|
|
Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian sacred works & liturgy > Sacred texts > General
Qur'anic Studies Today brings together specialists in the field of
Islamic studies to provide a range of essays that reflect the depth
and breadth of scholarship on the Qur'an. Combining theoretical and
methodological clarity with close readings of qur'anic texts, these
contributions provide close analysis of specific passages, themes,
and issues within the Qur'an, even as they attend to the
disciplinary challenges within the field of qur'anic studies today.
Chapters are arranged into three parts, treating specific figures
appearing in the Qur'an, analysing particular suras, and finally
reflecting on the Qur'an and its "others." They explore the
internal dimensions and interior chronology of the Qur'an as text,
its possible conversations with biblical and non-biblical
traditions in Late Antiquity, and its role as scripture in modern
exegesis and recitation. Together, they are indispensable for
students and scholars who seek an understanding of the Qur'an
founded on the most recent scholarly achievements. Offering both a
reflection of and a reflection on the discipline of qur'anic
studies, the strong, scholarly examinations of the Qur'an in this
volume provide a valuable contribution to Islamic and qur'anic
studies.
Papers collected in this volume try to illuminate various aspects
of philosophical theology dealt with by different Jewish and early
Christian authors and texts (e.g. the Acts of the Apostles, Philo,
Origen, Gregory of Nazianzus), rooted in and influenced by the
Hellenistic religious, cultural, and philosophical context, and
they also focus on the literary and cultural traditions of
Hellenized Judaism and its reception (e.g. Sibylline Oracles,
Prayer of Manasseh), including material culture ("Elephant Mosaic
Panel" from Huqoq synagogue). By studying the Hellenistic
influences on early Christianity, both in response to and in
reaction against early Hellenized Judaism, the volume intends not
only to better understand Christianity, as a religious and
historical phenomenon with a profound impact on the development of
European civilization, but also to better comprehend Hellenism and
its consequences which have often been relegated to the realm of
political history.
First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor &
Francis, an informa company.
One of the cornerstones of the religious Jewish experience in all
its variations is Torah study, and this learning is considered a
central criterion for leadership. Jewish Women's Torah Study
addresses the question of women's integration in the
halachic-religious system at this pivotal intersection. The
contemporary debate regarding women's Torah study first emerged in
the second half of the 19th century. As women's status in general
society changed, offering increased legal rights and opportunities
for education, a debate on the need to change women's participation
in Torah study emerged. Orthodoxy was faced with the question:
which parts, if any, of modernity should be integrated into
Halacha? Exemplifying the entire array of Orthodox responses to
modernity, this book is a valuable addition to the scholarship of
Judaism in the modern era and will be of interest to students and
scholars of Religion, Gender Studies and Jewish Studies.
Biblical ethics and eloquence reached a pinnacle with the great
writing Prophets - from Amos, Isaiah and Jeremiah, to Zechariah.
Prophethood has also been central to Islam. Muhammad, its final
messenger, is coupled with Allah in the Islamic faith, through
confession or shahadah.
'Letters of Light' is a translation of over ninety passages from a
well-known Hasidic text, 'Ma'or va-shemesh', consisting of homilies
of Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Krakow, together with a running
commentary and analysis by Aryeh Wineman. With remarkable
creativity, the Krakow preacher recast biblical episodes and texts
through the prism both of the pietistic values of Hasidism, with
its accent on the inner life and the Divine innerness of all
existence, and of his ongoing wrestling with questions of the
primacy of the individual vis-a-vis of the community. The
commentary traces the route leading from the Torah text itself
through various later sources to the Krakow preacher's own reading
of the biblical text, one that often transforms the very tenor of
the text he was expounding. Though composed almost two centuries
ago, 'Ma'or va-shemesh' comprises an impressive spiritual
statement, many aspects of which can speak to our own time and its
spiritual strivings.
