Carl Ernst and Abdur-Rahman Abou Almajd about How to Read the Qur’an: A New Guide, with Select Translations

Carl Ernst and Abdur-Rahman Abou Almajd about How to Read the Qur’an: A New Guide, with Select Translations .                                             

We have a fresh opportunity to reflect about How to Read the Qur’an .

At this point professor Carl Ernst isn’t going to speak about his views on reading the Qur’an but he also speaks about a New Guide, with Select Translations too .                                             

Carl Ernst

He is a specialist in Islamic studies, with a focus on West and South Asia. His published research, based on the study of Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, has been mainly devoted to the study of three areas: general and critical issues of Islamic studies, premodern and contemporary Sufism, and Indo-Muslim culture. His current research projects include an edited volume on Islamophobia in America (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2013). His most recent book is How to Read the Qur'an: A New Guide, with Select Translations (UNC Press, 2011). His other publications, which have received several international awards, include Rethinking Islamic Studies: From Orientalism to Cosmopolitanism (co-edited with Richard Martin, 2010); Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World (2003).

He is a regular visitor to the Gulf, Turkey, Iran, and Southeast Asia for lectures and conferences as well as a recent member of the Board of Directors of the Middle East Studies Association. He is now William R. Kenan, Jr., Distinguished Professor (2005- ) and Co-Director of the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations. He and Bruce Lawrence are co-editors of the Islamic Civilization and Muslim Networks Series at the University of North Carolina Press .

 Q: First of all, I know you are a specialist in Islamic studies. I wonder -- what made you focus on the Qur'an ?

CE: In recent years, it has become clear that many Europeans and Americans have a great deal of anxiety about the mere existence of the Qur’an. This was forcefully drawn to my attention in 2002, when a major controversy took place over the assignment of a translation of the Qur’an (at my suggestion) as the required book in the annual Summer Reading Program for all incoming students at the University of North Carolina. When I saw how difficult it was for people even to read the Qur’an, I decided eventually to write a book providing literary and historical access to the text. More recently, I also have edited a book of essays on the topic of Islamophobia in America.

Q: Recent events revolving around the Qur’an, assure that Westerns often still fail to understand the role of the Qur’an in Muslims’ lives. I want to know how they can find out more about the Qur’an .

CE: 95% of Americans do not know any Muslims, they get all their information about Islam from news media or movies, and so they imagine the Qur’an to be the source of terrorism. This is far from the truth, but it is a convenient way to blame a foreign religious text for today’s political problems. My book provides perspectives on several selected issues: the sequence of delivery of the Qur’an text, its literary structure, and its connections to other writings. There is much more to be said about the history of interpreting the Qur’an, and the way in which Muslims interact with the Qur’an in prayer and in their ordinary lives. But this is a start .

Q : No doubt you examine the symmetry and balanced composition of verses and the tripartite structure of certain chapters, could you elaborate on that, please ?

CE: scholars like Angelika Neuwirth and Michel Cuypers have pointed out that the Qur’an, like many ancient writings, uses a symmetrical presentation, in which the beginning of a particular text (such as a sura) has obvious verbal correspondence with the end of the same text. This method of composition, sometimes called ring structure, often points to a central section of the text as the crucial meaning. In addition, some suras in the Qur’an seem to have a clear three-part structure, which is also the case in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry and in the basic form of monotheistic worship services among Jews and Christians. Observing the structural features of the Qur’an makes it possible to understand better why it is arranged as it is. Treating the sura as a coherent literary unity also makes it clear that the Qur’an is not simply random verses assembled chaotically. This approach to the literary form of the Qur’an helps people understand the text when they are encountering it as a new and unfamiliar writing .

Q : For centuries scholars and theologians have debated the Qur’an’s confusing passages. But, you offer a non-theological approach that treats the Qur'an as a historical text that unfolded over time, during the career of the Prophet Muhammad, I wonder how you tested your a new method .

CE: I can give you two examples, both related to the idea of stylistic development in the Qur’an during the Meccan and Medinan periods. One example is the idea that individual suras of the Qur’an sometimes have sections or verses that were inserted later on, possibly as explanations of difficult passages that people did not understand. This seems to be the case in sura 74 (al-Mudaththir), where verse 31 appears to be a lengthy explanation of the mysterious number nineteen mentioned in verse 30; amid the short rhyming verses of this sura, 74:31 is exceptional in its extreme length and its prose quality. I would argue that this is an example of a later Medinan insertion in an early Meccan text .

The other example is the issue of the so-called “Satanic verses” or ayat al-gharaniq, which was once widely accepted but is now almost entirely rejected by Muslim scholars, mainly on theological grounds. My analysis of the text in sura 53 (al-Najm) rejects this story for literary reasons, as a fictional case that was invented by scholars to demonstrate the possibility of abrogation (naskh) of an early Qur’anic text by a later one. Indeed, there are some lengthy prose passages in this same section that show strong evidence of being later Medinan additions, but chronological and stylistic analysis demonstrates that the “Satanic verses”could not have formed part of the Qur’an .

