Theory, the Qurʾān and Qurʾānic Studies

The field of western Qurʾānic Studies has never been as vibrant as it is today. More people, more departments, more funding and, as a result, more well-grounded research into this religious text is seeing the light of day. In line with the overall aim of this volume, however, we still only find a few theoretically based approaches to the Qurʾān within this field. Perhaps Qurʾānic Studies can be considered somewhat ‘traditional’ in this regard, focused on the classical textual methods of study. There are many reasons for this state of affairs. First, although western Qurʾānic Studies have existed since the nineteenth century (originally breaking out from the historical–critical study of the Bible), the comparison between this field and Biblical Studies is unfair. Considering the difference in (again) numbers of people, departments and funding, Qurʾānic Studies remains and will probably continue to remain a much smaller field. As such, there is still a vast amount of primary research to be done compared with studies of the Bible. Other reasons perhaps include a lack of access to the rich and massive traditional Islamic literature, as well as a general (and sometimes reasonable) concern about using this material. There is no doubt that a confessional outlook prevails in the majority of works studying the Qurʾān from within this tradition. But we could also ask, as many others have done before me: where would studies of Christianity be if Christian sources on the earliest days of the religion were completely disregarded? The Muslim exegetical literature is an immense source of philological and literary insights that will not be ignored in this study. A third reason may relate to the approach to theory and applying theoretical frameworks in general. Here, I call for an understanding of theory not as something necessarily resulting in facts or truths, but rather as a way of offering hypotheses that can and should be repeatedly evaluated based on their probability and consistency.

In this chapter, I will not demonstrate a non-textual approach or method. Rather, I advocate for a close, synchronic reading of the Qurʾānic text, albeit a reading supplemented by a theoretical perspective. In this way, the chapter complies with the textual focus of current Qurʾānic Studies, seeing as the synchronic part of the study may stand alone.