Includes bibliographical references (p. 372-388) and index.

Machine generated contents note: PART I FORM, MEANING, AND TEXTUAL STRUCTURE -- IN THE QUR'AN -- 1 A Literary Approach to the Hymnic Suras of the Qur'an: -- Spirit, Gender, and Aural Intertextuality -- Michael Sells -- 2 Major Transitions and Thematic Borders in Two Long Siras: -- alBaqara and al-Nisa' -- A.H. Mathias Zahniser -- 3 Text and Textuality: Q. 3:7 as a Point of Intersection -- Jane Dammen McAuliffe -- 4 Formulaic Features of the Punishment-Stories -- Alford T. Welch -- 5 "Desiring the Face of God": The Qur'anic Symbolism of -- Personal Responsibility -- Andrew Rippin -- 6 Fawdtih al-Suwar: The Mysterious Letters of the Qur'an -- Irfan Shahzd -- PART II LITERARY APPROACHES TO SELECTED -- SURAS OF THE QUR'AN -- 7 Referentiality and Textuality in Sarat al-.Hijr Some Observations -- on the Qur'anic "Canonical Process" and the Emergence -- of a Community -- Angelika Neuwirth -- 8 Irony in the Qur'in: A Study of the Story of Joseph -- Mustansir Mir -- 9 Reflections on the Dynamics and Spirituality of Surat al-Furqan -- Anthony H. Johns -- 10 The Enchantment of Reading: Sound, Meaning, and -- Expression in Surat al-'Adiyat -- Soraya M. Hajjaji-Jarrah -- PART III LITERARY APPRECIATION OF THE -- QUR'AN: PAST AND PRESENT -- 11 The Aesthetic Reception of the Qur'in as Reflected in -- Early Muslim History -- Navid Kermani -- 12 Ellipsis in the Qur'an: A Study of Ibn Qutayba's Ta'wil -- Mushkil al-Qur'an -- Yusuf Rahman -- 13 Literary Exegesis of the Qur'in: The Case of al-Sharif al-Radi -- Mahmoud M. Ayoub -- 14 Studies in the Majaz and Metaphorical Language of the -- Qur'an: Abu 'Ubayda and al-Sharif al-Radi -- Kamal Abu-Deeb -- 15 Sayyid Qutb's Literary Appreciation of the Qur'an -- IssaJ. Boullata -- Bibliography -- Index.