Reading and Interpreting the Qur’an (in translation)

With Dr. Timothy Gianotti

By the end of the course, students will – God willing – have achieved:

A basic familiarity with the Qur’ānic texts studied over the course of the term and a more general awareness of the resonance of these texts with the Hebrew Bible and New Testament;

A studied appreciation for the range of diverse approaches and interpretations employed by historical and contemporary interpreters;

An appreciation for the theological and legal implications of exegesis, including the social and legal importance of the traditional “Qur’ānic sciences”;

An awareness of the ways in which social, political, and historical factors influence the ways in which the Qur’ānic text is received and used by the community of believers;

A general familiarity with some of the most important and useful research tools and books (in English) for the academic study of the Qur’ān.

Time: 10:00 am – 12:00
Dates:
Sundays
November 27, 2011
December 4,11,18, 2011
January 8,15,22,29, 2012
Location: Upper classroom, Noor Cultural Centre
Fee: $200
Class cap: 20 students

Required Texts:

The Qur’an in an approved English translation – for example, one by: Muhammad Assad, Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Marmaduke Pickthall, Laleh Bakhtiar, Muhammad Abdel Haleem, Ahmad Zaki Hammad.

The Qur’an: A User’s Guide by Farid Esack(Oneworld, 2005). ISBN-10: 1851683542; ISBN-13: 978-1405122580

Major Themes of the Qur’an. Second Edition by Fazlur Rahman(University of Chicago Press, 2009).  ISBN-10: 0226702863; ISBN-13: 978-0226702865

Recommended Texts:

The Story of the Qur’an: Its History and Place in Muslim Life by Ingrid Mattson. (Blackwell, 2007).  ISBN-10:1405122587; ISBN-13: 978-1405122580

The Cambridge Companion to the Qur’an by Jane Dammon McAuliffe(Cambridge University Press, 2006).  ISBN-10: 052153934X; ISBN-13: 978-0521539340

Approaching the Qur’an: the Early Revelations, Second Edition by Michael  Sells. (White Cloud Press, 2007).  ISBN-10: 1883991692; ISBN-13: 978-1883991692

Ulum al-Qur’an: An Introduction to the Qur’anic Sciences by Ahmed Von Denffer. (Leicestershire: The Islamic Foundation, 2000).

For more information or to register, please email info@noorculturalcentre.ca.

Timothy Gianotti is a Professor of Islamic Studies and has most recently served as the Noor Fellow in Arabic and Islamic Studies at York University.

Please see Noor’s Cancellations Policy.