In Preface to Paradise Lost, C. S. Lewis presents an illuminating
reflection on John Milton's Paradise Lost, the seminal classic that
profoundly influenced Christian thought as well as Lewis's own
work. Lewis a revered scholar and professor of literature closely
examines the style, content, structure, and themes of Milton's
masterpiece, a retelling of the biblical story from the Fall of
Humankind, Satan's temptation, and the expulsion of Adam and Eve
from the Garden of Eden. Considering this story within the context
of the Western literary tradition, Lewis offers invaluable insights
into Paradise Lost and the nature of literature itself, unveiling
the poem's beauty and its wisdom. With a clarity of thought and a
style that are the trademarks of Lewis's writing, he provides
answers with a lucidity and lightness that deepens our
understanding of Milton's immortal work. Also inspiring new readers
to revisit Paradise Lost, Lewis reminds us of why elements
including ritual, splendour and joy deserve to exist and hold a
sacred place in human life. One of Lewis's most revered scholarly
works, Preface to Paradise Lost is an indispensable read for new
and lifelong fans of Lewis's writing.
The Bhagavad Gita opens with a crisis - Prince Arjuna despairs on
the battlefield, unsure if he should fight his kinsmen in a
dreadful war. For Easwaran, the Gita's epic battle represents the
war in our own hearts and Arjuna's anguish reflects the human
condition: torn between opposing forces, confused about how to
live. Sri Krishna's timeless guidance, Easwaran argues, can shed
light on our dilemmas today. Placing the Gita's teachings in a
modern context, Easwaran explores the nature of reality, the
illusion of separateness, the search for identity, the meaning of
yoga, and how to heal the unconscious. The key message of the Gita
is how to resolve our conflicts and live in harmony with the deep
unity of life, through the practice of meditation and spiritual
disciplines. Sri Krishna doesn't tell Arjuna what to do. He points
out the prince's choices, and then leaves it to Arjuna to decide.
Easwaran shows us clearly how these teachings still apply - and
how, like Arjuna, we must take courage and act wisely if we want
our world to thrive.
The R m yana of V lm ki is considered by many contemporary
Hindus to be a foundational religious text. But this understanding
is in part the result of a transformation of the epic s receptive
history, a hermeneutic project which challenged one
characterization of the genre of the text, as a work of literary
culture, and replaced it with another, as a work of remembered
tradition.
This book examines R m yana commentaries, poetic retellings, and
praise-poems produced by intellectuals within the r vaisnava order
of South India from 1250 to 1600 and shows how these intellectuals
reconceptualized R ma s story through the lens of their devotional
metaphysics. r vaisnavas applied innovative interpretive techniques
to the R m yana, including allegorical reading, " lesa "reading
(reading a verse as a "double entendre"), and the application of
vernacular performance techniques such as word play, improvisation,
repetition, and novel forms of citation. The book is of interest
not only to R m yana specialists but also to those engaged with
Indian intellectual history, literary studies, and the history of
religions."
This book investigates the manner in which the Qur'an and sunna
depict female personalities in their narrative literature.
Providing a comprehensive study of all the female personalities
mentioned in the Qur'an, the book is selective in the personalities
of the sunna, examining the three prominent women of ahl al-bayt;
Khadija, Fatima, and Zaynab. Analysing the major sources of Imami
Shi'i Islam, including the exegetical compilations of the eminent
Shi'i religious authorities of the classical and modern periods, as
well as the authoritative books of Shi'i traditions, this book
finds that the varieties of female personalities are portrayed as
human beings on different stages of the spiritual spectrum. They
display feminine qualities, which are often viewed positively and
are sometimes commendable traits for men, at least as far as the
spiritual domain is concerned. The theory, particularly regarding
women's humanity, is then tested against the depiction of womanhood
in the hadith literature, with special emphasis on Nahj al-Balagha.
Contributing a fresh perspective on classical materials, this book
will be of interest to students and scholars of Islamic Studies,
Women's Studies and Shi'i Studies.
By providing an annotated translation of, and applying the methods
of literary criticism to, a first-century account of the life of
the saint Purna, this study introduces the reader to the richness
and complexity of an essential Buddhist genre.
This book examines in detail the concept of "abrogation" in the
Qur an, which has played a major role in the development of Islamic
law and has implications for understanding the history and
integrity of the Qur anic text. The term has gained popularity in
recent years, as Muslim groups and individuals claim that many
passages about tolerance in the Qur an have been abrogated by
others that call on Muslims to fight their enemies. Author Louay
Fatoohi argues that this could not have been derived from the Qur
an, and that its implications contradict Qur anic principles. He
also reveals conceptual flaws in the principle of abrogation as
well as serious problems with the way it was applied by different
scholars.
