The Study Quran: A New Translation and Commentary Paperback – August 1, 2017

Like fundamentalists of every flavor, radical Islamists come to their wars of ideas armed with proof-texts—those decontextualized bits of scripture that can be strung together in chains to justify whatever one happens to believe. In the current historical moment, this means acts of violence and cruelty in the name of one of the world’s great religions.An irony of our age is that most Western opponents of radical Islam use the same proof texts to justify bigotry against all Muslims. Just Google “Islam and Violence,” and you will find hundreds of proof-text pages with quote after quote from the Quran seeming to justify, and even require, acts of violence—which, of course, happens to be the same thing that most Islamist terrorists believe. Rarely do enemies agree so completely on first principles.The big problem though, is that (like most assertions supported by chains of oversimplified proof texts) the assertion is false. Or, at least, it is not always true, and it is not true in the ways that both violent Muslims and violent anti-Muslims assume when they start mining the Quran for reasons to fight.Into this rhetorical context comes the long-anticipated, ten-years-in-the-making, Harper Study Quran. Based on the wildly successful Harper Study Bible, and edited by practicing Muslims who are also trained and respected scholars, the Study Quran offers itself as an the first English translation to incorporate significant commentary designed to contextualize nearly every ayah (verse) in the sacred book.And I’ll be dag-nabbed if it doesn’t do it. By my rough estimates, about 90% of the book consists of verse-by-verse commentary keyed to the text by a practical (and merciful) two-color printing scheme that keys the text to the notes with bright red numbers.As I read this new Quran (and I read it straight through because I am weird like that), I found that I could not realistically read all of the commentary and still follow any kind of narrative flow. I read most of the text without the commentary, glancing down at the footnotes only when I felt that I needed more context to understand the basic meaning of a passage.The Study Quran supports this kind of reading, but it is really designed for intensive study of a passage or a theme. The editorial apparatus makes this kind of reading very easy. A comprehensive (and multi-colored) index allows readers to follow themes and ideas through the text, and a set of essays at the end of the volume brings together concepts like “Quranic Ethics, Human Rights, and Society” and “Conquest and Conversion, War and Peace in the Quran.”But however one reads it, the Study Quran’s overwhelming strength is that it provides, for nearly every verse in the Quran, both the context of its original recitation and a survey of 1400 years of scholarship.To understand why this is important, consider how the Quran is structured. Unlike the Bible, it contains very little sustained narrative, and the individual surahs (chapters) were not all revealed as discrete units, so each ayah has an independent context of original reception.The Quran, in other words, lends itself to proof texting even better than the Hebrew or Christian Bibles—and that’s saying something. The editors of the Study Quran patiently and painstakingly reconstruct, to the extent possible, the original context of each recitation in the entire book and make that reconstructed context available to any reader willing to devote the time attention required to understand it.The results are remarkable, and they have the wonderful added effect of limiting the ability of both adherents and detractors to manipulate the book’s meaning through uncritical prooftexting.Here is one example (though I wish I had the space for a dozen) of what happens when a passage often used to justify both violence and Islamophobia undergoes the Study Quran’s contextualizing treatment. In the 33rd Ayah of Surah 5 (The Table Spread), we read the following injunction:Verily, the recompense of those who wage war against God and His Messenger, and endeavor to work corruption upon the earth is that they be killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet cut off from opposite sides, or be banished from the land.Pretty gruesome, to be sure, and also pretty clear. But the editors of the Study Quran want us to know two things that no other single-volume English translation will tell us: 1) that this passage was recited in a specific instance and for a specific purpose; and 2) that there is a long tradition of Muslim scholarship and jurisprudence interpreting this verse.The context was a specific and extremely bloody attack upon the Muslim community in Madinah. After accepting a group of Bedouins into the community under the pretense of conversion, Mohammad allowed them to depart when they claimed that they were not comfortable with city life. He sent camels with them “for milk and sustenance” and a Muslim camel herder to help them on their way. “Once outside the city, however, they brutally maimed and killed the camelheard and made off with the camels the Prophet had given them to use (293).In context, then, the punishments in the passage were mandated against specific individuals who had acted with impunity to terrorize the Muslim community. And, the editors explain, the verse has NOT normally been interpreted as a general process for dealing with apostates:Given that the perpetrators were also, among other things, apostates . . . since they embraced Islam in the presence of the Prophet, then renounced it through their actions, a small minority have considered the verse to apply to apostates in general. It seems clear, however, that the severe punishments in this verse pertain specifically to those who commit various crimes brazenly and with exceptional brutality, violence and terrorization of innocent people. (293)This contextualizing commentary does not erase the violence in the text, of course. But it does limit its application among those willing to consider things like why a passage was originally given and what it has meant to fourteen centuries of devout Muslim scholars. And these are things that both Muslims and non-Muslims need to understand.For those who believe, as I do, that humanity’s survival into the next century will require us to understand and appreciate each other’s deepest beliefs, The Study Quran is a gift and a treasure. It does not make understanding Islam easy, but it makes it possible—if we are willing to invest the effort it takes to accept the gift and heft the treasure.And for English-speaking Muslims who are not terrorists and radical Islamists (which is about 99.9% of the total), it provides a valuable tool for deepening faith and demonstrating the shallowness of the proof-texters who constantly attack them.In an interview with CNN shortly after the volume’s publication, the lead editor, Seyyed Hossein Nasr argued that “the best way to counter extremism in modern Islam is a revival of classical Islam.” That is a tall order for any single book, but I suspect that, if a revival of classical Islam ever happens in the English-speaking world, the revivalists will all carry copies of the Study Quran–and the revolution will be extensively footnoted.

