Suitable for students and scholars, this title presents an introduction to one of the richest texts in the history of religious thought, Qur'an. It unravels the Qur'an's complexities with the deep attachment of a Muslim educated in Islamic schools and the clarity of a scholar who taught for decades in the West.
Fazlur Rahman (1919-88), one of the most important Muslim scholars of the twentieth century, devoted his career to helping students understand the Qur'an's teachings about God, man, and society. Back in print for a new generation of students and scholars to discover, "Major Themes of the Qur'an" is his introduction to one of the richest texts in the history of religious thought. In this classic work, Rahman unravels the Qur'an's complexities with the deep attachment of a Muslim educated in Islamic schools and the clarity of a scholar who taught for decades in the West.
Fazlur Rahman (1919-88) was the Harold H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor of Islamic Thought at the University of Chicago. He was the author of ten books, including Islam and Modernity and Islam, also published by the University of Chicago Press.
Acknowledgments Foreword by Ebrahim Moosa Introduction Chapter One God Chapter Two Man as Individua Chapter Three Man in Society Chapter Four Nature Chapter Five Prophethood and Revelation Chapter Six Eschatology Chapter Seven Satan and Evil Chapter Eight Emergence of the Muslim Community Appendix I The Religious Situation of the Muslim Community in Mecca Appendix II The People of the Book and Diversity of Religions Index
"[Rahman] is a mature thinker, at once well informed and basically realistic about the reigning myths of modern secularist society. He is also a clear writer capable of disarming simplicity and tightly reasoned, technically detailed argument." - Patrick D. Gaffney, Journal of Religion "An event that needs to be given close attention. What is more, the book would seem to deserve attention for another reason: its aim to provide an introduction to the content of the Qur'an, something which most would agree has been sorely lacking until now." - Andrew Rippin, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies "Here is a painstaking and positive effort to think through the Qur'an beyond the verse by verse, tediously grammatical, scrutiny which many have employed in past centuries." - Kenneth Cragg, Middle East Journal"
"Those who have been disappointed in what must seem the