This book provides detailed and multidisciplinary coverage of a wealth of key Qur鈥檃nic terms, with incisive entries on crucial expressions ranging from the divine names 补濒濒腻丑 (鈥淕od鈥�) and 补濒-谤补岣腻苍 (鈥渢he Merciful鈥�) to the Qur鈥檃nic understanding of belief and self-surrender to God. It examines what the terms mean in Qur鈥檃nic usage, discusses how to translate them into English, and delineates the role they play in expressing the Qur鈥檃n鈥檚 distinctive understanding of God, humans, and the cosmos. It offers a comprehensive but nonreductionist investigation of the relationship of Qur鈥檃nic terms to earlier traditions such as Jewish and Christian literature, pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, and Arabian epigraphy. While the dictionary is primarily engaged in ascertaining what the Qur鈥檃n would have meant to its original recipients in late antique Arabia, it makes selective and critical use of later Muslim scholarship alongside an extensive body of secondary research in English, German, and French from the nineteenth century to today.
- The most authoritative historical-critical reference work on key Qur鈥檃nic terms
- Features a host of entries ranging from concise overviews to substantial essays
- Draws on comparative material such as Jewish and Christian literature, pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, and Arabian epigraphy
- Discusses how to best translate Qur鈥檃nic terms into English
- Explores the Qur鈥檃n鈥檚 vision of God, humans, and the cosmos through an analysis of fundamental and recurrent Qur鈥檃nic expressions
- Accessible to readers with little or no Arabic
Nicolai Sinai is professor of Islamic studies at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Pembroke College. His books include The Qur鈥檃n: A Historical-Critical Introduction and Rain-Giver, Bone-Breaker, Score-Settler: All膩h in Pre-Quranic Poetry.
鈥淎n indispensable resource for anyone interested in reading the Qur鈥檃n. Sinai鈥檚 brilliance is on full display on every page of this stunningly comprehensive and remarkably engaging book. We owe him a debt of gratitude for his invaluable contribution to our understanding not just of the Qur鈥檃n but of its various intertexts and contexts.鈥濃�擟arol Bakhos, author of The Family of Abraham: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Interpretations
鈥淭his is a brilliantly conceived book that productively meshes the lexical, technical, and analytical dimensions of Qur鈥檃nic terms. Penned by a highly credentialed Qur鈥檃n scholar, this reference work will become a staple in the field of Islamic studies and beyond, for graduates and undergraduates alike.鈥濃�擶ael B. Hallaq, author of Restating Orientalism: A Critique of Modern Knowledge
鈥泪苍 Key Terms of the Qur鈥檃n, Nicolai Sinai brings together the meticulous study of the Qur鈥檃nic text with insights from Islamic commentaries, late antiquity, Biblical tradition, and cutting-edge contemporary scholarship. This work should be on the desk of every student and scholar of the Qur鈥檃n.鈥濃�擥abriel Said Reynolds, University of Notre Dame
鈥淎 major contribution to the academic study of the Qur鈥檃n. Sinai provides a careful examination of the Qur鈥檃nic lexicon while engaging with a broad spectrum of historical research on the Qur鈥檃nic text and its late antique context.鈥濃�擜hmad Al-Jallad, author of The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia
鈥淎t once exhaustive and exhilarating, this documentary tour de force will provide a new benchmark for decades to come.鈥濃�擝ruce B. Lawrence, author of The Koran in English: A Biography
鈥淭o have at hand a reference work of this kind鈥攁n interpretative dictionary鈥攚ill make life much easier for anyone who works in Islamic studies. These entries are erudite, balanced, and insightful, and they pull together a lot of secondary literature and findings from obscure corners of the field.鈥濃�擬ichael Cook, author of Ancient Religions, Modern Politics: The Islamic Case in Comparative Perspective
