“Readers seeking to understand the current diversity in ways Muslims read
and interpret the Quran will find in Abdullah Saced a sure-footed guide.
He demonstrates how a reading that respects context is firmly rooted in the
Islamic tradition from the earliest days.”
Daniel A. Madigan, Geongetown Unipersity, USA
Reading the Qur an in the Tienty-First Cortury considers the development of Quranic
interpretation and highlights modern debates around new approaches to
interpretation. It explores how Muslims from various theological, legal, socio-
political, and philosophical backgrounds think about the meaning and relevance of
the Quran, and how their ideas apply in the contemporary world.
This book:
• reflects on one of the most dominant approaches to interpretation in the
pre-modem period, textualism, and the reaction to that in Muslim feminist
readings of the Quran today.
• emphasises the importance of a contextualist reading of the Quran, and covers
issues such as identifying the hierarchical nature of Quranic values, the criteria for
the use of hadith in interpretation, fluidity of meaning, and ways of ensuring a
degree of stability in interpretation.
• examines key Qur’anic passages and compares pre-moder and modern
interpretations to show the evolving nature of interpretation. Examples
discussed include: the “authority” of men over women, the death of Jesus, shira
and democracy, and riba and interest.
Abdullah Saced provides a practical guide for interpretation and presents the
principal ideas of a contextualist approach, which situates the original message of
the Qur’an in its wider social, political, cultural, economic, and intellectual contexts.
He advocates a more flexible method of interpretation that gives due recognition to
carlier interpretations of the Quran while also being aware of changing conditions
and the need to approach the Qur’an afresh today.
