Contents
Guide
Karim Samji
The Qurn
Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East
Edited by
Stefan Heidemann, Gottfried Hagen,
Andreas Kaplony and Rudi Matthee
Volume 32
ISBN 978-3-11-057545-3
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-058088-4
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-058004-4
ISSN 2198-0853
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress.
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
www.degruyter.com
Our understanding of scripture must be the historical one.
Hermann Gunkel
Abbreviations
ABD | Anchor Bible Dictionary (ed. Freedman) |
AcOr | Acta Orientalia |
BBR | Bulletin for Biblical Research |
BCQ | ACommentary on the Qur n (Bell) |
BIQ | Introduction to the Qur n . 1 st ed. (Bell) |
BIQ | Bell s Introduction to the Qur n . Rev. ed. (Bell/Watt) |
BQA | The Qur n . Annotations (Bell) |
BSMESB | British Society for Middle Eastern Studies Bulletin |
BSOAS | Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |
CBQ | The Catholic Biblical Quarterly |
CQ | A Concordance of the Qur n (Kassis) |
ChrW | Die christliche Welt |
DBI | Dictionary of Biblical Imagery |
DJG | Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels |
DLW | Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship |
DOTWPW | Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings |
EAC | Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity |
EB | Encyclopaedia Britannica . 9 th ed. |
EI | Encyclopaedia of Islam . 1 st ed. |
EI | Encyclopaedia of Islam . 2 nd ed. |
EQ | Encyclopaedia of the Qur n |
ER | Encyclopedia of Religion . 2 nd ed. |
EinlPs | Einleitung in die Psalmen . 4 th ed. (Gunkel/Begrich) |
ExpTim | The Expository Times |
FOTL | The Forms of the Old Testament Literature (ed. Knierim/Tucker) |
GdQ | Geschichte des Qor ns . 2 nd ed. (Nldeke/Schwally) |
HZ | Historische Zeitschrift |
IJMES | International Journal of Middle East Studies |
Isl . | Der Islam |
JAAC | Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism |
JAAR | Journal of the American Academy of Religion |
JAOS | Journal of the American Oriental Society |
JBL | Journal of Biblical Literature |
JETS | Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society |
JSS | Journal of Semitic Studies |
JQA | The Qur n . Annotations (Jones) |
JQS | Journal of Qur nic Studies |
JRAS | The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |
KU | Koranische Untersuchungen (Horovitz) |
Komm | Der Koran: Kommentar und Konkordanz (Paret) |
MIO | Mitteilungen des Instituts fu r Orientforschung |
MLR | The Modern Language Review |
MSOS | Mitteilungen des Seminars fr orientalische Sprachen |
MTSR | Method & Theory in the Study of Religion |
MThZ | Mnchener Theologische Zeitschrift |
MW | The Muslim World |
NIB | The New Interpreter s Bible |
NIDB | The New Interpreter s Dictionary of the Bible |
OCA | Orientalia Christiana Analecta |
OEBI | Oxford Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation |
P&L | Philosophy and Literature |
Q | al-Qur n al-kar m . Egyptian ed. |
QS | Qur nic Studies (Wansbrough) |
QSC | The Qur n: Style and Contents (ed. Rippin) |
RGG | Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart . 1 st ed. |
RGG | Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart . 2 nd ed. |
R&L | Religion and Literature |
SI | Studia Islamica |
SKMS | Studien zur Komposition der mekkanischen Suren . 2 nd ed. (Neuwirth) |
SM | Studia Missionalia |
SPMC | Scripture, Poetry and the Making of a Community (Neuwirth) |
STCL | Studies in 20 th Century Literature |
TAPA | Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association |
TDOT | Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament |
ThLZ | Theologische Literaturzeitung |
ThR | Theologische Rundschau |
VT | Vetus Testamentum |
WMS | Wesley and Methodist Studies |
WZKM | Wiener Zeitschrift fr die Kunde des Morgenlandes |
ZAW | Zeitschrift fr die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft |
ZThK | Zeitschrift fr Theologie und Kirche |
Acknowledgment
The English translation of Qurnic verses referenced in this volume principally follows The Qur n , translated by Alan Jones. Copyright 2007 by Gibb Memorial Trust. Reproduced by permission.
Chapter 1:Method
1.1 Introduction
The present monograph examines the constructive application of genre criticism to the corpus coranicum .
Turning to the critique of the eponymous Wellhausen school, Gunkel opens with a simple disclaimer: Wellhausen is above reproach. :
One could say that Gunkel blazed new paths in every field in which he worked, and in many cases methodologically broke new ground. Against a generation that had been represented by Wellhausen, he led scholarship to a completely altered outlook, especially in Old Testament research.
In sum, James Muilenburg (d. 1974) emphasizes, the first and most obvious achievement of genre criticism is that it supplied a much-needed corrective to literary and historical criticism.
1.2 Critical Approaches
Reception Criticism
In Theodor Nldekes summative article The Koran (1891), commentaries (sing. tafsr ) stand alongside scripture.
Then again, Mustansir Mir attests, most of them are, in respect of their orientation, premises, and structure, works of theology rather than of literary criticism.
Form Criticism
In terms of theory, Wansbroughs work represents a watershed in the discipline. As Neuwirth explains in a striking image, the publication of Qur nic Studies
First of all, Gunkel expressed strong reservations about the designation itself.