Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation# (London Oriental Series) [Hardcover]

John Wansbrough (Author)

Book Description

Series: London Oriental Series | Publication Date: June 1977

One of the most innovative thinkers in the field of Islamic Studies was John Wansbrough (1928-2002), affiliated throughout his career with London University's School of Oriental and African Studies. Critiquing the traditional accounts of the origins of the Quran (Koran) as historically unreliable and heavily influenced by religious dogma, Wansbrough suggested radically new interpretations very different from the views of both the Muslim orthodoxy and most Western scholars. He maintained that the entire corpus of early Islamic documentation should be interpreted as literature written in the service of religious faith, not as objective history describing events as they really happened. This new edition contains a valuable assessment of Wansbrough's contributions by Andrew Rippin (professor of history, University of Victoria) and many useful textual notes by Herbert Berg (associate professor of philosophy and religion, University of North Carolina at Wilmington).

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Many believe that the academic study of the Quran lags far behind the study of the Bible while being, as the same time, closely modeled after it. Not only are the relevant scholarly resources of the Quran less numerous than those available in biblical scholarship, but comparatively speaking the variety of methods employed to deal with the scriptural text has been severely limited. One of the first groundbreaking efforts in Islamic studies was made by John Wansbrough in his unique work QURANTIC STUDIES: SOURCES AND METHODS OF SCRIPTURAL INTERPRETATION. Written between 1968 and 1972, this revolutionary analysis had a profound effect on the study of Islam. It produced, in the minds of many, a wholly new dichotomy in the approach used in Islamic studies: on one side, the skeptical revisionists and on the other, the trusting traditionalists. Well ahead of his time, Wansbrough questions the very basis assumptions of previous scholars in a way that had never before been attempted. Working with the heritage of Joseph Schacht and Ignaz Goldziher before him, Wansbrough approached the Quran in a manner that sees the Muslim tradition as grounded in the dogmas of later centuries. Freed from these constraints, new questions relevant to contemporary scholars had to be asked.

Wansbrough was the first to analyze carefully the documents from the first four centuries of Islam that describe the rise of the Quran to the position of absolute authority in the Muslim community. Although these works were known to exist, no modern scholar had actually read them and tried to make coherent sense of the material. Wansbrough carved out new areas of inquiry and debate for scholars and lay enthusiasts alike.

QURANIC STUDIES deserves serious attention, as a stimulating work of scholarship. Its allusions to biblical and Arabian underpinnings have captured many people's attention and led to numerous exchanges and debates among scholars and others, especially regarding Wansbrough's claim that the Quran was not written down until the third-century hijri (ninth century CE), countering traditional Muslim claims that it originated in the time of Muhammad and was written down shortly thereafter. In response, some decried the publication of QURANIC STUDIES, seeing it as a major impediment to fostering a trust of nonsectarian scholarship among Muslims. Now readers can judge for themselves.

Although QURANIC STUDIES was originally intended for fellow scholars, the Internet has considerably widened its accessibility. Used as a source of authority and critical opinion on polemical sites by both Muslims and Christians, Wansbrough's work has gained a significant profile among professionals and nonprofessionals alike. Nonetheless, it appears that many who cite QURANIC STUDIES have not carefully read it. To counter such ideological and nonscholarly treatments of Wansbrough's ideas, noted Islamic scholar Andrew Rippin has enhanced the work with a valuable foreword, helpful text annotations, and a much-needed glossary to increase the utility of this seminal work for the many avid readers who desire to know more about Islam. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

JOHN WANSBROUGH (1928-2002) was professor of Semitic studies and pro-director of London University's School of Oriental and African Studies. He was also the author of THE SECTARIAN MILIEU (1978), LINGUA FRANCA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN (1996), and many scholarly articles. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: Oxford Univ Pr; First Edition edition (June 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0197135889
• ISBN-13: 978-0197135884
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,607,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unreadable, June 16, 2010

By 

D. Muller (Fairfax Station, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation (Hardcover)

Wansbrough is often mentioned as a pioneer in literary/textual criticism of the Koran. After reading a number of works on the origins and content of the Koran (by Ibn Warraq, Robert Spencer, and others), after reading the Koran itself several times, and after considerable time spent in literary/textual criticism of the Bible, I thought it was time to tackle Wansbrough. To my disappointment, however, I found his book quite unreadable. His English is obscure and laced with words that would stump a Scrabble champion. Then there are the hundreds of passages or terms in the original Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Greek, and German. Perhaps there is merit buried in this tome, but it might as well have been written in cuneiform.

22 of 96 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mistake in the Koran?, March 10, 2006

By 

The Champ - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation (Hardcover)

One of the questions which puzzled the ancient Arabs was, "Where did the sun go when night time came?" The Qur'an gave them Allah's answer.

He [i.e. Zul-qarnain] followed, until he reached the setting of the sun. He found it set in a spring of murky water.
(Surah XVIII ( Kahf) vs. 85-86)

We agree with Muslim scholars that Zul-qarnain refers to Alexander the Great (see Yusuf Ali's appendix on this subject in his translation of the Qur'an). According to this surah, Alexander the Great traveled west until he found out what happened to the sun. It went down into and under the murky waters of a pond. When it was completely covered by the water, darkness fell upon the earth.

To the early Muslims, this surah gave the divine answer as to why darkness fell when the sun set in the West. They assumed that the sun, like the moon, was the size perceived by the human eye, about the size of a basketball. Darkness came when with a mighty hissing roar it went down under the dark waters of a pond. They boldly and proudly proclaimed that this marvelous answer proved that the Qur'an was indeed the Word of God.

Today, modern Muslims are quite embarrassed by this passage and try to ignore it or to quickly dismiss it as poetry. But the passage is not part of a poem. Thus it cannot be dismissed as figurative language or poetic license. In the context, it is part of a historical narrative which relates several historical incidences in the life of Alexander the Great.

The mistake was based on the erroneous assumption that the earth was flat. The authors of the Qur'an did not know that the earth was a sphere which revolved around the sun.