Open AccessRaymond Farrin – Structure and Quranic Interpretation: A Study of Symmetry and Coherence in Islam’s Holy text
Author(s) -
Muhammad Yaseen Gada
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
islam and civilisational renewal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2041-8728
pISSN - 2041-871X
DOI - 10.52282/icr.v9i1.151
Subject(s) - interpretation (philosophy) , islam , coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) , theme (computing) , order (exchange) , field (mathematics) , symmetry (geometry) , epistemology , criticism , philosophy , literature , mathematics , linguistics , theology , art , computer science , pure mathematics , geometry , statistics , finance , economics , operating system
The coherence (nazm) and symmetry of the Quran have remained one of the most debated and discussed topics in the field of Quranic Studies; whether or not the Quranic surah or/and the whole Quran exhibit an organic unity has produced a plethora of books. The book under review seeks to refute the longstanding criticism of disjointedness in the Quran, aiming to illustrate how a better understanding of the Qurans structure will in turn help in our textual interpretation of it (p. xvi). The book draws mainly, among others, on Amin Ahsan Islahi (d. 1997) and Michel Cuypers. According to the former, each Quranic chapter is characterised by a degree of unity or a central theme, Amud, that runs through a whole Surah. The Quran is not therefore a random text, as some believe but one which exhibits a precise structural plan, with a majority of chapters occuring in pairs; one chapter forms a pair with its adjacent chapter; pairs form chapter groups, and finally the chapter groups form the Quran as an organic unity. Cuypers, on the other hand, believes that there is a degree of symmetry among a group of chapters arranged in a concentric order.