Abrogation in the Qur an and Islamic Law traces the development
of the concept from its most basic form to the complex and
multi-faceted doctrine it has become. The book shows what specific
problems the three modes of abrogation were introduced to solve,
and how this concept has shaped Islamic law. The book also
critiques the role of abrogation in rationalizing the view that not
all of the Qur anic revelation has survived in the "mushaf," or the
written record of the Qur an. This role makes understanding
abrogation an essential prerequisite for studying the history of
the Qur anic text. "
The first in the Magerman Educational Siddur Series, The Koren
Children's Siddur created for the early elementary grades, combines
stimulating and beautiful illustrations with thought-provoking
educational components on each page to provide teachers and parents
with an educational resource as much as a conventional siddur. The
siddur, for kindergarten, first and second grades, is also
accompanied by a comprehensive Teacher and Parents Guide to
maximize the educational potential of this beginner's siddur.
This scholarly introduction explores the mysteries of Qabalah
through the symbolism of the Tree of Life and its four distinct
elements: the three Pillars of Manifestation, the ten Holy
Sephiroth, the Paths that run to and from the Sephiroth, and the
Veils. For each Sephirah, Bonner provides detailed information on
magical, astrological, and tarot correspondences - as well as how
different religious traditions relate to the concepts contained in
each.
During the Reformation, the Book of Psalms became one of the most
well-known books of the Bible. This was particularly true in
Britain, where people of all ages, social classes and educational
abilities memorized and sang poetic versifications of the psalms.
Those written by Thomas Sternhold and John Hopkins became the most
popular, and the simple tunes developed and used by English and
Scottish churches to accompany these texts were carried by
soldiers, sailors and colonists throughout the English-speaking
world. Among these tunes were a number that are still used today,
including 'Old Hundredth', 'Martyrs', and 'French'. This book is
the first to consider both English and Scottish metrical psalmody,
comparing the two traditions in print and practice. It combines
theological literary and musical analysis to reveal new and
ground-breaking connections between the psalm texts and their
tunes, which it traces in the English and Scottish psalters printed
through 1640. Using this new analysis in combination with a more
thorough evaluation of extant church records, Duguid contends that
Britain developed and maintained two distinct psalm cultures, one
in England and the other in Scotland.
This commentary on the Greek text of the Jewish-Hellenistic
Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides, a sapiential poem of the first
century BCE or first century CE, offers a full treatment of its
sources, structure, perspective, and purpose as well as a
verse-by-verse translation and analysis. The Greek text is given in
an appendix. The cross-cultural nature of these moral teachings is
emphasized through extensive reference to Biblical, Hellenistic
Jewish, and Greco-Roman comparative materials. Key Features First
commentary on Pseudo-Phocylides in 20 years Standard reference work
also for private libraries Third volume of the new series
Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature (which also includes
Allison: Testament of Abraham; Fitzmyer: Tobit)
This book continues the work of The Qur'an in its Historical
Context, in which an international group of scholars address an
expanded range of topics on the Qur'an and its origins, looking
beyond medieval Islamic traditions to present the Qur'an's own
conversation with the religions and literatures of its day.
Particular attention is paid to recent debates and controversies in
the field, and to uncovering the Qur'an's relationship with Judaism
and Christianity. After a foreword by Abdolkarim Soroush, chapters
by renowned experts cover: method in Qur'anic Studies analysis of
material evidence, including inscriptions and ancient manuscripts,
for what they show of the Qur'an's origins the language of the
Qur'an and proposed ways to emend our reading of the Qur'an how our
knowledge of the religious groups at the time of the Qur'an's
emergence might contribute to a better understanding of the text
the Qur'an's conversation with Biblical literature and traditions
that challenge the standard understanding of the holy book. This
debate of recent controversial proposals for new interpretations of
the Qur'an will shed new light on the Qur'anic passages that have
been shrouded in mystery and debate. As such, it will be a valuable
reference for scholars of Islam, the Qur'an, Christian-Muslim
relations and the Middle East.
|
|