Stewart graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. inNear Eastern studies fromPrinceton University in 1984 after completing a 143-page long senior thesis titled "Three Wise Men: The Safawi Religious Institution 1576 - 1629."[6] He completed the Center for Arabic Study Abroad's program at theAmerican University in Cairo, and then earned hisPhD with distinction in Arabic and Islamic studies at theUniversity of Pennsylvania six years later.[2][7]
Stewart has taught Arabic studies, Islamic studies andMiddle Eastern studies at the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies atEmory University since 1990. He also serves on the editorial board for theLibrary of Arabic Literature.[2][8] He is one of the senior editors of the Encyclopedia of Islam.
Much of Stewart's work has focused on the reconstruction of early Muslim legal theory based on ancient texts. He has also called attention to infrequently studied genres of Arabic literature such asMaqama.[9]
Stewart, Devin (2006). "Rhymed Prose".Encyclopaedia Of The Quran Vol 4. Brill. pp. 476–484.
Stewart, Devin (2006b). "Soothsayer".Encyclopaedia Of The Quran Vol 5. Brill. pp. 78–80.
Stewart, Devin (2007). "The Structure of the Fihrist: Ibn al-Nadim as Historian of Islamic Legal and Theological Schools".International Journal of Middle East Studies.39 (3):369–387.doi:10.1017/S0020743807070511.JSTOR30069526.S2CID161910065.
Stewart, Devin (2011). "The mysterious letterrs and other formal features of the Qurʾān in light of Greek and Babylonian oracular texts". In Reynolds, Gabriel Said (ed.).New Perspectives on the Qurʾān: The Qurʾān in its historical context 2. Routledge. pp. 323–348.
Stewart, Devin (2017). "Reflections on the State of the Art in Western Qurʾanic Studies". In Bakhos, Carol; Cook, Michael (eds.).Islam and Its Past: Jahiliyya, Late Antiquity, and the Qurʾan. Oxford University Press. pp. 4–68.
