A principal reason for why the Qur'an managed to establish itself as a text believed to constitute divine revelation is that it is compelling literature. How do Islamic and modern Western scholars approach the Qur'an's literary dimension?

Introducing the Qur'an

The Qur'an as literature

The Qur'an's original addressees must have been familiar with earlier Jewish and Christian traditions, which the Qur'an claims both to "confirm" and to "clarify". Narratives about Abraham and the death of Pharaoh serve to exemplify what this means.

Confirming and clarifying: The Qur'an in conversation with earlier Judaeo-Christian traditions

This second episode examines the historical context in which the material now collected in the Qur'an was first promulgated. Special attention is paid to the various groups of addressees who figure in the Qur'an.

Rekindling Prophecy: The Qur'an in its historical milieu.

What does it mean to study the Qur'an historically? In this initial episode we consider how historically oriented research on the Qur'an relates to religious belief and to traditional Islamic scriptural interpretation.

Hovering about the Qur'an without entering into it? On the academic study of the Qur'an.

Dr Nicolai Sinai, Professor of Islamic Studies at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, presents this mini-series of four brief talks that introduces central aspects of current research dealing with the historical context and literary character of the scripture of Islam.

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Introducing the Qur'an

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