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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian sacred works & liturgy > Sacred texts > General
In this book, Lynn Kaye examines how rabbis of late antiquity
thought about time through their legal reasoning and storytelling,
and what these insights mean for thinking about time today.
Providing close readings of legal and narrative texts in the
Babylonian Talmud, she compares temporal ideas with related
concepts in ancient and modern philosophical texts and in religious
traditions from late antique Mesopotamia. Kaye demonstrates that
temporal flexibility in the Babylonian Talmud is a means of
exploring and resolving legal uncertainties, as well as a tool to
tell stories that convey ideas effectively and dramatically. Her
book, the first on time in the Talmud, makes accessible complex
legal texts and philosophical ideas. It also connects the
literature of late antique Judaism with broader theological and
philosophical debates about time.
A unique resource for understanding the Islamic Holy Book. As
Islamic terrorism becomes a distressingly common feature of life in
North America and Europe, it has become increasingly important for
non-Muslims to be aware of the ideology that animates and motivates
jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women and others--an
ideology that's rooted in Islam's holy book, the Qur'an.
English-speaking people, however, have found attempts to understand
the Qur'an and Islam impeded by unclear, densely worded
translations and explanatory notes written by Islamic apologists
attempting to conceal, rather than reveal, how Islamic jihadis use
the texts and teachings of the Qur'an to justify violence and
supremacism, and to make recruits of peaceful Muslims. The Critical
Qur'an, in contrast, makes clear the passages that are used to
incite violence. Historian and Islamic scholar Robert Spencer
elucidates the Qur'anic text with extensive references to the
principal tafsir, or commentaries, that mainstream Muslims use
today to understand the Qur'an, showing how interpretations that
sanction violence are unfortunately not outliers, but central in
Islamic theology. The Critical Qur'an is the Islamic counterpart to
numerous critical and skeptical editions of the Bible that have
appeared over the last century and more. It is the one edition of
Islam's book that doesn't shy away from elucidating why the holy
book of Islam is so frequently quoted and referred to with
reverence by people who commit and/or justify acts of violence. It
is a basic resource for everyone who wishes to understand the
persistent phenomenon of Islamic terrorism, and the peculiar
provenance of this most provocative book.
Reprint of the 1998 work (Collins, San Francisco). Writing for non-
Muslims, Cragg offers an abridged literary (as opposed to literal)
translation of the Qur'an, presenting the text in eight segments
representing eight main themes. He also includes a substantial
introductory essay explaining this approach and reflecting on the
relevance of the Qur'an in the contemporary world.
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The Koran
(Paperback)
Arthur J. Arberry
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R326
R272
Discovery Miles 2 720
Save R54 (17%)
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The Koran is a book apart, not only as Holy Scripture for Muslims,
but as the supreme classic of Arabic literature. In its 114 Suras,
or chapters, it comprises the total of revelations believed to have
been communicated to the prophet Muhammad as a final expression of
God's will and purpose for man. The revelations were received over
a number of years, the first dating from AD 610, the last shortly
before Muhammad's death in AD 632, and the definitive canon was
established some twenty years later. The Koran is neither prose nor
poetry but a unique fusion of both. In his attempt to convey the
sublime rhetoric of the original, Professor Arberry has carefully
studied the intricate and richly varied rhythms which - apart from
the message itself - serve to explain the Koran's undeniable claim
to rank among the greatest literary masterpieces of mankind. ABOUT
THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made
available the widest range of literature from around the globe.
Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship,
providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable
features, including expert introductions by leading authorities,
helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for
further study, and much more.
Internationally renowned author and Bible teacher Joyce Meyer
provides a close study on Philippians, emphasizing the true joy
that comes from serving others through Christ. Paul's letter to the
people at Philippi serves as a reminder that if we search for joy
in possessions, places, or people, we will always come up short.
True, lasting joy comes only through faith in Jesus Christ, living
in harmony with His followers, and serving others in the name of
Christ. The life lived by the Philippians is still attainable
today. In her comprehensive approach, Joyce Meyer takes a deep dive
into well-known and beloved verses, identifying key truths and
incorporating room for personal reflection. Joyce's Philippians
provides a key study tool that will help you develop a stronger
relationship with God. If you take time to examine His word, you'll
see how much He loves you and how much He desires that you live a
joyful, content life on earth!
