In the history of relations among Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, the encounter in medieval Spain stands out as particularly noteworthy for its intensity and creativity. This interaction generated many polemical texts presenting the competing claims of the three monotheistic faiths. One such text is the Treatise on Obvious Contradictions and Evident Lies, by the Muslim scholar Abu Mudhammad 'Ali ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (d. 1064). This study makes the content of the Treatise available to English speakers for the first time, providing a detailed description of the work and an assessment of its significance. Theodore Pulcini argues that Ibn Hazm's polemical biblical exegesis is best understood within the centuries-old tradition in which Muslim authors evaluated the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Analyzing the historical and sociocultural dynamics of eleventh-century Islamic Spain, he contends that Ibn Hazm wrote the Treatise for the purpose of effecting societal reform.

First Published in 2007. Compiling the results from contemporary and exciting areas of research into one single important volume, this book stands ahead of its field in providing a comprehensive one-stop Handbook reference of biblical interpretation. Examining a wide range of articles on many of the recognized interpreters including Augustine, Luther and Calvin, up to the modern figures of Martin Hengel and T.W. Manson, Porter expertly combines the study of biblical interpretation with the examination of the theological and philosophical preconceptions that have influenced it, and surveys the history of interpretation from different perspectives. Key perspectives studied include: the historical dimension; addressing how interpretation has developed at various periods of time; from early Jewish exegesis to the historical-critical method; the conceptual approach; looks at the various schools of thought that have generated biblical interpretation, and compares and contrasts competing conceptual models of interpretation; the personal perspective; addresses the reality of biblical interpretation by individuals who have helped plot the course of theological development; With relevant bibliographies and a guide to further reading, this Dictionary will be an extremely important reference held for many years, not only by libraries, but also by students, scholars, clergy and teachers of this fascinating and high-profile subject.

Sharī'a is one of the most hotly contested and misunderstood concepts and practices in the world today. Debates about Islamic law and its relationship to secularism and Christianity have dominated political and theological discourse for centuries. Unfortunately, Western Christian theologians have failed to engage sufficiently with the challenges and questions raised by Islamic political theology, preferring instead to essentialize or dismiss it. In Law and the Rule of God, Joshua Ralston presents an innovative approach to Christian-Muslim dialogue. Eschewing both polemics and apologetics, he proposes a comparative framework for Christian engagement with Islamic debates on sharī'a. Ralston draws on a diverse range of thinkers from both traditions including Karl Barth, Ibn Taymiyya, Thomas Aquinas, and Mohammad al-Jabri. He offers an account of public law as a provisional and indirect witness to the divine rule of justice. He also demonstrates how this theology of public law deeply resonates with the Christian tradition and is also open to learning from and dialoguing with Islamic and secular conceptions of law, sovereignty, and justice.

This engaging, meticulously documented study explores the complex, sometimes conflicting motives of Christian hebraists. It locates Herbert of Bosham's twelfth-century Psalms commentary at the nexus of the intellectual and social movements of his day, and elucidates the complex situations that contributed to Christians' divergent perspectives on the Jews. Was the twelfth century a rare period of collaboration between Christian and Jewish exegetes, or did anti-Semitism originate in the texts of the era's Christian polemicists? Modern scholars have been divided on these questions. This study of Herbert's commentary, which relied on the Hebrew commentary of R. Solomon ben Isaac of Troyes, articulates a more nuanced, integrated approach to medieval Jewish-Christian relations, and provides transcriptions from the unpublished manuscript.

Whether we will admit it or not, it happens all the time. We often judge individuals, families, churches, and other organizations based on a lack of information. We hear something negative about a teenager in our child's class and assume that the parents are slacking off; we get reprimanded by the church greeter for our attire and assume that the whole church is unfriendly and cold; we listen to the news about a greedy CEO and assume the whole company is out to rip us off. Following this train of thought, what do you think of when you hear the name Muhammad? Do you think of a prophet of God sent to the Arabs or do you think of a leader who formed a blood-thirsty religion? Your perception will most likely be skewed by what you know about Muslims today. But that begs the question. What do you really know about Muhammad and Islam? Are you willing to study and learn about his life and teachings? Are you willing to reach across the divide and get to know the descendants of Abraham so that we can relate to them better? Who Was Muhammad? An Analysis of the Prophet of Islam in Light of the Bible and the Quran engages readers in a fascinating study of the life and times of Muhammad from a historical and prophetic standpoint. Pastor Doug Hardt then launches readers into an in-depth study of the Quran and Muhammad's teachings to see if they agree or disagree with the Word of God. This book will deepen your understanding of the origin of the second largest religion in the world.

In Formation of a Religious Landscape: Shi‘i Higher Learning in Safavid Iran, Maryam Moazzen offers the first systematic examination of Shi‘i educational institution and practices by exploring the ways in which religious knowledge was produced, authenticated, and transmitted in the second half of Safavid rule (1588-1722). By analyzing the deeds of endowment of the Madrasa-yi Sulṭānī and other mosque-madrasas built by the Safavid elite, this study sheds light on the organizing mechanisms and structures utilized by such educational foundations. Based on the large number of ijazās and other primary sources including waqfiyyas, biographical dictionaries and autobiographies, this study also reconstructs the Safavid madrasas’ curriculum and describes the pedagogical methods used to transmit religious knowledge as well as issues that faced Shi‘i higher learning in early modern times.

This book explores the story of the Israelites' worship of the Golden Calf in its Jewish, Christian, and Muslim contexts, from ancient Israel to the emergence of Islam. It focuses in particular on the Qur'an's presentation of the narrative and its background in Jewish and Christian retellings of the episode from Late Antiquity. Across the centuries, the interpretation of the Calf episode underwent major changes reflecting the varying cultural, religious, and ideological contexts in which various communities used the story to legitimate their own tradition, challenge the claims of others, and delineate the boundaries between self and other. The book contributes to the ongoing reevaluation of the relationship between Bible and Qur'an, arguing for the necessity of understanding the Qur'an and Islamic interpretations of the history and narratives of ancient Israel as part of the broader biblical tradition. The Calf narrative in the Qur'an, central to the qur'anic conception of the legacy of Israel and the status of the Jews of its own time, reflects a profound engagement with the biblical account in Exodus, as well as being informed by exegetical and parascriptural traditions in circulation in the Qur'an's milieu in Late Antiquity. The book also addresses the issue of Western approaches to the Qur'an, arguing that the historical reliance of scholars and translators on classical Muslim exegesis of scripture has led to misleading conclusions about the meaning of qur'anic episodes.