many people take the liberty of speaking about the meaning of the Qur’an without ­having studied it. What is most remarkable is the rise of what I will call the “non-Muslim Islamic fundamentalist.” These are people who (perhaps because they read their own scripture in a literal and decontextualized fashion) open an English translation of the meaning of the Qur’an and, plucking a verse out of context, declare that this is proof that “Muslims believe (this) or (that).” Some of these individuals might honestly be interested in knowing what the Qur’an says. I hope that this book will be of some assistance to those people. Others, who are ideologically opposed to Muslims and Islam – whether because of religious intolerance or for political reasons – will continue to try to reduce the breadth and diversity of the Islamic ­experience to the views of an extremist, militant minority.

Citing the Qur’an

Passages of the Qur’an are cited throughout this book with two distinctive features. First, most passages are set apart in italics and block quotes. I have chosen to distinguish the verses I cite in this manner to slow the reader down, and to give him or her the opportunity to reflect individually on these citations. In the end, the context provided for each citation is of my own choosing. But each of these verses can be found in other, often drastically different contexts throughout Muslim societies. Thus, a verse the reader encounters in my chapter on “culture,” where it serves as a decorative or sacred feature of an architectural space, might alternatively be found as proof for a legal judgment in a medieval text. In structuring this book in a way that allows the reader to randomly and independently skim through the chapters and reflect on the Qur’anic verses scattered throughout, I hope to replicate an aspect of the way in which Muslims can decontextualize and recontextualize verses they encounter throughout their lives.

Secondly, in most cases when citing a Qur’anic passage, I give the name of the sura in which it is found, not simply the number of the sura. Although the numbering of Qur’anic suras and verses in the text of the Qur’an (the mushaf) is not new, until very recently, in scholarly works, suras were always referred to by their name, not their number. In my experience, it is far easier to remember the name of a sura than its number when trying to recall the location of a specific verse. Consequently, I believe that it is more advantageous to readers generally, and to students specifically, to identify the name of the sura in which cited verses are found.

Arabic Transliteration

There are a number of different systems for transliterating the Arabic ­language. In a complete system of transliteration, diacritics (dots or lines under or over letters) are used to distinguish a number of Arabic phonemes. For the sake of simplicity, I have not used any diacritics except for ‘ and ’ to signify ‘ayn and hamza.

To avoid confusion, throughout the book, wherever an author I am citing uses a different transliteration for Qur’an (i.e., “Koran,” “Qoran,” “Quran,” etc.) I have changed it to “Qur’an.” I have done the same with muslim and other common Islamic terms.

Dates

The Islamic calendar begins in 622 CE with the emigration (hijra) of the Prophet Muhammad to Medina. The Islamic hijri year is comprised of 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days each. This means that an Islamic calendar is approximately 11 days shorter than a year of the Gregorian (solar) calendar. January 1, 2007 falls within the year 1427 AH (“after hijra”). In this book I will generally give both dates, hijri first, “common era” (CE) dates second. Sometimes biographical literature cites only the year of death; in such cases, converted dates are approximate and might be off by one year.

1

GOD SPEAKS TO HUMANITY

God Hears and Responds

Before God mentioned her, Khawla bint Tha‘laba was apparently an ­ordinary woman living in seventh-century Medina in the Arabian Peninsula. For every person in this tribally organized sedentary community, dignity and honor were, to a large extent, commensurate with the status of his or her group. Descent (nasab) or affiliation (wala’) with a powerful clan was, for many people, a decisive factor in determining physical security and material success. Still, every individual had opportunities to prove the strength of his or her own character (hasab). For men, politics and war were arenas of particular distinction. Most women had little chance of significantly contributing to these areas of public life, although there were notable exceptions.1 Rather, most women distinguished themselves by establishing and maintaining beneficial relationships with family, neighbors, and guests. Beauty, an energetic spirit, generosity, loyalty – these were the hallmarks of a noble woman. As the charms of youthful beauty faded, a woman could expect to earn increasing respect and gratitude for the relationships she had cultivated over the years.

It may have been anger that made Aws ibn Samit reject his wife with the vulgar expression, “To me, you are like the backside of my mother.”2 Whatever the reason, after so many years of marriage, these words reduced Khawla to the status of his mother’s behind (devoid of sensual attraction and taboo). Moreover, according to Arab custom, there was no way to revoke the declaration of zihar. Henceforth, it was prohibited for Aws to touch Khawla, yet she was not free of the marital bond. Sympathetic family and friends had no power to override such norms and customs. Khawla’s only chance was to appeal to a power higher than social custom and patriarchal authority. And so, Khawla complained to God.

Complaining to God is not difficult; the challenge is eliciting a ­satisfactory response. In what Marshall Hodgson termed the “Irano-Semitic” tradition, the expected response from God entailed not only spiritual comforting but also social transformation.3 At the individual level, God could send a sign: a kind stranger with food and comforting words, the sun breaking free of the rain clouds, a heavenly vision appearing in a dream. Transforming society, on the other hand, required a different kind of intervention. It is for this purpose that God sent prophets with authority to speak on his behalf, empowered to overturn the existing social order.

When Khawla first went to the Arabian prophet to complain of the injustice done to her, she was disappointed. Muhammad4 indicated that existing customs remained normative unless God revealed a new ruling, and the Prophet had received no revelation about this issue. Khawla did not give up hope, for she knew that this custom was unjust; she continued to complain to God, and waited near his Messenger, expecting him to receive a revelation. Then the answer arrived:

God has heard the words of she who disputes with you regarding her husband and made her complaint to God. God hears your conversation. Verily God is All-Hearing, All-Seeing.

Those of you who shun their wives by zihar – they are not their mothers. Their mothers are only those women who gave birth to them. Indeed they utter words that are unjust and false; but God is Absolving of Sins, All-Forgiving.

(Mujadila; 58:1–2)

With these verses God confirmed Khawla’s conviction that what had been done to her was unjust and was to be prohibited by law. Upon hearing this revelation, ‘A’isha, the Prophet’s wife who later would herself desperately need God to hear and respond to unjust claims made against her, declared, “Blessed is He whose hearing encompasses all things!”