Seyfeddin Kara
In Search of Ali Ibn Abi Talib’s Codex: History and Traditions of the Earliest Copy of the Qur’an.
with a foreword by James Piscatori
Seyfeddin Kara
Gerlach Press
Language: English
1. Edition (2018)
Hardcover, 292 pages
HC ISBN 9783959940542
Availability: in print
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Also available as eBook
Format: ePDF
eBook ISBN 9783959940559
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The history of the text of the Qur’an has been a longstanding subject of interest within the field of Islamic Studies, but the debate has so far been focused on the Sunni traditions about the codices of Caliphs Abu Bakr and Uthman b. Affan. Little to no attention has been given to the traditions on Ali b. Abi Talib’s collection of the Qur’an.
This book examines both Shi‘i and Sunni traditions on the issue, aiming to date them back to the earliest possible date and, if possible, verify their authenticity.
To achieve this, the traditions are examined using Harald Motzki’s isn d-cum-matn method, which is recognised as an efficient tool in dating the early Islamic traditions and involves analysis of both matn (text) and isn d (chain of transmission) with an emphasis on finding a correlation between the two.
"Kara's application of hadith criticism to Shi‘i sources is innovative as well as constructive. Respectful of others’ contributions, he nonetheless subverts conventional sceptical and starkly sectarianised approaches to Scriptural textual history."
(From the foreword by James Piscatori)