The Qur'an and its Biblical Subtext

Omtale

This book challenges the dominant scholarly notion that the Quran must be interpreted through the medieval commentaries shaped by the biography of the prophet Muhammad, arguing instead that the text is best read in light of Christian and Jewish scripture. The Quran, in its use of allusions, depends on the Biblical knowledge of its audience. However, medieval Muslim commentators, working in a context of religious rivalry, developed stories that separate Quran and Bible, which this book brings back together. In a series of studies involving the devil, Adam, Abraham, Jonah, Mary, and Muhammad among others, Reynolds shows how modern translators of the Quran have followed medieval Muslim commentary and demonstrates how an appreciation of the Qurans Biblical subtext uncovers the richness of the Qurans discourse. Presenting unique interpretations of 13 different sections of the Quran based on studies of earlier Jewish and Christian literature, the author substantially re-evaluates Muslim exegetical literature. Thus The Quran and Its Biblical Subtext, a work based on a profound regard for the Qurans literary structure and rhetorical strategy, poses a substantial challenge to the standard scholarship of Quranic Studies. With an approach that bridges early Christian history and Islamic origins, the book will appeal not only to students of the Quran but of the Bible, religious studies and Islamic history.