Includes bibliographical references (pages 227-246) and index.
Contents:
Introduction -- 1. How to read the Qur'an holistically : understanding the rationale -- 2. Beginnning at the beginning : Al-Fātiḥa as a prelude to Surat al-Baqara -- 3. Symmetry and a mounting dynamic : al-Baqara's skeletal outline -- 4. Thematic affirmation : al-Baqara's chiastic structure -- 5. "God as guide" : Surat al-Baqara's running theme in the divine self-revelatory reading -- 6. Placing humanity at the focal point : "responsibility" as the pedagogical running theme of Surat al-Baquara -- 7. Windows into the tradition : al-Biqā'ī and al-Ṭabāṭabā'ī on Surat al-Baqara -- Conclusion -- Appendix : Holistic approaches in Biblical studies.
Summary:
"This book is a study of the poetics of Qurʼanic narrative, specifically the poetics of Surat al-Baqara, the second and longest sura in the Qurʼan. It argues that the sura, which has often been dismissed by Orientalist critics as a jumbled collection of unrelated material, can be appreciated as a coherent composition by approaching it as an oral text, that is, by paying attention to oral structural markers such as repetition."-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.