Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations - Softcover

Michael Sells is Emily Judson Baugh and John Marshall Gest Professor of Comparative Religion at Haverford College and chairperson of the Haverford Department of Religion, Haverford, Pennsylvania. Sells is author of "The Bridge Betrayed: Genocide in Bosnia" (University of California Press, 1997), "Mystical Languages of Unsaying" (University of Chicago Press, 1994); "Desert Tracings: Six Classical Arabian Odes" (Wesleyan University Press, 1989). He is co-editor and contributor to the "Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, Andalusia‚ (Cambridge University Press, 2000).

"Approaching The Qur'An is a fluent and accessible text that flawlessly communicates the religious and literary verities of the Qur'an. The reader-listener cannot help but being carried away by the ecstasy and rhapsody that both the aural and visual 'texts' produce. Both Muslim and non-Muslim audiences, beginners as well as advanced students of Islam will no doubt appreciate the many innovative facets of this extraordinary book. It is an indispensable aid for all students of religion and Islam, with Sells again at his best." -- Ebrahim Moosa is an associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Cape Town

"Approaching The Qur'An is a sensitive and unusually accessible first book on the Qur'an and its function as scripture for over one-seventh of the human race. Dr. Sells is to be congratulated for a significant contribution to English-language materials on the Qur'an." -- William A. Graham is professor of the History of Religion and Islamic Studies at Harvard University

"Michael Sells has performed an invaluable service in making the beauty, spiritual energy, and compelling power of the Qur'an accessible to a Western audience for the first time." -- Karen Armstrong, author of the bestselling A History Of God

"Michael Sells is to be congratulated for making a major contribution to religious literature with Approaching The Qur'An, the best version of Muslim scriptures available in English. This is an important and illuminating work, one that will be welcomed by scholars, students, believers, and all who seek to better understand Islam and its sacred scripture." -- Carl Ernst is professor of Islamic studies at the University of North Carolina and author of The Shambhala Guide to Sufism

"Michael Sells' Approaching The Qur'An is much more than a translation of the Qur'an. By highlighting issues of the multiple levels upon which the text conveys its meaning to its readers and auditors, Sells manages to overcome the first impression that many people have of the Qur'an being a 'difficult' book. The structure of Approaching The Qur'An, with its parallel translation and commentary, will prove valuable both for interested general readers and for students studying the text within a classroom setting." -- Andrew Rippin is professor of Islamic and Religious Studies, University of Calgary

"Scholars and students interested in the Qur'an are indebted to Michael Sells for his outstanding contribution to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Holy Book of Islam. His book, Approaching The Qur'An, with its scholarly introduction, its sensitive English translation of the early Suras, its insightful commentary on them, its analytical study of the auditory and literary aspects of selected Suras, its visually pleasing illustrations from the Arabic text of the Qur'an, and its accompanying CD is a veritable and enriching spiritual experience for everyone seeking a meaningful exposure to the Scripture of Islam." -- Issa J. Boullata is professor of Arabic Literature & Language at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University

A breakthrough rendition of the Qur'an's earliest chapters. -- Huston Smith is author of the bestselling work The World's Religions and Why Religion Matters.

Sells has made the beauty, spiritual energy, and compelling power of the Qur'an accessible to a Western audience. -- Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God

a major contribution to religious literature . . . the best version of Muslim scriptures available in English. -- Carl Ernst, professor of Islamic studies, University of North Carolina