Keith E. Small is an associate research fellow and visiting lecturer for the Centre for Islamic Studies and Muslim-Christian Relations at the London School of Theology.
This detailed study of a series of early manuscripts of the Qur’an
is the first work to bring out the full implications of several
generations of scholarly activity in the area of Quranic textual
studies. By situating the manuscript evidence alongside the
information provided by Islamic tradition, Small brings new
insights to the history of the development of a standardized text
of the Qur’an. Employing processes of textual criticism rigorously
developed in New Testament studies, this work provides a fresh view
of a controversial topic that has rarely been broached before
regarding the establishment of the written text of the Qur’an.
Small’s work is certain to reignite a vigorous debate about how
scholars assess the evidence provided by written sources when faced
with assertions concerning the primacy of simultaneous and robust
oral transmission.
*Andrew Rippin, University of Victoria, Canada*
In this study, Keith Small applies the principles of textual
analysis to twenty-two manuscripts—most of them early—that contain
Q. 14:35-41, which describes how Abraham settled his son—presumably
Ishmael—in Mecca. Based on a careful and systematic analysis of the
manuscripts, Small traces the historical development of the
Qur'anic text from the rise of Islam until the 10th century CE.
Comparison of the manuscripts with the evidence of literary sources
suggests that the text remained open and fluid during the first
half of the seventh century, and that the production of a standard
text was not completed until the end of that century. This
editorial project, sponsored by the Umayyad caliphs, resulted in
the destruction of most if not all of the earliest manuscripts,
with the result that it is currently impossible to recover the
original form of the text. This is an important contribution to
scholarship on the Qur'an.
*David S. Powers, Cornell University*
Textual Criticism and Qur’an Manuscripts by Keith E. Small should
find a prominent place in libraries of academic institutions
involved in the field of qur’anic studies and the early period of
Islam. . . .[I]t is a good introduction for scholars new to the
field.
*Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations*
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