Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān

by: Jane Dammen McAuliffe General Editor

Publication date: 2005

Topics: Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān Jane Dammen McAuliffe General Editor ISBN 90 04 11465 3 Publisher Brill, Leiden The Qur'ān is the primary religious text for one-sixth of the world's population. Understood by Muslims to contain God's own words, it has been an object of reverence and of intense study for centuries. The thousands of volumes that Muslim scholars have devoted to Qur'ānic interpretation and to the linguistic, rhetorical and narrative analysis of the text are sufficient to create entire libraries of Qur'ānic studies. Drawing upon a rich scholarly heritage, Brill's "Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān" (EQ) combines alphabetically-arranged articles about the contents of the Qur'ān. It is an encyclopaedic dictionary of Qur'ānic terms, concepts, personalities, place names, cultural history and exegesis extended with essays on the most important themes and subjects within Qur'ānic studies. With nearly 1000 entries in 5 volumes, the "EQ" is the first comprehensive, Analogy (see Language and Style of the Qurʾān, Exegesis of the Qurʾān: Classical and Mediaeval), Ancestors (see Kinship and Family), Ant (see Animal Life), Anthropocentricity (see Creation), Anthropology (see Social Sciences and the Qurʾān), Apocalyptic Suras (see Sura), Appointed Time (see Freedom and Predestination, Time), Army (see Expeditions and Battles), Ass (see Animal Life), Association (see Politics and the Qurʾān), multi-volume reference work on the Qur'ān to appear in a Western language. Cross-referencing and indices, Astronomy (see Cosmology in the Qurʾān), Asylum (see Protection Oaths), Atmospheric Pressure (see Natural World and the Qurʾān), Atom (see Science and the Qurʾān), Attributes of God (see God and his Attributes), Augury (see Popular and Talismanic Uses of the Qurʾān), Balance (see Eschatology), Battles/Warfare (see Expeditions and Battles), Be (see Creation, Jesus), Beast of Prey (see Animal Life, Lawful and Unlawful), frequent cross-references will draw readers to related entries and each article will conclude with a citation of relevant bibliography. The final volume of the "EQ" will contain indices of transliterated terms, Beating (see Chastisement and Punishment), Bee (see Animal Life), Beguiling/Bewitching (see Magic, Prohibition of), Bequest (see Inheritance), Berries (see Agriculture and Vegetation), Betrothal (see Marriage and Divorce), Biosphere (see Animal Life), Birds (see Animal Life), Blood Kinship (see Kinship, Family), of Qur'ānic references and of the authors and exegetes cited in the entries and essays. It will also include a synoptic outline of the full contents of the "EQ". "The EQ" is a fully international work supported by an international board of advisors. Scholars from many nations have written articles for the encyclopaedia. ***** Review by Mustafa Shah- Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān A-D The Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān is hailed by its editors as the first comprehensive reference work devoted to the academic study of the Qur'an appearing in a Western language. It is a text which aims to present the 'century's finest achievements in the sphere of academic studies of the Qurʾān', Body (see Anatomy, God and His Attributes, Anthropomorphism), Body Fluids (see Blood and Blood Clot, Biology as the Creation and Stages of Life), Bones (see Biology as the Creation and Stages of Life, Death and the Dead), Book of David (see Psalms), Bovines (see Animal Life), Brocade (see Material Culture and the Qurʾān), and Buildings (see House, Domestic and Divine, Mosque, Markets). Included among the entries are many extended essays which serve as meticulous overviews of the subjects, themes, and concepts they tackle: Almsgiving, serving as a critical reference tool for both students and scholars of the Islamic sciences. The volume under review is the first of five proposed volumes, Arabic Language, Arabic Script, Archaeology and the Qur'an, Art and Architecture, Belief and Unbelief, Book, Calligraphy, Christians and Christianity, Chronology and the Qurʾān, Codices of the Qurʾān, three of which now have been published. Upon completion, Collection of the Qurʾān, Community and Society in the Qurʾān, Contemporary Critical Practices and the Qurʾān, and Cosmology. The detail and depth of scholarship are impressive. The following select examples of entries give some idea of the scope and nature of the topics broached by the Encyclopaedia: