Understanding the Qurʾanic Miracle Stories in the Modern Age

Title Page, About the Series, Other Works in the Series, Copyright, Dedication

Understanding the Qurʾanic Miracle Stories in the Modern Age vincent wimbush, general editor editorial board: William E. Deal (Case Western Reserve University) Grey Gundaker (William & Mary) Tazim Kassam (Syracuse University) Wesley Kort (Duke University) Laurie Patton (Duke University) R. S. Sugirtharajah (University of Birmingham, UK) Signifying (on) Scriptures, a project of the Institute for Signifying Scriptures at the Claremont Graduate University, invites and challenges scholars from different fields and disciplines to engage the phenomenon of signifying in relationship to “scriptures.” The focus of these works is not upon the content meaning of texts but upon the textures, signs, material products, practices, orientations, politics, and power issues associated with the sociocultural phenomenon of the invention and engagement of scriptures. The defining interest is how peoples, especially the historically dominated, make texts signify as vectors for understanding, establishing, and communicating their identities, agency, and power in the world. other books in the series: Velma Love, Divining the Self: A Study in Yoruba Myth and Human Consciousness Jennifer Reid, Finding Kluskap: A Journey into Mi’kmaw Myth s i g n i f y i n g ( o n ) s c r i p t u r e s Understanding the Qurʾanic Miracle Stories in the Modern Age isra yazicioglu THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA library of congress cataloging-in-publication data Yazicioglu, Isra, 1978– Understanding the Qurʾanic miracle stories in the modern age / Isra Yazicioglu. p. cm — (Signifying (on) scriptures) Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: “Explores the implications of Quranic miracle stories for the modern era. Examines the medieval Muslim debate over miracles, and connects its insights with early and late modern turning points in modern Western thought as well as contemporary Quranic interpretation”—Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-0-271-06156-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Miracles (Islam). 2. Miracles. 3. Qurʾan—Hermeneutics. 4. Islam—Doctrines—History. I. Title. BP166.65.Y39 2013 297.1'226—dc23 2013023135 Copyright © 2013 The Pennsylvania State University All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press, University Park, PA 16802-1003 The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses. It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University Press to use acid-free paper. Publications on uncoated stock satisfy the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Material, ANSI Z39.48–1992. This book is printed on paper that contains 30% post-consumer waste. with gratitude, to my parents, Selma and Osman, and to my teachers, Yamina and Ali ...