Suppose our knowledge of the Quran began only recently with the discovery of mysterious scrolls in a desert cave. Suppose there was no Islamic history and no Muslim community to help us understand this book. Is it conceivable, then, that we might mistake it for the central text of a long-vanished apocalyptic community whose ideas about the next world, colorful and extraordinary as they appear, nonetheless make perfect sense in the context of perhaps the most pervasive literary genre oflate antiquity, the epic?

How do people understand the Quran to be divine revelation? What is it about this book that inspires such devotion in the reader/believer? Todd Lawson explores how the timeless literary genres of epic and apocalypse bear religious meaning in the Quran, communicating the sense of divine presence, urgency and truth. Grounding his approach in the universal power of story and myth, he provides a unique appreciation of the unparalleled status and unique charisma of the Quran as a religious text and monument of world literature.

Todd Lawson believes in passion, diversity, and the search for freedom outside. He’s an avid world traveller, husband, brother, father, son, writer, photographer, creator, storyteller, mountain athlete, humanitarian, adventure-seeker, and lover of life and all its wonderful ways. Todd is the publisher, producer, and photo editor at Mountain Life Media, and Co-Founder of the Rise and Sean Foundation. Inside the Belly of an Elephant is his first book. He lives in Whistler, British Columbia.

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‘The Quran: Epic and Apocalypse offers numerous fresh and important insights regarding Islam’s most sacred text. Grounded in meticulous analysis of the Quran’s religious and literary dimensions, this volume takes an entirely new direction in identifying and studying its epic and apocalyptic qualities. It is a must-read for anyone interested in comparative religious studies, or indeed in cultural and literary history.’

"Did James Joyce know the Quran? Todd Lawson brilliantly demonstrates how the Quran anticipates literary modernism as both epic and apocalypse. Its epic voice encompasses a vast temporal and spatial canvas – the cosmos, creation, humanity, time, history, while its chapters, singly and collectively, evoke an apocalyptic musicality. The ‘end’, as Lawson reminds us with lapidary prose unfolding insight upon insight, can be instrumental as well as temporal. The apocalyptic vision of the Quran underscores its true ‘end’: to herald and expedite a just community living in accordance with God’s will, enjoying both peace and prosperity. This innovative book charts new ways of reading literary modernism as Quranic commentary on a grand scale, at once elusive and evocative."

‘By attending to the Quran's epic as well as its apocalyptic voice, Todd Lawson proposes to liberate Western readings of Muslim scripture from their current obsessions. It is difficult to imagine a timelier or more necessary scholarly intervention. And when the Quran finally acquires the audience it deserves, i.e., one capable of bracketing theological pre-commitments (pro or con) and appreciating it for the re-visionary work of…literature that it is, Professor Lawson’s book willbe recognized as a major contribution towards that long overdue cognitive shift.

"Infuses the field of Quranic Studies with a breath of fresh air… The avenues of interpretation that the work opens up have the potential to occupy generations. Not only does Lawson’s contribution show how both Muslims and non-Muslims can participate meaningfully in reading the Quran, the work is a vivid reminder of a prophetic saying on the virtues of the Quran: its wonders will never cease, and scholars will never be satiated by its study."

‘What a pleasure it is to read the Quran through Todd Lawson’s eyes! In this rich and erudite study of the epic and apocalyptic aspects of the text, Lawson adopts and elucidates many of the habits of ancient readers, and the result is a greater appreciation for the Quran’s sweeping aesthetic, literary and spiritual grandeur. The Quran: Epic and Apocalypse is also invaluable for its deep engagement with recent…scholarship, and its venturesome analyses of minoritarian Muslim exegetical works. Like a thoughtful and generous conversation partner, Lawson asks interesting questions, avoids dogmatic scholarly or religious statements, and leaves us with a lot to think about.’