An epic work concordant with its celestial origins, the Study Quran in panaromic fashion reflects the ever present message of the Sacred as penned by it's traditional authorities only to be rendered imaginable by a vision of Islam as encompassing as Dr. Nasr's to mirror the infitnite depth in finite breadth. This work certainly raises the bar for religious literacy, understanding, and challenges parochial mindsets and interpretations. Dr. Nasr and his editorial team are to be congratulated on this historic achievement in fulfilling the promise of the pertinency of Islam's tradition for not only advancing a metric for Quranic scholarship, but revealing the timeless message of the Quran in a polarized time riddled with misunderstandings, all the while widening the scope of Islam's transcendent and universal vista.After having read a couple hundred of pages:This review is being written after having read over a couple hundred pages of The Study Quran; and there is little doubt in my mind, being an amateur, in the etymological sense of the word, and observer of scholarship in Islamic studies for over past two decades, and gauging the pulse of Muslims in America, that this is the most important study of the Quran in the western hemisphere. Granted, there other valuable translations of the Quran, and works of commentary on the Quran, but what distinguishes this massive, yet manageable, tome—over two-thousand pages, and over a million words—is the spectrum of pre-modern commentaries and those that continue that tradition into the modern period. Thus, the Study Quran establishes itself as one the most important “tools” amongst the Quranic related works for Muslims and non-Muslims to come to terms with the Quran, its message, and its traditional commentary pedigree from within a perspective concordant its spirit, without sacrificing its legal precepts. For this reason alone, Dr. Nasr, and each of the editors, is to be warmly congratulated on publication of this volume that has been nearly ten years in the making.Following a lengthy introduction by Dr. Nasr, who outlines the nature, dimensions, and the meaning of the Quran to Muslims, the heart of the project begins with a translation and running commentary. This verse-by-verse commentary is similar in style to many other classical commentator styles, some which run to dozens of volumes in fine print. Dr. Nasr and his team of editors have surveyed over three dozen of these commentaries, hence studying hundreds of volumes, which reflect the traditional paradigm of commentary traditions from various points of view, whether theological, legal, philological, philosophical, or mystical. Then they synthesize these perspectives into a series of brief comments, often with reference to the traditional commentators. Some of these synthesized comments run into several pages for just a handful of verses of the Quran. Thus, the editors reveal depth of possible meanings and present to readers context, inter-texuality, subtext, and ultimately meanings that move from their outward meaning to their inward meaning of the text. The final sections of the Study Quran, contain quiet literally, a book within a book, with a series of essays on various topics of the Quran; a deeply useful Index; citation of Hadith (oral traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) found in the text; and maps of the region of Arabia where the Quran was revealed. As to the essays, they are like a series of peaks in the valley of the Quran itself they help synthesize various topics found across the Quran that cannot be fully exposited in the commentary. Thus, the reader can gain a fuller view of a particular subject by reading an essay, or use the index and read through the variety of verses and comments related in order to a certain topic. The Study Quran is useful tool for personal study, group study, in both informal and formal academic settings.For Muslims, in addition to the function that the Study Quran can play for non-Muslims, it first and foremost aids in establishing a relationship with God. By knowing God’s word on one level, brings one closer to Him. And it reveals to Muslims the vast array of interpretations to the Quran, especially amongst the pre-Modern Islamic scholarship. Hence, for Muslims who have been largely fed Islam at the level of the common denominator, the Study Quran presents various linguistic and symbolic subtlety of the text, along with clarifying its meanings within a range of opinions. In the process of reading the Study Quran, which includes interpretations from various perspectives of Islam, like Sunnism, Shi’ism, and Sufism, for Muslims it underscores that all these perspectives in the abode of Islam originate and return to the Quran, and that no one interpretation holds a monopoly. Rather it reveals the level of sincerity and intellectual fortitude exemplified by the commentators to understand God’s word, as opposed to delimiting it for ideological ends--one only has to read the biographies of these commentators to realize their level of sincerity, and in many cases sanctity. Thus, various interpretations that appear in opposition can be held and respected since they are grounded in a reading of the fount of Islam itself, the Quran. And yet at the same time, confirm