The Qur’an as Matrix of Islamic Civilization and Society

Abstract

Societies are generally seen as producers of texts. Islam suggests that texts areproducers of society, especially texts that record divine revelation from prophets andmessengers. In the genre of literature that deals with the miraculous nature (i`jaz) ofthe Qur’an, various authors have sought to demonstrate the miracle of the Qur’an onvarious grounds: the compelling and matchless esthetic beauty of the Arabic; thequality of information and knowledge contained in the Book, either “scientific” or“religious”; and its miraculous transformative power, by which a new civilizationwas created through thework of devout believerswhose souls had been changed. Theunprecedented advance in civilization associated with Islam’s spread is offered assufficient proof. Thus Islamic civilization is seen to have an umbilical relationshipwith theQur’an as revelation and text. Just as theQur’an itself speaks of the umm alkitab,bringing motherhood fully into the divine economy, Muslims and their societiesmay be seen as children and progeny of the Qur’an, their mother. Such a senseis heightened when one remembers that themost frequently invoked attribute of Godis Rahmah (mercy), whether as al-Rahman or as al-Rahim, and that these attributesshare their etymology with the word rahim (womb), a symbol of unconditional andnaturally given protection, nourishment, solicitude, and love.This veneration of and dependency on the written word is one of the hallmarksof what Hodgson termed “islamicate societies.” Islamic culture’s textual output is ofcourse impossible to tabulate properly, covering as it it does a vast and heretoforeunimaginable range of subjects, genres, and functions. This issue of the journal offersjust a glimmer of the kind of truly dazzling variety of intellectual and artistic pursuitsthat found themselves simultaneously influencing and influenced by their respectivesocial contexts.With Sebastian Günther’s article we are treated to a scholarly explorationof the highest caliber demonstrating, among other things, that impassionedlearned debate about Islam’s true nature on the part of pious and devoted believers isnot a recent development; rather, it is perhaps in the nature of Islam itself. NevinReda’s essay brings the Qur’an’s literary nature to center stage with her examinationof the Qur’an’s intertextuality. The diversity with which Islamic texts and societiesgenerate themselves is highlighted in Muhammed Rustom’s study of the work ofWilliam Chittick, one of the major scholars of Islamic thought today. Liyakat Takimtakes us into the world of Shi`i fiqh, in a substantial analysis of the remarkablydurable relationship between text and normative behavior so characteristic of Islamas such and Shi`ism in particular. We are especially fortunate to have the outstandingarticle by Ingrid Hehmeyer, in which the categories of “water,” “magic,” ...