- Title Pages
- Preface
- List of Contributors
- Abbreviations
- 1 An Introduction to Medieval Jewish Biblical Interpretation
- 2 The Search for Truth in Sacred Scripture: Jews, Christians, and the Authority to Interpret
- 3 The Tension between Literal Interpretation and Exegetical Freedom: Comparative Observations on Saadia's Method
- 4 Karaite Commentaries on the Song of Songs from Tenth-Century Jerusalem
- 5 Restoring the Narrative: Jewish and Christian Exegesis in the Twelfth Century
- 6 Rashbam as a “Literary” Exegete
- 7 Asceticism and Eroticism in Medieval Jewish Philosophical and Mystical Exegesis of the Song of Songs
- 8 Typology, Narrative, and History: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen on the Book of Ruth
- 9 The Method of Doubts: Problematizing the Bible in Late Medieval Jewish Exegesis
- 10 Introducing Scripture: The <i>Accessus ad auctores</i> in Hebrew Exegetical Literature from the Thirteenth through the Fifteenth Centuries
- 11 On the Social Role of Biblical Interpretation: The Case of Proverbs 22:6
- 12 An Introduction to Medieval Christian Biblical Interpretation
- 13 The Letter of the Law: Carolingian Exegetes and the Old Testament
- 14 The Four “Senses” and Four Exegetes
- 15 Laudat sensum et significationem: Robert Grosseteste on the Four Senses of Scripture
- 16 Beryl Smalley, Thomas of Cantimpré, and the Performative Reading of Scripture: A Study in Two <i>Exempla</i>
- 17 The Theological Character of the Scholastic “Division of the Text” with Particular Reference to the Commentaries of Saint Thomas Aquinas
- 18 Thomas of Ireland and his <i>De tribus sensibus sacrae scripturae</i>
- 19 Material Swords and Literal Lights: The Status of Allegory in William of Ockham's <i>Breviloquium</i> on Papal Power
- 20 An Introduction to Medieval Interpretation of the Qurʼān
- 21 Discussion and Debate in Early Commentaries of the Qurʼān
- 22 Weaknesses in the Arguments for the Early Dating of Qurʼānic Commentary
- 23 The Scriptural “Senses” in Medieval Ṣūfī Qurʼān Exegesis
- 24 Are There Allegories in Ṣūfī Qurʼān Interpretation?
- 25 From the Sacred Mosque to the Remote Temple: Sūrat al-Isrāʼ between Text and Commentary
- 26 Qurʼānic Exegesis and History
- 27 The Self-Referentiality of the Qurʼān: Sura 3:7 as an Exegetical Challenge
- 28 The Designation of “Foreign” Languages in the Exegesis of the Qurʼān
- 29 The Genre Boundaries of Qurʼānic Commentary
- Subject Index
- Index to Citations from the Bible, Rabbinic Literature, and the Qurʼān
Weaknesses in the Arguments for the Early Dating of Qurʼānic Commentary
Weaknesses in the Arguments for the Early Dating of Qurʼānic Commentary
- Chapter:
- (p.329) 22 Weaknesses in the Arguments for the Early Dating of Qurʼānic Commentary
- Source:
- With Reverence for the Word
- Author(s):
Herbert Berg
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
Medieval and even modem exegeses of the Qurʼān are heavily indebted to the commentary purporting to come from the first three centuries of Islam. At an early stage, many Muslim exegetes attempted to limit the scope of possible meanings of the Qurʼān by demanding that exegesis be based on the received tradition, and not on personal opinion. Thus, most early and medieval Qurʼānic exegesis comes in the form of hadīths—the same form that dominates Islamic legal and historical writings. Skepticism regarding the authenticity of hadīths was first expressed by Ignaz Goldziher, who was backed by Joseph Schacht. Together, Goldziher and Schacht seem to undermine the very foundation upon which Muslim law and history as well as Qurʼānic interpretation have been built. Nabia Abbott, Fuat Sezgin, and Mohammad Azami, however, have each argued for a continuous written and oral transmission of hadīths. Other scholars who have addressed the authenticity of hadīths are John Wansbrough, Heribert Horst, and Georg Stauth.
Keywords: Qurʼān, exegesis, hadīths, authenticity, Islam, Ignaz Goldziher, Joseph Schacht, John Wansbrough, Heribert Horst, Georg Stauth
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- Title Pages
- Preface
- List of Contributors
- Abbreviations
- 1 An Introduction to Medieval Jewish Biblical Interpretation
- 2 The Search for Truth in Sacred Scripture: Jews, Christians, and the Authority to Interpret
- 3 The Tension between Literal Interpretation and Exegetical Freedom: Comparative Observations on Saadia's Method
- 4 Karaite Commentaries on the Song of Songs from Tenth-Century Jerusalem
- 5 Restoring the Narrative: Jewish and Christian Exegesis in the Twelfth Century
- 6 Rashbam as a “Literary” Exegete
- 7 Asceticism and Eroticism in Medieval Jewish Philosophical and Mystical Exegesis of the Song of Songs
- 8 Typology, Narrative, and History: Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen on the Book of Ruth
- 9 The Method of Doubts: Problematizing the Bible in Late Medieval Jewish Exegesis
- 10 Introducing Scripture: The <i>Accessus ad auctores</i> in Hebrew Exegetical Literature from the Thirteenth through the Fifteenth Centuries
- 11 On the Social Role of Biblical Interpretation: The Case of Proverbs 22:6
- 12 An Introduction to Medieval Christian Biblical Interpretation
- 13 The Letter of the Law: Carolingian Exegetes and the Old Testament
- 14 The Four “Senses” and Four Exegetes
- 15 Laudat sensum et significationem: Robert Grosseteste on the Four Senses of Scripture
- 16 Beryl Smalley, Thomas of Cantimpré, and the Performative Reading of Scripture: A Study in Two <i>Exempla</i>
- 17 The Theological Character of the Scholastic “Division of the Text” with Particular Reference to the Commentaries of Saint Thomas Aquinas
- 18 Thomas of Ireland and his <i>De tribus sensibus sacrae scripturae</i>
- 19 Material Swords and Literal Lights: The Status of Allegory in William of Ockham's <i>Breviloquium</i> on Papal Power
- 20 An Introduction to Medieval Interpretation of the Qurʼān
- 21 Discussion and Debate in Early Commentaries of the Qurʼān
- 22 Weaknesses in the Arguments for the Early Dating of Qurʼānic Commentary
- 23 The Scriptural “Senses” in Medieval Ṣūfī Qurʼān Exegesis
- 24 Are There Allegories in Ṣūfī Qurʼān Interpretation?
- 25 From the Sacred Mosque to the Remote Temple: Sūrat al-Isrāʼ between Text and Commentary
- 26 Qurʼānic Exegesis and History
- 27 The Self-Referentiality of the Qurʼān: Sura 3:7 as an Exegetical Challenge
- 28 The Designation of “Foreign” Languages in the Exegesis of the Qurʼān
- 29 The Genre Boundaries of Qurʼānic Commentary
- Subject Index
- Index to Citations from the Bible, Rabbinic Literature, and the Qurʼān