a particular classical understanding promoted by a certain perspective. Therefore, the Study Quran balances its interpretations between an outward understanding of a verse and its inward, and between particular points of view, and a universal center that looks out to the vista of understanding. This is very helpful since many Muslims themselves, arrogate orthodoxy to themselves at the exclusion of others, perhaps as a psycho-social reaction to the lack of authentic human experience in the modern world and desire for stability in a liquid sociology. Regardless of the cause, the effect is that Muslims today, even amongst themselves have reduced orthodoxy to certain interpretations, scholars, schools, and the like, thereby explicitly or implicitly reducing the expression of Islam, in both spirit and form to a few localized geographic or intellectual strains. The net effect is that Muslims often conflate unity for uniformity, and thus, breed suspicion and paranoia for those Muslims that may not think or practice like them—the same contours of thinking can be applied between religions as well. Let it be clear, Sunnis have differed amongst themselves, as with Shi’ites, as with Sufis, and yet there have been also large areas of agreement—even across perspectives, borrowing from each other; hence, neither should these similarities and differences be exaggerated or marginalized, but understood within its rightful context; nevertheless, I do concede it is not possible to generalize without the risk of distortion on this subject given its complexity. That said, for our context today, it behooves us to envision orthodoxy, in a post-traditional anthropology, to allow for intellectual confirmation for the particular and exclusivist tendencies, while at the same time provide deeper insights into the universal nature of Truth as such (i.e. ineffable)—this is between perspectives within a religion, or between religions themselves—hence, the sense of orthodoxy must operate on a higher plane of discourse then mere dogmatic and or discursive theology towards the "via negativa," especially if it is to dovetail exclusivity with inclusivity in relative harmony which was implicit more or less in the spirit of traditional Islam. But today such implicit moorings require explication due to the fracturing of the human spirit writ large, where various Islamic perspectives are interacting with each other in the public sphere, and that confusion persists due to lack of meaningful exchange, some due in part to religious chauvinism. Hence, the Study Quran widens the scope of orthodoxy for Muslims, confirming exclusivist views along side inclusivity, all while challenging fringe distortions, by raising the discourse along intellectual and spiritual trajectories. For Muslims the Study Quran is a much needed platform from which to consider and discuss these subjects, come to understand various views without prejudice; and, though it is natural for Muslims to differ with each other even then, at least recognize it for what it is, maintain constancy in their own view, while still harbor care and love for their fellow Muslims since they too return to the Quran. In effect, by reading the Study Quran, the Muslim should feel a sense of humility towards other views, since it is not the only view, and yet, pride in their view, since it is a view in the broader tapestry of the tradition in Islam. So, Muslims maybe wondering who is an orthodox or not? It is those who are spiritually, ethically, and morally advanced than you—those with God consciousness, regardless of tribal affiliation. Other approaches of orthodoxy very easily veer off into tribalism or are marred with Judeo-Christian subtext, as with the complex term “religion.”Now, some will take umbrage with the fact an outmoded use of English is employed to translate. I am aware that most things written today for the average reader is at an middle to high-school grade reading level—and that is a conservative estimation. Hence, the masses constantly seek to read everything at some homogenized level. However, I think the translation is eloquent and flows masterfully; akin to reading Shakespeare—which most educated people have read at some point in their experience. Thus, as opposed to succumbing to vulgar populism, which will obsolete in the few years, it would be better to retain a timeless English prose, with a touch of poetry, similar to Shakespearean English. Put another way, a sacred text, requires as close to a sacred sensibility in form in the target language to express the aura of distinction between the sacred and profane. To those that complain about the language, my recommendation is that they elevate their reading capacity, and perhaps their consciousness (and practically keep a dictionary handy). If some want to read “newspeak” Quran, there are plenty around for ease—which maybe also an indication of how some Muslims approach Islam, as a matter of intellectual laziness and lack of literary taste. And in some cases contributes to the dumbing down of Islam, and hence, dumb thoughts of some Muslims, as with dumb actions committed by them.Upon receiving the Study Quran, many will quickly note the beauty and aesthetic quality of the production of the text. This is to reclaim the once