The Qur'an is a text of extraordinary depth and complexity. In How the Qur'an Works, Leyla Ozgur Alhassen takes the reader on a journey through the Qur'an, moving from one verse to another, one story to another, focusing on narratological elements while conducting a close reading in order to understand particular Qur'anic stories and to show how the text's literary techniques enhance its theological agenda. She unpacks the text by focusing on Qur'anic narrative, and specifically, repetition in Qur'anic stories. Repetition is an important part of the Qur'an's literary technique. Ozgur Alhassen traces the use of repetition as a narrative device from the text's overall structure to individual letters. She compares different Qur'anic stories and explores the kinds of repetition that occur in them and what purposes they serve. Repetition, she shows, forges patterns, connections, and layers of meaning that develop, complicate, and comment on the Qur'an's messages.

"This careful study may change Qur'an readers' strategy: rather than think of stories repeated in the Qur'an as merely the same basic narrative, with different elements or wordings, the reader may approach the variants as keys to an unfolding understanding of the theological points being taught." - Choice

"Praise for author's previous work... The perspectives offered by the author benefit from a wealth of insights and originality." - Journal of the American Oriental Society

"This is an excellent book recommended for those who study the Qur'an, literature, religion and its interpretation." - Sasmi Selvia & Saepul Anwar, Religion