This expansive book provides unique insights into the holy text’s immaculate preservation, as well as exploring many of the accusations leveled against it. The reception of divine revelations, Prophet Muhammad's role in disseminating and compiling these verses, and the setting of the text’s final external shape are scientifically examined alongside such topics as the origins of Arabic, the so-called Mushaf of Ibn Masud, and the strict methodology employed in assembling textual fragments. By way of comparison, the author investigates the histories of the Old and New Testaments, relying entirely on Judeo-Christian sources, and uncovers a startling range of alterations in the biblical Scriptures. Using this as a springboard, he illustrates convincingly that Western research into Islam’s Holy Book is motivated by more than mere curiosity, and has no scientific bearing on the Quran's integrity. This monumental effort, a scholarly work composed in an impassioned tone, provides a welcome foundation for sincere study at a time when assailing the Quran has become all too common.

Scholars of Islam are familiar with the Koran's many errors and contradictions, but these have rarely been revealed to a wider public. THE ORIGINS OF THE KORAN is an attempt to remedy this deficiency by bringing together classic critical essays which raise key issues surrounding Islam's holy book. Indispensable to scholars and all those interested in the textual underpinning of one of the fastest growing religions in the world.

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī is unsurprisingly the most widely recognized book among Muslims after the Qurʾān. Curious readers of Bukhārī’s magnum opus are often left with burning questions that lie beyond its contents. Who was Imām Bukhārī? How and why did he write the Ṣaḥīḥ? How was it transmitted? Are there any reliable extant manuscripts of the work? In this introduction, Dr. Muṣṭafā al-Aʿẓamī answers these questions in a simple and accessible manner. This translation, alongside added annotations and appendices, presents and expands on al-Aʿẓamī’s research for an English readership, for whom there is a dearth of resources on the subject.

Contrary to popular opinion, the bulk of Islamic law does not come from the Quran but from hadith, first-hand reports of the Prophet Muhammad’s words and deeds, passed from generation to generation. However, with varying accounts often only committed to paper a century after the death of Muhammad, Islamic scholars, past and present, have been faced with complex questions of historical authenticity. In this wide-ranging introduction, Jonathan A. C. Brown explores the collection and criticism of hadith, and the controversy surrounding its role in modern Islam. This edition, revised and updated with additional case studies and attention to the very latest scholarship, also features a new chapter on how hadiths have been used politically, both historically and in the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Informative and accessible, it is perfectly suited to students, scholars and general readers interested in this critical element of Islam.