| Acknowledgements |
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xi | |
| Introduction |
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xiii | |
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1 The Qur'an in its context |
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1 | |
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The world of the Prophet Muhammad |
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3 | |
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Prophet Muhammad's life as part of the context |
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6 | |
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Socio-historical context and cultural language |
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11 | |
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Ethical language of the Qur'an: context and women |
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13 | |
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Intellectual currents that influenced Muslim engagement with the Qur'an |
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15 | |
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18 | |
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18 | |
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19 | |
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2 Revelation and the Qur'an |
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21 | |
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22 | |
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Forms of revelation in the Islamic context |
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24 | |
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Revelation: God's speech in human language |
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27 | |
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The Qur'an as purely divine revelation |
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29 | |
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Spoken word and written word |
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30 | |
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Revelation and interpretation |
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30 | |
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Towards a broader understanding of revelation |
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31 | |
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Levels of revelation of the Qur'an |
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32 | |
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33 | |
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34 | |
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34 | |
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3 The Qur'an as scripture |
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37 | |
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38 | |
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Compiling the Qur'an as a single text |
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42 | |
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Challenges by Western scholars of the Qur'an |
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47 | |
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Evolution of the script of the Qur'an and its presentation |
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50 | |
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The nature of the Qur'anic text: the idea of inimitability |
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52 | |
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Connection between the Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet |
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54 | |
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56 | |
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56 | |
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57 | |
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4 Major themes and text types |
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61 | |
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62 | |
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64 | |
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Satan — the symbol of evil and disobedience |
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64 | |
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65 | |
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Earlier prophetic figures |
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66 | |
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Faith and other religions |
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69 | |
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Historical events of the Prophet's time |
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70 | |
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72 | |
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73 | |
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Types of texts in the Qur'an |
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74 | |
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79 | |
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79 | |
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80 | |
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5 The Qur'an in daily life |
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83 | |
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85 | |
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87 | |
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Ritual purity and cleanliness |
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88 | |
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Desecration of the Qur'an |
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91 | |
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Qur'anic texts and calligraphy |
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92 | |
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93 | |
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93 | |
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94 | |
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6 Western scholarship and the Qur'an |
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97 | |
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Early Western scholarship on Islam and the Qur'an |
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99 | |
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Later Western scholarship on Islam and the Qur'an |
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102 | |
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Contemporary Western scholarship on Islam and the Qur'an |
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105 | |
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113 | |
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113 | |
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114 | |
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7 Translation of the Qur'an |
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119 | |
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Early Muslim interest in Qur'anic translation |
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120 | |
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Non-Muslims and translation of the Qur'an |
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121 | |
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Muslims and translation of the Qur'an |
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123 | |
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Muslim discourse on translation |
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126 | |
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Translation: a case study |
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129 | |
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Some commonly available translations of the Qur'an in English |
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133 | |
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Translations of the Qur'an on the Internet |
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137 | |
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139 | |
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139 | |
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8 The Qur'an and other scriptures |
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143 | |
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Muslim understandings of scripture |
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145 | |
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Jewish and Christian scriptures in the Qur'an |
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146 | |
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Muslim views on 'distortion' of Jewish and Christian scriptures |
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147 | |
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Scholarly engagement with Jewish and Christian sources |
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150 | |
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Muslim attitudes to Jewish and Christian scriptures |
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152 | |
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156 | |
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156 | |
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157 | |
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161 | |
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Scripture and religious law |
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162 | |
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Types of ethico-legal texts in the Qur'an |
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163 | |
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Adaptability of ethico-legal teachings |
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170 | |
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172 | |
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173 | |
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174 | |
| 10 Selected exegetical principles and ideas |
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177 | |
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Tradition- or reason-based exegesis |
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178 | |
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Selected principles in Qur'anic exegesis |
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182 | |
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189 | |
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189 | |
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190 | |
| 11 Approaches to Qur'anic exegesis |
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193 | |
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194 | |
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Three broad trends of exegesis |
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196 | |
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202 | |
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Exegesis in the modern period |
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208 | |
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214 | |
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215 | |
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216 | |
| 12 Modern interpretation of the Qur'an |
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219 | |
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Differences between textualists and contextualists |
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220 | |
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222 | |
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225 | |
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226 | |
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227 | |
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228 | |
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231 | |
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231 | |
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232 | |
| Glossary |
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235 | |
| Bibliography |
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243 | |
| Index |
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257 | |