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The History of the Text • A History told by Muslims• Revealed Piecemeal from 610-632• Compilation
– Written down or memorized by Muslims during the lifetime of Muhammad
– 632 Abu Bakr orders a comprehensive copy made, held by Hafsa, daughter of ‘Umar
– ‘Uthmanic text: disagreements lead ‘Uthman to order one consonantal text in 650 (on camel parchment). Oldest full test of Quran comes from the mid 900’s
• An Oral Text/ the Arabic Script: – Consonants not dotted example– Consonants not vowelled example– At least 10 well-known ‘readings’ of the Quran
Other Theories?
• Archaic Material, Later Compilation: the Quran addresses Near Eastern audience, so is it from the post-conquest period… but how did it escape the civil wars?
Quran as a Book• Types of material:
– Hortatory/didactic: believe, do good deeds, fear God, beware the Day of Judgment, obey God and his Prophet
– Narrative: tales of Moses, Abraham, Noah, Salih– Predictive/Eschatological: fate of believers and
unbelievers, creation and end of the world– Polemical: claims of Muhammad’s opponents, the
failings of the ‘People of the Book’– Doctrinal: the nature of God– Legal: less than 500 verses deal with law and ritual
• Structure of Quran:– Not a continuous narrative– Contextual ‘azbab al-nuzul = occasions of revelation’– Ellipticalism: assumes audience knowledge – Person: God as beyond language… ‘He’, ‘I’ ‘We’ and ‘God’
• Good for all time?
Themes
•Tawhid: worship of God alone Vs. Shirk: assigning partners to God ex.
•Knowledge (‘ilm) vs. Speculation ex.
•History and Nature testify to the Message ex.
Quran as Source
• The Quran is the “first source (al-asl al-awwal)” of Islamic law and dogma.
• A Genre of Quranic Exegesis: Tafseer
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