Acknowledgements
This book began as a dissertation at the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University, where I studied with a group of historians, philologists, and archaeologists of the Near East. These mentors and colleagues have shaped this book from its conception. My advisor David Powers introduced me to the historical study of the Qurʾan and the early Islamic corpus. Anyone who knows David is aware that he is a tremendously generous and attentive mentor. It was an honor to learn from him for many years. I also had the privilege of studying under Shawkat Toorawa, whose intellectual influence permeates this entire book. Shawkat’s reading of the Qurʾan as a literary text has profoundly shaped my understanding of its language and rhetoric. His encouragement and guidance have been a steady source of strength for me. I was further honored to study with Ross Brann, who has deeply influenced the way I learn and the way I teach. Gabriel Reynolds from the University of Notre Dame was the fourth member of my doctoral committee. I have benefited incalculably from his mentorship and fellowship, and I consider myself fortunate to be counted among his students. I have also been lucky to have belonged to communities of scholars that helped make this book better. I thank Ziad Fahmy, Iago Gocheleishvili, Kim Haines-Eitzen, Lauren Monroe, Shalom Shoer, Munther Younes, as well as my colleagues Adam Bursi, Dustin Nash, and Sarah J. Pearce, for their support and encouragement throughout my doctoral studies and after.
In 2014, I joined the faculty of the Near Eastern Languages and Civilization Department at the University of Washington. I am grateful for being part of such a nurturing intellectual community, and I would like to especially thank Selim Kuru and Brian Reed for helping make it my scholarly home. I must also thank Rick Aguilar, Khalid Ahmed, Jere Bacharach, Susan Benson, Terri DeYoung, Purnima Dhavan, Hussein Elkhafaifi, Aria Fani, Hadar Khazzam-Horovitz, Patrick Gibbs, Radhika Govindrajan, Nida Kiali, Gary Martin, Talant Mawkanuli, Devin Naar, Scott Noegel, Arzoo Osanloo, Noam Pianko, Cabeiri Robinson, Richard Salomon, Stephanie Selover, Shahrzad Shams, Gabe Skoog, Naomi Sokoloff, Lynn Thomas, Adam Warren, Melike Yücel-Koç, Sarah Zaides Rosen, and the late Farhat Ziadeh for all their thought-provoking conversations, encouragement, and collegiality. I am especially grateful to Mika Ahuvia, Daniel Bessner, Scott Noegel, Joel Walker, and Michael Williams for their feedback and guidance on various parts of this book.
Many scholars have shaped my understanding of the Qurʾan and early Islam. I thank especially Mehdi Azaiez, Munʿim Sirry, and Tommaso Tesei, who were fellows with me at the Qurʾan Seminar at the University of Notre Dame (2012–2013). I further thank Ghazala Anwar, Karen Bauer, Carol Bakhos, Stephen Burge, the late Patricia Crone, Juan Cole, Fred Donner, Suleyman Dost, Emran El-Badawi, Farid Esack, Alba Fedeli, Reuven Firestone, Vanessa DeGifis, Sidney Griffith, Gerald Hawting, Asma Hilali, Thomas Hoffmann, Saqib Hussain, Marianna Klar, Joseph Lowry, Shari Lowin, Daniel Madigan, Johanna Pink, Michael Pregill, Marijn van Putten, the late Andrew Rippin, Nicolai Sinai, Emmanuelle Stefanidis, Sarra Tlili, and Holger Zellentin for their valuable insights and critiques. Furthermore, I thank Nienke Brienen-Moolenaar, the editors of the Texts and Studies on the Qurʾan Series and the Brill publishing team. I thank the anonymous reviewers for providing me with such constructive feedback. I also thank Raashid Goyal, Oliver Lange, Brittany Landorf, Diala Sellk, and Noah Tashbook for all their research and editing assistance.
Writing this book was never a solitary endeavor. I made it through with the love and encouragement of an ummah. Julian Gantt has been my tireless interlocutor since this book’s inception. His ideas have shaped it more than anyone else’s. I thank my brothers Yasir Asad Siddiqui, Zia Rab, and Sadiqul Amin Siddiqui for their love and solidarity. I thank Pamela Denzer and Immigration Equality for fighting for me and I thank Farrukh, Samin, Mujahid, Ibrahim, and Ali for fighting alongside me. I thank my community, Mika Ahuvia, Urooj Arshad, Faisal Alam, Fabricio Amaral, Jayadev Athreya, Daniel Bessner, Aaron Brethorst, Shevanthi Daniel, Amanullah De Sondy, Rachel Erstad, Jeannette Estruth, Vanessa Freije, Hussam Ghazzi, Jen Gillman, Sandra Gresl, Radhika Govindrajan, Hala Iqbal, E. Tammy Kim, Scott Kugle, Fatimah Loren Muhammad, Peter MacMahon, Conor Mayo-Wilson, Mohammad Mujahid, Devin Naar, Hamza Qaiser, Sasha Rabkin, Nick Roth, Raed El Rafei, Mahin Rehman, Ubaidul Rehman, Jessica Rehms, Nova Robinson, Sahar Romani, Stephanie Selover, Samson Negassi, Sarah Schafer, Scot Orriss, Andrea Soroko Naar, Adam Warren, Arthur Winer, and Imad Zaheer. I thank my elders, Susan Dwyer-Shick, Kathy Ackerman, Erie Jones, Parveen Toorawa, Barbara Humes, and Bill and Deb Gantt for their love.
This book would not have been possible without the encouragement of my aunts Shehla, Shazia, and Tamkanat, my uncle Tipu, and their families. I thank Julian, Samson, Haleema, Waleed, and my parents, Lubna and Zahid, who have patiently tolerated my preoccupation with the ummah for many years. It is my parents who nurtured my love of history and language. I dedicate this book to them.
Hamza M. Zafer
New York City, October 2020