What Is the QurMODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RINGan? A Spiritually Integrative Perspective

This article explores the question 'What is the QurMODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RINGan?' from a spiritually integrative perspective, focusing attention on the importance of studying the spiritual dimension of scripture in the contemporary context. It is also in conversation with two ongoing, interrelated questions in qur'anic studies: genre and the organization of the QurMODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RINGan - more specifically, the rationale for the arrangement of suras. For the QurMODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RINGan's spiritual dimension, the article looks to the Islamic mystical tradition, Sufism, which developed elaborate conceptualizations of the spiritual path in the various Sufi orders. The article examines the scripture's mystical substrate from an organizational perspective, conceptualizing it as a spiritual method for individuals, communities and humanity in general to grow from the animal self (al-nafs al-ammara bi-al-suMODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RING) to the completed self (al-nafs al-kamila), each sura functioning as a step in the process. The Arabic word for 'order', tariqa, literally means 'way', which is one reason why this article suggests that 'spiritual method' is also a good translation, highlighting a different set of nuances. It proposes that the QurMODIFIER LETTER RIGHT HALF RINGan is organized similarly to a tariqa, examining some suras at the beginning and end of the scripture and comparing them to the first and last stages of the Sufi path.