The Qur'an: a biography

Abstract

Bruce Lawrence. The Qur'an: A Biography. London: Atlantic Books, 2006. Pp. xv+231. Paperback. ISBN 978 1 84354 399 2. Price: US $13.99. The Muslims' sacred text, namely the Qur'an, has come under the spotlight during the past few years because, as the argument goes, Muslim fundamentalists have been deeply influenced by it via their literalist understanding and application of its contents. The book under review has been written by Professor Bruce Lawrence, well-informed scholar on Islam and Muslims, who is based at Duke University. His book forms part of 'books that shook the world' series; among this list are Plato's Republic, Marx's Das Kapital, and Darwin's Origins of Species. Whilst in this post-modern era contemporary social scientists have no qualms in equating the Qur'an with books written by their fellow global citizens such as those just mentioned, Muslims particularly those who hold on to conservative positions of interpretation would vehemently object to this method for they firmly believe it to be God's infallible word. Nevertheless, let us dip into the contents and review what Lawrence managed to cover in his volume. Bruce Lawrence dedicates this publication to his Jordanian journalist cum filmmaker friend by the name of Dr Ibrahim Abu Nab, who he acknowledges alongside many of his past students that shaped the contents of this text. Lawrence arranges his book into five sections, each of which consists of chapters or vignettes . as he prefers to call them . of varying length. The purpose of this arrangement is to make the biography of the Qur'an accessible to vast reading audience who may wish to read the vignettes selectively and consecutively (p. 8). Lawrence, like authors of other works of this type, includes notes on translations and Romanization respectively before he provides an informative introduction (p. 1.20) and ends off with an epilogue (pp. 193.199). A point that Lawrence stresses and that recurs throughout his book is that even though the Qur'an, which is 'A Book of Signs,' is a unitary, coherent source of knowledge, there is not single Qur'anic message and he also points out that the Qur'an's contents speak across historical periods. Lawrence illustrates how gthe use of Qur'anic passages and invocations of God's names have no temporal and spatial limith in each of the chapters (p. 9) and how the multifaceted nature of the Qur'an has been appropriated and interpreted by scholars in the classical period to those in the contemporary era. In the Arab Core section he has four interrelated chapters. The first two discussed Prophet Muhammad [peace be on him] as Merchant and Messenger (pp. 21-36) and Organizer & Strategist (pp. 37-49) respectively. In these chapters the author narrates the well-known story of how early Muslim history gradually unfolded and tells about the place of the revelation in this historical process. Whilst this reviewer found his style pleasing and attractive, he wonders why Lawrence opted to describe the migration of Muhammad [peace be on him] from Makkah to Madinah in 623 as a flight' rather than a migration' as conveyed by the word in Arabic (p. 40). In the third chapter, the author informs us about 'Aisha: Muhammad's Wife and Custodian of His Memory' (pp. 50-61). The chapter, as was expected, touched upon the 'Affair of the Lie' but, more importantly, showed the role that 'A'ishah (d. 57/677), who had remarkable memory, played in the preservation of Muhammad's - and the Qur'an's - biography. She undoubtedly was critical conveyer about the Prophet's intimate life and the status of the Qur'an in the lives of Muslims. In the last chapter Lawrence takes us on journey to the 'The Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem Landmark, Qur'anic Icon' (pp. 62-72), which contains Qur'anic inscriptions that enhance the structure and shape; Lawrence, who was attracted by these inscriptions, goes on to describe and discuss them. 'Ja'far as-Sadiq: Shi'ite Imam and Qur'anic Exegete' (pp. …