How to Read the Qur'an

November 14, 2011
Acknowledging the difficulty that many, including scholars, have in reading the Qur’an, a complicated work, Ernst (Following Muhammad) offers this elegant guide on how to read and understand the text sacred to Muslims. Ernst, a religious studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is not a theologian, but more a reverse architect, exposing the bricks and foundations of the Qur’an and then reassembling it, having educated the reader. He clearly explains several scholarly concepts behind Qur’anic understanding, including abrogation (the explanation of inconsistent Qur’anic passages as one verse superseding the other) and the interweaving and symmetrical structure of the book. The chapters, or suras, of the Qur’an have parallel structures and rhymes and call upon the imagery of other suras. This logical analysis actually provides a fresh take on the controversy of the “Satanic verses,” two extratextual lines that Muslim tradition holds were prompted by Satan. While the myth behind them has grown, Ernst’s analysis shows that the verses were probably never a part of the Qur’anic text to begin with. Ernst’s straightforward exposure of Qur’anic structure shows the Qur’an to be an astonishing text.

November 15, 2011

Ernst (religious studies, Univ. of North Carolina; Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World) seeks to assist the general English-language reader, both non-Muslim and Muslim, looking for a primer on the Koran that will provide a deeper understanding of it while also taking into account its complexities. He addresses issues such as historical context and literary genres, and he offers new translations of hundreds of verses to illustrate his discussion. Ernst considers the different portions of the Koran in terms of their historical development in the time of Muhammad and shortly afterward, enabling readers to learn about the sacred text as well as the early periods of Islam. With charts and appendixes, as well as instructive suggested reading lists. VERDICT This will serve both as a fine teaching tool at the college or seminary level and as a useful resource for engaged nonspecialists, who will find it challenging but rewarding.--John Jaeger, Dallas Baptist Univ.

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