Abraham, Abrogation, Adam and Eve, African Literature, Agriculture and Vegetation, Ambiguous, Angel, it will comprise close to one thousand defined entries, Animal Life, Anthropomorphism, Air and Wind, Amulets, Anatomy, Antichrist, Apocalypse, Apologetics, Apostasy, Arrogance, focusing on concepts, Ascension, Asceticism, Authority, Basmala, Bedouin, Biology, Brother and Brotherhood, Byzantines, Cain and Abel, Calf of Gold, contents, Caravan, Cave, Chastisement and Punishment, Children of Israel, Cleanliness and Ablution, Clients and Clientage, Colors, Commandments, Companions of the Prophet, Computers and the Qurʾān, themes, Conquest, Consecration of Animals, Consultation, Contamination, Contracts and Alliances, Conversion, Courage, Court, Covenant, Createdness of the Qurʾān, personalities, Creation, Creeds, Criterion, Crucifixion, Cups and Vessels, Curse, Darkness, Date Palm, David, Day and Night, and topics germane to the Qur'an and the Qur'anic sciences, indeed, Day (Times of), Death and the Dead, Debate and Disputation, Decision, Deferral, Deliverance, Deobandis, Despair, Destiny, Devil, the Encyclopaedia also broaches theological, Dialects, Dialogues, Divination, Dreams and Sleep, Drowning and Druzes. This is in addition to a plethora of shorter entries which provide the work with a comprehensive edge. The Encyclopaedia comprises separate entries for individual prophets and other distinctive personalities recounted in the Qur'an, it also includes entries for prominent companions of the Prophet, although a Qur'anic nexus serves as the principal criterion for inclusion. The editors however decided against including biographical entries for principal luminaries of the Qur'anic sciences such as Farra, Abu Ja’far al-Tabari and Fakhr al-Din al-Razi. This decision was based on the view that the Encyclopaedia's focus of concentration should be the Qur'an, although relevant aspects of these scholars' contribution to Qur'anic studies and thought are alluded to wherever this is pertinent to a given entry. Yet judging by the range of entries highlighted above, such biographical notices could have been easily accommodated with in the miscellany of entries. Biographies of influential luminaries create an excellent framework for appreciating principal Qur'anic concepts and themes, indeed, it is often through biographical notices that concepts can be contextualised, legal, enhancing the resolution and definition of a subject. McAuliffe indeed states that this decision might be reconsidered should the Encyclopaedia generate a second, expanded edition. The standard of this volume's production is exceptional. Unfortunately, in the edition of the Encyclopaedia provided for review, oversights in the binding have meant that pages 533-40 have been omitted (the entry for dissimulation is incomplete and the entry which precedes it), these pages have been inadvertently replaced by the repetition of pages 515-30. I trust that this error affects only a limited number of copies of the Encyclopaedia. This notwithstanding, it is notable that the fonts used are larger than those employed in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, moreover, two of the extended essays include a fine selection of illustrated plates. The essay on the Arabic Script includes eleven plates featuring copies of manuscripts and codices relating to the development of the Arabic script, while the entry on the Basmala includes eight plates illustrating the ornamental and decorative representation of the Basmala formula in different scripts and styles. These illustrative plates are of splendid quality. McAuliffe's preface to this Encyclopaedia provides an engaging overview of the his torical, political and cultural factors which have shaped approaches to the Qur'an, she has also provided a broad survey of the development of the exegetical tradition in the Islamic world. The scope of this current review does not permit a substantial assess ment and appraisal of the Encyclopaedia's individual entries. However, the Encyclopaedia is clearly an indispensable aid to the academic study of the Qur'an and an important work of reference, its strengths rest in the extensive and authoritative coverage it provides together with the relative appeal of its general format, a format which will suit those being introduced to the text of the Qur'an and its concepts for the first time. Indeed, positive reaction to this publication seems to confirm its importance as a research tool and one can only look forward to the completion of this project. Mustafa Shah (Note The error cited above by the learned Reviewer Mr. Mustafa