Quranic Studies
Islamic Theological Discourses and the Legacy of Kalam. Gestation, Movements and Controversies
Set, Volumes 1-3
Mustafa Shah (ed.) – 2019
With a concern for context and history, this major reference work presents key academic contributions devoted to the study of early, classical and pre-modern Islamic theological thought. The aim is to provide a balanced survey of the research discourses which have shaped study of the rich legacy of Islamic theology and Kalam. Divided into three volumes and comprising 39 articles, the collection includes an introduction which provides not only an assessment of key discussions and debates in the study of Islamic theology, bu...
more »
The Making of Religious Texts in Islam: The Fragment and the Whole
Asma Hilali, S. R. Burge (eds.) – 2019
This volume offers an interdisciplinary study of the modalities, actors, technicalities and consequences of the evolving of religious texts within the perspective of the fragment versus the whole. The focus is on fragmentary texts from Islamic religious sources, and includes contributions on Qur’anic manuscripts, early graffiti, the formation of the Qur’anic canon, the Hadith literature, and Old Babylonian extispicy texts. Three main topics are addressed: - the text and its materiality; - the structure of the text and the dy...
more »
Reform of Islam:
Forty Theses for an Islamic Ethics in the 21st Century
Abdel-Hakim Ourghi – 2019
Abdel-Hakim Ourghi’s Reform of Islam is an open indictment of prevailing conservative Islam which insists on the absolute subjugation of the body and mind of all Muslims. The author seeks a humanist understanding of Islam and aims to interpret Islam in today’s terms. He argues against the historical alienation and transfiguration that still shape the collective consciousness of Muslims in the 21st century. Using critical analysis and logic, the author aims to reveal the true core of Islam. Ourghi’s 40 Theses include: - The ...
more »
The Fatwa as an Islamic Legal Instrument: Concept, Historical Role, Contemporary Relevance
Set, Volumes 1-3
Carool Kersten (ed.) – 2018
One of the most misunderstood aspects of Islamic legal practice and thought is the role and position of fatwas or legal opinions. This three-volume reference work offers a comprehensive overview of and detailed insights into - the concept of the fatwa as a vehicle of legal opinion-making in Islam - its historical role in different parts of the Muslim world - and contemporary debates reflecting both the fatwa's enduring relevance and its ongoing contestation among Muslims today....
more »
The Muslim Theology of Huzn: Sorrow Unravelled
with a foreword by Alparslan Açıkgenç
Mahshid Turner – 2018
The subject of sorrow (huzn) and how it should be treated is a subject as old as mankind itself. Considered for the most part as something negative, which should be somehow avoided or remedied completely, the real meaning and purpose of its existence have never been explained satisfactorily. The Quran, however, claims that nothing is created purposelessly, which implies that sorrow also has its uses. With the aim of unravelling the mystery of its existence, this ground-breaking study aims to tell the story of sorrow in the Q...
more »
In Search of Ali Ibn Abi Talib’s Codex: History and Traditions of the Earliest Copy of the Qur’an.
with a foreword by James Piscatori
Seyfeddin Kara – 2018
The history of the text of the Qur’an has been a longstanding subject of interest within the field of Islamic Studies, but the debate has so far been focused on the Sunni traditions about the codices of Caliphs Abu Bakr and Uthman b. Affan. Little to no attention has been given to the traditions on Ali b. Abi Talib’s collection of the Qur’an. This book examines both Shi‘i and Sunni traditions on the issue, aiming to date them back to the earliest possible date and, if possible, verify their authenticity. To achieve this, t...
more »
Islam and Humanity: Consequences of a Contemporary Reading
First Authorized English Translation of Al-Islam wa-l-Insan. With a foreword by Dale F. Eickelman
Muhammad Shahrour – 2017
„EXPLAIN THE QUR’AN BY THE QUR’AN“ Shahrour’s reading of the Qur’an is “modern” in that he directly engages the reader. He argues that we must act as if “the Prophet just died and informed us of this book” and interpret his message anew. The reader must actively interpret the meaning of the Qur’an. The Prophet Muhammad conveyed the last of God’s revelations; now, writes Shahrour, humankind is on its own to perfect itself and adapt to modern conditions. His first book as an Islamic thinker "Al-Islam wa-l-Kitab" was ...
more »
Wahhabism - Doctrine and Development
Set, Volumes 1-2 (Critical Surveys in Islamic Denominations)
Esther Peskes (ed.) – 2016
Saudi Arabian Wahhabism is the ultra-puritanical form of Sunni Islam which has been adopted by Islamist radicals, Salafists, and jihadists to legitimize and spread their extremist agenda. The scholarly articles in these two volumes throw fresh light on this messianic radicalism by tracing its origins in the 18th century up to its present role as the authoritative interpretation of Islam in the strategically vital Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. - Volume 1 focuses on the main tenets of Wahhabi doctrine that brought about the Wahhabi...
more »
Trial and Tribulation in the Qur‘an. A Mystical Theodicy
with a foreword by Colin Turner
Nasrin Rouzati – 2015
This book offers a critical analysis and re-examination of the notion of Divine trial, first by providing a comprehensive typology and a contextual interpretation of the Qur'anic narratives pertaining to the concept. Divine trial is then investigated through a historical review of prophetic tradition (hadith) and the exegetical literature (tafsir); followed by a discussion on Prophetology, and an overview of bala in the lives of the prophets. The book further develops key aspects of Muslim theology and mysticism through...
more »
The Caliphate and Islamic Statehood: Formation, Fragmentation and Modern Interpretations
Set, 3 volumes
Carool Kersten (ed.) – 2015
Although the Caliphate was formally abolished ninety years ago, it had already ceased to exist as a unitary and effectively administered political institution many centuries earlier. The ever widening gap between political ideal and historical reality is also reflected in the varying conceptualizations and theories of the Caliphate developed by Islamic religious scholars and Muslim intellectuals past and present. However, recent events in the Islamic world show that the idea of a Caliphate still appeals to Muslims of varying...
more »
The Qur’an Revealed: A Critical Analysis of Said Nursi’s Epistles of Light
with a Foreword by Dale F. Eickelman
Colin Turner – 2013
The Qur'an Revealed is a landmark publication in the history of Islamic studies, providing for the first time a comprehensive critical analysis of Bedizuzzaman Said Nursi's 6000-page work of Quranic exegesis, The Epistles of Light. In discussing a wide range of themes, from Divine unity to causation, from love to spirituality, from prophethood to civilization and politics, Colin Turner invites the reader into Nursi's conceptual universe, presenting the teachings of arguably the Muslim world's most underst...
more »