On Pain and Suffering: A Qur'anic Perspective

161 Pages·2022·1.061 MB·English

by  Abla Hasan

On Pain and Suffering
Lexington Studies in Classical
and Modern Islamic Thought
Series Editor: Hussam S. Timani
This series explores and examines a vast literature on understudied strands in
Islamic thought. The series topics include but are not limited to Qur’an and hadith
studies, classical theological and philosophical doctrines, human knowledge, law
and tradition, law and legal reforms, tradition and renewal, Salafi thought, piety
movements, neotraditionalism, neoliberalism, neoreformism, neo-Islamism,
cultural pluralism, and liberal and ethical humanism. Additional subjects for
consideration are trends in contemporary Islamic thought such as democracy,
justice, secularism, globalization, international relations, Islam and the West, and
feminism. The volumes in the series examine, historicize, and analyze Muslim
intellectual responses to the various trends of Islamic thought that have been
under studied in Western scholarship. This series makes important and timely
literature available to the English reader.
Titles in the Series
On Pain and Suffering: A Qur’anic Perspective, by Abla Hasan
Forging Ideal Muslim Subjects: Discursive Practices, Subject Formation &
Muslim Ethics, by Faraz Masood Sheikh
Decoding the Egalitarianism of the Qur’an: Retrieving Lost Voices on Gender,
by Abla Hasan
On Pain and Suffering
A Qur’anic Perspective
Abla Hasan
Foreword by Jonathan E. Brockopp
LEXINGTON BOOKS
Lanham • Boulder • New York • London
Published by Lexington Books
An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706
www.rowman.com
86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE
Copyright © 2022 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any elec-
tronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without
written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages
in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Hasan, Abla, 1978- author.
Title: On pain and suffering: a Qur'anic perspective / Abla Hasan.
Description: Lanham: Lexington Books, 2021. | Series: Lexington studies in
classical and modern Islamic thought | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021036048 (print) | LCCN 2021036049 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781793650054 (cloth) | ISBN 9781793650061 (epub) | ISBN
9781793650078 (paperback)
Subjects: LCSH: Suffering—Religious aspects—Islam. | Pain—Religious
aspects—Islam. | Qurʼan—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Classification: LCC BP190.5.S93 H37 2021 (print) | LCC BP190.5.S93
(ebook) | DDC 297.2/118—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021036048
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021036049
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
To My Parents
م رهلا ىلإ
هللا همحر يبأ ىركذ ىلإ
نسح سابع ليعامسإ ديسلا
ادبأ ركاشلا
“روكشلا يدابع نم ليلق و”
لاجرلا تخأ ىلإ و
اهرمع هللا لاطأ يمأ ىلإ
فسوي نمحرلا دبع ناعمل ةديسلا
امود ةرباصلا
“ميظع ظح وذ لاإ اهاقلي ام و اوربص نيذلا لاإ اهاقلي ام و”
“اريغص ينايبر امك امهمحرا بر”

ارً وجُ هْ مَ نَ آرْ ُقلْا اذََهٰ اوذُ خَ َّتا يمِ وْ َق نَّ ِإ بِّ رَ اَي لُ وسُ رَّ لا لَ اَقوَ
The Messenger has sai d, “Lord, my people t reat this
Qur’an as something to be shunned.” (Q. 25:30)

Contents
Foreword xi
Acknowledgments xv
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: Rethinking the Beginning of the Journey: An Earthly
Dwelling, Not Exile 5
Chapter 2: The Divine Assignment: The Divine on Earth 39
Chapter 3: Rethinking the Divine Status of Humans: A Key to
Solving the Problem of Evil 61
Chapter 4: Rethinking the End of the Journey: Reevaluating Islamic
Apocalyptic Literature 111
Conclusion 125
Bibliography 131
Index 137
About the Author 143
ix