The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an

An introduction to the Qur'an (Koran), a text that has guided the lives of millions.

As the living scriptural heritage of more than a billion people, the Qur'an (Koran) speaks with a powerful voice. Just as other scriptural religions, Islam has produced a long tradition of interpretation for its holy book. Nevertheless, efforts to introduce the Qur'an and its intellectual heritage to English-speaking audiences have been hampered by the lack of available resources. The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an seeks to remedy that situation. In a discerning summation of the field, Jane McAuliffe brings together an international team of scholars to explain its complexities. Comprising fourteen chapters, each devoted to a topic of central importance, the book is rich in historical, linguistic and literary detail, while also reflecting the influence of other disciplines. For both the university student and the general reader, The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an provides a fascinating entrée to a text that has shaped the lives of millions for centuries.

List of figures; Notes on contributors; Introduction Jane Dammen McAuliffe; Part I. Formation of the Qur'anic Text: 1. The historical context Fred M. Donner; 2. Creation of a fixed text Claude Gilliot; 3. Alternative accounts of the Qur'an's formation Harald Motzki; Part II. Description and Analysis: 4. Themes and topics Daniel A. Madigan; 5. Structural, linguistic and literary features Angelika Neuwirth; 6. Recitation and aesthetic reception William A. Graham and Navid Kermani; Part III. Transmission and Dissemination: 7. From palm leaves to the Internet Fred Leemhuis; 8. Inscriptions in art and architecture Sheila Blair and Jonathan Bloom; Part IV. Interpretations and Intellectual Traditions: 9. The tasks and traditions of interpretation Jane Dammen Mcauliffe; 10. Multiple areas of influence Alexander Knysh; 11. Western scholarship and the Qur'an Andrew Rippin; Part V. Contemporary Readings: 12. Women's readings of the Qur'an Asma Barlas; 13. Political interpretation of the Qur'an Stefan Wild; 14. The Qur'an and other religions Abdulaziz Sachedina; Qur'an citation index; General index.

The Qur'an (Koran) is the primary religious text for more than a billion people. Understood by Muslims to contain God's own words, it has been an object of reverence and intense study for centuries. This unique guide will help students clarify the complexities of text and commentary of the Qur'an.

Jane Dammen McAuliffe is Professor in the Departments of History and Arabic and Dean of Arts and Sciences at Georgetown University. Her numerous publications have focused primarily on the Qur'an, on early Islamic history and on the multiple relations between Islam and Christianity. Her books include Qur'anic Christians: An Analysis of Classical and Modern Exegesis (1991), and With Reverence for the Word: Medieval Scriptural Exegesis in Judaism, Christianity and Islam (2003), and she has edited the five-volume Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an (2001–2006),