PAST Q-IMMERSION
2019 – Mary (Q. 19)
The second annual Q-Immersion at St. John’s College, Oxford, covered Surah Mary (Q. 19). A guided reading of the whole Surah on the first day was followed by a formal dinner at Somerville college and ended with an opportunity for personal study. On the second day, three facilitated workshops offered the space to read, reflect upon and discuss an academic study of the Surah which attendees then presented to the wider group.
SUMMARY OF SURA MARYAM
A Meccan sura which takes its name from the story of Mary (verses 16–35) peace be upon her. It recounts the grace given by God to a number of prophets peace be upon them all and tells aspects of their stories. The sura can be divided into two simple sections: Prophetic Narratives and Polemics, summarised as follows:
SURA MARY
An exposition of the whole sura was presented on the first day taking place in the lecture theatre.
By the end of the day, students were able to appreciate the basic structure of the sura, the main themes and how the narrative develops.
MENU
Seared maple salmon, spring vegetable salad and toasted sesame
Smokey veg bruschetta with chilli, dressed rocket on toasted ciabatta (vegan)
Rump of lamb with herb crushed new potatoes, tender stem and broad bean pesto
Sweetcorn fritter with slow roasted tomato and watercress salad with aioli (vegan)
Summer fruit mille feuille with strawberry ice cream
Tea, Coffee & Somerville Chocolates
WORKSHOPS
Students were broken into groups to study and present chosen academic articles, they were:
- Sinai, Nicolai. The Qur’an: a Historical-Critical Introduction
- Robinson, Neal. Discovering the Qur’an: A Contemporary Approach to a Veiled Text
- Alhassen, Leyla Ozgur. “A Structural Analysis of Surat Maryam, Verses 1-58,” Journal of Qur’anic Studies 18, No.1
- Toorawa, Shawkat M.“Surat Maryam (Q. 19): Lexicon, Lexical Echoes, English Translation,” Journal of Qur’anic Studies. 13, no.1
Q-READ
Closing off QI 2019 with Q-Read and a collective Qur’an khatam.
In Q-Read, all participants read in silence a portion of the Qur’an remembering God and loved ones.