The Study Quran

The Study Quran

Cover for the first edition.
Editors	Hossein Nasr, Caner Dagli, Maria Dakake, Joseph Lumbard, Mohammed Rustom
Language	English
Publisher	HarperOne
Publication date	2015
Publication place	United States
Pages	2048

The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary is an English-language edition of the Quran edited by Seyyed Hossein Nasr and published by HarperOne. Caner Dagli, Maria Dakake, and Joseph Lumbard also served as general editors and Mohammed Rustom contributed as an assistant editor. Alongside a new English translation and extensive commentary, The Study Quran features numerous essays, maps, and other material.

Development

The idea of an English-language Quran for scholars and students was originally proposed to Nasr by HarperOne (then HarperSanFrancisco), who wanted Nasr as the editor-in-chief. Nasr initially declined, but after the publisher told him that the book would not happen without him, he felt obligated to lead the project. Nasr had several conditions for the work: firstly, that it would avoid modernistic and fundamentalist interpretations of the Quran, instead favouring a range of traditional interpretations. He also insisted that all the editors would be Muslim. Nasr chose Dagli, Dakake, and Lumbard, all Americans and former students of his, as General Editors. Sections of the translation and commentary were apportioned to the three editors, who worked under the oversight of Nasr and in consultation with each other to preserve the unity of the project. Nasr recruited Rustom as an assistant editor after the translation and essays had been completed. The Study Quran took ten years to complete.

Content

On The Study Quran’s English translation, Nasr writes:

We have sought to make use of the full possibilities of the English language without the pretext of wanting to be so up-to-date in word usages that our rendition would soon become out-of-date. We have also sought to be as eloquent as possible, in an effort to reflect something of the inimitable eloquence of Quranic Arabic.

The Study Quran’s commentary references 41 older commentaries which represent a variety of Islamic perspectives, including Sunni and Shiite sources, and linguistic, philosophical, mystical, and historical commentaries. It is the first edition of the Quran to combine commentaries with disparate and often conflicting interpretations in this way. The source commentaries are traditional rather than contemporary, and are dominated by Medieval works; the most recent commentators are Ibn Ashur and Tabataba'i, who both died in the 20th century.

The book also includes 15 essays written on related topics, including "How to Read the Quran", "The Quran as Source of Islamic Law", and "Conquest and Conversion, War and Peace in the Quran". The essay topics were selected by Nasr and written by a variety of contributors.

Reception

The Study Quran has received praise from scholars of Islam for its academic rigor and nonsectarian perspective. Bruce Lawrence, Professor Emeritus at Duke University, writes, "No one will be able to offer a basic course on Islam, or to propose an in depth study of the Quran, without reference to this monumental achievement." Asma Afsaruddin of Indiana University praised The Study Quran as "the most comprehensive study of the Quran to date." Faraz Rabbani called The Study Quran a “deep, rich, valuable study companion for any English-speaker seeking to deepen their understanding and appreciation for the Book of Allah”, but warned readers not to “take it as “the final word” or an authoritative reference on matters of theology or law”.

In his review for Muslimmatters.org, Mobeen Vaid criticised "regrettable instances in which [The Study Quran] has departed from consensus", but called it "a monumental contribution to the field of Quran studies, offering perhaps the first proper exegetical work on the Quran in the English language." He further writes:

...the SQ is not a work colored by the ideologies and agendas of secular liberalism (in its many forms). It makes no apologies for verses that appear inegalitarian, malevolent, or otherwise discordant with the metaphysical commitments of contemporary liberal society. Instead, the SQ contextualizes, elucidates the tradition, and offers an understanding of those verses within terms that the Muslim community (or at least some portion of it) has understood them for over a thousand years.

Appraisal by mainstream American publications focused on The Study Quran's capacity to counter extreme or fundamentalist interpretations of Islam. A report by CNN entitled “Could this Quran curb extremism?” placed the work in the context of the recent Paris attacks, emphasising that the book refutes the extremist interpretations of the Quran by ISIS and other groups. Similarly, an article in The Daily Beast presented The Study Quran as a “challenge” to the ultra-conservative Salafi scholars who “have monopolized English-language Muslim resources”.