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which the authors engage in the fable, whereas the nal outcome is due to the Ikhwns hierarchical

worldview.

Quranic Manuscripts from Late Muslim Spain:

The Collection of Almonacid de la Sierra

Nuria Martnez-de-Castilla-Muoz

COMPLUTENSEUNIVERSITY, MADRID

In spite of a widespread ignorance of Arabic among the Moriscos (the last Muslims of the Iberian

Peninsula, expelled in 101823/160914), and the prohibition of the possession of books in Arabic script,

the Moriscos continued transcribing and transmitting the Quran. These copies exhibit various peculiarities

related either to their physical presentation, or to their cultural signicance. The materials which are part

of the Almonacid de la Sierra collection (today in the Toms Navarro Toms library (CCHS-CSIC),

Madrid) that means, 37 fragmentary copies of the Quran provide us with an idea of the kind of

Quranic texts the Moriscos were using by the end of the tenth/sixteenth century in spite of the religious and

linguistic restraints which were imposed on them. There are complete mahif, usually divided into four

volumes. In addition, we nd Quranic extracts, the contents of which are almost always the same; this

probably implies some ritual use. Finally, there are family prayer books containing some suras and verses

which can be recited according to the moment. The diversity of these manuscripts gives us an idea of the

knowledge of the Quran among the Moriscos and the strength of Islam in tenth/sixteenth-century Aragon.

Memorisation of the Quran: Opening the Research Agenda

Faris Keblawi

AL-QASEMI ACADEMY, AL-QASEMI SCHOOL

Muslims around the world devote considerable effort to memorising the Quran, as this is deemed to be

a highly meritorious endeavour that brings them closer to God. Memorisation of the Quran was one of the

rst, and most important, means by which the Quran was preserved by the early Muslim community.

Interest in memorisation has continued over the centuries, but it has not evolved into a distinct eld of

study as has been the case with various sciences particular to the Quran, such as, for example, the sciences

of qirt and tajwd. This paper seeks to establish a distinct, interdisciplinary, academic sub-discipline

for the study of issues related to the characteristics and particularities of Quran memorisation. The

potential contribution to this emerging discipline of other academic elds, such as applied linguistics,

psycholinguistics, and educational psychology, will also be discussed.

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Chinese Scholarship and the Interpretation and Translation of the Quran

Ma Zhan Ming

NINGXIA UNIVERSITY

The Quran has, for obvious reasons, been of the greatest interest to Chinese Muslims from the arrival of

Islam on the shores of China to the current day. Over 20 Chinese translations of the Quran have been

produced throughout the history of Chinese Islam, some with simple marginalia to help non-Arabic

speaking Chinese Muslims interpret the meanings of the verses. Furthermore, Chinese translations of some

Arabictafsrhave recently appeared, such as theMukhtasar tafsr Ibn Kathr, and for the rst time in the

history of China, a tafsr mjiz lil-Qur n in Chinese has been prepared by a group of Muslim scholars.

This article aims to present an introduction to the work of Chinese scholars in commentating on the Quran

in general, and to discuss the aforementioned tafsr mjiz lil-Qur n in some detail, focussing on the

methodological aspects that distinguish it from other translations. The introduction presents a brief history

of the translation of the Quran in China. Part One discusses the efforts of Chinese scholars to provide

commentary on the meanings of the Quran, and gives examples of their strengths and weaknesses. Part

Two presents the authors of the tafsrand discusses the reasons for its production, and its methodology,

giving examples which illustrate its strengths. Finally, the conclusion summarises the major points

discussed in the article, and its recommendations.

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