Shah appeared to have been corrected by the Publisher) ***** Review by Mustafa Shah- Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān J-O This work represents the third of the proposed five-volume encyclopedia devoted to the academic study of the Qurʾān in all its extensive and diverse aspects. The range of entries which form the basis of this volume covers mate rial from the letters J to O. There are over 100 fully cross-referenced entries in this volume, historical, including a significant number of extended essays and articles These include entries on Jews and Judaism, Language and Style of the Qur'an, Last Judgement, Law and the Qur'an, Literary Structures of the Qur'an, Literature and the Qur'an, Medicine and the Qur'an, Muhammad, Myths and Legends, Names of the Qur'an, cultural, Narratives, and Orality and Writing. Moreover, four of the extended essays, Manuscripts of the Qur'an, Material Culture, Mosque, and the entry entitled Ornamentation furnish splendid examples of illustrative plates and diagrams. The system of English-language entry words adopted for this project has generated a number of peculiar titles for entries in this volume, just as it has done for previous tomes. Thus, one finds subject headings for entries such as Joy and Misery, Lamp, and literary topics having a Qur'anic nexus and it draws from the 'rich scholarly heritage' of classical scholarship in the Islamic sciences. The detailed preface to this volume, Laughter, Left-Hand and Right-hand, Load or Burden, Marvels, Maturity, Memory, Milk, News, and Odours and Smells. The connection with the Qurʾān in such instances appears at first sight to be somewhat contrived, but on circumspect review of these entries one senses a clear-cut and appropriate nexus with the sacred text, confirming the wide-ranging coverage which the EQ claims to offer. As mentioned previously, written by its general editor Jane McAuliffe, the individual volumes do not include a register of subjects or list of entries, although a comprehensive index is planned for the final volume. The encyclopedia remains an indispensable research tool for the academic study of the Qurʾān for the new millennium. Mustafa Shah ***** Review by Mustafa Shah- Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān P-Sh, Si-Z & Index The three volumes under review here represent the final two parts of the five-volume Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān (EQ) together with the accompanying index. Their publication successfully concludes a project conceived some thirteen years ago with the aim of providing a critical reference tool and aid for the academic study of the Qurʾān. Volume Four covers material from the letters P to Sh, comprising over one hundred entries. Included here are extended essays on: Pairs and Pairing, Paradise, People of the Book, Persian Literature, Philosophy and the Qurʾān, Polemic, Politics and the Qurʾān, explains that the Encyclopaedia is the fruit of many years of preparation, Popular and Talismanic (which also features a number of illustrative plates), Post-Enlightenment Academic Study of the Qurʾān, Prayer, Pre-1800 Preoccupations of Qurʾānic Studies, Pre-Islamic Arabia and the Qurʾān, Printing of the Qurʾān (which features six plates), Profane and Sacred, Prophets and Prophethood, Punishment Stories, Ramadan, design and planning. Furthermore, Readings of the Qurʾān, Recitation of the Qurʾān (with a plate showing a fascinating phonetic diagram of the points of articulation (makhārij al-huruf) of the Arabic language), Reciters of the Qurʾān, Religious Pluralism, Revelation, Reward and Punishment, Rhetoric and the Qurʾān, Rhymed Prose, Ritual and the Qurʾān, Ritual Purity, she emphasis es that particular importance was attached by its editors to the fact that the Encyclopaedia should encompass a 'plurality of perspectives and presuppositions', Science and the Qurʾān (which has six illustrative plates), Scripture and the Qurʾān, Sheets and, finally, Shi’ism and the Qurʾān. Interestingly, among the peculiar titles for entries generated by the English language format for lemmata are Planets and Stars, Provocation, Seasons, and Ships. Indeed, entries of this nature seemingly confirm the scope of coverage the EQ was able to achieve. McAuliffe does state in the introduction to Volume I that the articles and entries will focus on concepts, presenting contributions by Muslim and non-Muslim scholars while essentially maintaining 'rigorous academic' scholarship on the Qur'an. The entries for the five volumes are alphabetically arranged in the form of articles and extended essays. The first