Synopsis:
Towards Understanding Some Qura’nic Terms, Concepts, and Themes provides an excellent opportunity to gain or renew acquaintance with the meaning and message of such a masterpiece as the Qur’an. It helps readers prepare better to understand the Islamic scripture. Dr. Parray has carefully assessed the needs and wants of English speaking readers. For his work provides a helpful overview of the contents of the Qur’an by way of having elucidated its main contours and rubrics. Dr. Parray’s elucidation of these rubrics helps readers realize at the very outset that the Qur’an is a special type of text which is to be approached in its own particular perspective. In a more helpful vein Dr. Parray has carefully identified some Key Terms and Basic Concepts of the Qur’an. This once again, provides readers with a kind of road map with clear, intelligible signs, guiding them to the kernel of the Qur’an. Equally beneficial is his account of eleven key Qura’nic terms on which hinges the Qura’nic discourse. Included amid these are Worship, Piety, and Knowledge in particular. For these serve as to shed light on Islamic tradition and the community which formed around it. His exposition of the major themes of the Qur’an is directed at familiarizing readers with the recurrent ideas embedded in the Qura’nic discourse. He identifies man-God and intra-social relationships as main concerns of the Qura’nic address to mankind. Of special interest are Dr. Parray’s discussions on such timely and immediately relevant issues as the ‘Shura-Democracy nexus’, ‘Religious Pluralism and its Scriptural Foundations’, and ‘Ijtihad’. These chapters are destined to provide much food for thought to readers, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. More importantly these bring out the relevance and timeliness of the Qura’nic message.
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Note: This excerpt is from ‘Foreword’ (pp. 7-12), of the author’s recently published work, ‘Towards Understanding Some Qura’nic Terms, Concepts, and Themes’ (Karachi, Pakistan: Qirtas Publishers, June 2017); ISBN: 9789699540446; Pages: 296; Price: 340/- (Pakistani Rupees)
About the Author: Dr Tauseef Ahmad Parray is presently working as Assistant Professor, Islamic Studies in Higher Education Department, Jammu & Kashmir (India). He completed his PhD from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India (2009-14), and Post-Doctorate from ‘Iqbal International Institute for Research & Dialogue’ (IRD), International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI), Pakistan (Mar-Aug’2014). From 2010, he has published in numerous reputed academic journals and magazines (of Islamic Studies and Social/ Political Science), from over a dozen countries around the world. His major areas of interest are: Islam and Democracy; Modern Islamic Political Thought; Islamic Modernist/ Reformist Thought in Contemporary South Asia; and Modern Trends & English Scholarship in Qura’nic Studies. Email: tauseef.parray21@gmail.com
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