I am currently enjoying reading through Joseph Witztum’s thesis on the Qur’an and the Syriac tradition. Witztum’s aim is rather simple; he wishes to show that there is a background of Syriac tradition present in the Qur’an. Syriac Christians were quite prolific preceding and continuous with the Islamic period, producing thousands of works (many of … Continue reading Some thoughts on “allusions” in the Qur’an common to Syriac (and other pre-islamic) tradition.

I always found some word choices in the Qur'an somewhat puzzling, or rather, difficult to understand, when I read Qur'anic translations. Abdel Haleem, in his recent article, "The Role of Context in Interpreting and Translating the Qur'an," explores how context gives generic Qur'anic words, such as al-Rahman, meanings that slightly diverge from the generic usage. As … Continue reading Interesting article on the sensitivity to context of Qur’anic words

I came across an early Muslim personality who I found to be very interesting: Ali ibn Rabban Al-Tabari. A Syriac Christian, son of a Syriac Christian, who served most of his life in the courts of the Abbassids. He had a reputation for his talent as a physician, and he authored the medical work "Firdaws … Continue reading Ali ibn Rabban Al-Tabari

For some time now I have heard a lot of good things about the masterful 20th century exegete, "Abd al-Hameed al-farahi" (also known as Hamiduddin Farahi). I recently finally decided to take a look at his renowned tafsir, "Tafsir Nizaam al-Qur'an". He was truly the father of modern literary criticism of the Qur'an, setting forward … Continue reading Farahi on the “name of God” in the Qur’an and Jewish tradition

As-salaamu Alaykum, It has unfortunately been a very long time since I posted on this blog. I wish to return back to it in the near future. A lot has gone on over the last year or so which left me in a bit of uncertainty about what I want to do, but now I've … Continue reading The future of this blog

It is highly recommended you view this post in PDF format below: https://www.academia.edu/27211948/The_Prophet_Mu%E1%B8%A5ammad_and_Isaiah_42 The Prophet Muḥammad and Isaiah 42 ponderingislam.com INTRODUCTION The Qurʾān makes reference to Biblical prophecies that supposedly predict the coming of the Prophet Muḥammad. One such reference is found in Sūra al-aʿrāf v.157, where the coming of an ʾummī prophet is said … Continue reading Prophet Muhammad in the Bible

I came across something very interesting recently. In Surah Baqarah 2:93: And [recall] when We took your covenant and raised over you the mount, [saying], "Take what We have given you with determination and listen." They said [instead], "We hear and disobey." And their hearts absorbed [the worship of] the calf because of their disbelief. … Continue reading Interlinguistic pun in the Qur’an

This is an interesting albeit short book by Raymond Farrin exploring the structure of the Qur'anic text. Farrin prefaces the text by saying that the Qur'an is unfortunately not well appreciated by much of the English audience, as both its dynamic style and a structure that does not follow modern styles of composition seems alien … Continue reading Book review: Structure and Qur’anic Interpretation

I don't understand what the whole fuss is about. Imagine this: 2000 pages worth of Qur'an and its exegesis that looks at interpretations of not only the orthodox Sunni exegetes but also of all other sects, including the Khawarij and the Mu'tazila. That in itself makes accessible discourse that was previously unreachable to all but specialists. … Continue reading I want the Study Qur’an

Something I really want to do! There are a number of non-Muslim scholars who have published works that fall into the genre that Nouman Ali Khan conceives in this video, but we need Muslims to start too.