The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary is a 2015 English-language edition of the Quran edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr and published by HarperOne. Fellow muslims Joseph Lumbard, Caner Dagli and Maria Massi Dakake, prepared the translation, wrote the commentary, and also served as general editors, and Mohammed Rustom contributed as an assistant editor by checking the translation and writing some of the commentary. Alongside a new English translation and extensive commentary, The Study Quran features numerous essays, maps, and other material.
The idea of an English-language Quran for scholars and students was originally proposed to Nasr by HarperOne (then HarperSanFrancisco), who wanted Nasr as the editor-in-chief. Nasr initially declined, but after the publisher told him that the book would not happen without him, he felt obligated to lead the project. Nasr had several conditions for the work: firstly, that it would avoid modernistic and fundamentalist interpretations of the Quran, instead favouring a range of traditional interpretations. He also insisted that all the editors would be Muslim. Nasr chose Dagli, Dakake, and Lumbard, all Americans and former students of his, as General Editors. Sections of the translation and commentary were apportioned to the three editors, who worked under the oversight of Nasr and in consultation with each other to preserve the unity of the project. Nasr recruited Rustom as an assistant editor after the translation and essays had been completed.[1]The Study Quran took ten years to complete.[2]
Content
On The Study Quran's English translation, Nasr writes:
We have sought to make use of the full possibilities of the English language without the pretext of wanting to be so up-to-date in word usages that our rendition would soon become out-of-date. We have also sought to be as eloquent as possible, in an effort to reflect something of the inimitable eloquence of Quranic Arabic.[1]
The Study Quran's commentary makes use of at least 41 traditional commentaries that represent a variety of Islamic perspectives, including Sunni and Shiite sources[3] among them linguistic, philosophical, mystical, and historical commentaries.[citation needed] The book provides analysis and thorough summary of them, including in it disagreements between commentators. Its primary value has been characterized as it giving an English-speaking audience access to important commentaries which are in Persian and Arabic in a single manuscript, despite the commentaries sometimes spanning tens of volumes.[3] It is the first edition of the Quran to combine commentaries with disparate and often conflicting interpretations in this way. The source commentaries are traditional rather than contemporary, and are dominated by Medieval works; the most recent commentators are Ibn Ashur and Tabataba'i, who both died in the 20th century.
The book also includes 15 essays written on related topics, including "How to Read the Quran", "The Quran as Source of Islamic Law", and "Conquest and Conversion, War and Peace in the Quran". The essay topics were selected by Nasr and written by a variety of contributors.
Reception
The Study Quran, according to Bahar Davary, is a "great resource for students and scholars in the fields of theology and religious studies and can be a useful reference in other fields of the humanities."[4] Mobeen Vaid praises the Study Quran as "a monumental contribution to the field of Quran studies".[5] In a review of the book, Bruce Lawrence said: "No one will be able to offer a basic course on Islam, or to propose an in depth study of the Quran, without reference to this monumental achievement by a team of devoted scholars".[6]
Faraz Rabbani called The Study Quran a “deep, rich, valuable study companion for any English-speaker seeking to deepen their understanding and appreciation for the Book of Allah”, but warned readers not to “take it as “the final word” or an authoritative reference on matters of theology or law”.[7]
Appraisal by mainstream American publications focused on The Study Quran's capacity to counter extreme or fundamentalist interpretations of Islam. A report by CNN entitled “Could this Quran curb extremism?” placed the work in the context of the recent Paris attacks, emphasising that the book refutes the extremist interpretations of the Quran by ISIS and other groups.[2] Similarly, an article in The Daily Beast presented The Study Quran as a “challenge” to the ultra-conservative Salafi scholars who “have monopolized English-language Muslim resources”.[8]
Notes
1 2 Nasr, Hossein (2015). "Introduction". The Study Quran. HarperOne.
↑ Lawrence, Bruce B. (2016-02-09). "The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary SeyyedHossein Nasr, Editor-in-Chief General Editors: Caner K.Dagli, Maria MassiDakake, Joseph E. B.Lumbard Assistant Editor: MohammedRustom San Francisco: HarperOne, 20152048pp. Cloth, $59.99, ISBN: 978-0061125867". The Muslim World. 106 (3). Wiley: 633–638. doi:10.1111/muwo.12136. ISSN0027-4909.
Al-Fatiha is the first surah (chapter) of the Quran. It consists of 7 ayah (verses) which consist of a prayer for guidance and mercy. Al-Fatiha is recited in Muslim obligatory and voluntary prayers, known as salah. The primary literal meaning of the expression "Al-Fatiha" is "The Opener/The Key".
As-Sajdah (السجدة), is the 32nd chapter (sūrah) of the Quran with 30 verses (āyāt). The name of the chapter has been translated as ۩ 'prostration' or 'adoration' and is taken from the fifteenth verse, which mentions those who "... fall prostrate and hymn the praise of their Lord".
Saba’ is the 34th chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an with 54 verses (āyāt). It discusses the lives of Solomon and David, a story about the people of Sheba, challenges and warnings against the disbelievers as well as the promises related to the Day of Judgment.
