History of the Qur'an: Approaches and Explorations

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The Qur'n is the sacred religious book of Muslims around the world. Yet its history, from its inception in seventh- century Arabia to its transmission in the modern world, remains understudied. The twelve chapters in this book address this lacuna by examining multifaceted stages in the Qur'n's history and transmission through a broad range of methodological and theoretical approaches. The volume examines the earliest material evidence of the Qur'n through its manuscript tradition and explores their content and form. This includes a focus on the Qur'n's unique orthography and insights into the Sanaa manuscripts.

Additionally, this work provides new insights by broaching upon critical moments in the Qur'n's history, such as the codification of Abu Bakr. A crucial component of the book deals with approaches to the variant readings of the Qur'n, understood as being sanctioned through narrations on the a'ruf. It explores fresh insights into how Muslim scholars theorised such variances and the way they related them to the qira't, including how they approached the variant codices of prominent companions.

Furthermore, this work explores understudied non-Qur'nic transmissions of the Qur'n alongside the historical development of Qur'n translations. This volume greatly advances the field of Qur'nic studies and Qur'nic history and will be of great interest to scholars and students alike.

Author Bio

Dr F. Redhwan Karim is a Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, as well as the Course Leader for the B.A Islamic Studies program. He completed his PhD under Professor M.A.S Abdel Haleem at SOAS, University of London. His thesis examined the concept of gender relations in the Qur'an. Prior to this, he obtained an M.A in Islamic Studies and a B.A in Arabic and Islamic Studies. He has also studied at various capacities in Egypt, Jordan, and Oman. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.