The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia [Paperback]

Oliver Leaman (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 18, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0415775299 | ISBN-13: 978-0415775298 | Edition: 1

A RUSA 2007 Outstanding Reference Title

The Qur'an is the source of inspiration for one of the world's major religions, followed today by over a billion people. It plays a central role in Islam and ever since it appeared fourteen hundred years ago has been the subject of intense debate. Some of this has been carried out by Muslims and some by those hostile or indifferent to Islam, producing a very wide range of views.

Authored by forty-three international experts, the objective of The Qur'an: An Encyclopedia is to present this diversity of thought, approach and school without priority, in order to give a strong appreciation of the range of response that the text has provoked throughout its history and providing students and researchers with a powerful one-volume resource covering all aspects of the text and its reception.

Islam and the Qur'an are much in the news today and there is a public debate going on in which things are said about the Qur'an without much knowledge or understanding of the book. Every effort has been made to help the reader use the Encyclopedia as an investigative tool in Quranic studies. The volume assumes no previous knowledge of the Qur'an, Islam or Arabic. Technical terms are explained in the text itself and the style of each entry is designed to be as self-contained as possible. Entries are cross-referenced and many include a brief bibliography. At the end of the work there is a substantial annotated bibliography providing a detailed guide to the most significant books, journals and articles in Qur'anic Studies. There is a full index.

The readership will include those seeking basic information on the Qur'an, however the substantial number of longer entries means that it will also be used by specialists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Quite a number of the entries are of a serious, substantive, academic nature and contain useful bibliographies for those interested in probing a particular subject in greater depth. Highly recommended. All academic and public libraries concerned with the study of Islam and religion more generally.' - Choice

About the Author

Oliver Leaman is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kentucky.

Product Details

• Paperback: 800 pages
• Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (December 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415775299
• ISBN-13: 978-0415775298
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 1.7 x 9.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #285,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias > Religion
  • #85 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > Quran

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Quran Encyclopedia (Leaman) December 11, 2009

By William Garrison Jr. VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

As another reviewer noted, some subject-topic is not necessarily extensively `answered' in one article-entry. Such as "jihad": if one looks under "jihad" there is a brief, one-paragraph `explanation' for it, with references to looking also at entries under "qital" and "war". So there seems to be a lot of cross-referencing, unless one looked at "qital" first -- but it has no cross-reference to either jihad or war. At the end of almost every entry there is a `further reading' reference to other books for consultation on the topic. Pertaining to "shahada": while "it is customarily understood to mean martyrdom", this book notes that this term appears 50 times in the Quran, and opines that this word "signifies rather a `legal' concept (rather than the term) of martyrdom....It is in the hadith literature that we come across the full-blown concepts of martyr and martyrdom" (p. 584). Almost a full page is spent on this topic, and explains that `shadaha' also refers to non-military actions. The author presents a rather sympathetic treatment of the Shia claim that Muawiya actually signed a `peace treaty' with Hasan and recognized the later's claim to the caliphacy - a claim that the Sunni strongly challenge. This encyclopedia also contains articles not related specifically "in" the Quran, as by its noting various personalities involved with Islam, such as by providing a half-page-long commentary on al-Singkill who: "was one of the most prominent Islamic reformers of the Malay world in the seventeenth century." Pertaining to overall translations of the Quran, the author refers to not only the works of Y. Ali and M. Pickthall, but also those of R. Bell and A. Arberry, and notes "conservative booknotes" that are a "source of hostile material" include those by Ibn Warriq and I. Manji. Seems like something for everyone here. Glad to have it in my library. 43 different scholars have contributed in developing the various subject-topics.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Qur'an for the serious reader December 8, 2010

By ALMiller

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

At 771 pages this work can be intimidating. It need not be, as it is not intended to be read through; rather it is a companion to the Qur'an itself. It will be useful to comparativists (who perhaps do not have access to Arabic sources), as well as believers and the more general reader who nevertheless wants to be informed about the scriptural foundation of the fastest growing religion in the world and one that is so often in the news today. It is a careful and balanced work that conforms to no ideological orthodoxy but presents a variety of opinion on many matters. To read the Qur'an without the kind of information contained in this work is to miss most of what is there. Highly recommended.