Adams, Charles C. Islam and Modernism in Egypt: A Study of the Modern Reform Movement Inaugurated by Muhammad 'Abduh. New York: Russell & Russell, 1933, 283 p.

Several sections of this book offer a detailed analysis of the modernist Abudh's beliefs and the Koranic basis for his reform efforts.

Gatje, Helmut. The Qur'an and its Exegesis: Selected Texts with Classical and Modern Muslim Interpretations, edited by Alfred T. Welch, University of California Press, 1976.

Traces the history of the compilation and Muslim interpretation of the Koran through a selection of essays.

Hourani, Albert. Arabic Thought in the Liberal Age: 1798-1939. London: Oxford University Press, 1962, 403 p.

This volume offers several chapters focusing on Islam and such modernists as Muhammad 'Abduh and Rashîd Ridâ.

Lippman, Thomas W. "The Koran." In Understanding Islam: An Introduction to the Muslim World. Meridian, 1982, pp. 56-69.

Explains the nature of the Koran as God's divine revelation to Muhammad and emphasizes its difference from the Bible.

Pickthall, Marmaduke. An Introduction to The Meaning of the Glorious Koran: An Explanatory Translation, pp. 1-19. London: George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., 1930.

The introduction to this translation discusses Muhammad's life in detail, emphasizing his role as a political and religious leader. The translation is said to be the version English-speaking Muslims prefer.

Maxime Rodinson. Mohammed, translated by Anne Carter. Pantheon Books, 1971.

Discusses the traditional beliefs about how Muhammad came to receive and share the Koran and examines various literary claims about the work.

Watt, W. Montgomery. "The Call to Prophethood," in Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman, pp. 13-55. London: Oxford University Press, 1961.

Examines Muhammad's role as God's messenger, and includes discussion of Muhammad's earliest contact with the angel and the first messages of the Koran; the Prophet's first followers; the influence of other religions on his teachings; and the social impact of his ideas.