ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at different examples of literature in combination with a variety of theoretical reflections on the relationship between literature and sacred scripture, or language and the divine. The sense of responsibility is divorced from any commitment to the divine as defined by monotheistic discourse traditionally believed to be at the root of Islam. Fethi Benslama begins his analysis of the originary narratives of Islam in La Psychanalyse a l'epreuve de l'islam by making clear his personal feelings towards his religious heritage. The first foundational period of Islam took place in Mecca, whilst the second is associated with the city of Madina. The Meccan period was one of spiritual transformation, and the Quranic verses of that era, broadly speaking, differ both theologically and aesthetically from those of the later Madinan period. Michael Fischer and Mehdi Abedi broadly divide Quranic verses into the two categories of 'muhkam', and 'mutashabih'.
