Reconstructability of the Historical Qur’an Based on Early Islamic Traditions

Ömer Özsoy, Misbahur Rehman, Sercan Üstündag (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt)

 

Abstract
The findings of historical-critical Qur’anic research suggest that the Hejaz region and the first half of the 7th century CE were the time and place of the Qur’an’s emergence. This aligns with the Muslim historiographical narrative regarding the Qur’an. The Qur’anic text comprises individual revelatory passages that responded to specific historical and social circumstances between 610 and 632 CE. Consequently, it documents not only the internal developments of the early Muslim community but also its multifaceted relationships with other religious groups, including Jews and Christians. These interactions were characterized by both, peaceful engagement and conflict, which explains the Qur’an’s ambivalent statements about these groups.

The origins of the Qur’an and Islam have been thoroughly investigated in Orientalist Islamic studies, particularly in relation to local traditions and intertexts. Valuable contributions have been made through the analysis of sources that do not belong exclusively to the Islamic textual tradition. However, a systematic and comprehensive examination of early Islamic traditions remains a desideratum. As a result, critical insights embedded in these sources regarding the life and mission of the Prophet, as well as the religious and socio-cultural realities of the Qur’an’s formative context, remain largely underexplored. To address this gap, the »Linked Open Tafsir« project was realized in Frankfurt between 2018 and 2022 under Ömer Özsoy’s direction. Within this project, the earliest extant compilation of exegetical traditions, the *Tafsir* of at-Tabari (d. 923), was digitized and made accessible for scholarly use. Additionally, doctoral dissertations supervised in Frankfurt examine the reconstruction of the historical Qur'an from both a source-critical and hermeneutical perspective.

During the colloquium, Prof. Ömer Özsoy will provide a brief statement on the significance of exegetical traditions for Qur'anic studies. Dr. Misbahur Rehman will present the »Linked Open Tafsir« project, and Dr. Sercan Üstündag will discuss the findings of his recently completed dissertation, which examines the challenges of Qur’anic interpretation.

Die Redner
Ömer Özsoy ist seit 2009 Professor für Koranexegese am Fachbereich Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaften der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main sowie Direktor des dortigen Instituts für Studien der Kultur und Religion des Islam. Er ist seit 2021 Goethe Fellow am Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften.

Dr. Misbahur Rehman is Coordinator of the »Linked Open Tafsir« project.

Dr. Sercan Üstündag is Research associate for Qur’anic exegesis.

Teilnahme
Geschlossene Veranstaltung. Kontakt: Beate Sutterlüty; E-Mail: b.sutterluety@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de