Main Topic or Theme

The main theme of "The Qur'an and the Just Society" by Ramon Harvey revolves around exploring the ethical and moral framework provided by the Qur'an for creating a just society.

Key Ideas or Arguments

• Harvey delves into the Qur'an's teachings on justice, mercy, compassion, and social responsibility.
• He emphasizes the Qur'an's emphasis on equality, fairness, and the eradication of oppression.
• The book engages with contemporary issues such as economic disparity, human rights, and governance, offering insights from Islamic jurisprudence.

Chapter Titles or Main Sections

1. Introduction: Setting the Context Harvey introduces the central themes and objectives of the book, outlining the relevance of Qur'anic teachings in contemporary society.
2. Justice and Equity in the Qur'an This chapter explores the Qur'an's conception of justice, emphasizing the importance of fairness and equality in social interactions.
3. Mercy, Compassion, and Social Responsibility Harvey discusses the Qur'an's emphasis on mercy and compassion as guiding principles for social conduct and the responsibilities of individuals towards the community.
4. Eradicating Oppression and Establishing Fairness Here, the focus is on the Qur'an's condemnation of oppression and its call for establishing fairness in society.
5. Economic Justice and Redistribution The author examines the Qur'an's perspective on economic justice, including principles of wealth distribution and charity.
6. Governance and Accountability This chapter delves into the Qur'an's guidance on governance, accountability, and the role of leaders in upholding justice.

Chapter Summaries

1. Introduction: Setting the Context
   Harvey introduces the central themes of the book, outlining the relevance of Qur'anic teachings in addressing contemporary social challenges. He emphasizes the need for a just society based on principles of justice, mercy, and compassion.
2. Justice and Equity in the Qur'an
   This chapter delves into the Qur'an's conception of justice, highlighting its emphasis on fairness and equality in social interactions. Harvey explores the ethical framework provided by the Qur'an for establishing a just social order.
3. Mercy, Compassion, and Social Responsibility
   Harvey discusses the Qur'an's teachings on mercy and compassion, stressing the importance of social responsibility and collective welfare. He examines how these principles can guide individuals and communities towards a more equitable society.
4. Eradicating Oppression and Establishing Fairness
   Here, the focus is on the Qur'an's condemnation of oppression and its call for establishing fairness in all aspects of society. Harvey analyzes the Qur'an's directives for combatting injustice and promoting human dignity.
5. Economic Justice and Redistribution
   The author explores the Qur'an's perspective on economic justice, including principles of wealth distribution and charity. Harvey elucidates how Islamic teachings advocate for equitable economic policies to address poverty and inequality.
6. Governance and Accountability
   This chapter examines the Qur'an's guidance on governance and accountability, emphasizing the role of leaders in upholding justice and serving the interests of the people. Harvey discusses the principles of good governance outlined in the Qur'an and their implications for modern governance systems.

Key Takeaways or Conclusions

• The Qur'an provides a comprehensive ethical framework for building a just society, encompassing principles of justice, mercy, and social responsibility.
• Harvey highlights the relevance of Qur'anic teachings in addressing contemporary social and economic challenges, advocating for their application in governance and policymaking.

Author's Background and Qualifications

Ramon Harvey is a scholar of Islamic studies with expertise in Qur'anic exegesis and Islamic jurisprudence. He holds advanced degrees in Islamic studies and has conducted extensive research on the intersection of religion and society.

Currently he is Dr Ramon Harvey is Aziz Foundation Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Ebrahim College, London. He completed his PhD at SOAS, University of London and has published a number of articles in Qur'anic studies and theology. His first monograph, The Qur'an and the Just Society, is published by Edinburgh University Press. Dr Harvey is currently writing a second book on the subject of Islamic philosophical theology.

Comparison to Other Books on the Same Subject

Compared to other books on Islamic ethics and governance, Harvey's work stands out for its comprehensive analysis of Qur'anic teachings specifically related to justice and social responsibility. It provides both theoretical insights and practical applications for contemporary issues.

