Examining the Role of the Torah in the Preferential Evaluation of Variant Qurʾānic Readings in the Narrative Passages

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Corresponding Author, Associate Professor of Quran and Hadith Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Vali Asr University of Rafsanjan

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to investigate the role of the Torah as one of the external contextual indicators (qarāʾin khārijiyyah) in the process of tarjīḥ (preferential evaluation) among variant Qurʾānic readings (wujūh al-qirāʾāt), particularly within the narrative passages (qaṣaṣ al-Qurʾān). The central research question concerns how the Torah’s narrative background may be utilized in assessing and selecting between competing readings.
Method: The research adopts a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative approach. The research population includes all instances of variant readings in the Qurʾānic narrative verses, from which purposive sampling was conducted. Data were collected through a comparative examination of the Qurʾānic text, authoritative exegetical works (tafsīr), classical manuals of qirāʾāt, and available translations of the Torah. The analytical procedure involved comparing variant readings with the Torah as an external textual indicator and evaluating the degree of congruence between each reading and the Torah’s narrative account.
Findings: The findings demonstrate that in eight instances of variant readings within Qurʾānic narratives, the Torah may function as a supporting indicator in preferring one reading over another:
In Qur'an 5:23 (“yakhāfūn / yukhāfūn”), the Torah supports the active form (yakhāfūn); In 11:81 (“imraʾatuka / imraʾatuki”), the Torah corroborates the nominative reading; In 11:81 (inclusion or omission of “wa lā yaltafit minkum aḥad”), the Torah confirms the ʿUthmānic codex reading; In 2:61 (“fūmihā / thūmihā”), the Torah strengthens the non-canonical reading thūmihā (“garlic”); In 2:61 (“miṣran / Miṣra”), the Torah supports the reading without tanwīn, treating “Miṣr” as a proper noun; In 2:31 (“ʿaraḍahum / ʿaraḍahā / ʿaraḍahunna”), the Torah favors the non-canonical feminine/non-rational pronoun forms; In 2:49 (“yudhabbiḥūn / yuqattilūn”), the Torah strengthens the reading yuqattilūn; In 12:100 (“lahu / li-llāh”), the Torah supports the well-known reading lahu.
Conclusion: The Torah may serve as a valid supplementary indicator alongside traditional criteria of tarjīḥ, such as conformity to the ʿUthmānic consonantal skeleton (rasm al-muṣḥaf), authenticity of transmission, and compliance with Arabic grammatical norms. Nevertheless, it does not independently determine the final preference; rather, the preferred reading is that which is supported by the cumulative weight of evidentiary indicators. This study opens a new avenue in qirāʾāt research and highlights the importance of engaging earlier scriptural traditions in Qurʾānic studies.

Keywords


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