'The Devotional Qur'an' by Shawkat Toorawa - Book launch and conversation

The Centre of Islamic Studies, in collaboration with the Journal of Qur'anic Studies, is delighted to announce the book launch of Professor Shawkat M. Toorawa's The Devotional Qur'an. Beloved Surahs and Verses (Yale University Press, 2024). 

You are invited to an evening conversation with the author, followed by audience Q&A. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing after.

Please note that registration is required (Doors open at 7pm, please arrive by 6.45pm)

The Devotional Qur'an is 'a beautifully curated and translated collection of the Qur’anic surahs and verses that are most cherished and memorized by Muslims the world over.'

Muslim devotional practices vary greatly over time and across regions, communities, and denominations, but they share core Qur’anic surahs (chapters) and verses rooted in the practice of earlier figures—the Prophet Muhammad, his closest Companions, the Shiite Imams, saintly figures, learned scholars, Sufi masters, local imams and religious teachers, forebears, and parents.

This volume is the first to present a curated English translation of these core passages, offering a powerful distillation of the recitational tradition that is at the heart of Muslim faith and practice. In these translations of thirty-two surahs and some forty verses, Shawkat M. Toorawa gives attention to rhythm, assonance, and end rhyme, as well as to the musicality and emotional force of the original Arabic. He organizes the selections according to devotional use and explains the place and role of the surah, verse, or passage in Muslim devotional practice.

This book is for anyone interested in the Qur’an, its aesthetic qualities, and its place in Muslim devotion, including any Muslims seeking a sensitive English translation of these essential surahs and verses.

About the author

Professor Shawkat M. Toorawa is Brand Blanshard Professor of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations and Professor of Comparative Literature. He is a director of the School of Abbasid Studies, a series editor of 'Resources in Arabic and Islamic Studies', and serves on the editorial or advisory boards of several journals, including the Journal of Abbasid Studies, the Journal of Arabic Literature, the Journal of Qur’anic Studies, Middle Eastern Literatures, and Quaderni di Studi Arabi. 

Since 2010, he has been an executive editor of the Library of Arabic Literature, an initiative to edit and translate significant works of the premodern Arabic literary heritage.