The Prophet Joseph in the Quran, the Bible and History [Paperback]

The Qur'anic sura (chapter) of Joseph deals almost entirely with the story of this noble Prophet, his brothers, and their father Prophet Jacob. Since the revelation of the Qur'an fourteen centuries ago, there have been numerous attempts to interpret this sura. The present study is a genuinely new look at the sura - including careful examination of the historical background of its story and detailed comparison with the corresponding Biblical narrative. While referring to interpretations from classical exegetical works, this book offers new insights into the meanings and magnificence of this Qur'anic text. The author is not only concerned with analysing the individual verses; he is equally focused on showing how various verses are interrelated, explicitly and subtly, to form a unique textual unit. He shows particular interest in unveiling subtle references and meanings that are often overlooked or missed by exegetes. Through this comprehensive study, the author elucidates why the Qur'an has always been firmly believed to be a unique book that could have only been inspired by Allah. Thorough and scholarly but easy to read, this book is intended for both the general reader and the specialist. Whether you are a scholar of Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir), have general interest in Qur'anic studies and the Qur'anic story of Prophet Joseph, or interested in comparative religion, you will find this in-depth and detailed study of the sura of Joseph informative, enlightening, and thought-provoking. No knowledge of Arabic or the Qur'an is required for reading the book.

Thorough and scholarly but easy to read, this book is intended for both the general reader and the specialist. Whether you are a scholar of Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir), have general interest in Qur'anic studies and the Qur'anic story of Prophet Joseph, or interested in comparative religion, you will find this in-depth and detailed study of the sūra of Joseph informative, enlightening, and thought-provoking. No knowledge of Arabic or the Qur'an is required for reading the book.

- Comprehensive interpretation of the sūra of Joseph

- Verse by verse analysis and commentary

- Comparison between the story in the Qur'an and its Biblical counterpart

- Examination of the historical time and place where Joseph lived

-Explanation of the Qur'an's style in relating history

Louay Fatoohi was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1961 to a Christian family. He converted to Islam when he was twenty years old. He obtained a BSc in Physics from the College of Science, University of Baghdad, in 1984. In 1992, he and his wife Shetha moved to the United Kingdom where they have settled. Dr Fatoohi obtained his PhD in Astronomy from the Physics Department, Durham University, in 1998.

The author of several books and many articles in Arabic and English, Dr Fatoohi is particularly interested in Qur'anic exegesis (Tafsir), history in the Qur'an, and comparative religion. His latest book is "Jihad in the Qur'an: The Truth from the Source" (2nd Edition 2004). He is currently finishing a book on "The Mystery of the Historical Jesus."

1.3 Problems in the Exegesis of the Qur'an
Since the revelation of the Qur'an, Muslim scholars have shown great interest in studying and interpreting the Qur'an. These enormous efforts have resulted in a huge number of exegetical books. Some of these works focus on interpreting particular verses or suras, whereas others attempt to interpret the Book of Allah in its entirety.

Muslim exegetes agree on the authenticity of the text of the Qur'an. They do differ, nevertheless, in their interpretations of that text. There are instances where different interpretations of one Qur'anic text can be reconciled and should, thus, be all considered possible. There are many cases, however, where different interpretations contradict each other, so they cannot all be correct. Using research resources and methodologies that are available to him, an exegete often tries hard to reach what he thinks is the correct interpretation of the Qur'anic text. While the Qur'an is a divine text that is completely true, any interpretation of this blessed text is a human attempt that may succeed or fail.

Exegetes' mistakes differ in their nature and consequences. There are mistakes which can be described as "individual" or "isolated" because they affect a particular verse or set of verses. For instance, misunderstanding a particular word or clause in a verse leads to misinterpreting that verse or one set of verses. The worst mistakes, however, are those which can be called "methodological." These reflect flaws in the methodology used in the interpretation. The negative effects of these mistakes are not restricted to the interpretation of a particular verse or sura, but extend to any Qur'anic text that they may be applied to. Let us study some of the worst methodological mistakes that many exegetes have inherited from each other and whose effects, therefore, can be seen in many exegetical books.

The first of these serious methodological mistakes is the failure to follow the principle of "the Qur'an interprets itself." The Qur'an is one entity whose different verses and suras cannot be studied in complete isolation from each other. There are many examples that show that understanding a verse in one sura requires relating it to another verse in a different sura. Neglecting the interrelations between different parts of the Qur'anic text results in, at best, the inability to interpret the relevant verses, and, at worst, erroneous interpretations.

After citing the verse "and We have revealed the Book to you [O Muhammad!] explaining clearly everything" (from 16.89) in the introduction to his voluminous exegetical work of the Qur'an, at Tabataba'i beautifully points out that the Qur'an cannot be "an explanation of everything but not of itself." Then he cites the following two verses that describe the Qur'an: "a guidance to people and clear proofs of guidance and distinction [between right and wrong]" (from 2.185) and "and We have sent down to you [O people!] a clear light" (from 4.174), and goes on to comment: "how can the Qur'an be guidance, proof, distinction [between right and wrong], and clear light to people with respect to all of their needs, if it does not satisfy their need to understand it, which is the greatest need?"

The principle of "the Qur'an interprets itself" does not exclude other sources of information and knowledge for studying the Qur'anic text. It, rather, means that there is so much that cannot be properly understood without consulting the Qur'an itself. For instance, when studying the meaning of a particular word in a verse, it is certainly useful to know what external linguistic sources have to say. What is indispensable, however, is studying the variations of that word in the Qur'an itself and the contexts in which they occur.

Exegetes neglect or underestimate the fact that "the Qur'an interprets itself"; this has made them rely completely on extra Qur'anic sources to interpret the Qur'anic text. This has led exegetes to use information, from a variety of sources, much of which lacks any supportive evidence. We will see examples of this later when we examine some of the interpretations that have been suggested for verses of the sura of Joseph. The problem is that exegetes often accept the authenticity of a narrative simply because it is attributed to particular historians or exegetes. They ignore the possibility that those older historians and exegetes could have erred by propagating an inauthentic narrative, or that the narrative was wrongly attributed to those scholars, something that is usually impossible to confirm or reject. It is rather puzzling, as well as disappointing, to find that many exegetes do not make a distinction between narratives that can be linked to a Qur'anic text, so there is reason to think they may be true, and those that seem impossible to relate to any Qur'anic text, hence remain hypothetical.

The problem is further exacerbated by the failure of many exegetes and historians to deal with reported narratives rationally and logically, and to carefully examine their accuracy and plausibility. Exegetical books are full of hundreds, in fact thousands, of narratives that defy common sense. Some of these contradict the Qur'an itself, as we will see later.....

Perhaps, among the worst forms of the misguided methodology of using unreliable narratives in interpreting the Qur'an is the use of information from the Bible. This tendency, in turn, is a result of the equally important mistake of equating the Old Testament with the Torah and the New Testament with the Injil. Allah's descriptions in the Qur'an of the Torah which He revealed to Moses and the Injil which He inspired to Jesus clearly show that these divine Books are substantially different from the Old and New Testaments. The latter were written and edited by people to serve particular purposes. The huge amount of inaccurate and erroneous information in the Old and New Testaments makes it incumbent to treat any unverifiable Biblical information with a great deal of caution and suspicion. No piece of Biblical information should be presumed to be accurate unless there is supportive extra Biblical evidence....