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Book: The Qur’an and the Just Society

The writer explores the underlying principles of its system of social justice. Dividing his book into four parts, he covers Qur’anic Ethics, Political Justice (politics, peace, war), Distributive Justice (fair trade, alms, marriage, inheritance) and Corrective Justice (public and private crimes).

What is justice? How can it be realised within society? These are universal concerns and are central to the primary scripture of Islam, the Qur’an. Utilising a pioneering theological and hermeneutic framework adapted from both classical Muslim literature and contemporary academic studies of the Qur’an, Ramon Harvey explores the underlying principles of its system of social justice. Dividing his book into four parts, he covers Qur’anic Ethics, Political Justice (politics, peace, war), Distributive Justice (fair trade, alms, marriage, inheritance) and Corrective Justice (public and private crimes). His reading of the Qur’an reconstructs the text as normatively engaging these spheres of justice in their socio-historical context and lays the foundations for future contemporary articulations of Qur’anic ethics.

Key Features

  • Provides a new reading of the Qur’an’s ethical world view
  • Proposes an original methodology for understanding Qur’anic ethics in the light of Islamic theology
  • Highlights passages of the Qur’an that reveal new depth when connected to the broader thematic structure of Qur’anic justice
  • Broaches a conversation between Qur’anic ethics and wider theological and philosophical discourse
  • Develops a natural law reading of social justice themes in the Qur’an

About the Author

Ramon Harvey is Aziz Foundation Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Ebrahim College. He has published articles on the history of Qur’anic qirāʾāt and regularly presents at national and international academic conferences. As well as Qur’anic studies, his research interests are in philosophy, theology and early Islamic intellectual history.

Table of Contents

Introduction

I – Qur’anic Ethics

Chapter 1 – Moral Narrative

Chapter 2 – Theology and Ethics

Chapter 3 – Hermeneutics

Chapter 4 – Historical Context

II – Political Justice

Chapter 5 – Politics

Chapter 6 – Peace

Chapter 7 – War

III – Distributive Justice

Chapter 8 – Fair Trade

Chapter 9 – Alms

Chapter 10 – Marriage

Chapter 11 – Inheritance

  1. Corrective Justice

Chapter 12 – Public Crimes

Chapter 13 – Private Crimes

Conclusion

Glossary of Arabic Terminology

Bibliographic Information

Title: The Qur’an and the Just Society

Author: Ramon Harvey

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

 Language: English

Length: 288 pages

ISBN: 9781474403290

Pub. Date: November 2017

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