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The fourth annual Q-Immersion at St. John’s College, Oxford, covered Surah Taha (Q. 20). A guided reading of the whole Surah on the first day was followed by a formal dinner at Keble 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.
Sura Ta Ha is a Meccan sura that both begins and ends with mention of the Qur’an.
The sura begins with a consolation to the Prophet peace be upon him and speaks of God’s all-encompassing knowledge and His Most Beautiful Names. It then segues into a lengthy account of the story of Prophet Moses peace be upon him (vv. 9–97) that recounts many details of his life, including his encounter with God and the charge of his mission to Pharaoh, the Israelites’ escape from Egypt, and the false god that the Israelites worshipped when Prophet Moses peace be upon him went to Mt. Sinai.
Next, the sura transitions to discuss several aspects concerning the end of time and the Last Day, and then recounts the story of Prophet Adam’s peace be upon him creation, temptation, banishment, and forgiveness (vv. 115–24). It then encourages the Prophet peace be upon him to be steadfast in the face of the Meccans’ insults, recounting the Meccans’ disingenuous request for a sign to be sent to the Prophet peace be upon him from God; and concludes with a threat to the Meccans, telling them to wait for the inevitable end, when they shall come to know who is upon the sound path and is rightly guided.
Basic Thematic Structure
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.
Chargrilled vegetable terrine with caper mayonnaise, pineapple mustard chutney and a crispy seed crumb (v)
Slow cooked beef in non-alcoholic jus
Spinach, chickpea and carrot strudel served with a non-alcoholic sauce (ve)
Served with smoked garlic and mushroom purée, baby potatoes and green beans
Keble mess served with an orange sorbet and dehydrated berry powder
Tea, coffee and mints
Students were broken into groups to study and present the following chosen academic article:
El-Awa, Salwa. “Discourse Markers and the Structure of Intertextual Relations in Medium-Length Qur’anic Surahs: The Case of Surat Taha (Q. 20)” in Structural Dividers in the Qur’an, edited by Klar, Marianna, Routledge, 2021.
Closing off QI 2022 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.