RLG3504H: Biblical Narratives in the Qur'an

It is well known that the Qur'ān refers to many biblical stories, events, and personalities but it almost never directly quotes the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament. The Qur'anic version of biblical narratives often follows the synopsis that one finds not in the text of the Bible but in various sources of the para-biblical literature such as the Talmud, midrashim, apocryphal gospels, and early patristic writings. The Qur'anic version of a given biblical narrative is also usually bent towards the larger theological exigencies of the Qur'ān. In this course students will read and discuss the textual development of biblical and para-biblical narratives from their source-texts to their retellings in the Qur'ān. After reading some of the most recent scholarship on the complex relationship between the Qur'ān and the biblical literature, the course will follow the stories of major qur'anic figures within a rough chronological framework. Beginning with the creation story and the Adam narrative we will go through the stories of Noah, the Patriarchs, Joseph, Job, Jonah, Moses, David, and Solomon. We will end our survey with qur'anic portrayals of Christian figures such as Mary, Zechariah, John the Baptist, and Jesus. This means that each week we will be reading portions from the Qur'ān and corresponding sections from the biblical literature often with the help of some secondary literature.

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