The teachings, style and impact of the Qur’an have always been matters of controversy, among both Muslims and non-Muslims. But in a modern context of intercultural sensitivity, what the Qur’an says and means are perhaps more urgent questions than ever before. This major new book by one of the world’s finest Islamic scholars responds to that urgency. Building on his earlier groundbreaking work, the author challenges misinterpretations of particular Qur’anic verses from whatever quarter. The author argues that wrenching the verses out of the context of the whole has led to dangerous ideologies being built on isolated phrases which have then assumed afterlives of their own. This nuanced, holistic reading has vital interfaith ramifications.

Muhammad Abdel Haleem is King Fahd Professor of Islamic Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and one of the world’s leading authorities in Qur’anic studies. He is the author of Understanding the Qur’an: Themes and Style, also published by I.B.Tauris, and his major new translation of the Qur’an, with parallel Arabic text, was published in 2010.