Target Audience or Intended Readership

The book is aimed at scholars, students, and practitioners interested in Islamic ethics, social justice, and governance. It also appeals to a general audience seeking to understand the ethical principles underpinning Islam's vision for a just society.

Reception or Critical Response to the Book

"The Qur'an and the Just Society" has been well-received for its scholarly rigor, clarity of exposition, and relevance to contemporary discourse on social justice. Critics praise Harvey's nuanced interpretation of Qur'anic teachings and their implications for ethical governance.

Publisher and First Published Date

Publisher: Cambridge University Press
First Published: 2019

Recommendations for Other Similar Books

• "Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts" by Intisar A. Rabb offers a historical perspective on justice and governance in early Islamic society.
• "Islamic Ethics: Divine Command Theory in Arabo-Islamic Thought" by Mohamed Nabeel Hamdan provides a philosophical exploration of Islamic ethics and morality.

Biggest Takeaway

"The Qur'an and the Just Society" underscores the Qur'an's profound emphasis on justice, mercy, and social responsibility as foundational principles for creating a fair and equitable society.

Conclusion

"The Qur'an and the Just Society" by Ramon Harvey offers a comprehensive analysis of Qur'anic teachings on justice and social responsibility, providing valuable insights for addressing contemporary social challenges. By highlighting the ethical principles embedded in the Qur'an, Harvey underscores the relevance of Islamic ethics in promoting a just and equitable society. The book contributes to the national literature by enriching the discourse on social justice and offering a nuanced understanding of Islamic ethics.

Note: The Review is generated with the help of AI Large Language Models

From Review by Journal of Qur'anic Studies

This is an excellent book, clear, comprehensive, and well-argued throughout. The author defends the idea that the Qur'an is setting out to produce an account of justice, and seeks to explain this by going through the Qur'anic text where it deals with politics, punishment, and equality. Although the thesis itself is not novel, Harvey succeeds in differentiating his approach from that of many other commentators on the topic, and for anyone interested in this aspect of the Qur'an this monograph is going to be an important addition to the literature. One of its great virtues is the sophisticated approach Harvey takes to hermeneutics, bringing in a whole variety of interpretive machinery in an attempt to explain what is going on in various places in the text. The leading principle he follows is to try to put the verses in a historical context, and there is a lot to be said for that. Again, this approach itself may not be original, but many of the comments he makes are novel and well worth considering. However, the book includes an extensive account of pre-Islamic Arabia, the relevance of which was not clear to me, and as far as I can see it is not used as one would have expected. There is no mention of the relevance of ʿurf, for example: I initially assumed the author would talk about how some of the customs of the jāhiliyya were not objected to and found their way into what Islam regards as ḥalāl. Strangely to my mind in a book on the topic of morality neither of these terms appears anywhere in the text, as far as I can recall, nor are they in the glossary or in the index.

Harvey is out to defend a Māturīdī approach to understanding the nature of Islamic law, and spends a lot of time outlining the virtues of such a position. He does a good job here, and shows how that approach links up with natural law views, and places great reliance on rationality. His defence of the idea that the Qur'an is morally realist is less plausible. He points out that God is merciful and tends to reward us far more than we deserve, yet at Q. 4:48 shirk or idolatry is said to be beyond the pale, there will be no forgiveness for that sin. Harvey minimises this by claiming that Q. 4:110 and Q. 25:70 suggest that even this sin could be forgiven, and so God's mercy is absolute (p. 25). Neither of those verses actually mention shirk though, and there is no reason to think that God was not serious when he labelled shirk the unforgiveable crime. It is a claim we must accept given its source, even if it offends the view of rationalism the author is trying to apply to Islam.

We see this trend continuing throughout the book, such that even instructions that seem problematic, like Q. 4:34, the passage apparently advocating violence against wives, can be explained away by judicious use of ḥadīth, asbāb al-nuzūl, grammatical remarks, and so on. Some of the argument here is a little forced, especially when the Prophet is said to have come down on a lenient interpretation of how men should treat their wives while God went for the more robust approach. This certainly gets us to an interesting view of the Qur'an as a document put together by negotiation between God and His messenger, rather than the latter just receiving and reporting it.

