Read and Understand the Quran, by Abû Hâmid Al-Ghazâlî

It is not uncommon these days to hear or read sweeping assertions, definitive judgments about what the Quran is supposed to be. Thus, we have been able to read that "the Koran is a book of war" or even "a book inciting hatred" under more or less Islamophobic feathers. On the other hand, for certain apologues of Islam, the Koran is “a book of science” confirming in every way certain modern theories, such as the expansion of the universe or universal gravitation. In reality, these hasty assertions and this simplistic concordism are meaningless because the Koran can only be said this or that according to a certain reading . There are only readings of the Book.

In his time, Ghazali had already measured the importance of the notion of reading the Koran. He was aware that the revitalization of Islamic sciences is only possible through a reform of consciences, and that this calls for a reading of the Koran that goes beyond literalism. The object of this treatise is precisely to offer the reader the means of an in-depth understanding and meditation on the revealed Word. In this, Ghazali's work is still very relevant today.