Allah: God in the Qur’an

As per his usual, Gabriel Said Reynolds has delivered another lucid and extremely well-researched book, this time investigating the God of the Qur'an. While much ink has been spilled over the question, "Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God?" Reynolds's work extends beyond the impasses that are often reached in order to present a thorough treatment of the character the Qur'an references most and yet about whom many questions yet remain.His argument throughout the book is that the God of the Qur'an does exhibit anthropomorphic qualities, but that these anthropomorphisms are descriptions of his character rather than his form. In other words, while God remains transcendent in Islamic theology, the Qur'an presents him according to human character traits and emotions. Reynolds concludes, "The God of the Qur'an is a personal God who responds to human actions with pleasure or anger. He grows pleased with those who submit and grows angry with those who refuse to submit." (p. 253) This conclusion is the culmination of 250 pages of well-researched data rather than the product of a superficial reading of the text and traditions.Even readers who may not agree with Reynolds's conclusions will benefit from his broad knowledge not only of the Qur'an, but also of Islamic theology. Throughout the book Reynolds interacts with primary sources from Sunni, Shia, Sufi, and modern Islamic scholarship in order to present a balanced-though-complicated picture of the God to whom the Qur'an introduces the reader.I recommend this work to anyone who is interested in considering a fair and charitable understanding of the God of Islam. I also recommend this resource to anyone who is doing research on topics related to Islam: The footnotes are a trove of treasures for those in search of primary sources for consideration.

Professor Gabriel Reynolds is one of the top scholars of Quranic studies in our day. He is thorough and exceptionally knowledgeable. Accessible and easy-to-read, this book discusses the central figure of the Quran: Allah. Many know things about Allah, but what does the Quran really say about him? What does it say about his attributes? His relationship with humankind, with the believers, and with unbelievers? This book is important as it discusses the Quranic portrayal of Allah, which sometimes does not match what people say about him. Thrilled about its publication, I will definitely use it in my future courses with my students. Highly recommended. One final note: The epilogue of the book, “The Qur’an on Peaceful Coexistence,” is a much needed message for today’s world. Grab a copy now!

The Author tries to get a picture of Allah based on Quran verses by sometimes making comprasions to Bible.But Author concludes quickly on commenting Quranic verses so provides misinformation to reader. so The Book has week arguments to study Allah and cant establish a sound claim, for example;verses on Mary,creation of Earth and jealousy of God etc...this book is not for anyone who needs philosophical approach to religious texts.

Reynolds scholarship on the the common ground shared by Christianity and Islam is unparalleled.His heart for the people of each faith is inspiring.

