1. The Quran

2. Business stuff ID’s & Test format?

3. The History of the Text A History told by Muslims Revealed Piecemeal from 610-632 Compilation –Written down or memorized by Muslims during the lifetime of Muhammad –632 Abu Bakr orders a comprehensive copy made, held by Hafsa, daughter of ‘Umar –‘Uthmanic text: disagreements lead ‘Uthman to order one consonantal text in 650 (on camel parchment). Oldest full test of Quran comes from the mid 900’s An Oral Text/ the Arabic Script: –Consonants not dotted example example –Consonants not vowelled exampleexample –At least 10 well-known ‘readings’ of the Quran

4. Other Theories? Archaic Material, Later Compilation: the Quran addresses Near Eastern audience, so is it from the post- conquest period… but how did it escape the civil wars?

5. Quran as a Book Types of material: –Hortatory/didactic: believe, do good deeds, fear God, beware the Day of Judgment, obey God and his Prophetbelieve –Narrative: tales of Moses, Abraham, Noah, SalihAbraham –Predictive/Eschatological: fate of believers and unbelievers, creation and end of the worldbelievers –Polemical: claims of Muhammad’s opponents, the failings of the ‘People of the Book’ –Doctrinal: the nature of GodGod –Legal: less than 500 verses deal with law and rituallaw Structure of Quran: –Not a continuous narrative –Contextual  ‘azbab al-nuzul = occasions of revelation’ –Ellipticalism: assumes audience knowledge –Person: God as beyond language… ‘He’, ‘I’ ‘We’ and ‘God’ Good for all time?

6. Themes Tawhid: worship of God alone Vs. Shirk: assigning partners to God ex. ex. Knowledge (‘ilm) vs. Speculation ex. ex. History and Nature testify to the Message ex.ex.

7. Quran as Source The Quran is the “first source (al-asl al- awwal)” of Islamic law and dogma. A Genre of Quranic Exegesis: Tafseer

8. Quran as Sacred Object ‘The Book/Kitab’: the “Preserved Tablet” with God, the Quran as earthly manifestation Ijaz of the Quran: inimitability c. 850 Sacred Art: calligraphic traditioncalligraphic Recitation and Reading: the Holy word brought to lifeRecitation Talisman