Description

A translation with an introduction and annotation of al-Ghazali’s Kitab Jawahir al-Qur’an.

The nineteen chapters which constitute the first part of this book present us with al-Ghazali’s views on several broad problems relating to the Quran as a whole, e:g  the method of its understanding, its principle aims, the process by which all diverse branches of Islamic learning have stemmed from it, the reasons why similitudes and allegories are employed in it, variance in the excellence of its surahs and verses, and the relationship between the perceptible world and the world of the unseen. Various parts of the Quran are compared to various types of valuables, such as jewels, pearls, rubies, red brimstones, corundums, strongest musk and aloe wood.

The two chapters which form the second part of this book contain, in translated form , more than 1500 verses which al-Ghazali calls the jewels and the pearls of the Quran – verses which concern the greatest of the six majors aims of the Scripture. Such a sifting out of the most important verses from the entire Quran is unprecedented in the history of Qur’anic studies. These verses are translated in free-flowing, modern English in order to make the book not only scholarly but also interesting and enjoyable.