Preface and Acknowledgments to the Second Edition ix

Preface to the First Edition xi

1 God Speaks to Humanity 1

God Hears and Responds 1

Defining the Qurán 2

Ancient Origins of the Meccan Sanctuary 4

The Arabian Context 7

The Arabic Language 11

The Jahiliyya: A Time of Lawlessness and Immorality 13

The Early Life of Muhammad 16

Muhammad as the Messenger of God 18

2 The Prophet Conveys the Message 27

Historicizing the Qurán 27

The Medium and the Message 34

God Is One 37

Moral Conduct and Its Ultimate Consequences 46

Servants of God 50

Persecution of Believers Past and Present 55

Establishing a Viable State and a Just Political Order 61

Building Community 68

A Door to Heaven Is Closed 73

3 The Voice and the Pen 79

A Sacred Pedigree 79

Recited and Written 85

The Prophet and the First Collection of the Qurán 88

The Early Generations: Regional Schools of Recitation and the Elaboration of the Mushaf 100

Standardizing the Curriculum 105

Quránic Recitation and Ritual Life 109

Breaking the Tradition 119

The Value of Memorization 124

Transmission of the Qurán in the Modern Age 127

Conclusion 133

4 Blessed Words: The Qurán and Culture 141

The Qurán as the Word of God 141

The Qurán and Sacred Architecture 147

The Elevation of the Qurán 155

Language, Naming, and Common Expressions 157

Ritual Purity and Purifying Rituals 161

Death, Mourning, and the Afterlife 168

5 What God Really Means: Interpreting the Qurán 185

Exegesis before Hermeneutics 185

The Epistemological Challenge 193

Intertextuality: The Isra'iliyyat 197

Occasions of Revelation 201

Understanding the Language of the Qurán 204

Relating the Sunna to the Qurán 210

Deriving Legal Norms from the Qurán 215

Consensus and Diversity in Legal Reasoning 223

Modernity: Making the Words "Reasonable" 226

Some Contested Issues 235

Inheritance 235

Wife-beating 237

Conclusion 242

6 Conclusion: Listening for God 247

Glossary 267

Bibliography 271

Index of Quránic Citations and References 287

Index 289