First-Century Sources for the Life of Muhammad? A Debate

This article proposes to interpret Surah 97 based on research undertaken in the framework of the Corpus Coranicum, project. The first part scrutinizes Christopn LUXENBERG'S seriously flawed argument that Surah 97 can be understood as a Qur'anic hymn on the Nativity of Jesus if some of its key expressions are read against the semantic background of Syriac, while the remainder of the article endeavours to develop a more tenable understanding of the text. This involves an attempt to date Surah 97 relative to other Qur'anic texts and to detect possible additions to it. In addition, the article discusses the meaning and reference of its most central term, laylat al-qadr. Finally special attention is given to the question whether the text might not, in spite of the circularity of LUXENBERG'S reading, contain implicit references to the Nativity. © Walter de Gruyter 2012

Tilman Nagels Kritik an der Isnad-cum-matn-Analyse. Eine Replik

In a recent issue of Arabica, Tilman Nagel published a fundamental critique of the isnād-cum-matn analysis. He claims that the method is a formalistic procedure that is incapable of producing any relevant results with regard to the life of Muḥammad and that is to be regarded as a step backwards in the study of the historical Muḥammad. He also criticises the proponents of this method – most notably Gregor Schoeler and Harald Motzki – and accuses them of methodological flaws and scholarly naïveté. In particular, he argues that the proponents of this method wrongly claim that it allows the identification of ‘authentic’ traditions about the life of Muḥammad. The following article offers a critical review of Nagel's arguments. It shows that Nagel's criticism is fraught with misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the works he discusses and that his accusations are thus unwarranted and untenable. The article also explains what the isnād-cum-matn analysis actually is and how it can be used for dating traditions, which is – in contrast to Nagel's claims – the method's primary objective

Al-Ṭabarī and the Dynamics of tafsīr: Theological Dimensions of a Legacy.

The Jāmiʿ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl ayy al-Qurʾān is fittingly recognised as representing an important milestone in the history of the discipline of tafsīr: within the work, al-Ṭabarī accomplished a uniquely comprehensive exegetical synthesis of literary, grammatical, legal and theological elements, bringing a broader sense of definition and purpose to the discipline of tafsīr. Among the characteristic features of the scholarship of al-Ṭabarī are the objectivity and consistency he brought to his work and such qualities resonate in his gauging of theological issues and topics. While it has been customary to view al-Ṭabarī’s theology as being strictly informed by a rigidly traditionalist methodology, a circumspect review of theological discussions in the tafsīr reveals not only the author’s accomplished marshalling of the attendant arguments and theses, but also the spirit of autonomy and resourcefulness with which he assesses points of doctrine and dogma. In this article an attempt is made to analyse aspects of the intertwined theological discourses of the tafsīr and related treatises, bridging them with materials articulated in the biographical sources. The aim is to explore the relationship between his approach to scholarship along with the standpoints to which he adhered and their impact upon attitudes towards his remarkable work and legacy. Key words: Tafsīr; Islamic theology; al-Ṭabarī; istiwāʾ; ism and musammā; Arabic grammarians; classical Arabic biograph

The jurisprudence of Ibn Sih¯ab az-Zuhr¯i : a source-critical study

Contains fulltext : 18956_juriofibs.pdf ( ) (Open Access)According to the view current among Western scholars of Islam, the number of reliable legal traditions going back to Ibn Shihab az-Zuhri is very small. This view has been challenged in this article. A source-critical study of the early sources now available shows that the number of texts that can be attributed to al-Zuhri is much larger than usually thought. On the basis of the numerous legal texts that al-Zuhi's students transmitted in their compilations, a detailed picture of his jurisprudence can be drawn. But what is more, the state of development which Islamic jurisprudence had reached in the first quarter of the second century A.H. can be reconstructed, and partly even the preliminary stages of the first century56 p

Methoden zur Datierung von islamischen Überlieferungen

Contains fulltext : 18947_methzudav.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)The historical study of Islam aims at reconstructing Islamic history and culture. Scholars need sources from the past for this task. Direct sources going back to the period when Islam started are scarcely available. We have mostly traditions preserved in later written collections. The historical reliability of these traditions is not certain because it is possible, sometimes even demonstrable, that religious and political developments have coloured or even produced these traditions. In order to be able to say something on the Islam and the Islamic history during the first two centuries AH at all, scholars of Islam must establish the historical reliability of the sources. Dating them is the foremost step to reach that goal. The lecture reviews four dating methods most currently used in western studies of early Islam and discusses their strong and weak points23 p

Analysing Muslim Traditions

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Analysing Muslim traditions : studies in legal, exegetical and Maghazi hadith

Since its inception, the study of Ḥadīth conducted by scholars trained in the Western academic tradition has been marked by sharp methodological debates. A focal issue is the origin and development of traditions on the advent of Islam. Scholars' verdicts on these traditions have ranged from "late fabrications without any historical value for the time concerning which the narrations purport to give information" to "early, accurately transmitted texts that allow one to reconstruct Islamic origins". Starting from previous contributions to the debate, the studies collected in this volume show that, by careful analysis of their texts and chains of transmission, the history of Muslim traditions can be reconstructed with a high degree of probability and their historicity assessed afresh