SCRIPTURE MATTERS:THE QUR’AN IN HISTORY AND

CONTEXTMohamed Imran Mohamed Taib

“…civilisation of the Book………..”

“It is He Who sent down to you (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong).”

– Qur’an. 3:3

“We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption).”

– Qur’an 15:9

The Qur’an as miracle (ijaz al-Qur’an)

“Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said “Every prophet was given miracles because of which people believed but what I have been given is divine inspiration which Allah has revealed to me…” (Bukhari, VI, no.. 504)

“If you are in doubt as to what We have revealed from time to time to Our servant, then produce a sura like thereunto and call your witnesses or helpers besides God…” (Q.2:23)

Lauh al-mahfuz / ummul kitab

mushaf / compiled text

Auditory experience+

memorisation / oral transmission

Proc

ess

of

Reve

lati

on

Source of guidance(post-Prophetic / Companion)

To receive the message by

hearing or reading it

To understand the message by

reflecting and studying it

To apply the message by ordering personal and

societal life according to the message

tem

pora

l

Kalamullah / speech of God

aras

y

“with Him is the Mother of the Book” (Q. 13:39)

c.633 – Abu Bakr/Zaid b. Thabit

= suhuf

c.653 – Uthman’s mushaf(Mecca, Medina, Damascus, Kufa,

Basra)

What is the Qur’an ?

114 sura (chapters), 6000+ verses

qara’a / to read, reciteQ.75:18, 17:46; 17:82

Qur’an (verbal noun) = reading, reciting

qara’a / criterion (Q. 25:1)tanzil / sent down (Q. 26:192)

dhikir / reminder (Q. 15:9)kitab / scripture (Q. 21:10)

“Narrated Qatada: I asked Anas bin Malik: Who

collected the Qur’an at the time of the Prophet? He replied, Four, all of who,

were from the Ansar: Ubai bin Ka’ab, Mu’adh bin Jabal,

Zaid bin Thabit and Abu Zaid.”

– Bukhari, VI, no. 525

Sciences of the Qur’an

Chronology matters: Meccan (85 verses) & Medinan (29 verses)

asbab al-nuzul / reason, cause of revelation * in responses to an event or

general situation * in response to particular

question * others reasons known or

unknown

al-nasikh wa al-mansukh/ the abrogating and the abrogated* Qur’an abrogates Qur’an* Qur’an abrogates sunna

al-qira’a / variant readings

Sciences of the Qur’an

Explaining outer meaning (tafsir) & inner meaning (takwil)

Types of Exegesis: * tafsir bi-l-riwaya / ma’thur (by

transmission) * tafsir bi-l-ray’ (by opinion) / bi-l-

diraya (knowledge) * tafsir bi-l-ishara (by indication, sign)

Tafsir / Exegesis

Q. explains Q.P. explains Q.C. explains Q.T. explains Q.

Other sciences (e.g. hadith, seerah, new sciences?)

Contemporary Period

decline of Muslim civilisation& aftermath of colonisation

return to the Qur’an and sunnah

loss of a tradition?

atomistic and anachronistic use of the Qur’an

Modern Tafsir

Abul Kalam Azad (d. 1948)

Syed Ahmad Khan (d. 1898) Abul Ala Mawdudi (d. 1979)

Abul Kalam Azad (d. 1966)

New Approaches

Mahmoud Mohamed Taha (d. 1985) - second message of the Qur’an

Fazlur Rahman (d. 1988) - double movement theory- thematic approach

New Approaches

Nasr Hamid Abu-Zayd (d. 2010) - literary approach- Qur’an as discourse

Amina Wadud - tauhidic approach for gender equality

New Approaches

Muhammad Shahrur - theory of limit

Mohammed Arkoun (d. 2010)- deconstructing the Qur’an- semiotics

Thank You