Prolegomena to the Qur'an

Ayatollah al-Sayyid Abu al-Qasim al-Khu'i (1899-1992) was one of the most respected Shi'i scholars of this century. This book, published in Arabic in 1974, presents al-Khu'i's ideas on the interpretation of the Qur'an. In it, al-Khu'i treats many critical and controversial topics connected with the collection and canonization of the text that have received little attention in the works of contemporary Muslim scholars. His arguments illuminate some of the substantial yet little-understood issues that have been truly at stake between the Shi'i and Sunni Muslims. Translator Abdulaziz Sachedina supplies a helpful introduction to Khu'i's work, and places it in the historical context of polemical literature in Islam.