{"id":46,"date":"2009-10-21T09:31:24","date_gmt":"2009-10-21T14:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/seminar-four-the-quran-major-themes\/"},"modified":"2009-11-09T11:27:06","modified_gmt":"2009-11-09T16:27:06","slug":"seminar-four-the-quran-major-themes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/seminar-four-the-quran-major-themes\/","title":{"rendered":"Seminar Four: The Qur&#8217;an: Major Themes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a name=\"summary\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Summary<\/h3>\n<p><a class=\"top\" href=\"#top\">top<\/a><br \/>\nSession Four readings consider the Qur\u2019an as a written literary text, that is, in its physical form as a compiled book. Discussion of the Qur\u2019an\u2019s style, structure and contents, its terminology and world-view and the diverse ways in which Muslim communities interpret it, help the reader understand the \u201cmechanics\u201d of this book that is of central significance to Muslims around the world.  To provide a broader frame of reference for the study of the Qur\u2019anic text as well as an understanding of the manner in which the Islamic tradition relates itself to Christianity and Judaism, the session includes an examination of the story of Joseph in a comparative context, that is, its narration in the Bible and the Qur\u2019an.  The readings on the Joseph story and its literary and artistic expressions in various cultural contexts invite an exploration of the role that cultural contexts play in creating diverse Muslim interpretations of the same text.<\/p>\n<p>The brief discussion of eight central themes of the Qur\u2019an, in the readings from Kenneth Cragg, lays the foundation for understanding Islamic expectations concerning faith, worship and behavior.  The eight themes, as stated by Cragg, are:<br \/>\n\u2022\tGod and His praise<br \/>\n\u2022\tMan in creation<br \/>\n\u2022\tProphethood in human guidance prior to Muhammad<br \/>\n\u2022\tMuhammad in his Meccan environment<br \/>\n\u2022\tMuhammad in his Medinan locale<br \/>\n\u2022\tReligious Law and devotion<br \/>\n\u2022\tSocial Law and society<br \/>\n\u2022\tThe Last Things<\/p>\n<p>Study of the Qur\u2019an is not complete without an understanding of the  importance that aesthetics of recitation plays in worship. As we have already discussed in Session Three,  memorization and recitation of Qur\u2019anic verse are important Muslim practices.  The aural dimension of the Qur\u2019an helps the believer access God\u2019s message through sound. As we shall explore later, calligraphic Arabic writing adds an artistic dimension in revering Allah\u2019s word as well.<\/p>\n<p><a name=\"guidingquestions\"><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Guiding Questions<\/h3>\n<p><a class=\"top\" href=\"#top\">top<\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Introductory<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>1. Cragg states that \u201cMuslim conviction sees divine communication and Muhammad&#8217;s messengership as the two aspects of a single fact.\u201d(page 18)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>How is the merging of these two concepts important to Islamic theology?<\/li>\n<li>What roles did the conception and recording of the Qur\u2019an play in explaining Cragg\u2019s quote and in establishing this as a holy book?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. Cragg also discussed the concept of \u201c\u2018there-and-then\u2019 in concern for \u2018here and now.\u2019\u201d (p. 27).\u00a0Is there a correlation between the role and interpretations of the Qur\u2019an and the life styles of Muslims during different historical time periods?  Explain.<\/p>\n<p>3. Discuss the role of the Qur\u2019an in providing direction for an ethical life.  Incorporate the inclusion of the eight themes in the discussion.<\/p>\n<ol><\/ol>\n<p><strong>Joseph Story<\/strong>:<br \/>\n<em>The Joseph story is one of the best known and best-loved traditional narratives among Jewish, Christian and Muslim peoples. Jews and Christians know it in its Biblical form as it appears in Genesis 35-50. (Jews also know many embellishments to the story, which are found in Talmudic literature.) Muslims know it its Qur\u2019anic form as told in Surah 12 (Chapter 12). The reading from  J. Kaltner, Inquiring of Joseph, ix-xx; 23-43 will be particularly helpful in framing your reading of the Quranic and Genesis accounts of the Joseph story.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>4.\tIn comparing the Biblical and Qur\u2019anic traditions of the Joseph\u00a0materials, try to assess what the distinctive features of each\u00a0narrative are: the stylistic aspects of each account, it\u2019s probable\u00a0role in Jewish, Christian or Muslim religious lives, and its place in\u00a0the larger historical understanding of each of these traditions. What\u00a0are the differences in the plots of the two accounts? How does\u00a0character development differ in the two accounts? What might bethe purpose and\/or effect of such differences? What is the narrative\u00a0standpoint from which each account is told? Which accounts seem\u00a0more didactic? Where do the emphases upon particular events lie in\u00a0each account? Are the virtues and vices depicted in each account\u00a0comparable? How does Joseph himself appear in each account?\u00a0Finally, can you make some generalizations about the overall\u00a0character of the Qur\u2019anic narrative as opposed to the Biblical\u00a0narrative?<\/p>\n<p>5.\tAfter comparing the Biblical and Qur\u2019anic versions of the story of\u00a0Joseph, read the Malay and Swahili narratives. How do these\u00a0stories and their portrayals of Joseph compare and contrast with\u00a0those of the Bible and the Qur\u2019an? Given that the Joseph story is\u00a0already told in the Muslim scripture, what do you think is achieved\u00a0by re-telling it in each tradition? In the re-telling of the story, how is\u00a0it \u201cindigenized\u201d or acculturated?<\/p>\n<p>6.\tJohn Renard writes that because of the \u201clong love affair\u201d that generations of Muslims across the world have had with Joseph, he has become \u201ca comprehensive reminder of the various aspects of the Islamic tradition.\u201d Provide some instances from the readings in support of this statement.<\/p>\n<p>7.\tCragg states that \u201cCreed, code, cult, community and culture are five \u2018c\u2019s in necessary inter-relation in every religion.\u201d (page 41).  Use these five concepts to compare and contrast the variations of the Joseph story included in the readings.  Include how the sources of the Joseph story reflect Christian, Jewish and Islamic ideologies.<\/p>\n<p>8.\tAfter viewing and hearing the multi-media resources, reflect upon the importance of the aural and visual arts in Muslim devotional life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n<p>Summary<\/p>\n<p>top<br \/>\nSession Four readings consider the Qur\u2019an as a written literary text, that is, in its physical form as a compiled book. Discussion of the Qur\u2019an\u2019s style, structure and contents, its terminology and world-view and the diverse ways in which Muslim communities interpret it, help the reader understand the \u201cmechanics\u201d of &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[370,374,359,372],"tags":[340,350],"class_list":["post-46","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-islam","category-quran","category-seminar-readings","category-seminars","tag-islam","tag-quran"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":263,"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46\/revisions\/263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sites.la.utexas.edu\/mhc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}