The Quran in the light of the latest scientific research
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Salam aleykoum,
Here, I would like to summarize the latest serious scientific research approaches on the Quran that can provide new and critical insights into the history of Islam and the Quran itself. It is the sharing of this research, in which I participate, that I share in this forum for those who are serious.
These research approaches mainly revolve around three themes
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Rhetorical analysis (the one I contribute to)
Rhetorical analysis, contrary to an "atomistic" approach to the text (verse by verse), adheres to the literary context of a verse or surah, as defined by the laws of Semitic rhetoric. This context can be immediate, or it can be broader, when texts correspond symmetrically across a vast composition, as is the case in long surahs. The verses or surahs put in relation thus respond to precise laws inscribed in the text, and not to the subjective appreciation of the commentator, who chooses to bring together certain verses gleaned from the entire Quran.
-> Michel Cuypers has been the pioneer in applying this analysis to the Quran. -
Archaeological exploration/epigraphic texts in general Arabia
This exploration has experienced a boom in the last 30 years and allows us to better understand the original terrain that saw the emergence of the prophet Muhammad.
-> Christian Julien Robin is one of the eminent figures in this field. -
The field of codicology and paleography
Researchers take a historical approach to the Quranic text. This approach considers questions related to the constitution of the Quran in the environment of late antiquity as well as those linked to how its transmission took place, relying on privileged witnesses such as manuscripts that allow us to follow this transmission from the mid-7th century, just a few decades after Muhammad's death.
-> François Déroche or the scholars involved in the Corpus Coranicum project (https//corpuscoranicum.de/en/manuscripts/53/page/1v?sura=1&verse=1) are worthy representatives of this approach.
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