How is the Qur'an organized? Does its structure convey meaning? Why did the Islamic tradition neglect the study of the Qur'an's unusual configuration until the twentieth century? In The al-Baqara Crescendo, Nevin Reda introduces a bold new avenue of research: the poetics of Qur?anic narrative structure. Focusing on Surat al-Baqara, the longest and most challenging of the suras, she uncovers the beauty and rationale behind the Qur?an s unusual organization. Reda argues that the sura often dismissed by Muslim traditionalists and Orientalist critics as a baffling collection of disjointed...

How is the Qur'an organized? Does its structure convey meaning? Why did the Islamic tradition neglect the study of the Qur'an's unusual configuration until the twentieth century? In The al-Baqara Crescendo, Nevin Reda introduces a bold new avenue of research: the poetics of Qur?anic narrative structure. Focusing on Surat al-Baqara, the longest and most challenging of the suras, she uncovers the beauty and rationale behind the Qur?an s unusual organization. Reda argues that the sura often dismissed by Muslim traditionalists and Orientalist critics as a baffling collection of disjointed...