Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Ph.D. Student of Quran and Orientalism, al-Mustafa International University And Member of the Quranic Association and Orientalists at the Seminary, Qom, Iran.
2
Full Professor and Faculty Member of the Quran and Hadith Higher Education Complex, Al-Mustafa International University, Qom.
3
Full Professor, Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute, Qom, Iran.
Abstract
The Enlightenment era and the emergence of the historical-critical approach to the Bible, along with the study of textual variations in the Old and New Testaments, provided a foundation for Orientalists in the 19th and 20th centuries to extend this perspective to the Qurān and introduce their critical approach as a novel process. This process began with source criticism, evolved into textual criticism, progressed to form criticism, and eventually developed into redaction criticism. This study, employing a descriptive-analytical method, examines the textual criticism of Qurānic manuscripts from the perspective of Keith Small in his book Textual Criticism and Qurān Manuscripts. The primary objective is to explore Small’s viewpoints and identify existing gaps in this field. Small, by analyzing aspects such as orthographic variations in early manuscripts, scribal errors, differences in diacritical markings, verse divisions, and the relationship between manuscripts and the texts recorded in Islamic literature, presents a significant evaluation of the early textual history of the Qurān and its complex challenges. While Small’s research benefits from precise methodology, reliance on primary sources, systematic classification of textual variations, and attention to the interaction between oral and written traditions, it faces several issues, including methodological bias, a lack of comprehensive textual and linguistic understanding of the Qurān, neglect of oral tradition, disregard for tawātur (mass transmission), inattention to qirāʾāt (recitation variants), and a limited focus on the historical context of Qurānic manuscripts. These shortcomings, despite his extensive efforts, may render his objectives in the textual criticism of Qurānic manuscripts insufficient or incomplete.
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