Moses in the Qur'an and Islamic Exegesis (Routledge Studies in the Qur'an) - Softcover

Brannon M. Wheeler

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415554187 ISBN 13: 9780415554183

Publisher: Routledge, 2009

Synopsis

Relating the Muslim understanding of Moses in the Qur'an to the Epic of Gilgamesh, Alexander Romances, Aramaic Targums, Rabbinic Bible exegesis, and folklore from the ancient and medieval Mediterranean, this book shows how Muslim scholars authorize and identify themselves through allusions to the Bible and Jewish tradition. Exegesis of Qur'an 18:60-82 shows how Muslim exegetes engage Biblical theology through interpretation of the ancient Israelites, their prophets, and their Torah. This Muslim use of a scripture shared with Jews and Christians suggests fresh perspectives for the history of religions, Biblical studies, cultural studies, and Jewish-Arabic studies.

About this title

About the Author

Brannon Wheeler is the founding Director of the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies and Professor of History at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. He received his PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago and has been a visiting scholar at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, the College of Shariah and Islamic Studies at Kuwait University, the Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies at the University of Bergen in Norway, and the American University of Kuwait. Prof. Wheeler has authored and edited seven books and is Editor of the book series and journal of Comparative Islamic Studies.

From the Back Cover

This work draws upon a host of late antique and medieval sources to examine selected Muslim exegeses of Moses in the Quran. The Muslim exegetical image of Moses in the Quran is linked with ancient Sumerian stories of Gilgamesh, various versions of the Alexander romance (Ethiopic, Syriac, Persian), Aramaic translations of the Abraham story in Genesis, and rabbinic accounts of the Ten Lost Tribes in the Talmud and the Midrash. Using approaches from Biblical Studies, History of Religions, Folklore Studies, and Judeo-Arabic Studies, this book suggests how Muslim exegesis of the Quran is purposeful in its appropriation and adaptation of elements consonant with Jewish and Christian interpretation and theology of the Bible.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0415554187
• ISBN 13: 9780415554183
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 236