The Quran in Context : historical and literary investigations (Texts and Studies on the Qur'an)

Although recent scholarship has increasingly situated the Qur'ān in the historical context of Late Antiquity, such a perspective is only rarely accompanied by the kind of microstructural literary analysis routinely applied to the Bible. The present volume seeks to redress this lack of contact between literary and historical studies. Contributions to the first part of the volume address various general aspects of the Qur'an's political, economic, linguistic, and cultural context, while the second part contains a number of close readings of specific Qur'ānic passages in the light of Judeo-Christian tradition and ancient Arabic poetry, as well as discussions of the Qur'ān's internal chronology and transmission history. Throughout, special emphasis is given to methodological questions. Contents......Page 6 Introduction (Nicolai Sinai and Angelika Neuwirth)......Page 10 Part One: The Qur’an's Historical Context......Page 34 The Martyrs of najrān and the end of the Himyar: on the Political History of south Arabia in the early sixth Century (Norbert Nebes)......Page 36 Arabia in Late Antiquity: An outline of the Cultural situation in the Peninsula at the time of Muhammad (Barbara Finster)......Page 70 Mecca on the Caravan Routes in Pre-Islamic Antiquity (Mikhail D. Bukharin)......Page 124 Early Islam in the Light of Christian and Jewish sources (Harald Suermann)......Page 144 The evolving Representation of the early Islamic empire and its Religion on Coin Imagery (Stefan Heidemann)......Page 158 Arabo-Aramaic and 'Arabiyya: From Ancient Arabic to early standard Arabic, 200 CE–600 CE (Ernst Axel Knauf)......Page 206 Literacy in Pre-Islamic Arabia: An Analysis of the epigraphic evidence (Peter Stein)......Page 264 Arabs and Arabic in the Age of the Prophet (Jan Retsö)......Page 290 Sources for the History of Pre-Islamic Religion (Tilman Seidensticker)......Page 302 The 'Ibād of al-Hīra: An Arab Christian Community in Late Antique Iraq (Isabel Toral-Niehoff)......Page 332 An early Christian Arabic Account of the Creation of the World (Kirill Dmitriev)......Page 358 The Qur'an and the Prophet's Poet: two Poems by Ka'b b. Mālik (Agnes Imhof)......Page 398 Part Two: Contextualizing the Qur’an......Page 414 The Qur'an as Process (Nicolai Sinai)......Page 416 Quantitative text Analysis and Its Application to the Qur’an: some Preliminary Considerations (Nora K. Schmid)......Page 450 Al-AHawāmīm: Intertextuality and Coherence in Meccan surahs (Islam Dayeh)......Page 470 The House of Abraham and the House of Amram: Genealogy, Patriarchal Authority, and exegetical Professionalism (Angelika Neuwirth)......Page 508 Glimpses of a Mariology in the Qur’an: From Hagiography to Theology via Religious-Political Debate (Michael Marx)......Page 542 The "Seal of the Prophets": towards an Understanding of Muhammad's Prophethood (Hartmut Bobzin)......Page 574 Reading the Qur’an as Homily: The Case of Sarah's Laughter (Gabriel Said Reynolds)......Page 594 The Qur’anic Commandment of Writing Down Loan Agreements (Q 2:282)—Perspectives of a Comparison with Rabbinical Law (Reimund Leicht)......Page 602 Islam in its Arabian Context (François de Blois)......Page 624 Lost in Philology? The Virgins of Paradise and the Luxenberg Hypothesis (Stefan Wild)......Page 634 The Etymological Fallacy and Qur’anic Studies: Muhammad, Paradise, and Late Antiquity (Walid A. Saleh)......Page 658 The Relevance of Early Arabic Poetry for Qur’anic Studies Including observations on Kull and on Q 22:27, 26:225, and 52:31 (Thomas Bauer)......Page 708 Qur’anic Readings of the Psalms (Angelika Neuwirth)......Page 742 The Codification of the Qur'an: A Comment on the Hypotheses of Burton