beautiful production of texts and binding in the Islamic world, and revive it to some extent in the modern period. Many Qurans available are printed usually on cheap paper and poor binding, with little care for detail. This artistic presentation of the Quran is entirely different, and exceeds expectations. However, some will gripe about the paper quality, that it is too thin. I believe the paper quality is perfect for the tome, especially since an important target audience are students that seek to gain some sense of the Quran through its classical commentators. Hence, it is portable for students who may be moving from one class to the next. The paper quality is on par, if not better, than that used in the hefty Norton Anthology to Literature volumes (students who study the humanities in the West will be familiar with these tomes); and thus, for how thin is the paper the quality is durable to the extent that the ink of one side does distort the text on the other side.To conclude, I mentioned earlier that the Study Quran is a tool, albeit an important one in understanding the Quran from the traditional Islamic perspective; a perspective that rarely gains the necessary attention in the West due to political ideologies or intellectual ideologies antithetical to the spirit of Quran itself. The Study Quran is one means of studying the sacred script of over a billion peoples, and to obtain a taste of the ways in which it has been experienced and commented by those down through the past 1400 years. Many people in this day of instant gratification, info-glut, with googlesque mentality, seek one place for everything to be sought and found, even the sacred, and holy. The Study Quran resists this since it is limited by only surveying a little more than three dozen commentaries, under the editorial eyes of five individuals, for a nearly decade; and thus, is not perfect; but neither is any commentary perfect or the "final" word. Just like any “study” it will be revised and parts reconsidered upon re-reading the commentaries; only the timeless word of God stands the test of time, and with Him is its ultimate of meanings. Instead, what the Study Quran conveys is an important intention, that each verse has various meanings of depths, and thus challenges any Muslim perspective that promotes one interpretation to the expense of the others; and it portends that classical scholars from various perspectives considered alternate and opposing points of view—something I believe Muslims today could benefit; often, concluding with “God knows better”—and this is something I believe Muslims can also benefit.This work will not be without its critics given the sheer immensity of the research that went into it; and I invite them critique the work constructively. Not destructively by cherry picking certain verses without considering the full range of verses and commentary related to a particular theme or topic (the index comes in handy here); this attitude is only revealing of their souls. Or, raise paranoia, and suspicion with regard to Dr. Nasr, in that he is a Shi’a, and envisions the heart of all authentic revelations with the eye of the heart in light of the eternal wisdom that originates in the bosom of the One Divine, termed usually as the perennial philosophy (Ar. al-Din al-Hanifa, al-Hikma al-Khalida, Javidan Khairad); to them I say, you cannot reject that which was never offered to you. If this sounds elitist, then consider why must you assume yourself and your intellect to be common denominator of all Islam from time immemorial; or, is your metric, quoting R.W. Emerson, “The difference from me, is the measure of insanity”? If this is the case, then you have larger issues to deal with than critiquing the Study Quran, like your own ego.I recommend, instead help the Study Quran editorial team, in order for it to become a better and useful text for the needs of Muslims and Non-Muslims. Or, publish another Study Quran, hence another tool in the service of seekers and students. Since the work’s publication there has been much reaction on the part of Muslims and Non-Muslims, and rightfully so; since, perhaps the greatest insult is to be ignored. And whether you agree or disagree with Dr. Nasr’s philosophical position (and by philosophy I do not mean man-made rationalist/scientific discursive constructs, but transcendent wisdom that flows from the niche of prophecy [see Dr. Nasr's philosophical works, in particular Knowledge and the Sacred]), and his editors, going forward, any study of the Quran cannot ignore him and his work, especially if they are to validate the traditional perspective, the various perspective that have unfolded in time and space, and to defend the tradition from perspectives that aim to deconstruct it with a host "isms" generated in the post-medieval period. However, those who seek Truth-in-itself, will understand its place in relationship to themselves; and if you seek a particular truth as it relates to certain people, a certain mode of "Islam," in certain times and places, then such is your Rizq (divine apportionment), and you will derive your ordained benefit. Either way, I will give Frithjof Schuon the final word on this subject, when he says, "if there were no human margin, no abrogation would be possible."