The Integrity of the Qur’an: Sunni and Shi‘i Historical Narratives

By Seyfeddin Kara

Series: Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Scripture and Theology

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

Publication Date: July 31, 2024

ISBN: 9781474462235

Advances the method of isnād-cum-matn analysis for unravelling complex aspects of early Islamic history

• Establishes the earliest dating of the Qurʾanic codex based on the study of hadith
• Contributes to the textual history of the Qur’an
• Examines the claims regarding the integrity of the text of the Qur’an
• Uses case studies of the verses on stoning and breastfeeding, making it relevant to contemporary studies in the field

This book investigates Muslim narratives on Qurʾanic distortion through a meticulous analysis of hadith. Using isnād-cum-matn analysis, Seyfeddin Kara discovers the historical origins of this disputed claim and illuminates the dynamic interplay between Sunni and Shiʿi traditionists. He demonstrates that isnād-cum-matn analysis is not only an important tool for dating hadiths but also crucial for uncovering forgeries. By identifying the individuals responsible, he provides new explanations of forgery culture in early Muslim society. Kara illuminates debates over the textual integrity and evolution of the written Qurʾanic text, offering insights into the enigmatic early history of Islam. By pushing the boundaries of isnād-cum-matn analysis, this book makes methodological advancements in the study of early Islamic history and contributes to its reconstruction on the question of the canonized Qur’an’s integrity.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• ʿĀʾisha’s Legal Debate on the Scope of Breastfeeding
• The Litigation of the Two Men According to ‘The Book of God’
• The Prophet, the Jews and the Stoning Penalty
• CaliphʿUmar’s Sermon About the ‘Missing Stoning Verse’
• Transition of the Distortion Narrative into Shiʿi Reports
• Distorting the Book of God
• The Return of the Avenger (Al-Mahdī) and Teaching the Correct Quran
• Conclusion

About the Author

Seyfeddin Kara is an Assistant Professor of Islamic Origins at University of Groningen. He is also a Marie Sklodawski Curie Global Fellow at Lund University and the University of Toronto. He holds a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Durham. Dr Kara’s academic journey includes a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Fellowship, with research terms at the University of Toronto, the University of Lund, and the University of Göttingen. He has received grants from the European Union, Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and other funding bodies. Dr Kara has also taught at the University of Durham, UK, and served as an Assistant Professor at Hartford International University, US. His scholarly work encompasses research articles in journals such as the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, the Muslim World, and Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. Kara authored In Search of Ali ibn Abi Talib’s Codex: History and Traditions of the Earliest Copy of the Qurʾan (2018).

Source: Edinburgh University Press

Author: Kumail Rajani

Published in: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, First View, pp. 1-24

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Online Publication Date: December 20, 2021

In this article, Rajani develops and tests a new methodology of unearthing early Shii ḥadı̄th sources that served as the basis for the later collections of the fourth/tenth century. This method, besides answering the question of historicity, enables us to understand the dissemination of texts across times and regions. As a case-study, he examines what is alleged to have been the first Shii legal ḥadı̄th collection, a work attributed to ʿUbaydullāh b. ʿAlī al-Ḥalabī (d. c. 148/765). By comparing the reports transmitted on the authority of al-Ḥalabī in the Twelver ḥadı̄th compendium originating in Qum, al-Kulaynī’s al-Kāfī, and an Ismaili legal ḥadı̄th composition, al-Qāḍī al-Nuʿmān’s al-Īḍāḥ, composed in Qayrawān, he demonstrates that both works trace their material to an earlier Kūfan source of the second/eighth century, with each work drawing on the same material independently. A cross-regional textual analysis of later ḥadı̄th compendia, in this case composed by contemporaneous scholars, residing in different regions, affiliated to dissimilar religious persuasions, reveals the transmission of identical material; this finding contributes to our understanding of both geographical transmission of early sources and compositional arrangements of the later ḥadı̄th compendia.

Read full article HERE.

Source: Cambridge.org

Author: Muhammad Ali Mahdavirad

Translator: Alexander Khaleeli

Publisher: ICAS Press

Today, hadith books are taken for granted, but, in the first century after the Prophet (S), it was by no means certain that the Prophet’s words would be transcribed.

Why were the early Muslims so ambivalent about recording the hadith, and did the ban on writing hadith mean that no hadith manuscripts survived?

This new study explores the approach of the Prophet and the twelve Imams to the writing of hadith. It uncovers numerous Companions of the Prophet and students of the twelve Imams who are said to have left behind hadith manuscripts. Special attention is given to the Four Hundred books considered foundational to Twelver Shi‘ism, as well as the famed ‘Book of Ali’ (Kitab Ali) and ‘Scroll of Fatimah’ (Mushaf Fatimah). This is a succinct, insightful overview of the history of hadith in early Islam.

You can order your copy online here or by emailing bookshop@islamic-college.ac.uk

Source: The Islamic College

Under the guidance of Mufti Shah Sadruddin

Alim Course

The aim of the Alimiyyah curriculum is to produce Ulama (scholars) and leaders who are competent in the Islamic sciences such as Tafsir and Hadith possessing the professional skills necessary to serve, guide and lead the Muslim community with excellence. In addition to imparting knowledge and skills, the curriculum, and the environment within which it is taught is designed to produce scholars whose scholarship is marked by tradition, intelligence, piety, responsibility, and generosity of spirit, ensuring that we are not simply producing academics and professionals seeking a career but are reproducing the selfless spirit that has always been so characteristic of Islamic scholarship.

