The Study Quran

Abstract

The Study Quran (hereafter SQ) is an impressive undertaking that took several scholars years to complete. It consists of a general introduction, a translation of the Qur’an, a synopsis/adaptation of certain Quran commentaries, and a series of essays that seek to explain the sacred text’s place in Islamic life and thought. These latter range from “How to Read the Quran” and “The Islamic View of the Quran” to “Quranic Ethics, Human Rights, and Society” and different aspects of the text’s interpretation, such as “The Qur’an and Sufism” and “Quranic Commentaries.” The project includes maps that reconstruct the position of important events such as the Battle of Badr and the Conquest of Makkah. Several of the essays are written by excellent scholars, and the project as a whole is grand in its scope. The entire work, including introductions and maps, exceeds 2,000 pages. It is difficult to review such a work as a whole, because there is so much of it and at almost every level it represents a construction of particular values and views. From the choice of the editors and their approach to the manner of translating the text, the commentaries that are included, and even the maps – each of these elements has been chosen by the editors as a part of an overall vision of what it takes to understand the Quran correctly ...