From Oral Tradition to Written Text: Neuwirth’s Insights on the Spoken Aspects of the Qur’an
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29240/alquds.v9i2.11741Keywords:
The Qur’an, Angelika Neuwirth, Orality, Socio-historical contextAbstract
Recent Qur’ānic scholarship has increasingly revisited the relationship between the oral and written dimensions of revelation. This article examines these dimensions through Angelika Neuwirth’s concept of pre-canonical reading, focusing on Sūrah Al-Ikhlāṣ. Neuwirth approaches the Qur’ān from literary, historical, and comparative perspectives, emphasizing that its oral features—such as rhythm, recitation, and audience interaction—are vital for understanding how the Qur’ān initially communicated its message. She argues that the process of codification transformed these living oral expressions into a fixed text, often separating the Qur’ān from its dynamic historical setting. By re-examining Sūrah Al-Ikhlāṣ within its early socio-historical context, this study shows that its concise monotheistic message still carries traces of orality through its sound patterns, rhetorical balance, and dialogical tone. The analysis highlights Neuwirth’s contribution to Qur’ānic studies by bridging orality and textuality, showing the Qur’ān as both a spoken revelation and a historical document shaped through stages of transmission and canonization.
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References
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———. “Two Faces of the Qur’an: Qur’an and Muṣḥaf”.” Oral Tradition, no. 25, Vol. 1 (2010): 141–56.
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Sinai, Nicolai. The Qur’an: A Historical-Critical Introduction. Edinburgh: University Press, 2017.
St William. Clair Tisdall, The Origin Sources of the Qur’an. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge &, 1905.
Watt, W.Montgomery. Pengantar Studi al-Qur’an: Penyempurnaan atas Karya Richard Bell, terj. Jakarta: Taufik Adnan Amal, 1995.
Zayd, Nasr Hamid Abu. Rethinking the Qur’an: Towards a Humanistic Hermeneutics. Amsterdam: Humanistics University Press, 2004.
Agustono, Ihwan. “Potret Perkembangan Metodologi Kelompok Orientalis Dalam Studi Al-Qur’an”.” Studia Quranika: Jurnal Studi Quran 4, no. 2 (January 2019).
Al-A’zami, Muhammad Mustafa. The History of The Qur’anic Text from Revelation to Compilation: A Comparative Study with The Old and New Testaments. Riyadh: Azami Publishing House, 2008.
Berg, Herbert. “Review: The Origin of the Koran: Classic Essays on Islam’s Holy Book by Ibn Warraq.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 62, no. 3 (1999): 558.
Bolbakov, R.G., A.V. Sinitsyn, and V.Ya Tsvetkov. “Methods of Comparative Analysis.” Journal of Physics: Conference Series 1679 (2020): 1–6.
Fina, Lien Iffah Naf’atu. “Catatan Kritis Angelika Neuwirth terhadap Kesarjanaan Barat dan Muslim atas Al-Qur’an: Menuju Tawaran Pembacaan Al-Qur’an Pra-Kanonisasi”.” NUN: Jurnal Studi Al-Qur’an dan Tafsir di Nusantara 2, no. 1 (2016): 57–80.
———. “Membaca Metode Penafsiran al-Qur’an Kontemporer di Kalangan Sarjana Barat: Analisis Pemikiran Angelika Neuwirth”.” Ulumuna: Jurnal Keislaman 18, no. mor 2 (2014).
Fitra, Aldie, and Lia Listiana. “Peradaban Terbentuknya Mushaf Al-Qur’an: Sejarah Terbentuknya Mushaf Rasm Ustmani”.” Qolamuna: Jurnal Studi Islam 8, no. 1 (2022): 58–68.
Geiger, Abraham. Judaism and Islam: A Prize Essay. Vepery: M.D.C.S.P.C.K, 1898.
Hitti, Philip K. History of the Arabs. Edited by R. Cecep Lukman Yasin and Dedi Slamet Riyadi. Jakarta: Serambi Ilmu Semesta, 2002.
