Biblical ethics and eloquence reached a pinnacle with the great writing Prophets. Prophethood has also been central to Islam. Muhammad, its final messenger, is coupled with Allah in the Islamic faith, through confession or Shahadah. Is it proper, or feasible, to bring these two realms together, separated as they are by more than ten centuries? Many in each community of faith would disapprove. Yet there are clear common denominators the central role of personality; the mystery of language and inspiration; the bearing of circumstance and situation; and, through all these, the incidence of suffering. Among the Biblical Prophets, a basic descriptive for their vocation and meaning is the sense of burden. The title of the book is taken from Surah 73.5 of the Quran where Muhammad understands that he is to undergo the onset of a a heavy saying, or a weighty word. Exploration of this mutual theme leads to common features. While the weight Quran-wise is the obligation to give divine words perfect reproduction; for the Biblical Prophets the onus is more inherently personal, and is reflected in the essential loneliness of vocation. The Weight in the Word attempts to explore an alignment of Prophethood in the Bible and in Islam in one denominator, against the odds of mutual alienation. In the Quran, God and Messenger represent the dual unity of creed and command; for Christian theology, via Messiah crucified, the theology of Prophethood is found in knowing the Weight in the Word by the wounds in the soul, and the Word made flesh.

About the Author
Kenneth Cragg was first in Jerusalem in 1939, and subsequently became deeply involved in areas of faith between Semitic religions under the stress of current politics. He later pursued doctoral studies in Oxford where he first graduated and became Prizeman' in Theology and Moral Philosophy, and where he is now an Honorary Fellow of Jesus College. He was a Bishop in the Anglican Jurisdiction in Jerusalem and elsewhere in the Middle East, and played ecclesiastical roles in Africa and India. A Certain Sympathy of Scriptures is a companion book to his Readings in the Qur'an (1988; 1999), and more broadly to his Faiths in Their Pronouns: Websites of Identity (2002). Other works by Bishop Cragg, and published by Sussex Academic Press, include: With God in Human Trust -- Christian Faith and Contemporary Humanism; The Weight in the Word -- Prophethood, Biblical and Quranic; and The Education of Christian Faith.

Reviews
"This is a profound and courageous attempt to compare and contrast Islamic ideas of prophecy, as found uniquely in Muhammad, with the prophetic tradition of the Hebrew Bible." -- John Barton, Oriel & Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture, Oriel College, Oxford
This is a profound and courageous attempt to compare and contrast Islamic ideas of prophecy, as found uniquely in Muhammad, with the prophetic tradition of the Hebrew Bible. It challenges Muslims, Jews, and Christians to understand their own traditions better and to be open to learn from each other. It rests on prolonged reflection about the character of the three Abrahamic religions. John Barton, Oriel & Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture, Oriel College, Oxford



Book Information
ISBN 9781903900260
Author Kenneth Cragg
Format Paperback
Page Count 216
Imprint Liverpool University Press
Publisher Liverpool University Press
Weight(grams) 320g