Project description
Shining light on the Qur’anic concept of falsification
The textual integrity of the Qur’an has generally been taken for granted. However, the idea of the falsification (tahrif) of the text remains neglected. The concept relies on the 2nd century AH (Anno Hegirae, meaning ‘in the year of the Hijra’) Muslim traditionalist assertion that certain Qur’anic verses were removed after the Prophet’s death. The notion was attributed to Shi’i even though the idea was also supported by Sunni traditionalists. The EU-funded TIQ project will reveal the historical origins of this idea. Qur’an studies, Hadith studies, Islamic law and biblical studies will be combined to date the relevant Muslim traditions in developing the notion of falsification between the 2nd and 5th centuries AH.
Objective
The Qur’an is the central text in Islam and 1.9 million Muslims around the world strive to shape their lives according to the principles and rulings derived from it. Yet the textual integrity of the Qur’an has largely been taken for granted and some aspects of it have not been investigated, especially the idea of the falsification (tahrif) of the quranic text. Since the 2nd century AH, a group of Muslim traditionalists have claimed that certain verses were removed from the quranic text after the death of the Prophet, making the present quranic text incomplete. Sunni traditionalists (Hashwiyya) advocated the existence of this falsification (in the form of omission of some of the verses of the Qur’an) within a legal framework, while Shi'i traditionalists (Akhbaris) perpetuated the concept to support the succession of the Prophet and sanctity of the Twelver Shi'i Imams. The limited existing studies on the subject are mostly reviews of the opinions of past and present scholars. Further, while the falsification has been advocated by both Muslim groups in different ways, the notion has been largely attributed to the Shi'is. As a result, to this day, it has been a cause of tension between Sunni and Shi'i communities due to the firmly established view regarding the integrity of the Qur’an. Dr Seyfeddin Kara’s primary goal is to uncover the historical origins of a neglected aspect of the textual history of the Qur’an through undertaking a multidisciplinary study combining quranic studies, hadith studies, Islamic law and biblical studies. “Uncover” means to date the relevant Muslim traditions and reveal the interaction/influence between the Sunni and Shi'i traditionalists in the development of the notion of falsification from the 2nd to the 5th centuries AH. In his previous study on Ali b. Abi Talib’s quranic codex, SK tested new suitable methods and theories to study the textual history of the Qur’an.
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
22100 Lund
Sweden