Qur’an and textual Issues

	Traditional Account	Other complexities	Western Critical Approaches
Oldest surviving manuscripts	`Uthmanic manuscripts from 650 CE	`Uthmanic manuscripts in scriptio defectiva	Age of `Uthmanic manuscripts cannot be scientifically verified; Oldest complete, dated manuscript of Quran dates to 1002 CE
Question of Canon	Canon was established during Muhammad’s lifetime	Issue of Abrogation raises questions on canon: f.i. “Stoning Verse”	Early, pre-`Uthmanic Muslim tradition contains narratives about alternating canons, lost verses, or suppressed Shi’ite verses
Reliability of transmission of text?	`Uthmanic manuscripts and insistence on oral tradition; the famed memory and poetic capabilityof the Arabs	“scriptio defectiva” does not limit recitation to one, but several (7/10/14) qira`at, all of which are authorized readings .	Variety of “qira’at” raises questions about reliability of transmission of text.
Broader Questions of Origin of Qur’an	Traditional biography of Muhammad, and traditional portrayal of pre-Islamic Arabia as background against which God inexplicably wrought the miracle of the Qur’an	Issue of difficult vocabulary in the Qur’an is part of the miracle, as it shows the supernatural origin of the Qur’an, and indicates that human beings cannot penetrate all the mysteries of the Qur’an.	From a historical – critical perspective, Qur’anic materials, esp. Qur’anic narratives about biblical prophets and highly developed Qur’anic Christology do not fit the Arabian background. Difficult and incomprehensible vocabulary in the Qur’an is an indication that there is a considerable time-lapse between the composition of the verses and Muslim engagement with its meaning / interpretation: Either material of the Qur’an pre-dates the seventh century, or Qur’an only becomes standardized 200 years later.