Prophets in the Quran: An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis

Description

Designed as an introduction to the Quran with particular emphasis on parallels with Biblical tradition, this work provides a concise but detailed overview of Muslim prophets from Adam to Muhammad. Each of the chapters is organized around a particular prophet, including an English translation of the relevant verses of the Quran and a wide selection of classical, medieval and modern Muslim commentaries on those verses. Quran commentaries include references to Sunni and Shi'i sources from Spain, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia.

Brannon Wheeler is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Comparative Religion at the University of Washington in Seattle where he is also coordinator of the new programme in Comparative Islamic Studies. He has published widely on Quranic Studies and Islamic Law with particular focus on the evolution of Islam in late antiquity and the early medieval world of the Mediterranean and Near East.

"This book is a most welcome addition to the relatively limited number of works that mediate the primary sources of early Islamic tradition to English-speaking audiences. By concentrating on the central Qur'anic theme of God prophets and messengers from Adam to Muhammad, it offers a rich but focused selection of original passages from both the Qur'an itself and other early Islamic texts. Selected and translated with thoughtfulness and care, the contents are accessible to beginning students in conjunction with secondary literature on the Qur'an and early Islam; the collection can serve also as a useful quick-reference handbook for scholars interested in the treatment of a particular prophetic figure in the Qur'an and early Muslim interpretation."--William A. Graham, Professor of the History of Religion and Islamic Studies, Harvard University "[a] useful and accessible tool to understanding Muslim exegesis."--Middle East Journal, Winter 2003 "Brannon Wheeler's Prophets in the Quran: An Introduction to the Quran and Muslim Exegesis lives up to its billing more than adequately. The choice of this topic, so central to both theology and narrative literature and lore generally, makes for a superb entree to the Islamic tradition. Wheeler's introduction offers a concise overview of the topic and its principle textual sources, including hadith (sayings of Muhammad), major exegetical works, and the important genre "tales of the prophets. Wheeler's fairly extensive "Glossary of Interpreters and Transmitters" is particularly useful, providing brief bio-historical sketches on nearly two hundred important figures in the history of exegesis and hadith studies. His suggestions for further reading, along with excellent Qur'anic and general indexes, also much enhance the volume's utility...makes this volume a natural for classroom use in religious studies approaches to Islam" -Religion & Literature, Spring 2005 "There are two good reasons for recommending this book. First, it makes available, in accessible English translation, a valuable set of Islamic primary texts on a significant subject. Second, taken together, the texts provide a good idea of the range and complexity of the classical Muslim views on the subject." - History of Religions, August 2005 * History of Religions *