The Kneeling, is the 45th chapter (surah) of the Qur'an with 37 verses (ayat). It is a Meccan chapter, believed revealed according to the Islamic tradition during the Meccan phase of Muhammad's prophethood. This is one of the seven chapters in the Qur'an that start with the Muqattaʿat Hāʼ Mīm. It contains discussions of "signs of God" for humankind to reflect on, and describes punishments for those who deny God despite the signs. It also contains the only Quranic verse mentioning sharia, a term which Muslims later use to refer to the Islamic law.
Al-Hujurat is the 49th chapter (surah) of the Quran with 18 verses (āyāt). The chapter contains etiquette and norms to be observed in the Muslim community, including the proper conduct towards the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, an injunction against acting on news without verification, a call for peace and reconciliation, as well as injunctions against defamation, suspicion, and backbiting. The chapter also declares a universal brotherhood among Muslims. The thirteenth verse, one of the most famous in the Quran, is understood by Muslim scholars to establish equality with regards to race and origin; only God can determine one's nobility based on his piety.
Al-Wāqiʻa is the 56th surah (chapter) of the Quran. Muslims believe it was revealed in Mecca, specifically around 7 years before the Hijrah (622), the migration of Muhammad to Medina. The total number of verses in this surah is 96. It mainly discusses the afterlife according to Islam, and the different fates people will face in it.
Al-Mujādilah is the 58th chapter (sūrah) of the Qur'an with 22 verses (ayat). Revealed in Medina, the chapter first addresses the legality of pre-Islamic method of divorce called zihar. The name "she who disputes" refers to the woman who petitioned Muhammad about the unjustness of this method, and the chapter's first verses outlaw it and prescribe how to deal with past cases of zihar. The chapter also discusses public assemblies and prescribes manners associated with it. The chapter ends by contrasting what it calls "the confederates of God" and "the confederates of Satan", and promising rewards for the former.
Al-Mumtaḥanah is the 60th chapter (sura) of the Quran, a Medinan sura with 13 verses.
Al-Insān ("Human") is the 76th chapter (surah) of the Quran, with 31 verses (ayat).
Al-Inshiqāq is the eighty-fourth chapter (surah) of the Qur'an, with 25 verses (āyāt). It mentions details of the Day of Judgment when, according to this chapter, everyone will receive reckoning over their deeds in this world.
Sirat al-Mustaqim is an Arabic term that means 'the straight path'. It is commonly understood as the path that leads to God. In Islamic thought, the straight path is variously used as a reference to the Quran or Muhammad, or Islam as a whole.
Joseph E.B. Lumbard is an American Muslim scholar of Islamic studies and associate professor of Quranic studies at the College of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar. He is the author, editor, and translator of several scholarly books and many articles on Islamic philosophy, Sufism, and Quranic studies.
Fasād is an Arabic word meaning rottenness, corruption, or depravity. In an Islamic context it can refer to spreading corruption on Earth or spreading mischief in a Muslim land, moral corruption against God, or disturbance of the public peace.
Decapitation was a standard method of capital punishment in pre-modern Islamic law. By the end of the 20th century, its use had been abandoned in most countries. Decapitation is still a legal method of execution in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Yemen. In Iran, beheading was last used in 2001 according to Amnesty International, but it is no longer in use. In recent decades, extremist Salafi jihadist groups have used beheading as a method of killing captives and terror tactic.
Laylat al-mabit refers to the night in 622 CE in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad fled Mecca for Yathrib, apparently to foil an assassination plan. His escape from Mecca followed the exodus of his persecuted followers to the safe haven of Yathrib, a city that was later renamed Medina in his honor. Laylat al-mabit is often associated in Islamic literature with the reports that Muhammad's cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib risked his life to facilitate Muhammad's safe escape from Mecca.
The verse of walaya is verse 5:55 of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam. This verse specifies three authorities as the only sources of walaya for Muslims. In Sunni Islam, walaya in this context signifies 'friendship' or 'support', whereas Shia Muslims interpret it as 'spiritual authority' because of its exclusivity.
Capital punishment in Islam is traditionally regulated by the Islamic law (sharīʿa), which derived from the Quran, ḥadīth literature, and sunnah. Crimes according to the sharīʿa law which could result in capital punishment include apostasy from Islam, murder, rape, adultery, homosexuality, etc. Death penalty is in use in many Muslim-majority countries, where it is utilised as sharīʿa-prescribed punishment for crimes such as apostasy from Islam, adultery, witchcraft, murder, rape, and publishing pornography.
Maria Massi Dakake is an American scholar of Islamic studies and associate professor of Religious Studies at George Mason University. Her research mainly focuses on Islamic intellectual history, Quranic studies, Shi`ite and Sufi traditions, and women's spirituality and religious experience. She was a contributor to The Study Quran - a modern verse-by-verse commentary of the Quran.
Caner Dagli is a Circassian-American Islamic scholar and associate professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The verse oftablīgh refers to verse of 5:67 of the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, which reads
O Messenger! Convey that which has been sent down unto thee from thy Lord, and if thou dost not, thou wilt not have conveyed His message. And God will protect thee from mankind. Surely God guides not disbelieving people.
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