The Medinan layer of the Qur’an occupies a key position in the formative period of Islam yet poses substantial interpretive challenges. This volume exemplifies a rich array of scholarly approaches to the Medinan Qur’an’s distinctive textual, literary, and theological features.

The Qur'an is the foundational sacred text of the Islamic faith. Traditionally revered as the literal word of God, its pronouncements and discussions form the bedrock of Islamic beliefs and teachings. Notwithstanding its religious pre-eminence and the fact that it is the sacred text for over one billion of the world's Muslims, the Qur'an is also considered to be the matchless masterpiece of the Arabic language. Its historical impact as a text can be discerned in all aspects of the heritage of the Arabic literary tradition. Over recent decades, academic engagement with the Qur'an has produced an impressive array of scholarship, ranging from detailed studies of the text's unique language, style and structure, to meticulous surveys of its contents, concepts and historical contexts. The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies is an essential reference and starting point for those with an academic interest in the Qur'an. It offers not only detailed reviews of influential subjects in the field, but also a critical overview of developments in the research discourse. It explores the tradition of Qur'anic exegesis and hermeneutics, making it a comprehensive academic resource for the study of the Qur'an. No single volume devoted to such a broad academic survey of the state of the field currently exists.

The present work supplements the original volume of A Bibliography of Islamic Criminal Law, the most extensive bibliography on Islamic criminal law ever compiled. Drawing on a multitude of sources online and offline this bibliography covers in its thematic section not only the classical crime categories of ḥudūd, qiṣāṣ and taʿzīr but also a large number of newly emerging and related fields. In a second section, dedicated to countries, eras and institutions Olaf Köndgen comprehensively covers the historical and modern application of Islamic criminal law in all its forms. Unlocking the richness of this sub-field of Islamic law, also with the help of two detailed indices, this innovative reference work is highly relevant for all those researching Islamic law in general and the application of Islamic criminal law over time in particular.

This collection brings together scholars from various disciplines and fields to consider Islamic revelation, with particular focus on the Qur'an. It provides a wide-ranging survey of the development and current state of Qur'anic studies in the Western academy, and shows how interest in the field has recently grown, how the ways in which it is cultivated have changed, how it has ramified, and how difficult it now is for any one scholar to keep abreast of it.

Presents a critical analysis of the differences between Christianity and Islam and maintains that Islam contains a political agenda which endorses violence and aggression against non-Muslims.

The Meaning of Surah 99 Az-Zalzalah (The Earthquake) From Holy Quran Bilingual Edition In English and Spanish Languange Standar Version. Surah Al-Zalzalah (The Earthuake") is the 99th chapter (surah) of The Holy Qur'an, composed of 8 verses (ayat). Though it is usually classified as a Medinan surah, the period under which the surah was revealed is not unanimously agreed upon by Qur'anic exegetes. The surah begins by describing how on the Day of Judgment, the Earth will give off a terrible earthquake and "throw up her burdens". Through the inspiration of God, the Earth will bear witness to the actions of men it has witnessed. According to Michael Sells, the earth opening up and bearing forth her secrets in this surah is indicative of a birth metaphor. The earth al-'Ard in the feminine gender bears forth of how her lord revealed the final secret to her. Human beings will then realize that the moment of accountability has arrived. This meticulous accountability will reflect good and evil deeds that might have seemed insignificant at the time. The two concluding verses state that all men will be sorted out into groups according to their deeds, and they will see the consequence of everything they have done; every atom's weight of good or evil: That day mankind will issue forth in scattered groups to be shown their deeds. And whoso doeth good an atom's weight will see it then, And whoso doeth ill an atom's weight will see it then. — The Holy Qur'an, verses 99:6-8 (translated by Marmaduke Pickthall) Its theme is the second life after death and presentation in it before man of the full record of the deeds done by him in the world. In the first three sentences it has been told briefly how the second life after death will take place and how confounding it will be for man. In the next two sentences it has been said that this very earth on which man has lived and performed all kinds of deeds thoughtlessly, and about which he never could fancy that this lifeless thing would at some time in the future bear witness to his deeds, will speak out on that Day by Allah's command and will state in respect of each individual person what act he had committed at a particular time and place. Then, it has been said that men on that Day, rising from their graves, will come out in their varied groups from all corners of the earth, to be shown their deeds and works, and their presentation of the deeds will be so complete and detailed that not an atom's weight of any good or evil act will be left unnoticed or hidden from his eyes.

Mecca the Blessed, Medina the Radiant is an unprecedented photographic exploration of the most holy cities of Islam and the Hajj, or annual pilgrimage during Ramadan, when more than a million faithful journey to Mecca's Great Mosque to commemorate the first revelation of the Qur'an (Koran). This book allows both Muslims and those unfamiliar with the Islamic faith complete access to the holiest sites of one of the world's major religions, practiced by a quarter of the world's population but often misunderstood in the West. Photographer Ali Kazuyoshi Namachi, a Muslim convert from Japan, garnered the full support of Saudi Arabian authorities--rarely given--to shoot in cities where photography is strictly controlled and non-Muslims are not allowed. An expansive work of photojournalism, Mecca the Blessed, Medina the Radiant includes: 140 full-color, never-before-seen photographs Mystical places and scenes of Islam Breathtaking aerial photographs of the Arabian terrain Vistas of teeming crowds of worshippers surrounding the Kacbah, Mecca's sacred center Intense portraits of faithful Muslims in prayer Magnificent architecture reflecting the faith of the believers Archival illustrations Text by Seyyed Hossein Nasr, one of the most highly regarded scholars of Islam, enhances the stunning Islamic holy city photographs to illuminate many aspects of Islamic belief that have remained enigma to non-Muslims--until now.