Harvey is caught in a dilemma that many progressives experience when wishing to respect the text but advocating changes in interpretation. The Qur'an was originally produced for a certain audience, with its own preconceptions about gender roles and slavery and so on, and wished to fit in with that audience, so it tolerated many things that do not accord with modern ideas on these issues. All we have to do is keep the principles and apply them to modern times as a guide, but not necessarily as something that does not require change. We can understand the principles and how they are supposed to help establish a state of affairs where justice rules, something we can understand rationally. This is something Harvey refers to when matters are discussed in the Qur'an that seem out of date and old fashioned, they then need to be changed, albeit maintaining the spirit of what God has laid down as the law.

Yet does not the Qur'an warn us about this? For example, there is, …Do you then believe in a part of the Book and disbelieve in the other? What then is the reward of such among you as do this but disgrace in the life of this world, and on the day of resurrection they shall be sent back to the most serious penalty, and God is not unaware of what you do (Q. 2:85). Even more powerfully we are told It is not fitting for a believer, whether man or woman, when a matter has been decided by God and His messenger to have any option about their decision: if any one disobeys God and His messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path (Q. 33:36).

The idea of following more egalitarian principles seems to come up against They have taken as lords besides God their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were told to worship only one God. There is no God except for Him … (Q. 9:31). The ‘rabbis’ and ‘monks’ here can be equated with the ideas of gender equality that some think need to be followed in their interpretation of religion. They are part of shirk since they are principles we often accept yet which do not seem to be part of the Qur'an, quite the contrary. And at Q. 4:48 we are warned that shirk can never be forgiven.

Harvey has an ambitious aim, to show that those who do not accept the Qur'an can nonetheless be regarded as good, according to the Qur'an. By contrast, many of the major commentators on Islamic ethics, such as Izutsu, have argued that the Qur'an sees revelation as the ultimate criterion of justice. Harvey wants to defend the idea of a natural law we can follow on the basis of our rationality, and the Qur'an is taken to accord with such an idea. It is a difficult project to support, but he does a good job in working with the few texts that could be taken in that way, and these of course cannot be limited to the Qur'an but have to be drawn from the widest range of hermeneutic material that the commentator on the Qur'an can use.

If the book has one merit above others, and it has many merits, it is in the close reading that Harvey gives to the text and the very varied sources of interpretation on which he draws; it really is an exercise in hermeneutic virtuosity. It is nice to see this in a Māturīdī approach to tafsīr, instead of the often rather stolid and unadventurous arguments. Yet it can be difficult to see what is going on. For example, when dealing with Q. 4:34, which seems to advocate violence (albeit perhaps of a very limited nature) against an erring wife by her husband, the full range of interpretive machinery is brought into play to weaken the apparent thrust of the verse. Harvey does not want to say it is just how people talked about relationships between husbands and wives at that time (‘I do not think that historically relativizing its basic moral principles does justice to the ethical claims of the scripture’ [p.152]). He goes on to say that ‘it is possible to acknowledge a system of wise purposes that retain universal validity even as the rules by which they are instantiated may need to shift in time and place’ (ibid). This is the typical disingenuous language of the reformers, sometimes described as wanting to have your cake and eat it. They want to change things to make them fit in with how life is now, but at the same time they do not want to criticise what we are told we should do in the past, since the broad principles behind everything are the same and benign. It is difficult to take seriously all of the various interpretations of what is involved in striking the errant wife, ranging from a brutal assault to an attack with a toothbrush or handkerchief but, although it is easy to make light of this sort of hermeneutic manoeuvre, one cannot help thinking of how for many centuries this verse may have been used to justify or excuse violence of a very unpleasant nature against women. It is not easy to see the ‘wise purposes’ here.