Jewish thought since the Middle Ages can be regarded as a sustained
dialogue with Moses Maimonides, regardless of the different social,
cultural, and intellectual environments in which it was conducted.
Much of Jewish intellectual history can be viewed as a series of
engagements with him, fueled by the kind of 'Jewish' rabbinic and
esoteric writing Maimonides practiced. This book examines a wide
range of theologians, philosophers, and exegetes who share a
passionate engagement with Maimonides, assaulting, adopting,
subverting, or adapting his philosophical and jurisprudential
thought. This ongoing enterprise is critical to any appreciation of
the broader scope of Jewish law, philosophy, biblical
interpretation, and Kabbalah. Maimonides's legal, philosophical,
and exegetical corpus became canonical in the sense that many
subsequent Jewish thinkers were compelled to struggle with it in
order to advance their own thought. As such, Maimonides joins
fundamental Jewish canon alongside the Bible, the Talmud, and the
Zohar.
This commentary on a selection of daily chants offers an important
perspective upon some of the core tenets of Buddhist thought and
teaching. The Venerable Myoko-ni surveys some of the key chants,
including The Repentance Sutra, The Heart Sutra, and The Four Great
Vows, assessing their origins, and the meaning that lies behind
their creation and interpretation. An invaluable guide to all
engaged in Buddhism and some of its key daily practices.
This book presents an intellectual history of today's Muslim world,
surveying contemporary Muslim thinking in its various
manifestations, addressing a variety of themes that impact on the
lives of present-day Muslims. Focusing on the period from roughly
the late 1960s to the first decade of the twenty-first century, the
book is global in its approach and offers an overview of different
strands of thought and trends in the development of new ideas,
distinguishing between traditional, reactionary, and progressive
approaches. It presents a variety of themes and issues including:
The continuing relevance of the legacy of traditional Islamic
learning as well as the use of reason; the centrality of the
Qur'an; the spiritual concerns of contemporary Muslims; political
thought regarding secularity, statehood, and governance; legal and
ethical debates; related current issues like human rights, gender
equality, and religious plurality; as well as globalization,
ecology and the environment, bioethics, and life sciences. An
alternative account of Islam and the Muslim world today,
counterbalancing narratives that emphasise politics and
confrontations with the West, this book is an essential resource
for students and scholars of Islam.
An essential companion to a timeless spiritual classic The Lotus
Sutra is among the most venerated scriptures of Buddhism. Composed
in India some two millennia ago, it asserts the potential for all
beings to attain supreme enlightenment. Donald Lopez and Jacqueline
Stone provide an essential reading companion to this inspiring yet
enigmatic masterpiece, explaining how it was understood by its
compilers in India and, centuries later in medieval Japan, by one
of its most influential proponents. In this illuminating
chapter-by-chapter guide, Lopez and Stone show how the sutra's
anonymous authors skillfully reframed the mainstream Buddhist
tradition in light of a new vision of the path and the person of
the Buddha himself, and examine how the sutra's metaphors,
parables, and other literary devices worked to legitimate that
vision. They go on to explore how the Lotus was interpreted by the
Japanese Buddhist master Nichiren (1222-1282), whose inspired
reading of the book helped to redefine modern Buddhism. In doing
so, Lopez and Stone demonstrate how readers of sacred works
continually reinterpret them in light of their own unique
circumstances. An invaluable guide to an incomparable spiritual
classic, this book unlocks the teachings of the Lotus for modern
readers while providing insights into the central importance of
commentary as the vehicle by which ancient writings are given
contemporary meaning.
A concise and illuminating portrait of Allah from one of the
world's leading Qur'anic scholars The central figure of the Qur'an
is not Muhammad but Allah. The Qur'an, Islam's sacred scripture, is
marked above all by its call to worship Allah, and Allah alone. Yet
who is the God of the Qur'an? What distinguishes the qur'anic
presentation of God from that of the Bible? In this illuminating
study, Gabriel Said Reynolds depicts a god of both mercy and
vengeance, one who transcends simple classification. He is personal
and mysterious; no limits can be placed on his mercy. Remarkably,
the Qur'an is open to God's salvation of both sinners and
unbelievers. At the same time, Allah can lead humans astray, so all
are called to a disposition of piety and fear. Allah, in other
words, is a dynamic and personal God. This eye-opening book
provides a unique portrait of the God of the Qur'an.
