Quranic Stories: God, Revelation and the Audience

Leyla Ozgur Alhassen
Paperback, 184 pages
9781474483186

Explores the use of storytelling and narrative devices in the Quran

Leyla Ozgur Alhassen approaches the Qur’an as a literary, religious and oral text that affects its audience. She looks at how Qur’anic stories function as narrative: how characters and dialogues are portrayed; what themes are repeated; what verbal echoes and conceptual links are present; what structure is established; and what beliefs these narrative choices strengthen.

Contents
1. Introduction: A Narratological, Rhetorical Approach to Quranic Stories
2. Knowledge, Control and Consonance in Surat Āl ‘Imrān 3:33–62
3. God, Families and Secrets in the Story of Surat Maryam 19:1–58
4. Evidence, Judgment and Remorse in Surat Yūsuf
5. Merging Words and Making Connections in Surat Ṭaha
6. Surat al-Qaṣaṣ and Its Audience
Conclusions: Reading the Quran as God’s Narrative