Ikhwan, Munirul. “Western Studies of The Qur’ānic Narrative: From the Historical Orientation into the Literary Analysis.” Al-Jāmi’ah: Journal of Islamic Studies 48, no. 2 (M/1431 2010): 387–411.
Iwanebel, Fejrian Yazdajird. “Kontribusi Pemikiran Jane Dammen McAuliffe terhadap Kerukunan Antar Umat Beragama”.” Jurnal Studi Ilmu-Ilmu Al-Qur’an dan Hadis 15, no. 2 (July 2014): 317–32.
Kitishat, Amal Riyadh. “Contemporary Theoretical Insights of the Qur’anic Stories: A Case Study of the Narrative Elements in The Holy Qur’an.” Journal of Islamic Studies and Culture 4, no. 2 (December 2016): 95–100.
Lichtman, Marylin. Qualitative Research for Social Sciences. California: SAGE Publications, 2014.
McAuliffe, Jane Dammen. “The Qur’anic Context of Muslim Biblical Scholarship.” Dalam Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations 6, no. ue 2 (1996).
Mir, Mustansir. Language”, Dalam The Blackwell Companion to the Qur’an. Edited by Andrew Rippin. USA: UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
Neuwirth, Angelika. “Locating the Qur’an in the Epistemic Space of Late Antiquity”, Ankara Üniversitesi Ïlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi,” 2013.
———. “Orientalism in Oriental Studies? Qur’anic Studies as a Case in Point”.” Journal of Qur’anic Studies 9, no. Mor 2 (October 2007).
———. “Refentiality and Textuality in Surah Al-Hijr : Some Observations on the Qur’anic Canonical Process and the Emergence of a Community”.” In Dalam Literary Structures of Religious Meaning in the Qur’an, edited by Issa J. Boullata, 147. Richmond: Curzon Press, 2000.
———. Structural, Linguistic and Literary Features”, Dalam The Cambridge Companion to The Qur’an. Edited by Jane Dammen McAuliffe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
———. Structure and the Emergence of Community”, Dalam The Blackwell Companion to the Qur’an. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
———. “Two Faces of the Qur’an: Qur’an and Muṣḥaf”.” Oral Tradition, no. 25, Vol. 1 (2010): 141–56.
Neuwirth, Angelika, Nicolai Sinai, and Michael Marx, eds. In The Qur’an in Context: Historical and Literary Investigations into the Qur’anic Milieu. Leiden: Brill, 2010.
Reynolds, Gabriel S. “Intratextuality, Doublets, and Orality in the Qur’an, with Attention to Surah 61 and 66.” In Dalam Unlocking The Medinan Qur’an, edited by, 513–42. Leiden: Brill, 2022.
Saenong, Faried F. “Kesarjanaan Al-Qur’an di Barat: Studi Bibliografis.” Jurnal Studi al-Qur’an (JSQ 1, no. 2 (2006): 148.
Saleh, Muhammad Asywar, Hamka Hasan, and Rifqoh Qudsiah. “Pre-Canonical Reading: An Analysis of Neuwirth’s Chronological Order of the Qur’ān.” In Proceedings of the 2nd ICIIS in Conjunction with the 3rd ICONQUHAS. Jakarta: 7-8 November 2020.
Sinai, Nicolai. The Qur’an: A Historical-Critical Introduction. Edinburgh: University Press, 2017.
St William. Clair Tisdall, The Origin Sources of the Qur’an. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge &, 1905.
Watt, W.Montgomery. Pengantar Studi al-Qur’an: Penyempurnaan atas Karya Richard Bell, terj. Jakarta: Taufik Adnan Amal, 1995.
Zayd, Nasr Hamid Abu. Rethinking the Qur’an: Towards a Humanistic Hermeneutics. Amsterdam: Humanistics University Press, 2004.
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Published
2025-08-31
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Agustono, I., & Ali Mahfuz Munawar. (2025). From Oral Tradition to Written Text: Neuwirth’s Insights on the Spoken Aspects of the Qur’an. AL QUDS : Jurnal Studi Alquran Dan Hadis, 9(2), 344–359. https://doi.org/10.29240/alquds.v9i2.11741
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