The tenets of Islam cannot be grasped without a proper understanding of the Qur'an. In this important new introduction, Muhammad Haleem examines its recurrent themes - life and eternity, marriage and divorce, peace and war, water and nourishment - and for the first time sets these in the context of the Qur'an's linguistic style. Professor Haleem examines the background to the development of the surahs (chapters) and the ayahs (verses) and the construction of the Qur'an itself. He shows that popular conceptions of Islamic attitudes to women, marriage and divorce, war and society, differ radically from the true teachings of the Qur'an.

Muhammad Abdel Haleemis King Fahd Professor of Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His major new English translation of the Qur'an, with parallel Arabic text, was published in 2010.

Preface
The Qur'an
Al-Fatiha: the Opening of the Qur'an
Water in the Qur'an
Marriage and Divorce
War and Peace in the Qur'an
Tolerance in Islam
Life and Beyond
Paradise in the Qur'an
The Face, Divine and Human, in the Qur'an
Adam and Eve in the Qur'an and the Bible
The Story of Joseph in the Qur'an and the Bible
The Qur'an Explains Itself: Surat al-Rahman
Dynamic Style: Iltifat and Some Other Features
Conclusion
Notes
Index