Human~Divine Communication as a Paradigm for Power: al-Tha'labi's Presentation of Q. 38:24 and Q. 38:34

Verse 24 to 25 of sura 38 (Sad) of the Qur'an tell us 'David realized that We had been testing him, so he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down on his knees, and repented: We forgave him [his misdeed]. His reward will be nearness to Us, a good place to return to'; verse 34 to 35 of the same sura tell us 'We certainly tested Solomon, reducing him to a mere skeleton on the throne. He turned to Us and prayed: 'Lord, forgive me! Grant me such power as no one after me will have -- You are the Most Generous Provider', then, at verse 40, 'His reward will be nearness to Us, a good place to return to'. Yet the medieval Muslim historiographical tradition presents very different narratives, and very different personalities, in elucidation of these two episodes. The two questions that will be addressed in this essay are: restricting our focus to communication patterns and how God is presented in the narrative, how do these two narratives differ? And, secondly, can we find reasons in the text of the Qur'anic passages themselves for why they differ

Chapter 22. Stories of the Prophets

The Blackwell Companion to the Qur'an is a reader's guide, a true companion for anyone who wishes to read and understand the Qur'an as a text and as a vital piece of Muslim life. Comprises over 30 original essays by leading scholars. Provides exceptionally broad coverage - considering the structure, content and rhetoric of the Qur'an; how Muslims have interpreted the text and how they interact with it; and the Qur'an's place in Islam. Features notes, an extensive bibliography, indexes of names, Qur'an citations, topics, and technical terms

Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ as Genre and Discourse: From the Qurʾān to Elijah Muhammad

The study of qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ, the Islamic tales of the prophets, has a distinguished pedigree in the Western academy, but much work remains to be done in the field. Although there have been numerous studies of individual prophetic figures over the last few decades, focused studies of specific works in the literary genre of qiṣaṣ have generally been lacking. Moreover, many studies of prophetic narratives tend to privilege exegetical works over other literary sources, including works in the genre of qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ itself. Despite the apparent contradiction, however, I would argue that the broad dissemination of qiṣaṣ-type material throughout different genres suggests that qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ is better approached as a form of discourse reflecting specific ideological purposes, in particular the appropriation of the biblical tradition and positioning of Muḥammad, the Qurʾān, and Islam as the natural culmination of the Israelite prophetic legacy. As the field develops, clear desiderata remain to be addressed, such as the incorporation of Shi’i, postclassical, and modern reflections on the prophets into the discussion, as well as the full integration of different genres and types of material, for example visual culture, into the field. All of these expressions are tied together by the common aim of shaping the portrayal of these figures in ways that reflect the diverse understandings of Islam among particular authors and communities

The evolution and uses of the stories of the Prophets

This is a stable archival PDF of an open-access, peer-reviewed journal volume originally published at www.mizanproject.org/journal

A popular retelling of Islamic stories Job, Saul, David and Noah as portrayed in Tha'labi's 'Ara'is al majalis

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Chapter 6 A Preliminary Catalogue of Qur’anic Sajʿ Techniques

This essay proposes a preliminary catalogue of fifteen suggested sajʿ structures, with representative Qur’anic examples. The basic rules that govern Qur’anic sajʿ have already been carefully elucidated by Devin Stewart in a series of articles on this subject. Stewart has also provided some exploratory illustrations of where individual sajʿahs might combine to form consecutive strings of sajʿ units. Yet the statement of the medieval rhetorician Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn ibn al-Athīr (d. 637/1239) that it is only the occasional need for “brevity” (ījāz) and “concision” (ikhtiṣār) that precluded the Qur’an from having been written entirely in sajʿ suggests that, at some point, many more of the Qur’an’s rhetorical features must have been seen as having being informed by the rules and the rhythms of sajʿ than the current perception of Qur’anic sajʿ in the Western Academy might lead one to imagine.  The idea that Qur’anic sajʿ might in fact operate within a deliberate give and take of sajʿ’s three distinct parameters—end rhyme, accentual beat patterning, and grammatical parallelism—proved to be a fruitful one in categorizing a number of the passages highlighted by Ibn al-Athīr as illustrative of the phenomenon of sajʿ in the Qur’an. Using this methodology it was possible to create a number of strings of consecutive sajʿahs that would otherwise have fallen outside of the parameters of sajʿ as it is currently understood

Interpreting al-Tha‘labi’s Tales of the Prophets: Temptation, Responsibility and Loss

Al-Tha’labi was a renowned Qur’anic scholar of the fifth/eleventh century, and his ‘Ara’is al-majalis is arguably the finest and most widely consulted example of the Islamic qisas al-anbiya’ genre. Drawing on primary Arabic sources, Klar applies modern critical methods in order to explore the nature of al-Tha’labi’s ‘Ara'is al-majalis within its historical and literary context, and thereby produces a compelling examination of the stories of Noah, Job, Saul and David as portrayed in the key historiographical and folkloric texts of the medieval Islamic period. Via a close analysis of the relevant narratives, the book considers a number of universal aspects of the human condition as they are displayed in these tales, from first a religious, then a familial, and finally a social perspective. Touching upon the benefits and limitations of the application of biblical studies and literary motifs to Islamic materials, the book investigates the possibilities of interpretation raised by a primarily psychoanalytical reading of the tales of the four individuals in question. As such, this text will be of great interest to scholars of the biblical prophets, Qur’anic studies, Islamic historiography, folklore and literary criticism

Chapter 6 A Preliminary Catalogue of Qur’anic Sajʿ Techniques

This essay proposes a preliminary catalogue of fifteen suggested sajʿ structures, with representative Qur’anic examples. The basic rules that govern Qur’anic sajʿ have already been carefully elucidated by Devin Stewart in a series of articles on this subject. Stewart has also provided some exploratory illustrations of where individual sajʿahs might combine to form consecutive strings of sajʿ units. Yet the statement of the medieval rhetorician Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn ibn al-Athīr (d. 637/1239) that it is only the occasional need for “brevity” (ījāz) and “concision” (ikhtiṣār) that precluded the Qur’an from having been written entirely in sajʿ suggests that, at some point, many more of the Qur’an’s rhetorical features must have been seen as having being informed by the rules and the rhythms of sajʿ than the current perception of Qur’anic sajʿ in the Western Academy might lead one to imagine.  The idea that Qur’anic sajʿ might in fact operate within a deliberate give and take of sajʿ’s three distinct parameters—end rhyme, accentual beat patterning, and grammatical parallelism—proved to be a fruitful one in categorizing a number of the passages highlighted by Ibn al-Athīr as illustrative of the phenomenon of sajʿ in the Qur’an. Using this methodology it was possible to create a number of strings of consecutive sajʿahs that would otherwise have fallen outside of the parameters of sajʿ as it is currently understood