What Is the Qurʾan? A Spiritually Integrative Perspective
This article explores the question 'What is the Qurʾan?' from a spiritually integrative perspective, focusing attention on the importance of studying the spiritual dimension of scripture in the contemporary context. It is also in conversation with two ongoing, interrelated questions in qur...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
[2019]
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| In: |
Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Year: 2019, Volume: 30, Issue: 2, Pages: 127-148 |
| Further subjects: | B
Spirituality
B Organization B Islam B Narrative B Qurʾan B Genre B spiritual method B Structure B Sufism B ṭarīqa |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) |
| Summary: | This article explores the question 'What is the Qurʾan?' from a spiritually integrative perspective, focusing attention on the importance of studying the spiritual dimension of scripture in the contemporary context. It is also in conversation with two ongoing, interrelated questions in qur'anic studies: genre and the organization of the Qurʾan - more specifically, the rationale for the arrangement of suras. For the Qurʾan's spiritual dimension, the article looks to the Islamic mystical tradition, Sufism, which developed elaborate conceptualizations of the spiritual path in the various Sufi orders. The article examines the scripture's mystical substrate from an organizational perspective, conceptualizing it as a spiritual method for individuals, communities and humanity in general to grow from the animal self (al-nafs al-ammāra bi-al-sūʾ) to the completed self (al-nafs al-kāmila), each sura functioning as a step in the process. The Arabic word for 'order', ṭarīqa, literally means 'way', which is one reason why this article suggests that 'spiritual method' is also a good translation, highlighting a different set of nuances. It proposes that the Qurʾan is organized similarly to a ṭarīqa, examining some suras at the beginning and end of the scripture and comparing them to the first and last stages of the Sufi path. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-9311 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2019.1605104 |