Relg. b: e Qur’ānProfessor Travis ZadehClass Schedule: :-:pm TLocation: Hall Office Hours: Wed. –:pm or by [email protected] C Dis course seeks to introduce students to the ur’ān. Emphasis will be placed on the rhetoric and literary dimensions of the ur’ān, such as form, content, and structure, as understood by Muslims, past and present, particularly through the doctrine of divine inimitability (i‘jāz). We will contextualize our readings from the ur’ān by exploring the various branches of ur’ānic studies (‘ulūm al-Qur’ān) as they developed over time. Topics include the collection and transmission of the ur’ān; the relationship to Jewish and Christian traditions; the nature of divine speech; the debates concerning the translation of the ur’ānic; ritual intersections with scripture; material culture; the de velopment of exegetical traditions; gender and the ur’ān; and contemporary approaches by both Muslims and non-Muslims to the study of the ur’ān. In addition to primary and secondary literature, this course will also explore various artistic means of venerating the ur’ān through such forms as recitation (tajwīd) and calligraphy (khaṭṭ).C Ois course overs a detailed presentation of the ur’ān as text, exploring how it has been used and interpreted over time. Students will acquire a broader understanding of problems related to the study of religion, while developing analytical skills applicable to other fields of inquiry.C DIn addition to lectures, this course serves as a forum to discuss issues raised by the material. Participation consists not only of attendance and completing the required readings, but also active involvement in discussion. Required are weekly written responses to the readings (- paragraphs), addressing questions assigned by the professor, to posted on Blackboard and to be due each Wednesday by pm. ere will one graded paper (- pages), on the topic of translation and the doctrine of ur’ānic inimitability. e mid-term exam will test key terms and concepts. e final exam will cover the cumulative work of the course.GClass participation Blackboard responses Midterm exam Paper Final exam T  Pe ur’ān, translated by Abel HaleemFarid, Esack, e Qur’an, A User’s GuideAmina Wadud, Qur’ān and WomanMichael Sells, Approaching the Qur’ānFazlur Rahman, Major emes of the Qur’anAdditional readings will be will be provided online and as handouts. Articles from the Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān (EQ), along with selected other readings are to be found on Blackboard, and are marked in the syllabus with an asterisk (*). B We course website contains images and sound recordings which will be drawn on for discussion and lecture, including links to important resources for the study of the ur’ān. On the website is a link for posting weekly discussion responses to the readings.-2-Relg. b: e Qur’ānC OU O: M  WEEK 1: Background/ Introduction/ Preconceptions Crone, “What do We Actually know about Muhammad,” pp. -. Zadeh, e Vernacular Qur’an, pp. -.WEEK 2: Orientalism and the Study of the ur’ān/ Polemical Engagements Norman Daniel, Islam and the West: the Making of an Image, pp. -, -.* Watt, Introduction, pp. -.* omas Burman, Reading the Qur’an in Latin Christendom, -, pp. -.*/ Concepts of Scripture Watt, Introduction, pp. -. pp. -.* Sells, Approaching, pp. -.U T: E R WEEK 3: Prophecy and Revelation/ “Recite!” e First Revelations and Aural Dimensions of the Book Al-Fatiḥa (the opening chapter) . , the Fātiḥa “the Opening,” Listen to: Sells, Tracks , . Was the Prophet Illiterate? e term ummī “illiterate?/gentile?” : :; :, ; :-; :. e verb qara’a, “to read/recite” . :; :; : ; :, , , , ; : ; :; :; :; . Fazlur Rahman, Major emes of the Qur’an, pp. -. Background: Read over Ayoub, e Qur’an and its Interpreters, pp. -.* / e Terms sūra, kitāb, qur’ān Reading: . :; :, , , ; :; :; :, :. Kitāb (Book, Scripture): . :-, ; :; :, , ; :; :, , ; :; :, -3-:-; :-; :, : :. Daniel Madigan, “e ur’an’s Rejection of Some Common Conceptions of Kitab,” e Qur’ān’s Self-Image, pp. -.*WEEK 4: Meccan Verses / Divine unity, divine signs, divine judgment, ku/imān Reading: . ; -. Listen to: Sells, Tracks , , -, , , and -. Sells, Approaching, pp. 44-141. Watt, Introduction, pp. -.* Uri Rubin, “Al-Ṣamad and the High God,” pp. -.*/ Eschatology in the ur’ān Reading: .  Fazlur Rahman, Major emes of the Qur’an, pp. -. Brannon Wheeler, “Dhu 'l-Qarnayn and Khidr.” Background: e Book of Revelation, from the New Testament.*U T: P T WEEK 5: Prophets I / Adam and Eve . :-, ; :-, ;