Introduction to the Quran (intro to the Qur'an)

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Syllabus & Schedule || ms. of Qur'an || Recitations || Qur'an in Translations

This is not a current syllabus, it is a generic one to give students an idea about the course; for up-to-date syllabus and schedule, please logon webCT

Introduction to the Qur'ān is designed for students with a general interest in the Islamic world, religion, law, history, cultural anthropology, and comparative literature. We will examine the historical, contextual, lingual, religious and interpretive dimensions wherein developed the Qur'ān. By focusing on specific themes that are common in other religious and cultural traditions and practices, students will be exposed to the multifaceted activities associated with this document. While relying on mixture of a broad comparative method and a specific thematic and textual treatment of the Qur'ān; students will be provided with an outline of Islam as a religion and as a social discourse whose effects go beyond the adherents. Consequently, students will be exposed to the specific normative enunciations that were used to ascribe meaning to the Articles of Faith and that guided the systematization of the Pillars of Islam (rites, law, and practices).

REQUIRED TEXTS:

1. Brannon M. Wheeler, Prophets of the Quran (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2002).
2. Ahmad Von Denffer , Ulum Al-Qur'an: An Introduction to the Sciences of the Quran
* Download it if out of print
3. Thomas Cleary (Translator), The Qur'an: A New Translation (Starlatch Press, 2004).
4. Abdul-Sâhib Al-Hasani Al-'âmili, THE PROPHETS, THEIR LIVES AND THEIR STORIES
5. Barbara Stowasser, Women in the Qur’an, Traditions and Interpretation (Oxford, 1994).
6. Additional reading materials and translations available online and on webCT.
7. English translations of the Qur'an (downloadable PDF files: Pickthall + Yusuf Ali)

RECOMMENDED TEXTS:

1.

Brannon M. Wheeler, Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis, (Curzon Press, 2002)
2.

Malik Bennabi, The Qur’anic Phenomenon (Kuala Lumpur: IBT, 2001).
3.

THOMAS CLEARY (Translator), The Wisdom of the Prophet: The Sayings of Muhammad (Shambhala, 2001).
4.

al-Nawawi's Forty hadith: An Anthology of the Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, translated by Ezzeddin Ibrahim and Denys Johnson-Davies, (Cambridge, UK: Islamic Texts Society, 1997).
5.

Fazlur Rahman, Major Themes of the Qur’an (Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1994).
6.

Michael Sells, Approaching the Qur’an: The Early Revelations (Ashland: White Cloud Press, 1999).
7.

Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Qur’an.