Concepts and Methods in the Study of the Qur’ān

This paper addresses methodological issues in Qur’anic studies. At first, it intends to explain, through historiographical analysis, why methods proved fruitful in biblical and New Testament studies, such as form criticism and redaction criticism, have been disregarded in Qur’anic studies; secondly, it vindicates the application of such methods to the Qur’anic corpus; thirdly, it tries to exemplify the relevance of redaction criticism through examples. Two main issues are then discussed: the best way to account for the “synoptic problem” (the presence, in the Qur’ān, of variant parallel narratives), through an examination of some aspects of the Adam-Iblīs narratives (more precisely the composition of Q 2:30–38 and the nature of the relations between Q 38:71–85 and Q 15:26–43); and the beginning of Q 55. Two main conclusions are reached: first, the later versions of a parallel story are, in the examples discussed here, rewritings of earlier stories (namely, re-compositions based on a written version); second, sura 55 features the intervention of different authors, with two different profiles.

Evaluation of Low-Head Ramped Weirs for a Potamodromous Cyprinid: Effects of Substrate Addition and Discharge on Fish Passage Performance, Stress and Fatigue

Requalification of low-head ramped weirs through the addition of substrates (retrofitting) has attracted attention in recent years. However, few studies are available on how this measure affects the negotiation of ramped weirs by fish. This study aimed to assess the performance of an experimental ramped weir (3.00 m long with 10% slope; 0.30 m head-drop) to enhance the passage of a potamodromous cyprinid species, the Iberian barbel (Luciobarbus bocagei). Attention was given to testing the effects of the addition of a substrate, in this case cobbles, to the ramp (Nature) vs. a smooth bottom (Control), and discharge (Q; 55 L·s−1 and 110 L·s−1 (or specific discharge per unit width, q = 92 L·s−1·m−1 and 183 L·s−1·m−1)) on fish passage performance. Fish physiological responses to stress and fatigue, measured by glucose and lactate concentrations in blood samples, were also analysed. Results showed that the Nature design generally increased fish movements and successful upstream passages, and enhanced fish passage performance by enabling faster negotiations. Fish movements were also affected by increasing discharge, registering reductions with 110 L·s−1. Results of the physiological parameters indicate that both glucose and lactate concentrations were also influenced by discharge. The outcomes from this study present important information about fish passage performance across low-head ramped weirs and could provide data needed to help biologists and engineers to develop more effective structures to alleviate small instream obstacles.

Two Views of History and Human Future: Qur'anic and Biblical Renderings of Divine Promises

Though the Qur'an refers to the Psalms as a scriptural corpus, al-zabūr, the Qur'anic relationship with the Psalms is – unlike that with the Torah or the Gospel – not explicitly described in terms of an affirming re-collection of that scripture. In the Qur'an ‘the Psalms’ as a scriptural authority play a rather marginal role. Yet individual psalm texts are strikingly present in the Qur'an. Not only are they reflected in numerous Qur'anic metaphors, but more generally, their particular vision of human-divine relations is closely related to that mirrored in the early suras. The paper attempts to trace the Qur'anic references to Psalm 136 which, it is argued, is theologically radically re-modelled in Sūrat al-Raḥmān (Q. 55), comparing the texts in order to explore the Qur'anic rejection of the Biblical notion of ‘history as a promise for the future’. It will posit that the new Qur'anic vision of the human future that eventually comes to replace the Biblical is not only a rejection of a previous option, it is at the same time a response to a major question raised in Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. The Qur'an thus is in conversation with two cultural traditions; the options put forward in both being debated and finally replaced.

Behaviour and Modelling of NTA Degradation in Activated Sludge Systems

The general model for single-sludge wastewater treatment systems of the IAWPRC task group (Henze et al., 1987) was extended to describe the biological degradation of NTA and adsorption of NTA onto activated sludge based on literature studies and experiments undertaken at the Glatt wastewater treatment plant (waste water discharge: Q = 55 - 60 000 m3/d, 110 000 inhabitants) for the city of Zurich. During two days, the behaviour and diurnal load variation of nitrilotriacetate (NTA), zinc, lead and copper were analyzed on one lane (volume = 1 812 m3, Q = 14 700 m3/d) of the four parallel lanes used in secondary treatment. The plant had a sludge age of about 3.6 days and was partly nitrifying (wastewater temperature = 10-11 °C). The average daily load of NTA for the investigated lane was 14 kg NTA/d, corresponding to 0.5 g NTA/person.d. The influent concentration varied between 300 and 1 500 µg NTA/l. NTA was biologically degraded up to 97 %. Between 12 am and 2 pm of the second day 17 kg NTA (120 % of the daily load of one lane) had been added to the primary effluent. During 4 to 5 hours the biological NTA degradation was saturated and four times more than the daily average of NTA was degraded. Zinc and lead did increase in the secondary effluent during the NTA shock loading.