Research Article

The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example

Number: 21 June 30, 2024
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The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example

Abstract

Research shows that Qurʾānic studies in the West have navigated away from the Nöldekean-Schwallian paradigm in recent years. By using this paradigm, Western thinkers attempt to write the history of the Qurʾān with the support of Islamic narrations. American orientalist Stephen Shoemaker claims that the revisionist school broke this paradigm and brought a new perspective to the field in 1977. Stating that the Nöldekean-Schwallian paradigm, which followed the standard Sunnī Qurʾānic history, blocked the field until the 1980s, Shoemaker criticizes Islamic narrations and does not take them as references. Shoemaker believes that the studies will not go beyond the Sunnī paradigm by using purely Islamic narrations. The author, who claims that the Qurʾān emerged and was written in a political environment, argues that historians should consider the works of the surrounding cultures. Shoemaker, who uses the historical criticism method used in holy book readings in the West, focuses on what happened to the Qurʾān rather than what the Qurʾān tells us. Is it possible to write the history of the Qurʾān by bypassing Islamic narrations? The main focus of this article is to reveal the answer to this question through Stephen Shoemaker's work Creating the Qur'an. The work, published in 2022, was seen by Fred Donner as a milestone for the field and stated that everyone working in this department should read it. Our study will ultimately discuss the impasses of Shoemaker's approach. In this context, the research will generally apply data collection, text, and discourse analysis methods.

Keywords

Thanks

Amerika'da bulunduğum bu süre zarfında Kur'an çalışmaları konusunda beni yönlendiren ve ufkumu açan Wael Hallaq'a teşekkür ederim.

References

  1. Akgün, Merve. The Revisionist Orientalists in the History of the Quran. İstanbul: İstanbul University, Institute of Social Sciences, Master Thesis, 2020).
  2. Barton, John. “Historical-Critical Approaches”. The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Interpretation. ed. John Barton. 9-20. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
  3. Burton, John. Collection of the Qur'ân. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
  4. Casanova, Paul. Mohammed et la fin du monde. Paris: 1911.
  5. Crone, Patricia. “Serjeant and Meccan Trade”. Arabica 39/2 (1992), 216- 40.
  6. Crone, Patricia- Cook, Micheal. Hagarism: The Making of the Islamic World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
  7. Cürcâni, Abdûlkâhir. Delâilû'l-i'câz. Critical ed. M. Reşid Rıza. Beyrut: Dârû'l-Me'ârif, 1980.
  8. Çolak, Yaşar. Batı’da İslam Tarihinin Erken Dönemine İlişkin Farklı Metodolojik Yaklaşımlar. Samsun: 19 Mayıs University, Institute of Social Sciences, Ph.D Dissertation, 2006.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Tafsir

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

June 30, 2024

Submission Date

March 3, 2024

Acceptance Date

June 22, 2024

Published in Issue

Year 2024 Number: 21

APA
Kara, B. (2024). The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example. Bartın Üniversitesi İslami İlimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 21, 116-138. https://doi.org/10.59536/buiifd.1446423
AMA
1.Kara B. The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example. BUIIFD. 2024;(21):116-138. doi:10.59536/buiifd.1446423
Chicago
Kara, Bayram. 2024. “The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example”. Bartın Üniversitesi İslami İlimler Fakültesi Dergisi, nos. 21: 116-38. https://doi.org/10.59536/buiifd.1446423.
EndNote
Kara B (June 1, 2024) The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example. Bartın Üniversitesi İslami İlimler Fakültesi Dergisi 21 116–138.
IEEE
[1]B. Kara, “The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example”, BUIIFD, no. 21, pp. 116–138, June 2024, doi: 10.59536/buiifd.1446423.
ISNAD
Kara, Bayram. “The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example”. Bartın Üniversitesi İslami İlimler Fakültesi Dergisi. 21 (June 1, 2024): 116-138. https://doi.org/10.59536/buiifd.1446423.
JAMA
1.Kara B. The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example. BUIIFD. 2024;:116–138.
MLA
Kara, Bayram. “The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example”. Bartın Üniversitesi İslami İlimler Fakültesi Dergisi, no. 21, June 2024, pp. 116-38, doi:10.59536/buiifd.1446423.
Vancouver
1.Bayram Kara. The Possibility of Writing the History of the Qurʾān by Bypassing Islamic Narratives and Materials -Stephen Shoemaker Example. BUIIFD. 2024 Jun. 1;(21):116-38. doi:10.59536/buiifd.1446423