![handle is hein.journals/tulr85 and id is 163 raw text is: ESSAY
The Qur'an and the Constitution
L. Ali Khan*
And this Qur'an is not such as could ever be devised by anyone save
God; it is a confirmation of what was [revealed] before and an
exposition of Divine Text-Therein is no doubt-from the Sustainer of
the Worlds.'
Many have noted the sacredness surrounding the U.S. Constitution, and
comparisons with the Bible are often made.2
I. INTRODUCTION.................. ................162
A. Objecdve of this Essay............ ..........162
B. The Basic Code ................. ..........163
II. CONSCIENCE OF THE CONSTITUTION ...................165
A. Conscience of the Nation. .....................165
B. Political Pluralism..........................166
C Constitutional Supremacy ofthe Qur'wn. ...........169
D Fusion States................ .............170
E. Non-Islamic Constitutions........... .........172
E Vulnemble Constitutions......................173
G. ConstitutionalRevolutions. ....................174
III. EVOLUTION OF THE QUR'AN..................177
A. Normative Reversals........................177
B. Interpretive Approaches .......................179
C Text BeyondLanguage............ ..........180
D Cross-Cult lApplications...... ................... 181
* 0 2010 L. Ali Khan. Professor of Law, Washburn University. The author is
grateful to many colleagues for their comments on the ideas contained in this Essay, first
presented in November 2009 at the Seton Hall University Law School Symposium, Religious
Legal Theory: The State of the Field The author is specifically grateful to Professors Carl
Monk, Bill Merkel, Jeff Jackson, and Bill Rich for their comments on the draft. Kevin
Keatley of the class of 2011 provided superb editorial suggestions.
1. QuR'AN, Swab Yunus 10:37. It is my view that the Qur'an cannot be translated.
It can only be understood. Normally, after conducting my own research on the verses I use in
writings, I adopt a translation that best captures the meaning of the verses. I consult English
translations by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Marmaduke Picktball, and Muhammad Asad. Unless
otherwise specif ied, all translations of the Qur'an in this Essay are mine.
2. PHILLip E. HAmmoND, THE PROTESTANT PRESENCE tN TWEN~TIETH-CENTURY
AMERICA: RELIGION AND POLITCAL CULUREa 126 (1992).
161](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/tulr85&div=7
&collection=journals&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
What Is HeinOnline?
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most
Contact us for annual subscription options:
Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?
profiles profiles most