ABSTRACT
Studies in this respect, since Biblical Studies has for many centuries taken seriously the idea that there are infelicities in the text. Some Biblical scholars identify what they regard as significant problems in the text of the Bible without seeing this as a challenge to their faith, and are annoyed when Qur
) anic scho-
lars fail to follow their approach. The Islamic response is that, in contrast with the Bible, the Qur
) an is the direct Word
of God as transmitted to the Prophet only works if one believes it, and even if one believes it, there is still scope to wonder whether the text available now is the correct text. It is worth pointing out also that many Jews believe that the Pentateuch was received directly from God, that Moses was the direct recipient and that the Israelites were the indirect recipients. The attacks on the text take a variety
of forms, but the most interesting are based on the accusation that the Qur
) an
is not very successful from a literary perspective. Verbose, confused, disorganized, these are all labels applied by those hostile to the style of the text. The Qur
) an is certainly very different from
either Bible. For one thing it is not that interested in history, unlike the Jewish and Christian bibles. Defenders of the style of the text try to show that the style is in fact excellent. They point out that in a typical sura there is a clear theme, a topic that the sura is about. The theme is shown to have consequences for human beings, and so we should learn from it. The content of the sura will often consist of rhyming or assonant verses, and these involve grammatical or stylistic development of rhyming or assonant phrases. There is certainly repetition, but the different series of verses work together, so there is a theme in the sura that is unified by this variety of different phrases all built around a common idea. The structure, the tone
and the content, then, all work together to expand a particular concept, endowing the whole with an underlying unity and coherence.
