Orientalist Studies Of The Qur’ân

A Historical Survey

I. Preliminary Remarks

The orientalists’ study of the Qur’ân takes place in the context of their broader study of Islam and Islamic history. As such, three things need to be borne in mind. First, the story of their study of the Qur’ân goes back to the beginning of orientalism itself in its proper sense. Second, the purpose and attitude that underlie their study of Islam also characterize their study and treatment of the Qur’ân. Third, although many of the orientalists deal especially with the Qur’ân, in general all those who deal with Islam and Islamic history speak about the Qur’ân in some form or other; for, no account of Islam and its history is possible without a reference to the Qur’ân and the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be on him. Often these latter type of studies highlight and summarise the pattern of the specialists’ thinking about the Qur’ân current at the time; but sometimes they raise new points and issues that are in turn taken up by the specialists for verification and elaboration. The subject of the orientalists’ study of the Qur’ân thus embraces both their specialist and particular treatment of the Qur’ân as well as their treatment of it in general works on Islam and Islamic history. (1) The scope and purpose of the present article, however, do not admit of any comprehensive survey of both these types of studies. Attention will therefore be focused mainly on specialist and particular studies, though accounts in the general works on Islam and Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) will be occasionally taken into consideration.

The story of the orientalist study of the Qur’ân falls into three