Read our customer guide The Torah is the essence of Jewish
tradition; it inspires each successive generation. The current JPS
translation, based on classical and modern sources, is acclaimed
for its fidelity to the ancient Hebrew.
Systematically reading Jewish exegesis in light of Homeric
scholarship, this book argues that more than 2000 years ago
Alexandrian Jews developed critical and literary methods of Bible
interpretation which are still extremely relevant today. Maren R.
Niehoff provides a detailed analysis of Alexandrian Bible
interpretation, from the second century BCE through newly
discovered fragments to the exegetical work done by Philo. Niehoff
shows that Alexandrian Jews responded in a great variety of ways to
the Homeric scholarship developed at the Museum. Some Jewish
scholars used the methods of their Greek colleagues to investigate
whether their Scripture contained myths shared by other nations,
while others insisted that significant differences existed between
Judaism and other cultures. This book is vital for any student of
ancient Judaism, early Christianity and Hellenistic culture.
The JPS Jewish Heritage Torah Commentary shows Jews of all ages and
backgrounds that the Jewish people's most significant book is not
dusty and irrelevant but an eternally sacred text wholly pertinent
to our modern lives. Designed to keep the attention of all readers,
each lively essay is both brief enough to be read in minutes and
deep and substantive enough to deliver abundant food for thought.
Its cornerstone is its unique four-part meditation on the Jewish
heritage. After briefly summarizing a Torah portion, the commentary
orbits that portion through four central pillars of Jewish life-the
Torah (Torat Yisrael), the land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael), the
Jewish people (Am Yisrael), and Jewish thought (Mahshevet
Yisrael)-illuminating how the four intersect and enrich one
another. Furthering the Jewish thought motif, every essay ends with
two questions for thought well suited for discussion settings. Each
commentary can be used as the launchpad for a lesson, a sermon, a
d'var Torah, or a discussion. Readers from beginners to experts
will come away with new understandings of our Jewish heritage-and
be inspired to draw closer to its four dimensions.
Centering on the first extant martyr story (2 Maccabees 7), this
study explores the "autonomous value" of martyrdom. The story of a
mother and her seven sons who die under the torture of the Greek
king Antiochus displaces the long-problematic Temple sacrificial
cult with new cultic practices, and presents a new family romance
that encodes unconscious fantasies of child-bearing fathers and
eternal mergers with mothers. This study places the martyr story in
the historical context of the Hasmonean struggle for legitimacy in
the face of Jewish civil wars, and uses psychoanalytic theories to
analyze the unconscious meaning of the martyr-family story.
Fakhr al-Din Razi's "Tafsir", "The Great Exegesis', also known as
"Mafatih al-Ghayb", is one of the great classics of Arabic and
Islamic scholarship. Written in the twelfth century, this
commentary on the Qur'an has remained until today an indispensable
reference work. "The Great Exegesis" is a compendium not only of
Qur'anic sciences and meanings, but also Arabic linguistics,
comparative jurisprudence, Aristotelian and Islamic philosophy,
dialectic theology and the spirituality of Sufism.---The present
volume is the first ever translation into English from "The Great
Exegesis" and focuses on the first chapter of the Qur'an, the
"Fatiha". This scholarly yet accessible translation gives readers a
thorough understanding of the most commonly recited chapter of the
Qur'an; it also opens up for readers a window into the thought and
practice of one of Islam's greatest theologians. This volume
includes a foreword by Professor M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, King Fahd
Professor of Islamic Studies, University of London.
The Ramayana is one of the great epics of the ancient world, with
versions spanning the cultures, religions and languages of Asia.
Its story of Rama's quest to recover his wife Sita from her
abduction by Raavana, the Lord of the Underworld, has enchanted
readers and audiences across the Eastern world for thousands of
years. Daljit Nagra was captivated by his grandparents' Punjabi
version as a child, and has chosen to rejuvenate the story for a
new generation of multicultural, multi-faith readers. By drawing on
scenes originating in versions such as those from Cambodia, Laos
and Thailand, as well as the better-known Indian Ramayanas, and by
incorporating elements of Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain and secular
versions, Nagra creates a consciously multicultural Ramayana. This
dazzling version is both accessible and engaging, written in
Nagra's typically vibrant and eclectic language, and bursting with
energy, pathos and humour.