and Wansbrough (Gregor Schoeler)......Page 788 The second Maşāhif Project: A Step Towards the Canonization of the Qur'anic text (Omar Hamdan)......Page 804 List of Contributors......Page 846 Index of Qur'anic References ......Page 852 Index of References to Biblical, Jewish, and Christian Sources ......Page 863 Index of Names (persons, tribal groups, places, and buildings) ......Page 865 Index of Subjects ......Page 871 Introduction / Nicolai Sinai, Angelika Neuwirth -- The Martyrs Of Najrān And The End Of The Himyar : On The Political History Of South Arabia In The Early Sixth Century / Norbert Nebes -- Arabia In Late Antiquity : An Outline Of The Cultural Situation In The Peninsula At The Time Of Muhammad / Barbara Finster ; [translated By Laurent Faasch-ibrahim] -- Mecca On The Caravan Routes In Pre-islamic Antiquity / Mikhail D. Bukharin -- Early Islam In The Light Of Christian And Jewish Sources / Harald Suermann -- The Evolving Representation Of The Early Islamic Empire And Its Religion On Coin Imagery / Stefan Heidemann -- Arabo-aramaic And 'arabiyya : From Ancient Arabic To Early Standard Arabic, 200 Ce-600 Ce / Ernst Axel Knauf -- Literacy In Pre-islamic Arabia : An Analysis Of The Epigraphic Evidence / Peter Stein -- Arabs And Arabic In The Age Of The Prophet / Jan Retsö -- Sources For The History Of Pre-islamic Religion / Tilman Seidensticker -- The 'ibād Of Al-Ḥīra : An Arab Christian Community In Late Antique Iraq / Isabel Toral-niehoff -- An Early Christian Arabic Account Of The Creation Of The World / Kirill Dmitriev -- The Qur'an And The Prophet's Poet : Two Poems By Ka'b B. Mālik / Agnes Imhof. The Qur'an As Process / Nicolai Sinai -- Quantitative Text Analysis And Its Application To The Qur'an : Some Preliminary Considerations / Nora K. Schmid -- Al-Ḥawāmīm : Intertextuality And Coherence In Meccan Surahs / Islam Dayeh -- The House Of Abraham And The House Of Amram : Genealogy, Patriarchal Authority, And Exegetical Professionalism / Angelika Neuwirth -- Glimpses Of The Mariology In The Qur'an : From Hagiography To Theology Via Religious-political Debate / Michael Marx -- The Seal Of The Prophets : Towards An Understanding Of Muhammad's Prophethood / Hartmut Bobzin -- Reading The Qur'an As Homily : The Case Of Sarah's Laughter / Gabriel Said Reynolds -- The Qur'anic Commandment Of Writing Down Loan Agreements (q 2:282) - Perspectives Of A Comparision Babbinical Law / Reimund Leicht -- Islam In Its Arabian Context / François De Blois -- Lost In Philology? The Virgins Of Paradise And The Luxenberg Hypothesis / Stefan Wild -- The Etymological Fallacy And Quar'anic Studies : Muhammad, Paradise, And Late Antiquity / Walid A. Saleh -- The Relevance Of Early Arabic Poetry For Qur'anic Studies Including Observations On Kull And On Q22:27, 26:225, And 52:31 / Thomas Bauer -- Qur'anic Readings Of The Psalms / Angelika Neuwirth -- The Codification Of The Qur'an : A Comment On The Hypotheses Of Burton And Wansbrough / Gregor Schoeler -- The Second Maṣāhif Project : A Step Towards The Canonization Of The Qur'anic Text / Omar Hamdan. Edited By Angelika Neuwirth, Nicolai Sinai, Michael Marx. This Volume Has Emerged From The Conference 'historische Sondierungen Und Methodische Reflexionen Zur Korangenese: Wege Zur Rekonstruktion Des Vorkanonischen Koran' January 2004, Berlin--t.p. Verso. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Text In English, Some Passages In Arabic Or Syriac. One Article In English Translated From German. By addressing various aspects of the Qur'an's linguistic and historical context and offering close readings of selected passages in the light of Jewish, Christian, and ancient Arabic literature, the volume seeks to stimulate a new interaction between literary and historical scholarship.