Frequently Asked Questions

CONTENT

What would be the format of IEQ?
IEQ contains approximately 600 alphabetical entries spread over six volumes of approximately 550-600 pages each. The seventh volume will consist of indices. IEQ uses English-language lemmata, or entry words, for its articles which will cover all concepts, themes, names and places mentioned in the Qur'an.

What is the criterion for IEQ’s lemmata or entry words?
Carefully chosen entry words are drawn from the Qur’an itself. In selecting the lemmata, the editors have relied on the internal thematic structure of the Qur’an. Extensive cross-references link all articles to other entries. In order to remain focused on the Qur’an itself, the editors have not included allied concepts and themes in IEQ, even though they form an integral aspect of the sciences and arts originating from the Qur’an. As an example, IEQ’s article on the Qur’an covers its writing, but there is no separate article on “Calligraphy.” “Pen and Writing,” likewise, originating from the second verse of Surah Nun (By the pen and what it writes), is a lemma, but writing instruments in Islamic civilization and their role in the spread of knowledge is an ancillary field, not a direct Qur’anic theme, and hence it has no entry of its own.

Will the IEQ represent all legal schools in Islam?
IEQ is a madhhab-comparative reference work produced by scholars of the four Sunni Schools and includes Ja‘fari scholars as well. The aim of the project is to provide a holistic understanding of the Qur’an based on established classical exegesis and drawing from the formidable array of Islamic learning and its recognized literature.

Are there works similar to IEQ?
There is no reference work on the QurāĀn in English language that takes, as its foundational premise, Muslim belief that the Qur’an is a revealed text. The two extant encyclopedias [Brill’s six volume Encyclopaedia of the Qur'an (2001-2005) and the single volume, 772-page work published by Routledge, The Qur’an: an Encyclopedia (2005)] have been rejected by Muslim scholars as works steeped in neo-Orientatlism. See reviews at < http://www.iequran.com/faq.html >. Click here to read a review on this work .        [Click here to read another review.]

I have read the sample entries on the website. I am not sure if pious expressions (such as peace be upon him) belong to an academic work like IEQ, why do you have these in the text?

Such expressions are natural outcome of the aspect already discussed in the Project Summary and Raison d'etre document—namely, that writing about the Qur’an or about Divine and Prophetic themes can never be a neutral, clinical act but is by necessity an act of personal engagement one way or another. For the Muslim collective it is an act of worship, and thus it is the most natural thing that it should be interspersed with supplications and expressions of dependence on the Divine source of all goodness, Who is the Guarantor of success for this project, its authors, and its readers. Even cultivated non-Muslims can understand and appreciate that “Allah Most High, Sublime and Exalted,” or “the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace,” or “the Companions Allah be well-pleased with them” are not only pious expressions but also make for better writing and readingin the best tradition of Islamic learning, and their absence, more often than not, comes off as an unsightly canker on the face of putative Islamic scholarship.

EDITIONS

Will there be an online edition?

Yes, IEQ will be available both in print and an online version. Buyers will have the option to purchase both or either version.

Will the encyclopedia be available in other languages?
It is our intention to gradually make IEQ available in all major languages. In particular, we hope to translate it into French, German, Italian as well as Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Farsi, Malay, and Bahasa Indonesia insha Allah.

SCHOLARS

Who is writing entries for IEQ?

IEQ is an international effort. Scholars writing articles for IEQ are geographically located in various parts of the world. Only Muslims are invited to write.

Why don't you invited un-biased non-Muslims to write for IEQ?

