Ernst - How to read the Qurʼan: a new guide, with select translations

A book like this cannot come about without the support of many talented people and generous institutions, and it is a pleasure to take the opportunity here to express my thanks for that support.

The idea of a literary introduction to the Quran started some years ago with a suggestion by Rick Todhunter. I sharpened the concept of a chronological reading of the Quran in a course taught over several years, with stimulating feedback from my students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Among my research assistants, Aya Okawa contributed brilliant charts of Quranic chronology, and Brannon Ingram worked ably to obtain permission for illustrations. Several colleagues and graduate students provided astute criticisms of earlier drafts; many thanks to Bruce B. Lawrence of Duke University, Peter Wright of Colorado College (whose UNC dissertation opened a stimulating window on the rhetoric of the Quran), Timur Yuskaev of Hartford Seminary, and Tehsin Thaver of UNC for their helpful comments. Zafar Ishaq Ansari of the International Islamic University (Islamabad) made important critical observations at an early stage. Azizan Baharuddin of the University of Malaya and her colleagues gave a generous reception to materials from chapter 4. Two anonymous readers for UNC Press made helpful suggestions for improving the argument. I appreciate all these readers comments, and if I have not always followed them, any defects in this presentation are entirely my own responsibility.

My editor at UNC Press, Elaine Maisner, has been incredibly patient and supportive of this project. Thanks to her and all the hard-working staff at the press, who set the standard for quality academic publishing. I would also like to thank Raymond Farrin of the American University of Kuwait for kindly sharing with me the proofs of his forthcoming study of early Arabic literature, Abundance from the Desert. Christiane Gruber of Indiana University generously shared her expert knowledge of suitable illustrations.

A special debt of gratitude goes to artist Ahmed Moustafa, who graciously gave permission for an expanded image of his superb painting, God Is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth, to appear on the cover of the book. The title translates the opening words of the famous Light Verse of the Quran (24:35), the complete text of which is presented eight times in the rectangular bands of the original image (four times in a clockwise, and four times in a counterclockwise direction). This is overlaid on a repeating geometric grid containing the first words of the Throne Verse (Quran 2:255), God! There is no god but He, the Living, the Everlasting. The color palette of this remarkable composition shifts from earth hues below to sky blue above, and the illuminated clouds in the center convey an unmistakable sense of going through the text to what lies beyonda marvelous image to suggest engagement with the text of the Quran.

On a personal note, I would like to salute my first cousin once removed, Emeritus Professor L. Carl Brown of Princeton University, the senior Arabist in the family, who for many years has set an admirable example of scholarship and teaching. As always, I owe more than I can say to my wife, Judith Ernst.

Portions of the research for this book were supported by a residency at the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, and a fellowship from the Mellon-supported Program in Medieval and Early Modern Studies at UNC. I also gratefully acknowledge the support of the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust and the UNC College of Arts and Sciences.

Finally, this book is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd (19432010), a gifted scholar and pioneer in the literary study of the Quran.

How to Read the Quran