The al-Baqara Crescendo: Understanding the Qur'an's Style, Narrative Structure, and Running Themes

by Nevin Reda

Recent manuscript evidence from al-Jami` al-Kabir in ?an ‘a’ suggests that the Qur’an took its final shape well before 671 CE. Irrespective, however, of who composed it or when it was compiled, questions remain about whether the Qur’an followed any kind of preconceived plan or compositional schema that makes sense in today’s world. In The al-Baqara Crescendo, Nevin Reda introduces a bold new avenue of research: the poetics of Qur'anic narrative structure. Focusing on Surat al-Baqara, the longest and most challenging of the suras, she explores the beauty and rationale behind the Qur'an’s unusual organization. Reda argues that the sura – often dismissed by Muslim traditionalists and Orientalist critics as a baffling collection of disjointed material – can be appreciated as a coherent composition if it is approached as a spoken text. Calling attention to oral organizational techniques such as repetition, this book’s repertoire of figures showcases Surat al-Baqara’s ingenious layout and pinpoints the sophisticated meanings that are embedded within it. Incorporating insights from literary theory and Biblical studies, the author advances inclusivity and intercultural bridge-building in the study of scripture. In an engaging narrative that is bound to captivate and challenge the reader, Reda communicates a deep love and thorough command of her subject, all while presenting a significant new development in Islamic feminist hermeneutics.

264 pages, Hardcover

Published February 27, 2017

Reviews

[Muawiyah Yousuf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Underneath all that academic jargon, the details presented in this book are nothing short of fascinating.

The reading would have been even more enjoyable and a lot easier if Reda had mentioned the necessary Quran verses rather than just the verse numbers alone, at least for chapters 3 and 4. Because of that, from time to time I had to keep looking back into the Qur'an to identify which verse(s) she was talking about and how it fit into the wider picture she was drawing.

The tables given were helpful. Nevertheless, charts or diagrams would be a welcome addition to the book, as they would give a bird’s-eye view—especially when trying to visualize the chiastic structure and other literary devices used in this analysis that give Al-Baqarah its beautiful architecture.

Apart from the literary point of view of Surah al-Baqarah, Reda shows how the surah’s structure ties in with the thematic essence of the text while enforcing an organic unity in which its legal, theological, and narrative elements function as an integrated whole, contrary to the claims purported by the Orientalist club of it being a jumbled-up text with no proper organization. She applies different methods of reading the surah, and they all seem to align and mimic each other. It also turns out that Surah al-Baqarah possesses a ring composition as well! I always thought Surah Yusuf was the only one in that regard.

The surah is read using different tools such as inclusios, leitworts, etc. The repeated themes are also discussed, along with the hikmah and overall message that they convey to the reader of the surah. Basically, Reda’s reading is from a macro level rather than the normal micro level. She zooms out and takes a holistic approach rather than treating every verse as a single entity.

While, for the most part, the book was an interesting one—and I might even add, beneficial—I don’t wholly agree with the parallels she draws and her interpretations when it comes to using a more ra'y-based approach for understanding the Qur'an. In chapter 6, under the heading:

“Pedagogy and Hermeneutics: The Role of Ra'y (Personal Judgment) in the Interpretation of the Qurʾan,”

her position is that of a ra'y-affirming approach to Qur'anic interpretation, arguing that Surat al-Baqarah itself encourages independent reasoning and active engagement with the text.

While she does not reject the classical exegetical tradition, she is against contemporary traditionalist methodologies—particularly those that exclude personal judgment—which she likens to the attitudes criticized in verses such as 2:16, 2:170–171, and 2:175–176, which, to me, I find to be a bit of a stretch.

[Nadeen Alsulaimi]

يقرأ سورة البقرة عن طريق الأدوات البلاغية مع مراعاة أن أصل القرآن نص شفهي تربوي.. يقدم بحث واسع عن مختلف المنهجيات في قراءة القرآن