By definition, an “unbiased non-Muslim” would be a person who does not believe that there is no deity except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Or he or she may believe in only one of these two testimonies of faith which allow an individual to enter the house of Islam. A person not believing in either of these two fundamental, non-negotiable and uncompromising Realities cannot be said to be “unbiased”; he or she has already taken a biased position by rejecting the urgent invitation of his or her Creator to believe in His Oneness and in His Messenger—upon whom blessings and peace—who said “There shall be none that hears of me in this Community, nor any Jew, nor any Christian, who then does not believe in what I was sent with except they are among the dwellers of Hellfire” (Muslim, Iman, Wujub al-Iman bi-Nabiyyina Muhammad salla Allahu `alayhi wa-Sallam).
This rejection to believe notwithstanding, such a person has a peculiar position about the Qur’an which disqualifies him or her as a contributor to IEQ which is based on the non-negotiable premise that the Qur’an is a revealed text. This position stems from his or her rejection of the claim of Muhammad, the son of Abdullah, upon him blessings and peace, that he is, indeed, the Messenger of Allah, who has received the Qur’an through revelation sent to him by Allah. Without believing in this Prophetic claim, anyone who writes on the Qur’an, writes from a “veiled heart” (Q 17:45-46) and no matter how meticulous such scholarship is, it cannot access the Qur’an, which demands, as a sine qua non, that it be taken as a Book sent down to humanity from beyond the human realm. An “un-biased non-Muslim” is an oxymoron; there is no such entity in reality. People either believe or they do not, and in both cases, they have a position.

READERSHIP

Who are the target readers of IEQ?
The IEQ will cater to a wide range of readers including academic scholars, graduate and post-graduate students and the educated general public. It will serve as a fundamental reference work from which countless subsequent works for all segments of the society may grow.

How will this work serve the interests of Muslims?
Currently, the majority of Muslims do not speak Arabic nor have the scholastic training to engage source texts, such as classical commentaries on the Qur’an. The IEQ will serve as a reliable, integrated, and authentic reference work, presenting the vast repository of classical Islamic scholarship  on the Qur’an in a language and manner that is accessible to contemporary  readers.

How will this work be of academic benefit?
IEQ brings to the academic world a unique reference work, sharing with its sources the premise that the Qur’an is a revealed text while simultaneously maintaining scholarly norms and standards. It provides a window for academia into traditional Islamic approaches and scholarship on the Qur’an. Academic scholars will, therefore, welcome a reference work on the Qur’an that presents, in concise form, established mainstream Islamic scholarship, even though they might not fully agree with its basic premises.

FUNDING

Who is funding IEQ?
IEQ is being funded privately, by Muslims who are interested and capable of contributing to this service to the Book of Allah. These include housewives, students, professionals, businessmen as well as educational institutions. Any individual, business, or corporation may contribute financially to the IEQ Project, which strictly requires that funds be drawn from lawful sources.

How are the finances being monitored?

All donations to the IEQ Project go either to the account of the Center for Islam and Science (CIS), Canada or that of the Society for Qur’anic Studies (SQS), Pakistan. Both organizations are legal entities, registered in their respective countries (Canada and Pakistan) with relevant governmental agencies, which monitor their financial transactions through their laws and well-recognized auditing systems. Please see the websites of CIS and SQS for more details.

PUBLISHING AND MARKETING

Who is publishing IEQ?
IEQ will be published by CIS-SQS in cooperation with various existing Muslim publishers in different parts of the world. CIS-SQS are negotiating with different publishers to make this work available at reasonable price to the intended readership in different countries.

Why did you not arrange to publish the IEQ with a major Western publisher?
No Western publisher is interested in a large project of this kind which is based on the Muslim understanding of the Qur’an. The academic publishers we approached wanted us to include Orientalist scholarship in addition to the Muslim works. Their rationale was that such a work should be inclusive. We disagree. The Qur’an demands that the question of its authorship must be settled before any engagement can take place with its text. This is the question where Muslim and non-Muslim approaches to the Book differ at a fundamental level. IEQ is a work that takes the Qur’an to be a revealed text, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, upon him blessings and peace, at a certain time and place, and a Book that is for all humanity for all times. This is an irreducible, non-negotiable aspect of the Qur’an. Thus, a reference work on the Qur’an that excludes all references to the works of those who do not believe the Qur’an to be a revealed text, gives IEQ its uniqueness—as well as its perceived “limitations” as far as Western publishers are concerned.

What will be the retail price of this publication?
The final retail price of the first edition of IEQ will be determined once the first volume is ready. However, we intend to reduce the cost of production as much as possible, without compromising quality. This is a not-for-profit project. We will offer special prices for students. We are making arrangements for local editions in various parts of the world so that IEQ is available at local, rather than international/Western prices. We will be cooperating with local publishers for distribution.