Synopsis:
A major new translation of the sacred text of Islam.
The Qur?an, or literally ?recitation,? is the central religious text of Islam and the holy book of the Muslim faith. Originally composed in Arabic in the seventh century, the Qur?an collects the divine revelations passed down to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel over many years after his first vision in a cave. In 114 chapters, or suras, the Qur?an provides the rules of conduct that remain fundamental to Muslims today?most important, the key Islamic values of prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, and absolute faith in God, with profound spiritual guidance on matters of marriage and family, crime and punishment, rituals, food, warfare, and charity.
With an estimated 1.8 billion members globally, Islam remains the second largest religion in the world after Christianity. And in light of the current upheavals in the Islamic world, there is a growing English-language audience eager to read and understand Islam and the Qur?an.
This new English translation by one of the foremost scholars of Islamic history, Tarif Khalidi, conveys the powerful language of the Qur?an and retains the rhythms and structure of the original Arabic. It brings to life for readers in English one of the world?s most influential sacred texts, forming a revelatory introduction to the prophetic narratives central to Muslim belief.
About the Author:
Tarif Khalidi was born in Jerusalem in 1938. He received degrees from University College, Oxford, and the University of Chicago, before teaching at the American University of Beirut as a professor in the Department of History from 1970 to 1996. In 1985 he accepted a one-year position as senior research associate at St Anthony's College, Oxford, and from 1991 to 1992 was a visiting overseas scholar at St John's College, Cambridge. In 1996, Tarif Khalidi left Beirut to become the Sir Thomas Adams' Professor of Arabic at Cambridge University, the oldest chair of Arabic in the English-speaking world. He was also Director of the Centre for Middle East and Islamic Studies and a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. After six years, Professor Khalidi returned to the American University of Beirut, taking on the Sheikh Zayed Chair in Islamic and Arabic Studies, the first chair to be filled at the University since the civil war.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
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