Qur’anic verses contain the most powerful, prophetic and revelatory passages in religious history. They offer the vision of a meaningful and just life that anchors the religion of one-fifth of the world’s inhabitants. How then do we explain the misuse of texts to validate wanton violence and abhorrent views? In this session we examine Qur’anic legal hermeneutics to explore various competing notions of literal meaning, linked to both theological and historical developments, together with insights