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Sahih Muslim (Volume 6)
(Paperback)
Abul-Husain Muslim; Introduction by Imam Nawawi; Notes by Imam Nawawi; Edited by Adil Salahi
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R489
Discovery Miles 4 890
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Imam Nawawi's commentary on Sahih Muslim is one of the most highly
regarded works in Islamic thought and literature. Accepted by every
sunni school of thought, and foundational in the Shaafi school,
this text, available for the first time in English, is famed
throughout the Muslim world. After the Qur'an, the prophetic
traditions are the most recognised source of wisdom in Islam.
Amongst the collected Hadith, Sahih Muslim is second only to the
the collection of Imam Bukhari. With a commentary by Imam Nawawi,
whose other works are amongst the most widely-read books on Islam,
and translated by Adil Salahi, a modern scholar of great acclaim,
this immense work, finally available to English readers, is an
essential addition to every Muslim library, and for anybody with an
interest in Islamic thought.
The Biblical World is a comprehensive guide to the contents,
historical settings, and social context of the Bible. This new
edition is updated with several new chapters as well as a new
section on biblical interpretation. Contributions from leading
scholars in the field present wide-ranging views not just of
biblical materials and their literary and linguistic context, but
also of the social institutions, history and archaeology, and
religious concepts. New chapters cover topics such as the
priesthood and festivals, creation and covenant, ethics, and family
life, while a new section on biblical interpretation discusses
Jewish and Christian bible translation and key thematic emphases,
and modern reader-response and cultural approaches. This revised
edition of The Biblical World offers an up-to-date and thorough
survey of the Bible and its world, and will continue to be an
invaluable resource for students and scholars of the Hebrew Bible
and New Testament and their history and interpretation, as well as
anyone working on the societies, religions, and political and
cultural institutions that created and influenced these texts.
What is so unique about Islam's scripture, the Quran? Who wrote it,
and when? Can we trust its statements to be from Muhammad? Why was
it written in Arabic? Does it command Muslims to fight Christians?
These are a few of the thirty questions answered in this clear and
concise guide to the history and contents of the Quran. Ayman
Ibrahim grew up in the Muslim world and has spent many years
teaching various courses on Islam. Using a question-and-answer
format, Ibrahim covers critical questions about the most sacred
book for Muslims. He examines Muslim and non-Muslim views
concerning the Quran, shows how the Quran is used in contemporary
expressions of Islam, answers many of the key questions non-Muslims
have about the Quran and Islam, and reveals the importance of
understanding the Quran for Christian-Muslim and Jewish-Muslim
interfaith relations. This introductory guide is written for anyone
with little to no knowledge of Islam who wants to learn about
Muslims, their beliefs, and their scripture.
This third volume of The Zohar: Pritzker Edition completes the
Zohar's commentary on the book of Genesis. Here we find spiritual
explorations of numerous biblical narratives, including Jacob's
wrestling with the angel, Joseph's kidnapping by his brothers, his
near seduction by Potiphar's wife, his interpretation of Pharaoh's
dreams, and his reunion with his brothers and father. Throughout,
the Zohar probes the biblical text and seeks deeper meaning-for
example, the divine intention behind Joseph's disappearance, or the
profound significance of human sexuality. Divine and human
realities intertwine, affecting one another. Toward the end of
Genesis, the Bible states: Jacob's days drew near to die-an
idiomatic expression that the Zohar insists on reading
hyperliterally. Each human being is challenged to live his days
virtuously. If he does, those days themselves are woven into a
garment of splendor; at death, they "draw near," enveloping him,
escorting him to the beyond. Sefer ha-Zohar (The Book of Radiance)
has amazed and overwhelmed readers ever since it emerged
mysteriously in medieval Spain toward the end of the thirteenth
century. Written in a unique Aramaic, this masterpiece of Kabbalah
exceeds the dimensions of a normal book; it is virtually a body of
literature, comprising over twenty discrete sections. The bulk of
the Zohar consists of a running commentary on the Torah, from
Genesis through Deuteronomy.
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