Duration

The course consists of seven years, with emphasis given to learning Arabic syntax (Nahw) and Morphology (Sarf) in particular in the first two years. Taught in the English medium by ulamah who have graduated from various darul ulooms (including Bury, Dewsbury, Blackburn and India), the course is intensive in its content, and requires motivation and a keen zeal for knowledge.

Books in 1^st and 2^nd year

The course itself comprises seven years. The kitabs studied are mainly in Arabic, with explanation given in English.

In the first year, students build up their knowledge of Arabic grammar by studying the following books:

• Taudheeh un Nahw (English)
• Imdad us Sarf Part 1 (English)
• Behishti Zewar
• Qasas un Nabiyyeen (Arabic)
• Duroos ul Lughah (Arabic)
• Tajweed

The second year is a more detailed study of Arabic grammar with emphasis placed on reading Arabic texts correctly. Students also begin to memorize Ahaadeeth compiled in the kitab Zaad u Taalibeen by Hadhrat Moulana Ashiq Elah Bulandshehri. Fiqh is also taught in detail. The kitabs studied include:

• Hidayat un Nahw (Arabic)
• Qasas un Nabiyyeen (3&4)
• Provisions for the Seekers (Hadith)
• Fiqh ul Muyassar
• Noor ul Idhaah
• Duroos ul Lughah (3)

Contacts

• Address: Imam Zakariya Academy, 445-451 Romford Road, Forest Gate, London, UK
• Phone: +44 20 8555 6258
• Email: info@iza.org.uk
• Website: http://www.iza.website/

With experts addressing questions about Islam as a religion, the Center seeks to meet the growing demand for independent Islamic theology in German society. One of the ways of achieving this is through the promotion and (further) training of young researchers.

Students can register for the following degree courses:

• Bachelor’s Degree (1 Subject) – Islamic Theology

The bachelor’s degree course in Islamic theology addresses the religion of Islam in an academic and inner-theological manner. Intensive Arabic language studies form the foundation needed for textual analyses and will be taught throughout the degree. In addition, students study one other language relevant to Islam.

The course centers on the following classical theological research disciplines:

• Science of Qur’ān (ʿulūm al-qurʾān)
• Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr)
• Hadith (ʿulūm al-ḥadīṯ)
• Biography of the Prophet (sīra)
• Systematic Islamic theology (kalām)
• Islamic law and jurisprudence (fiqh and uṣūl al-fiqh)
• Islamic philosophy, ethics and mysticism

Other main areas are:

• History and culture of the Islamic world
• European philosophy and history of ideas
• Comparative Islamic theology
• Empirical research of Islam
• Other religions and theological approaches

• Bachelor’s Degree (2 Subjects) – Islamic Theology

The bachelor’s degree course “Islamic theology” with two subjects approaches the religion of Islam in an academically sound manner. This type of degree course allows students to combine skills acquired within the framework of the degree course “Islamic theology” with skills acquired during the study of one additional subject (2-subject bachelor). The learning of the Arabic language forms a fundamental part of the study of Islamic theology. This allows students to access the original written Arabic sources.

The course centers on the following classical theological research disciplines:

• Science of Qur’ān (ʿulūm al-qurʾān)
• Qur’ānic exegesis (tafsīr)
• Hadith (ʿulūm al-ḥadīṯ)
• Biography of the Prophet (sīra)
• Systematic Islamic theology (kalām)
• Islamic law and jurisprudence (fiqh and uṣūl al-fiqh)
• Islamic history
• Islamic theology and Islamic religious practice

• Islamic Religious Education (Teaching Degree)
  

The subject “Islamic religious education” trains teachers for the teaching of faith-oriented Islamic religious education in German schools. The course has two main focuses. Students are trained in teaching methods, focusing on the pupils and the use of modern educational and didactic methods as well as learning the necessary skills to teach Islamic topics in a competent and topical manner.

The following subject areas are covered as part of the teacher’s training course:

• Arabic language
• Qur’ān and hadith
• Qurānic and hadith hermeneutics
• Biography of the Prophet
• Islamic law and jurisprudence
• Islamic religious practice
• Islamic religious education
• Islamic didactics and methodology
• Psychology of religion and sociology of religion

• Doctoral Programs

It is currently possible to obtain a doctoral degree (Dr. phil.) from the Center for Islamic Theology.

Admission Requirements:

• Degree in a related subject (e. g. Arabic Studies, Islamic Studies etc.) with at least eight semesters and above average results.
• Knowledge of German with at least DSH 2 language proficiency. In the absence of a DSH 2 or an equivalent certificate, declaration of the supervising professors that language proficiency is acceptable or that research and dissertation will be in English. It is possible to participate in a DSH German language proficiency course or sit a DSH German language proficiency exam.
• Regardless of the above, you must obtain supervision from a professor at the Center.

In order to obtain supervision you should submit your application including all relevant certificates, a cover letter stating your motivation and an abstract of approx. five pages detailing your planned research. Your abstract should outline the topic of your research as well as its position with regards to the current state of research, taking into consideration relevant expert literature. Please submit your application to zit.studienberatung@uni-muenster.de.

The web presence of Münster University’s student office provides information on registration deadlines.

Contacts:

• Address: The Center for Islamic Theology, Hammer Str. 95, 48153 Münster, Germany
• Tel: +49 251 83 26110
• Website: www.uni-muenster.de/ZIT/en/