God is beautiful : the aesthetic experience of the Quran

The Melodious Recitation Of The Quran Is A Fundamental Aesthetic Experience For Muslims, And The Start Of A Compelling Journey Of Ideas. In This Important New Book, The Prominent German Writer And Islamic Scholar Navid Kermani Considers The Manner In Which The Quran Has Been Perceived, Apprehended And Experienced By Its Recipients From The Time Of The Prophet To The Present Day. Drawing On A Wide Range Of Muslim Sources, From Historians, Theologians And Philosophers To Mystics And Literary Scholars, Kermani Provides A Close Reading Of The Nature Of This Powerful Text. He Proceeds To Analyze Ancient And Modern Testimonies About The Impact Of Quranic Language From A Variety Of Angles. Although People Have Always Reflected On The Reception Of Texts, Images And Sounds That They Find Beautiful Or Moving, Kermani Explains That Islam Provides A Particularly Striking Example Of The Close Correlation, Grounded In A Common Origin, Between Art And Religion, Revelation And Poetry, And Religious And Aesthetic Experience. This Major New Book Will Enhance The Dialogue Between Islam And The West And Will Appeal To Students And Scholars Of Islam And Comparative Religion, As Well As To A Wider Readership Interested In Islam And The Quran. -- Provided By Publisher. Preface -- The First Listeners -- The Text -- The Sound -- The Miracle -- The Prophet Among The Poets -- The Sufi Listeners -- Bibliography Navid Kermani. Includes Bibliographical References. Translated From German. Contents Preface 1 The First Listeners Remembered History The Quran and the Traditions Conversions The Community of Quran Listeners The Adversaries' Impotence The Power of the Word About Verbal Magic Language and Poetry in Ancient Arabic Society 2 The Text The Poeticity of the Quran Creating Horizons and Altering Horizons The Quran as an Open Text Idea and Structure Is the Quran Poetry? 3 The Sound Oral Scripture The Text as a Musical Score Restriction and Rem.cation God Speaks 4 The Miracle AI-Jurjlni's 'Science of Composition' The Direction of the Discourse l’jaz and the Quran's Reception History 5 The Prophet among the Poets The Islamic Prophet and the Aesthetics of Genius Plato's Legacy Poetry and Prophecy Muhammad and the Poets The Language of the Angels 6 The Sufi Listeners Sama’ and Quran Recitation The Listeners Slain by the Quran The Terror of God The Pleasure of Listening Romanization of Arabic and Persian Words Glossary Notes References Index