Gabriel Reynolds’ Allah: God in the Quran is a magnificent introduction to the Qur’an’s theology of God, i.e. how the Qur’an portrays God. Reynolds, whose doctoral work at Yale was supervised by Gerhard Böwering, and who is presently a professor in the Theology department at the University of Notre Dame, has written extensively on Islamic origins and especially the literary and religious contexts of the text(s) of the Qur’an. He brings to this book a spirit that is neither polemical nor apologetic. That is to say, Allah: God in the Quran does not set out to either defend or to condemn the Qur’an’s portrayal of God, but to elaborate on what “the Qur’an itself says about God” and not, importantly, on “later theological debates” (10). Or, as Reynolds later says, he sets out to understand the Qur’an “in light of its particular rhetorical and linguistic qualities” (134), which is to say that he aims to study this text’s understanding of Allah within the historical context(s) in which it was written.Reynolds’ book is overwhelmingly successful in this endeavor. The book is comprised of ten very readable chapters with an epilogue, which fall into four main categories: 1) Allah and His Book 2) Mercy 3) Vengeance 4) A Personal God. One of the author’s main research interests has been the Biblical contexts of many of the narratives in the Qur’an. The Qur’an speaks extensively, for instance, about Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth in Surah (i.e. ‘chapter’) 19. Jesus Himself is regarded as a mighty prophet in the Qur’an, along with Moses, Noah, and other characters familiar to readers of the Bible. Reynolds does a fantastic job at showing how the Qur’an takes up these Biblical narratives and reshapes them according to the concerns of the burgeoning Islamic community of the 7th century. Two of these major concerns that drive the reshaping are a rejection of polytheism (for which Abraham serves as a model in Surah 6 [p. 56 of Allah]) and obedience to Allah.In chapters 3-6, we turn to the theme of mercy especially in relation to the Qur’an’s eschatology, i.e. its doctrines concerning heaven and hell, the so-called “last things.” The final fate of human beings remains a consistent topic throughout the remainder of the book. How does the Qur’an portray Allah’s interaction with human beings with respect to their final fate? Does he determine everything such that one is ultimately fated to a given end, hell or heaven? Is heaven available for non-Muslims? Is hell everlasting? These questions have their parallels in Christian theology and Reynolds is quick to note their parallels without discounting the unique aspects to the Islamic questions. To address the questions within a Qur’anic context, Reynolds shows that the Qur’an can be and has been read reasonably in a variety of ways by appealing to its reception by Muslim scholars who differed on these very questions. To cite one example, Al-Baydawi (d.1286) thought that non-Muslims could not do enough good to merit heaven, while Ghazali (d. 1111) believed “that at least some infidels might make it to heaven” (141). Readers unfamiliar with Islamic interpretive tradition (as I am) will likely be amazed at the variety of interpretations that Reynolds cites from Islamic history throughout his book, especially if one is used to thinking of “Islam” as a monolith. The text of the Qur’an does not give a clear answer as to how God’s mercy is operative and Reynolds makes no attempt at settling the question on its behalf.In chapter 7, the book turns to Allah’s vengeance as portrayed throughout the Qur’an. Here Reynolds shows how the God of the Qur’an is not, to quote Toshihiko Izutsu, “aloof from mankind.” That is, the Qur’an shows Allah as one who is deeply, if not disquietingly, involved in his creation. I say “disquietingly” because the Qur’an shows Allah as a schemer, a deviser, who “does not simply judge and condemn” individuals in the world to come, but “works against them in this life to prevent them from believing, repenting, and thereby saving themselves” (159). In chapter 8, numerous Qur’anic texts are surveyed to support this idea that, despite some rationalist interpretations of the Qur’an, Allah is portrayed as playing tricks on people, devising schemes against some in order that they might not believe, and even, as Surah 6:39 shows, leading them into error (191). Reynolds has done Western readers, so often misled by popular and ill-informed conceptions of Islam, a favor by placing his discussion of Allah’s mercy before his vengeance, so as to remind them that both are featured in the text, though they nevertheless share a complicated relationship.Reynolds begins the final of the four sections with a chapter on the God of the Bible and the Qur’an, comparing and contrasting how these books portray the divine. This is but one of the many places where Reynolds’ un-polemical attitude can be seen. He addresses texts from the Bible wherein God appears judgmental, without mercy, vengeful, etc. He highlights where the Qur’an and the Bible (both the Christian Bible and the Hebrew Bible alone) are similar. Yet, Reynolds points out an important distinction – whereas God’s vengeance and “ability to scheme” are part of the Bible’s portrayal of God (which have their own interpretive traditions in Judaism and Christianity), the Qur’an makes this vengeance and scheming” more central [to] its understanding of God” (220). Whereas the God of the Bible often laments the punishments that are doled out to the covenant people, this sort of conflict is not found in the so-called “punishment stories of the Qur’an, or in its reflections on hell” (223). Allah is less conflicted as a character in the Qur’an. In one sense, the God of the Qur’an is highly anthropomorphic. He responds to divergent behavior with anger and is pleased by faithfulness. Yet on the other hand, what Allah decides he decides. If one is unlucky enough to be part of the lot against whom Allah schemes, there is nothing in the Qur’an that gives any indication Allah is displeased that he is scheming against them.Reynolds’ book is the sort of introductory work that can only be done by a scholar who has done far more intellectual heavy lifting than the book at first lets on. He brings to light various theological and philosophical questions that the Qur’an raises, though often does not answer. For instance, throughout the book, Reynolds shows the tension inherent in the Qur’an between Allah’s mercy and vengeance – a tension that he allows to remain in the text without the assistance of later Islamic interpretive tradition, which can skew the data in favor of one or the other. When Reynolds does appeal to the Islamic tradition – and he does so quite often – it is precisely not to resolve the tensions in the text, but to show that these tensions were perceived and debated by different schools of Islamic thought. As a novice to the study of Islam, I found this history of the debates enlightening and fascinating. I appreciated too that Reynolds used these debates to show what is inherent in the text rather than forcing the text into later interpretive paradigms. This book could find a home on the bookshelf of any lay person who has an interest in understanding what Islam actually teaches. It is well-written and does not overdress scholarly insights in jargon. This book likewise should find its way into college syllabi, especially courses on world/comparative religions and Islamic origins.

A well researched and measured read, a nice pace with quite a few interesting points. I definitely enjoyed this book