They say a key aim of the new translation and commentary—titled “The Study Quran” and published by HarperOne—is to show how the Quran’s verses have been understood historically in order to better understand their meaning and applicability today.
A byproduct of that work is that it could lead to a better understanding of some of the more controversial topics in Islam, such as when use of force is permitted, one scholar involved in the project said.
“This is not a work that is geared toward the twenty-four-hour news cycle or social media or something like that,” said Dr. Caner K. Dagli, an associate professor of religious studies at the College of the Holy Cross and one of several editors of the project.
“It’s a work of scholarship,” Dagli said. “We wanted to dig deep into the tradition not just at one level or two levels, but go many levels deep to bring out the richness of it.
“And if along the way we answer people’s questions on these hot topics, that’s fine,” he said.
The new 2,000-page translation and commentary, which will be formally released later this month, is the culmination of a decade’s worth of research that began after editors at HarperOne approached Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr, longtime University Professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University.