volume of this Encyclopaedia covers the letters A-D and comprises around 170 entries. A summary review of these shows that they are writ ten in a coherent and informed style. Indeed, contents, themes, personalities and topics germane to the Qurʾān and Qurʾānic studies, although it would have been useful to learn more about the exact criteria used to generate the numerous headings for the work’s entries. The fifth volume covers the entries from Si to Z. It includes the following extended entries: Signs, Simile, Sin: Major and Minor, Sı¯ra and the Qurʾān, Social Sciences and the Qurʾān, South Arabia (Religion in) (which includes seven illustrative plates featuring photographs of South Arabian monumental inscriptions and ancient dams), South Asian Literature and the Qurʾān, each of the entries has an impressive critical bibliography of primary and secondary sources, Springs and Fountains, Sufism and the Qurʾān, (including a plate featuring a copy of an illuminated manuscript of a Qurʾān commentary by Ismāıl Haqqı Brusāwı (d. 1137/1725)), Suras, Taxation, Teaching and Preaching, Textual Criticism, Theology and the Qurʾān, Time, Tools for the Scholarly Study of the Qurʾān, furnishing extensive coverage of individual topics and themes. It is evident that classical aspects of Qur'anic studies and scholarship are prominently represented in the stock of entries for this and other volumes, issues relative to contemporary approaches to the text of the Qur'an and its exegesis are also given adequate treatment. McAuliffe states that the general editors debated the issue of the arrangement of entries for this Encyclopaedia, Torah, Tradition and Custom, Traditional Disciplines, Traditional Translation of the Qurʾān, Tribes and Clans, Trust and Patience, Turkish Literature and the Qurʾān, Verses, Virtues and Vices: Commanding and Forbidding, Water, deciding to adopt a system of English-language headings as opposed to the transliterated Arabic lemmata, Witnessing and Testifying, Wives of the Prophet, Women and the Qurʾān (which includes a plate depicting a mixed-gender study group entitled ‘‘Laylā and Majnun at School’’), Word of God, and Yemen. Among the curious headings for which entries are provided are Silk, Sleep, Smell, Stone, Teeth, Trees, the convention applied by the Encyclopaedia of Islam (El) and one which is typically considered the 'scholarly norm'. Intriguingly, Weather, and Work. The index volume provides the long-awaited detailed index for this encyclopaedia. It was originally intended for inclusion in Volume Five, however, given the sheer size of its component parts this proved impractical, and an additional volume was considered necessary. The index consists of five parts: an alphabetical list of the names of contributors, with an inventory of their contributions and their academic affiliations, a register of all the articles/ entries with the names of their respective authors and page references, and then indexes covering proper names (including references to persons, places, languages, clans, tribes, religions, the case made for this system of entries was based on the proposition that English language entries provided a greater level of utility and effectiveness in the specification and designation of proposed entries, rulers, and dynasties), Arabic words and phrases, and, finally, Qurʾān citations which appear in the text. While the format of the first three indexes is very straightforward, that of Arabic words and phrases is rather more complicated. The listings are arranged alphabetically adhering to the format of a modern Arabic–English dictionary in which the order is determined by the Arabic triliteral root. The EQ’s editors had originally decided to adopt a system of English-language headings, since such an arrangement would suitably serve readers being introduced to the Qurʾān and its study for the first time. A system of transliterated Arabic lemmata is employed in the EQ’s sister publication the Encyclopaedia of Islam, but the editors felt that this format would not effectively serve readers with no background in Arabic and Islamic studies. Bearing this in mind, the same individuals will find the arrangement of the index of Arabic words and phrases somewhat challenging, in contrast scholars and researchers familiar with Arabic and the format of Arabic dictionaries will appreciate its value as an aid for navigating the work’s many entries. The ‘‘Index of Qurʾānic citations’’ lists references to the text of the Qurʾān made in the various articles. A further thematically arranged index of subjects and topics would have been a very useful addition