How to Read the Qur'an

The Qur'an is the scripture of Islam, sacred to over one billion Muslims worldwide. It is regarded by Muslims as the direct word of God, timeless and unchanged. Muslims turn to the Qur'an not only for prayer and worship but to understand the essence of their relationship with God. Mona Siddiqui considers how the Qur'an has been understood by Muslims in the intellectual traditions of Islam as well as in popular worship. She explores the 'big themes' of prophecy, law, sin and salvation, and what the Qur'an teaches about the particular place of Islam as God's last revelation in human history. She also considers head on at what the Qur'an says about gender, jihad, and about the role of ritual in Islam. Siddiqui's central concern is that Muslims must look to the Qur'an to breathe new life into the social and ethical relations between Muslims and non-Muslims. The Qur'an must no longer be seen as the problem but the solution to the challenges posed by pluralism today.