The work of a well-known authority on the life of Muhammad and the origins of Islam, this Companion to the Qur'an is an essential tool to help readers gain a fuller understanding of one of the world's most important religious texts. The verse-by-verse Companion gives background information on Muslim beliefs and explains allusions that may puzzle readers unfamiliar with the culture of Islam; it discusses the ideas and expressions that are specific to Muslim thinking, and reviews the main variants in interpretation of Qur'anic texts. With notes based on Islamic sources, Professor Montgomery Watt's authoritative study offers valuable clarification for all scholars of Islam as well as for the general reader.