Variations on a Theme by Muḥammad: Did Literacy Supersede the Orality of the Qurʾān?
Abstract This essay explores the tense relationship between the oral and written transmissions in the history of the Qurʾān. While Muslim scholars consider “orality” to be the cornerstone in the process of transmitting their holy text, I argue that writing, in its various forms, was a crucial elemen...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
Dead Sea discoveries
Year: 2022, Volume: 29, Issue: 3, Pages: 388-409 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Didactics
/ Poetics
/ Codex
/ Consonant
/ Text organisation
/ Canon
/ Literalness
/ Oral tradition
/ Literature
/ Text
/ Corruption
/ Text variant
/ Variante
/ Koran
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| IxTheo Classification: | BJ Islam |
| Further subjects: | B
Qirāʾāt
B non-canonical readings B textual corruption B consonantal outline (rasm) B Canonization B written transmission B Qurʾān B al-shāṭibiyya B Didactic Poetry B Oral transmission B variant readings B Codices |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Abstract This essay explores the tense relationship between the oral and written transmissions in the history of the Qurʾān. While Muslim scholars consider “orality” to be the cornerstone in the process of transmitting their holy text, I argue that writing, in its various forms, was a crucial element in transmitting and validating the Qurʾān. Orality was also an important component in this process of transmission but it also played a theological role in establishing the superiority of the Qurʾān over the Bible. Indeed, the written transmission of the Qurʾān might have been more authoritative than its oral counterpart, which was/is mainly used as an argumentative device to establish the integrity of the text rather than to establish the text itself. |
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| ISSN: | 1568-5179 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Dead Sea discoveries
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15685179-02903006 |