Table of Contents for The Story of Reason in Islam
1.The Arabian Desert
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
2.The Daunting Idea of God
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
3.Free Will and Determinism
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
4.The Qur'an: Created or Eternal?
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
5.From Wasil to Ibn Hanbal
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
6.Early Islam: Literacy, Conflict and Expansion
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
7.Speculative Discourse: A Style
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
8.Discourse: In Pursuit of the Ultimate Answers
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
9.Law and Morality
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
10.Al-Ma'moun and the Devil's Banquets.
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
11.The Language-Logic debate
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
12.Back to the Human Will and Language
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
13.Expanding the View
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
14.An Interlude: Caliph, Imam, and Philosopher-King
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
15.Philosophy and Politics
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
16.The Philosophers' "Frenzy"
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
17.Back to Wine and Logic
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
18.Motion and Light
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
19.The Nature of Truth
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
20.Fardajan and Beyond
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
21.The Cosmos
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
22.Cosmic Lights
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
23.Fast Forward
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.
24.Language and Reason: The Dilemma
This chapter outlines the cultural and historical framework in which the Qur'an first appeared in Mecca, and the inspirational and intellectual hold the document had on the people who came to adopt it as God's word delivered by Muhammad. The two contextual themes highlighted in the chapter are the desert's geo-historical centrality to the major regional religious and cultural traditions and the immanence of poetry as the revered artistic form of linguistic expression among desert Arabs. The Qur'an is shown to have combined these attributes–religious narrative and poetic finesse–and merged them into a single and unique discourse that exerted a mesmerizing influence on peoples' hearts and minds. The power of this synthesis shook people out of pre-existing modes of thought and inspired them to speculate about the world in radically new ways.