scholarly journals The Sublime Qur'an and Orientalism

1991 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-168
Author(s):  
A. R. Kidwai

The Qur'an, being central to both the Islamic faith and its practice, hasbeen studied in a plethora of orientalist writings-ranging from such a crudelypolemical one as Alexander Ross's English translation of the Qur'an entitledThe Alcoran of Mahomet . . . for the Satisfaction for all those who Desireto look into the Turkish Vanities (1649) to those with scholarly pretensionsand claiming to be "objective" studies, such as Noldeke's Geschichte des Qorans(1860), Goldziher's Die Richtungen der islamischen Koranauslesung (1920),Bell's The Quran translated with a Critical Rearrangement of the Surahs(1937-39), Wansbrough's Quranic Studies (1977), and Burton's The Collectionof the Quran (1977).The book under review, first published in 1983, recounts the full tockof the orientalists' misconceptions, down the ages, about the Qur'an-theiroutlandish theories about its authorship (pp. 7-18), their assaults on its textualhistory and its arrangement (pp. 52-63), their brazen attempts at twistingits meaning in their Qur'an translations (pp. 64-92), and their bizzare viewson abrogation in the Qur'an (pp. 93-104). Khalifa deserves every credit forassembling so much information. What is more remarkable is that it is followedby a stout refutation of these allegations about the form and contents of theQur'an and an extensive, authentic exposition of the Qur'anic teachings,concepts, and morals, all of which constitutes the second part of the book(pp. 111-205). In elucidating the Qur'anic worldview, Khalifa's discussion issubtle, in large part persuasive, tenaciously pursued, and well presented.Appended to the book are two highly informative appendices on the orderof the Qur'an's surahs.This well-intentioned and detailed scholarly study, however, does notreally succeed in delivering what its title promises. In discussing the orientalists'ventures into establishing the chronology of Qur'anic surahs, Khalifa sayslittle about Gustav Fli:lgel's Corani Textus Arabiscus (1834) and the theoriespropounded by Grimme and Hirschfield's New Researches in the Compositionand Exegesis of the Quran (1902). More serious is the lack of any referenceto a host of orientalists' writings on the philological and lexical aspects ofthe Qur'an, namely Baljon's Modern Muslim Quran Interpretation (1961),Torrey's The Commercial-Theological Terms in the Quran (1892), Watt's ...

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laleh Bakhtiar

For over 14 centuries, Muslim men have misinterpreted a verse of the Quran (4:34) to allow themselves to beat their wives. The Sublime Quran, the first critical English translation of the Quran by a woman, corrects this error and shows how it has created a contradiction not inherent in the Quran itself.


2018 ◽  
pp. 150-186
Author(s):  
Alison E. Martin

This chapter discusses the salient differences between the two different contemporaneous versions of Humboldt’s Ansichten der Natur: Elizabeth Sabine’s Aspects of Nature (Longman, 1849) and Otté and Henry Bohn’s Views of Nature (Bohn, 1850). Humboldt initially wrangled with Elizabeth Sabine and her husband Edward, President of the Royal Society, over the English title but did not interfere further in the translation of this hybrid essay collection that combined science and aesthetics. The descriptive landscape ‘tableaux’ posed various translational difficulties in the strong imaginative appeal they carried but also the philosophical concepts underpinning them, for which Humboldt had created his own terms. Bohn and Otté enhanced the visual interest of the landscape features in Humboldt’s narrative by appealing more directly to the categories of the sublime and picturesque playing up contrasts between fore- and background; Sabine was more explicit in strengthening the spiritual message conveyed through landscape description.


