How to Read the Qu`ran

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.