Author: Jay R. Crook

Publisher: ABC International Group

ISBN : 9781567447378

Language : English

-Binding: Paperback

- Pages: 126

- Description:

- In this work the author first compares the sometimes unsavory Biblical stories about Jacob with a more scrupulous God-fearer of the Quran and Surabadi's 11th century Quranic Commentary. Echoes of family rivalries also reached the Muslim commentators as we see in the story about Jacob's sons. This serves as a prelude to the stories of Joseph in Canaan and Egypt that dominate this volume in the series, as does his story in the last quarter of Genesis. We unravel the narrative threads of the Biblical stories as Joseph is sold by his brothers into slavery. The story of Joseph is the only story told at length and in chronological order in the Quran rather than in scattered references. In the Bible, the saga of Joseph is a rags-to-riches success story and the triumph of Israelite over Egyptian. In the Quran it is a poignant story of the separation of father and son and ends in their reunion. In the Commentary the focus shifts to the unrequited love story of Zulaykha for Joseph. Some remarks about the lessons of Genesis complete the volume.

- About the Author

- Jay R. Crook (Md. Nur) was born in upstate New York, the second son of a clergman, but spent his formative years in the New York metropolitan area. A chance acquaitance awakened his interest in Islamic culture and civilization, and he soon embraced Islam. After completing his military service and saving some money, he traveled to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to study for a few years. He wound up spending most of his working life in the Middle East, especially in Iran and Saudi Arabia. Hired by the Peace Corps as a field representative, he finished in 1971 as Deputy Director in the Iran program. He then enrolled in the Doctoral Program of Persian Literature for Foreigners at Tehran University and received his Ph.D. in 1978. His doctoral thesis was A Comparison of the Quranic Stories of Surabadi With the Bible. Much revised and expanded, it has become the core of The New Testament: an Islamic Perspective and its companion volume The Old Testament: an Islamic Perspective. Subsequent to leaving Iran in 1980, he worked as an English teacher in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia before retiring in 1997. He now resides in the American Southwest and has translated several books from Persian into English, including Kashifi’s The Royal Book of Spiritual Chivalry and Ghazzali’s The Alchemy of Happiness.