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry J. M. Day
Keyword(s):  

Sains Insani ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Zulkefli Aini ◽  
Abdul Ghafar Don ◽  
Ahmad Irdha Mokhtar ◽  
Nur Uswah Ahmad Fauzi

One of the factors that can affect a person's behavior is a communication message. In the context of the da`wah, preachers who involved actively in da`wah communication with the Orang Asli should be able to ensure that the message conveyed can be understood by the target group. In addition, the selection of the correct messages of da`wah based on the foremost priority simplify the process of sharing information between the preachers and the Orang Asli. Accordingly, this article aims to identify specific topics of Islamic faith (akidah) submitted by the Orang Asli in the process of da`wah communication and to identify verbal feedback given by the preachers to the Orang Asli of the topics. This qualitative study using case study design and data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Interviews involving nine preachers were active in da`wah activity to the Orang Asli community in Selangor. Data were analyzed thematically according to the specified objectives. The study found that the topics frequently raised by the Orang Asli is concerned about belief in Allah, belief in Malaikat, and belief in Qada' and Qadar. The topics may be found within the framework of worldview in their beliefs and practice of ancient traditions. Therefore, the preachers gave verbal feedback on these topics is based on a clear and precise sample corresponding to the level of their thinking. The emphasis on these topics is very important to strengthen and purify the faith of the community.Keywords: Communication; Message; Preacher; Indigenous community Abstrak: Elemen mesej dalam komunikasi merupakan salah satu faktor yang dapat memberi kesan terhadap perubahan tingkah laku seseorang. Dalam konteks dakwah, pendakwah yang terlibat dalam proses komunikasi dakwah dengan Orang Asli seharusnya berkebolehan memastikan kandungan mesej yang disampaikan boleh difahami oleh sasaran dakwahnya. Di samping itu, pemilihan mesej dakwah yang betul mengikut keutamaan memudahkan proses perkongsian maklumat antara pendakwah dengan Orang Asli. Sehubungan dengan itu, artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti topik-topik tertentu dalam mesej akidah yang dikemukakan oleh masyarakat Orang Asli kepada pendakwah dan mengenalpasti maklum balas lisan yang diberikan oleh pendakwah kepada Orang Asli terhadap topik tersebut. Kajian kualitatif ini menggunakan reka bentuk kajian kes dengan pengumpulan data melalui temu bual separa struktur. Temu bual melibatkan sembilan orang pendakwah yang aktif dalam aktiviti dakwah masyarakat Orang Asli di Selangor. Data kajian dianalisis secara tematik mengikut objektif yang ditentukan. Kajian ini mendapati bahawa topik-topik yang sering dikemukan oleh Orang Asli kepada pendakwah dalam penyampaian mesej akidah ialah berkenaan tentang keimanan kepada Allah SWT, keimanan kepada malaikat, dan keimanan kepada qada’ dan qadar. Topik-topik berkenaan didapati berada dalam kerangka worldview kepercayaan dan amalan tradisi mereka. Sehubungan dengan itu, pendakwah memberikan maklum balas lisan terhadap topik-topik tersebut adalah berdasarkan keterangan yang jelas dan contoh yang tepat bersesuaian dengan tahap pemikiran mereka. Penekanan terhadap topik-topik tersebut merupakan perkara yang penting dalam rangka mengukuhkan dan memurnikan akidah masyarakat Orang Asli.Kata kunci: Komunikasi; Mesej; Pendakwah; Komuniti Orang Asli


2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Winters ◽  
J. P. Hume ◽  
M. Leenstra

In 1887 Dutch archivist A. J. Servaas van Rooijen published a transcript of a hand-written copy of an anonymous missive or letter, dated 1631, about a horrific famine and epidemic in Surat, India, and also an important description of the fauna of Mauritius. The missive may have been written by a lawyer acting on behalf of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). It not only gives details about the famine, but also provides a unique insight into the status of endemic and introduced Mauritius species, at a time when the island was mostly uninhabited and used only as a replenishment station by visiting ships. Reports from this period are very rare. Unfortunately, Servaas van Rooijen failed to mention the location of the missive, so its whereabouts remained unknown; as a result, it has only been available as a secondary source. Our recent rediscovery of the original hand-written copy provides details about the events that took place in Surat and Mauritius in 1631–1632. A full English translation of the missive is appended.


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