Understanding the Qur'an

The tenets of Islam cannot be grasped without a proper understanding of the Qur'an. In this introduction, Dr Muhammad Haleem, a noted scholar of Islamic studies, examines its major recurrent themes - life and eternity, marriage and divorce, peace and war, and water - and sets out these in the context of the Qur'an's linguistic style. Dr Haleem examines the background to the development of the "surahs" (chapters) and the "ayahs" (verses) and the construction of the Qur'an in itself. He shows that popular conceptions of Islamic attitudes towards women, marriage and divorce, war and society, differ radically from the true teachings of the Qur'an.