In search of the original Koran : the true history of the revealed text
Sfar, Mondher2008
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Review: "In this controversial and engaging survey of the origins of Islam, here translated for the first time in English, historian Mondher Sfar charges that there is no historical or even theological basis for the orthodox view that Muhammad or his earliest followers intended the Koran to be treated as the inviolable word of God. On the contrary, the evidence suggests that the Prophet and his disciples did not take a literalist view of the Koranic text. Sfar traces the origins of the book through scholarly interpretations, histories, and religious texts; analyzes the linguistic ambiguities and cultural errors in the Koran and in related literature; and carefully scrutinizes the doctrinal claims that orthodox Muslims herald as articles of divine truth from God. From this, Sfar conclusively shows that the Koran as we know it today is wholly a work of fallible human beings."--BOOK JACKET.
Main title:
In search of the original Koran : the true history of the revealed text / Mondher Sfar ; translated by Emilia Lanier.
Author:
Imprint:
Amherst, N.Y. : Prometheus Books, 2008.
Collation:
152 pages ; 24 cm.
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-133) and index.
Contents:
The Koran is not the original one -- Transmission of meaning -- The theory of variants -- The variants of the Koran -- From variation to manipulation -- The Satanic revelations -- By the Prophet's side -- Other ambiguities of the mode of revelation -- The whole revelation? -- Lost or unretained texts -- Two brief prayers removed from the Koran -- On interpolation -- The components of the Koran -- The verses: a late invention -- The surahs -- The preambles -- The mysterious letters -- The division of surahs -- The Basmala and al-Rah̲mân -- The titles of surahs -- Writings of the Koran -- The difficulties of the writing -- The myth of "Uthmân" -- The manuscript of Samarkand -- The myth of authenticity -- The scribal function -- Stereotypes and phraseology -- The practice of recomposition -- Al-Qurʼân, a scribal work -- Myths and prejudices -- The myth of originality -- From the kitâb to the Qurʼân -- The myth of the collection -- The myth of perfect transmission -- The myth of inimitability -- Authenticity of the wah̲y -- Conclusion -- Appendix: the solar eclipse on January 27th, 632 CE -- The sole scientific date -- A great enigma -- A conjugal psychodrama -- The eclipse and the farewell pilgrimage.
ISBN:
9781591025214
Dewey class:
297.1
Language:
EnglishFrench
Subject:
BRN:
356009
More Information:
| Location | Collection | Call number | Status/Desc |
|---|---|---|---|
| Penrith | Nonfiction | 297.1 INS | Available |