In Search of the Original Koran: The True History of the Revealed Text

by Mondher Sfar, Emilia Lanier (Translator)

Orthodox Muslims venerate the Koran as the sacred word of God, which they believe was literally revealed by dictation from the angel Gabriel to the prophet Muhammad. This fundamentalist attitude toward the Muslim holy book denies the possibility of error in the Koran-even though there are some fairly obvious self-contradictions, inconsistencies, and incoherent passages in the text. To justify the claim that the Koran is inerrant, the orthodox have simply pointed to centuries of hidebound tradition and the consensus view of conservative leaders who back up this interpretation. But does the very beginning of the Muslim tradition lend support to the orthodox view?

In this fascinating study of the origins of Islam, historian Mondher Sfar reveals that there is no historical, or even theological, basis for the orthodox view that Muhammad or his earliest followers intended the Koran to be treated as the inviolable word of God. With great erudition and painstaking historical research, Sfar demonstrates that the Koran itself does not support the literalist claims of Muslim orthodoxy. Indeed, as he carefully points out, passages from Islam's sacred book clearly indicate that the revealed text should not be equated with the perfect text of the original "celestial Koran," which was believed to exist only in heaven and to be fully known only by God.

This early belief helps to explain why there were many variant texts of the Koran during Muhammad's lifetime and immediately thereafter, and also why this lack of consistency and the occasional revisions of earlier revelations seemed not to disturb his first disciples. They viewed the Koran as only an imperfect copy of the real heavenlyoriginal, a copy subject to the happenstances of Muhammad's life and to the human risks of its transmission. Only later, for reasons of social order and political power, did the first caliphs establish an orthodox policy, which turned Muhammad's revelations into the inerrant word of God, from which no deviation or dissent was permissible.

This original historical exploration into the origins of Islam is also an important contribution to the growing movement for reform of Islam initiated by courageous Muslim thinkers convinced of the necessity of bringing Islam into the modern world.

Mondher Sfar (Paris, France), a researcher in history and anthropology and the author of The Koran, the Bible, and the Ancient Near East, is also the founder and director of Sfar Editions publishing company.

Genres: Islam, History, Religion, Nonfiction

152 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Karrarabd · Rating 1 out of 5]

قائم على المغالطات والنظر بعين واحدة والانتقائية لما يريد والاعتماد على امور شاذة وغير متفق عليها وغير ثابتة به بعض التساؤلات الجيدة لكن ما عداها لا قيمة له اعتماده على دراسات المستشرقين فقط والمصادر الاسلامية فيما يريد فقط اثباته

[Matthew Lockwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and entirely plausible theory.However, half way through, I realised I didn't really care either way.

[Tariq Mahmood · Rating 3 out of 5]

That the Koran was edited, pronunciation corrected and put in a specific order is a known fact. Islamic scholars maintain that this work came out with the one version which has been guaranteed by Allah Himself as opposed to other Holy Books which are in a constant state of revision even now. So the Muslim scholars are in a tacit agreement with Western scholars till the Koran was probably printed. And here lies the gist of the argument between a Western intellectual and the Muslim scholar of the Koran. A Muslim scholar is probably satisfied with Allah's own guarantee in the Koran to safeguard His message even with all the redactions, contradictions, and mysteries listed in this book. At the least it presents a challenge to the reader to regard true revelations from the dubious ones, giving it a timeless quality, and its most it makes the Koran into a true classical Holy Book as compared to the ever changing Bible. Religion is an experience in belief, which makes it slightly challenging for any unbeliever to relate to I'm afraid. As the great Moghul emperor, Babur used to say.

The flavour of wine only a drinker can tell
How can the sober one on such a subject dwell?

[Maher Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

كتاب متخلف وأفكار متخلفة زي كاتبها لا أنصح بقراءة الكتاب وتضيع الوقت في الأفكار المتخلفة إلي جوا الكتاب، مجرد تضيع وقت حتى لو هناك فكرة لنقاشها كنت هرد على الفكرة دي، لكنها مجرد عبث لا يستحق الرد أو الالتفات لمثل هذه الأفكار

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing book on the origins of the Koran conclusively demonstrating that it was not divinely dictated to Muhammad by Gabriel but is in fact a synthesis of existing material compiled by scribes after his death. Fairly technical and dense. I was surprised by the obvious similarities between Allah and Jehovah and the Koran and the Old Testament. Given that the Himyar Kingdom around this time practiced a form of Judaism perhaps I shouldn't be!

[Ali Ziraoui]

اذا كان لهذا الكتاب من خيط ناظم فهو الرغبة في التشكيك و غياب الخيط الناظم ذاته فضلا عن فقر المصادر و طغيان المصادرات والإطلاقات ولو اكتست العبارات عبارات قد توحي بموضوعية غير موجودة

[Edz · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and quite controversial read, the author posits to us the theory that the Qur’an as we know it today does not reflect the celestial Book in the literal sense but that rather it is merely a copy of it. He goes to great lengths in his analysis by quoting from Islamic sources (such as al-Suyuti’s magnum opus “al-Itqan fi ulum al Qur’an”) as well as what Western scholarship has to say on the matter, ranging from the canonization of the Qur’an as a mushaf to the inspiration (wahy) that was received by the Prophet.

Admittedly this book is a translation of an original French work (titled “Le Coran est-il authentique?”) written by the author, which I only managed to read till halfway since it did contain some irregularities in spelling and felt a bit off at times, hence why I switched to reading it in French. It’s a rather short read and tackles a very important topic, though it does come off as bit dated at times, what with what recent scholarship has been demonstrating in regards to Qur’anic manuscripts and their provenance.

All in all, a decent book which will get one thinking and one that Muslims can definitely benefit from having a discussion about.

[lin · Rating 1 out of 5]

التعميم والافتراضات يلي بتحول التحليل لادعاءات اكيدة، استخدامو روايات ضعيفة كأساس للفرضيات الكبيرة يرسم الكتاب انطباع مضل بأنو النص كان غير مستقر، بسبب اعتمادو على استنتاجات اكبر من الأدلة او نصوص ضعيفة حولا ل فرضيات كبيرة بدءٍ من اصل السور الى دوافع النبي ﷺ عم يخلي الاستنتاجات أكثر تشويقا من كونا "علمية"، تجاهل الحفظ الشفهي لتثبيت النص ولهو آلية اساسية بحفظ القرآن، وانتقالو من نقد تاريخي ل نقد عقائدي بطريقة واضحة بتقلل من مصداقيتو الاكاديمية.

[Walter · Rating 1 out of 5]

couldn't finish it, that's all I want to say about it.

[Mohammed Hamdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book offers a different view on the current state of Muslim orthodox, through "Koranic" glasses.
It is different because it tells how the koran really judges itself, which is different from what Muslims think.
One of the book's strongest standings is about how the true history of Islam and it's Prophet, was erased forever through the centuries.

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very imfornative. I always wondered about the history of the Koran and whether it should be considered a holy book. I wish we could have the revealed word in its unadulterated form but then I wish that about the Bible as well.

[Kenneth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A study of the early history of the Koran; a contribution to understanding its origins and development from a historical-critical point of view.