The Adi Granth - the primary scripture of the Sikhs - comprises approximately 3000 hymns. This work attempts to construct a comprehensive picture of the making of Sikh "canon", drawing on the recently discovered early manuscripts as well as the extensive secondary literature on the topic.

This book examines three closely related questions in the process of canon formation in the Sikh tradition: how the text of the Adi Granth came into being, the meaning of gurbani, and how the Adi Granth became the Guru Granth Sahib. The censure of scholarly research on the Adi Granth was closely related to the complex political situation of Punjab and brought the whole issue of academic freedom into sharper focus. This book addresses some of these issues from an academic perspective. The Adi Granth, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs, means ‘first religious book’ (from the word ‘adi’ which means ‘first’ and ‘granth’ which means ‘religious book’). Sikhs normally refer to the Adi Granth as the Guru Granth Sahib to indicate a confession of faith in the scripture as Guru. The contents of the Adi Granth are commonly known as bani (utterance) or gurbani (the utterance of the Guru). The transcendental origin (or ontological status) of the hymns of the Adi Granth is termed dhur ki bani (utterance from the beginning). This particular understanding of revelation is based upon the doctrine of the sabad, or divine word, defined by Guru Nanak and the succeeding Gurus. This book also explores the revelation of the bani and its verbal expression, devotional music in the Sikh tradition, the role of the scripture in Sikh ceremonies, and the hymns of Guru Nanak and Guru Arjan.

This book is unique in its approach to the Qur'an. It argues the point that only God could author such a book, and that Muhammad could have never produced anything like it. While this objective has been attempted by several Muslim scholars who highlighted one aspect or another of the topics highlighted in the Qur'an, Dr. Draz's works is perhaps the first that relies totally on the merits of the Qur'anic text for an irrefutable proof. Dr. Draz discusses the arguments made at the time of the Prophet and later on which suggested that the Qur'an was taught to Muhammad by various teachers, and shows how they all collapse at the first test. When he has irrefutably established the fact that the Qur'an could only be a divine revelation, Dr. Draz goes on to analyze the Qur'anic style, showing how it combines merits that could never be found together in any human writing. Equipped with a profound literary sense and a powerful Arabic style, Dr. Draz discusses the main characteristics of the Qur'anic style, as well as the unity of theme that runs through each chapter , or surah. The work is now presented to English readers as it gives students of the Qur'an valuable insight, enabling them to understand the Qur'an better.