Q : I remember what happened in 2002, when you  recommended Michael Sells’ Approaching the Qur’an and a controversy erupted, a lot of people were furious and thought you were trying to convert students to Islam. The national press swooped in. There was even a lawsuit to force UNC to abandon its selection. But the university stood firm beside you. I wanted to know, although there are many translations, why you recommended Sells’ translation .

CE: There were several reasons why I recommended Michael Sells’ translation. It reads very beautifully in English, while many English translations of the Qur’an unfortunately lack any kind of poetic sensitivity. The book is also short, since it basically consists of the last thirty-five short suras of the Qur’an (the juz’ `amma) plus the Fatiha and al-Najm; this compact size makes it much easier for students to read than a complete translation of the Qur’an, and it is also worth noting that these are the first sections that most Muslims learn, because of their brevity and their relevance to performing prayer. In addition, the book contains a CD with excellent recitation of several suras of the Qur’an in tartil and tajwid, which students appreciate very much. I had twice used this book in my seminar on Islam for first-year students, so I knew it was a good choice for their level of education. I was honestly quite surprised when there was so much opposition, but as you may have seen, the University defended this reading program on the basis of academic freedom 

Q: I know you aren’t an apologist for the Qur’an in any sense, your aim is understanding and explanation rather than advocacy or attack; most English-language scholarship on the Qur’an either adheres to the forbiddingly technical norms of Orientalist scholarship or else serves an apologetic or polemical theological agenda. What is the best way of introducing readers to the Qur’an ?

CE: My book begins with a review of current scholarship on the Qur’an. Then I propose three different approaches for reading the text, which avoid the theological debates by focusing on literary and historical evidence. First, I recommend the chronological reading of the text in the sequence proposed by modern scholarship (Nöldeke, Neuwirth): the early, middle, and late Meccan periods plus the Medinan period. This replicates the experience of the first community of readers of the text, who experienced it being delivered over a period of twenty-three years (but I focus on stylistic development prior to the canonization of the Qur’an, rather than relying on the biographical tradition or asbab al-nuzul literature). Second, without falling into theological debates over scripture, I pose the question of the Qur’an’s clear references to many earlier writings, including the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament, early Christian literature, and other texts. Evidence indicates that the Qur’an’s audience knew this material extremely well, since the Qur’an refers to it often through very brief echoes that assume the text is familiar. This creates a fascinating connection as readers can perceive the way the Qur’an reinterprets earlier writings. Third, I use ring structure or symmetrical composition as a way to understand the seemingly chaotic structure of the Qur’an. This helps readers to see it as a text with a complex but intelligible order, and it also highlights important central passages that often emphasize critical ethical positions that take priority over historical conflict situations .

Q: I hope you did not suggest that chaotic structure of the Qur’an. It is true that there is no chaotic structure of the Qur’an; Michel Cuypers told me a week ago, that he applied the method in all its complexity to the Qur’anic text, and he quickly found it possible to show that the suras that seemed fragmented are actually cleverly constructed. Despite appearances, there is no inconsistency in the Qur’an, but a real coherence . 

 It is known that, on the one hand, the1924 Egyptian printed edition of the Qur'an canonizes a particular chronology of the Meccan and Madinan surahs that is widely accepted among Muslims. On the other hand, European scholars have built on the analyses of Theodor Noldeke and his successors for a rather different chronology of the order of the surahs and indeed of individual verses. In your opinion, how should this problem be faced directly ?

CE: I do not see this as a problem of Muslim scholars in opposition to European scholars. There is basic agreement on the principle that the Qur’an was delivered over time, and that certain suras contain verses that derive from different periods of time. So the question is what basis shall be used for establishing a chronology. The particular chronology that was built into the 1924 Egyptian edition relies upon evidence that is found in certain accounts of the biography of the Prophet and the history of the Qur’anic text. There are, however, other historical materials found in early Islamic sources that offer different sequences, which deserve to be examined critically and weighed against other accounts. There are also questions about the value of the sira literature on certain issues, because of its historiographic context as a history of prophecy written under the patronage of the `Abbasid imperial government. I also find it important to take seriously the evidence of stylistic analysis based on factors such as rhyme, structure, and chronology. If someone has a more convincing argument based on evidence, let this be heard, but it is not fruitful simply to repeat the views of authorities of the past .

Q: You can add what you see fit, professor .

CE: I have been greatly encouraged by the positive responses to this book from many of my academic colleagues in the US, who are using this book as a text in their courses or with their graduate students. I have also been struck by the fact that this book offers material that is of considerable interest to Muslims, and I have done some workshops for Muslim groups, including Zaytuna College, and quite a few lectures for public audiences. I’m hopeful that this kind of literary and historical approach will offer a path for both Muslims and non-Muslims to have a better understanding of the Qur’an as an important legacy for the history of civilization .

Abdur-Rahman: Thank you very much, Professor Carl Ernst .

Carl Ernst: Thank you for inviting me for this interview .