The Critical Qur'an

Explained from Key Islamic Commentaries and Contemporary Historical Research

Robert Spencer

• Publisher: Bombardier Books
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN:
  9781642939507
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Political History & Theory

A unique resource for understanding the Islamic Holy Book.

As Islamic terrorism becomes a distressingly common feature of life in North America and Europe, it has become increasingly important for non-Muslims to be aware of the ideology that animates and motivates jihad violence and Sharia oppression of women and others—an ideology that’s rooted in Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an.

English-speaking people, however, have found attempts to understand the Qur’an and Islam impeded by unclear, densely worded translations and explanatory notes written by Islamic apologists attempting to conceal, rather than reveal, how Islamic jihadis use the texts and teachings of the Qur’an to justify violence and supremacism, and to make recruits of peaceful Muslims.

The Critical Qur’an, in contrast, makes clear the passages that are used to incite violence. Historian and Islamic scholar Robert Spencer elucidates the Qur’anic text with extensive references to the principal tafsir, or commentaries, that mainstream Muslims use today to understand the Qur’an, showing how interpretations that sanction violence are unfortunately not outliers, but central in Islamic theology.

The Critical Qur’an is the Islamic counterpart to numerous critical and skeptical editions of the Bible that have appeared over the last century and more. It is the one edition of Islam’s book that doesn’t shy away from elucidating why the holy book of Islam is so frequently quoted and referred to with reverence by people who commit and/or justify acts of violence. It is a basic resource for everyone who wishes to understand the persistent phenomenon of Islamic terrorism, and the peculiar provenance of this most provocative book.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Advance Praise for The Critical Qur’an
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. The Opening (Al-Fatiha)
• 2. The Cow (Al-Baqara)
• 3. The House of Imran (Ali Imran)
• 4. Women (An-Nisa)
• 5. The Table (Al-Maida)
• 6. Cattle (Al-An‘am)
• 7. The Heights (Al-A’raf)
• 8. The Spoils of War (Al-Anfal)
• 9. Repentance (Al-Tawba)
• 10. Jonah (Yunus)
• 11. Hud (Hud)
• 12. Joseph (Yusuf)
• 13. The Thunder (Ar-Ra’d)
• 14. Abraham (Ibrahim)
• 15. The Rock (Al-Hijr)
• 16. The Bee (An-Nahl)
• 17. The Night Journey (Al-Isra)
• 18. The Cave (Al-Kahf)
• 19. Mary (Maryam)
• 20. Ta Ha (Ta Ha)
• 21. The Prophets (Al-Anbiyya)
• 22. The Pilgrimage (Al-Hajj)
• 23. The Believers (Al-Mu’minun)
• 24. The Light (An-Nur)
• 25. The Furqan (Al-Furqan)
• 26. The Poets (Ash-Shu’ara)
• 27. The Ant (An-Naml)
• 28. The Narration (Al-Qasas)
• 29. The Spider (Al-Ankabut)
• 30. The Romans (Ar-Rum)
• 31. Luqman (Luqman)
• 32. The Prostration (As-Sajda)
• 33. The Allies (Al-Ahzab)
• 34. Sheba (Saba)
• 35. The Angels (Al-Malaika)
• 36. Ya Sin (Ya Sin)
• 37. Those Ranged in Ranks (As-Saffat)
• 38. Sad (Sad)
• 39. The Throngs (Az-Zumar)
• 40. The Forgiver (Ghafir)
• 41. Explained in Detail (Fussilat)
• 42. The Consultation (Ash-Shura)
• 43. The Ornaments of Gold (Az-Zukhruf)
• 44. The Smoke (Ad-Dukhan)
• 45. The Crouching (Al-Jathiya)
• 46. The Dunes (Al-Ahkaf)
• 47. Muhammad (Muhammad)
• 48. The Conquest (Al-Fath)
• 49. The Private Apartments (Al-Hujurat)
• 50. Qaf (Qaf)
• 51. The Winds (Adh-Dhariyat)
• 52. The Mountain (At-Tur)
• 53. The Star (An-Najm)
• 54. The Moon (Al-Qamar)
• 55. The Compassionate One (Ar-Rahman)
• 56. The Inevitable Event (Al-Waqi’a)
• 57. The Iron (Al-Hadid)
• 58. The Pleading Woman (Al-Mujadila)
• 59. The Exile (Al-Hashr)
• 60. She Who Is to Be Examined (Al-Mumtahana)
• 61. The Battle Array (As-Saff)
• 62. The Friday Congregation (Al-Jumua)
• 63. The Hypocrites (Al-Munafiqun)
• 64. The Mutual Disillusion (At-Taghabun)
• 65. The Divorce (At-Talaq)
• 66. The Prohibition (At-Tahrim)
• 67. The Sovereignty (Al-Mulk)
• 68. The Pen (Al-Qalam)
• 69. The Inevitable (Al-Haqqa)
• 70. The Ascending Stairways (Al-Ma’arij)
• 71. Noah (Nuh)
• 72. The Jinn (Al-Jinn)
• 73. The Covered One (Al-Muzzammil)
• 74. The Cloaked One (Al-Muddaththir)
• 75. The Resurrection (Al-Qiyama)
• 76. The Man (Al-Insan)
• 77. Those That Are Sent (Al-Mursalat)
• 78. The News (An-Naba)
• 79. Those Who Drag Forth (An-Naziat)
• 80. He Frowned (Abasa)
• 81. The Folding Up (At-Takwir)
• 82. The Cleaving (Al-Infitar)
• 83. The Defrauders (Al-Mutaffifin)
• 84. The Splitting Asunder (Al-Inshiqaq)
• 85. The Constellations (Al-Buruj)
• 86. The Morning Star (At-Tariq)
• 87. The Most High (Al-Ala)
• 88. The Overwhelming Event (Al-Ghashiya)
• 89. The Dawn (Al-Fajr)
• 90. The City (Al-Balad)
• 91. The Sun (Ash-Shams)
• 92. The Night (Al-Layl)
• 93. The Morning (Ad-Duha)
• 94. The Expansion (Al-Inshira)
• 95. The Fig (At-Tin)
• 96. The Clot (Al-Alaq)
• 97. The Power (Al-Qadr)
• 98. The Clear Proof (Al-Bayyina)
• 99. The Earthquake (Al-Zalzala)
• 100. The Snorting Horses (Al-Adiyat)
• 101. The Disaster (Al-Qaria)
• 102. The Mutual Rivalry (At-Takathur)
• 103. The Declining Day (Al-Asr)
• 104. The Slanderer (Al-Humaza)
• 105. The Elephant (Al-Fil)
• 106. Quraysh (Quraysh)
• 107. Acts of Kindness (Al-Ma’un)
• 108. The Abundance (Al-Kawthar)
• 109. The Unbelievers (Al-Kafirun)
• 110. The Help (An-Nasr)
• 111. The Flame (Al-Lahab)
• 112. The Sincerity (Al-Ikhlas)
• 113. The Daybreak (Al-Falaq)
• 114. The Mankind (An-Nas)
• Appendix. Two Apocryphal Shi‘ite Suras
• Acknowledgments
• Endnotes
• Index