The Oxford Handbook of QUR’ANIC STUDIES

Including contributions from over fifty leading experts, The Oxford Handbook of Qur’anic Studies presents an authoritative collection of studies which guide the reader through the core subjects, themes, and debates dominating the academic engagement with the text of the Qur’an. With the aim of serving as an indispensable reference resource, the Handbook considers not only discussions shaping the study of the text today, but also their implications for future directions of the research. Part I explores the history of the study of the text, introducing frameworks and sources for its analysis. Part II examines the intersection of the Qur’an’s historical and linguistic context, identifying its place among the religious traditions of the Near East. In Part III questions germane to the Qur’an’s textual transmission are probed, covering studies of its manuscript tradition; inscription; and the history of printed editions. Part IV reviews discourses which critically engage with the Qur’an’s literary elements. These range from treatments of its language, vocabulary, aesthetics, structure, coherency, and the concept of the Qur’an inimitability, to aspects of its literary influence and relationship with other genres. Part V includes studies which mediate the axiomatic concepts and themes of the Qur’an; while Part VI focuses on the efforts to translate the text and its cultural legacy and impact. Finally, Parts VII and VIII are aggregated around an assessment of the scholarship devoted to the Qur’an’s rich interpretive tradition, drawing apposite attention to the perspectives through which this was pursued. Covering the full spectrum of international studies, the Handbook offers an informed sense of the potential and dynamism of this diverse and growing field.