and would have enhanced the work’s overall accessibility as a general reference text. The EQ has unquestionably left an impressive mark as the first comprehensive, multi-volume reference work on the Qurʾān to appear in a Western language. The range of entries and its overall depth of coverage suggest that it will serve as the most significant Western source for the academic study of the Qurʾān for a considerable time to come. Mustafa Shah, resulting in a more comprehensive exposition of a given entry. It is also argued that such an arrangement suitably serves readers being introduced to the Qur'an and its sciences for the first time. The editors claimed that while the Arabic lemmata conventionally employed in the Encyclopaedia of Islam, its sister publication, serves specialists in the field of Islamic and Qur'anic sciences well (it also furnishes greater precision in the identification of entries), it does not adequately assist scholars and researchers with no background in these sciences. With these considerations in mind, the editors adopted a system of alphabetically arranged English language entries and headings, all fully cross-referenced, the fact that the Encyclopaedia is clearly aimed at a wider readership rendered the adoption of this system an appropriate choice. Despite the adoption of a system of English language entries, the Encyclopaedia uses transliterated terminology for specific entries idiomatically distinguished in Arabic such as ‘Ad, al-‘Arim, Aqsa Mosque, ‘Arafat, Badr, Baha’is, Barzakh and Basmala. As expected, notable individuals are listed alphabetically: Abraha, Abu Bakr, Abu Lahab, A’isha bint Abi Bakr, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, Azar, Bilqis and Dhu'l-Kifl. One also finds that the Encyclopaedia frequently includes transliterated terms which are provided with only an undefined heading and an appropriate English cross-reference: ‘Abd, Abu Talib, Ahl al-Bayt, Ahmad, Akhlra, Al-‘Abbas, ‘Alamln, ‘Alawis, Alif Lam Mim, Alif Lam Ra?, Allah, Al-Lat, Ansar, Asbab al-Nuzul, Aya, Ayyub, Babil, Bahira, Bashir, Batin wa Zahir, Bani Israel, Bekka, Dahr, Dar al-Harb, Dar al-Islam, Da’wa, Dhikr, Dhimma, Dhu'l-Nun, Dhu'l-Qarnayn and Dunya. Transliterated terminology features throughout individual entries. The individual volumes of the Encyclopaedia do not comprise a separate index or 'register of subjects' which would facilitate the identification of connected entries and themes. It is stated in the preface that detailed indexing of both English and transliterated terminology is planned for the Encyclopaedia's final volume, however, this means that as the volumes currently stand they are without some sort of basic index or list of entries. Given the breadth and compass of themes covered in the many entries, access to an index is imperative, and indexes for each of the volumes would have usefully linked related English language entries and their transliterated equivalents. The Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam (1974), which employs transliterated Arabic entry words, has a practical 'register of subjects' in its index, although admittedly it is a single volume work. The register furnishes key terms in English followed by a list of transliterated entries relating to these terms, a revised form of this type of index would have been very useful, aiding in the tracing of relevant material with greater ease. The Encyclopaedia does include a profusion of English entry headings which have no accompanying definition, but rather a cross-reference indicating one or more appropriate entries as illustrated through the letters A-B: Adoption (see Children and Family), Afterlife (see Resurrection, Paradise, Hell, Fire), Alcohol (see Intoxicants), Allegiance (see Oaths and Pledges), Allegory (see Language and Style of the Qurʾān), Alphabet (see Arabic Script, Letters and Mysterious Letters), Altar (see Idols and Images)

Collection: opensource

Language: English

Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān

The Encyclopaedia of the Qur'ān was published by Brill in six Volumes (1) A to D, (2) E to I, (3) J to O, (4) P to Sh, (5) Si to Z and (6) Index. For the purposes of ease to the future researchers, I have separated the pages according to alphabetical group. The preface in Vol I (A-D) has also been separated. The images of Arabic Manuscripts in the five volumes have been separated and I have named it Arabic Manuscript. The Index volume is as it. Eminent Scholar Mr. Mustafa Shah had reviewed these volumes. I could not find his review for Volume 2 (E to I). If I get it, I will upload in sha’a Allah.