Repetition and Narrative Structure in Surat Al-Baqara
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Textual Integrity and Coherence in the Qur’an: Repetition and Narrative Structure in Surat al-Baqara by Nevin Reda El-Tahry A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Toronto © Copyright by Nevin Reda El-Tahry 2010 Textual Integrity and Coherence in the Qur’an: Repetition and Narrative Structure in Surat al-Baqara Nevin Reda El-Tahry Doctor of Philosophy Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations University of Toronto 2010 Abstract This study addresses the riddle of al-Baqara‘s internal organization, utilizing new insights from literary theory and Biblical Studies to identify the sura‘s structure and unifying themes. It also explores the possible added value in approaching al-Baqara as a whole compositional unit, as opposed to a conglomeration of isolated verse-groups. The dissertation begins with a historical overview of coherence-related approaches, commencing with the classical naẓm- and munāsaba-discourses as observed in the writings of Jāḥiẓ, Bāqillānī, Biqā῾ī and others, and extending to the modern period and the work of scholars such as Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī, ῾Abd al-Muta῾āl al- Ṣa῾īdī, and Matthias Zahniser. This overview is followed by a discussion of methodology, locating this study within the reader-oriented, synchronic, intertextual approaches, and showing methodological parallels with Biblical Studies. A new reading framework for the sura is developed, utilizing in part some of the theories of the Russian literary theorist and philosopher, Mikhail Bakhtin. ii The sura‘s structure is identified by means of analyzing its distinctive repetitions, a known structuring device in oral texts. Incremental inclusios, alternations and chiasms delineate al-Baqara‘s compositional subunits. The overall structure of the sura emerges as chiastic, following the pattern ABC/B‘C‘A‘/C‘‘B‘‘A‘‘, where A is a section having the character of a test, B a section containing instructions and C a story portraying primeval origins. The repetitions are of increasing length, the general escalating character of the devices focusing attention on the last panel (C‘‘B‘‘A‘‘). In a first reading, the central theme is identified by means of the sura‘s Leitwort, a leading keyword distinguished by its special location, high concentration and even distribution within the sura. Reading the sura for what it reveals about the deity, the Leitwort, ‗guidance‘, indicates a common theme of ‗God as guide‘. In a second reading, the sura is read for its pedagogical content and the central theme becomes ‗first lesson in the new religion‘. The added value in approaching the sura as a whole, as a totality, is in seeing how each theme is progressively developed and elaborated by every one of the sura‘s various panels and how these themes hold the sura together as a unit. iii Acknowledgments It has been very rewarding to work with Surat al-Baqara, and to experience the pleasure of uncovering some of the mysteries of its magnificent organization. I would like to express my profound appreciation for my many teachers and my wonderful family, who have contributed to the successful completion of this dissertation. Foremost among these is my supervisor, Professor Todd Lawson, who has offered me excellent advice and academic guidance at every stage of my work. He has also shared with me his expertise on the Qur‘an and on Islamic thought during my years of graduate studies. His work on duality and opposition has helped shape my understanding of the Qur‘an‘s distinctive style, in addition to developing my approach to reading this scripture. I owe a special thanks to my committee members, Professors Sebastian Günther, Walid Saleh and R. Theodore Lutz, for their painstaking review of my dissertation, and for having been such excellent teachers over the years. Professor Günther has shared with me some of his extensive knowledge of the classical Arabic sources of Islamic thought, particularly those related to education. Professor Walid Saleh has taught me how to approach the classical tafsir commentaries and has brought me to an appreciation of the breadth and sophistication of this tradition. In addition, Professor Linda Northrup has been one of my first teachers in graduate studies and I have learned much from her about the history of Islam and the biographical sources. The late Professor Michael Marmura has introduced me to the richness of the Islamic philosophical tradition among others. I am also grateful to my external examiner, Prof. Angelika Neuwirth, for her valuable insights, particularly in relation to the diachronic approaches. On the biblical side of my education, I am deeply indebted to Professor Lutz, for having taught me almost everything I know about the Biblical Hebrew language and how to analyze its poetry. It was during my study of the Psalms that I first came across iv inclusios and realized their importance for the study of Surat al-Baqara. Professor Timothy Harrison has introduced me to the archaeology of the ancient Near East and has impressed upon me the importance of the material record. It was in Professor Paul Dion‘s course on ancient Israel that I first developed a desire to study the Bible, which opened my eyes to different approaches to the study of scripture. I would also like to express my appreciation of Anna Sousa, Jennie Jones, and Maria Leonor Vivona, for having taken such good care of the administrative aspect of my graduate experience. This dissertation has been made possible by a University of Toronto doctoral fellowship. I am also indebted to my school in Egypt, the Deutsche Evangelische Oberschule, where I learned the German language at an early age, without which I would not have had access to some of the groundbreaking scholarship that I have used in this dissertation. Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my mother, Zeinab Aboul Fetouh, and my sister, Jehan Reda, for their unwavering support of me and of my children, and my brother, Omar Reda, and my late father, Ismail Reda, for their encouragement and belief in me. My sister and my brother have also been instrumental in finding some of the hard to get Egyptian secondary scholarship, which has proved so useful in my dissertation. Last but not least, I owe a very special thank you to my husband, Yehia El-Tahry, for his constant support and many sacrifices, and my daughters, Naila, Malak, Lenah and Jasmin Zeinab, for foregoing many precious hours of family time and motherly care. This dissertation is dedicated to them. v Table of Contents Title Page i Abstract ii Acknowledgments iv Table of Contents vi List of Tables vii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Chapter 2 Historical Background 12 Chapter 3 Methodological Observations: On Intertextuality, Divine Self- Revelatory and Pedagogical Readings 56 Chapter 4 Oral Type-Setting: Repetition and Structure 78 Chapter 5 Al-Fātiḥa 122 Chapter 6 Divine Self-Revelatory Reading 136 Chapter 7 Pedagogical Reading 157 Chapter 8 Conclusion 186 Glossary 195 Bibliography 197 vi List of Tables Name Description Page Table 1 Transliteration Chart 10 Table 4.1 General Thematic Outline of Surat al-Baqara 88 Table 4.2 Disputed Borders of Thematic Sections 99 Table 4.3 The Inclusios of Surat al-Baqara 101-104 Table 4.4 The al-Baqara Chiasms 116 Table 4.5 Chiasms and Alternations of Section §3.2 (152-242) 117 Table 4.6 Alternations of Section §3.3 (vv. 243 -286) 119 Table 5 Comparison Between al-Fātiḥa and the Beginning of Genesis 127 Table 6.1 Occurrences of ―Guidance‖ and its Derivatives 139-141 Table 6.2 Thematic Structure of Panel 1 (vv. 1-39) 145 Table 6.3 Thematic Structure of Panel 2 (vv. 40-123) 146 Table 6.4 Thematic Structure of Panel 3 (vv. 124-286) 150 Table 7.1 Repeated Elements of Inclusio 4 167 Table 7.2 Intertextual Relations of Section §3.2 to Sections §1 and §2 169-170 Table 7.3 Alternating Belief- and Practice-Related Topics of §3.2 & §3.3 171-172 Table 7.4 §3.3 Alternation Between Wealth- and Life-Related Topics 174 Table 7.5 §3.3 Alternation Between Story and Injunction 176 Table 8.1 Outline of al-Baqara‘s Tripartite Structure 189 Table 8.2 Outline of al-Baqara‘s Seven Inclusios 189 Table 8.3 Outline of al-Baqara‘s Panel Structure 189 vii 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction enriched by cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural developments in western and traditional Muslim lands. Whereas the West has provided insights from the fields of literary criticism, biblical studies, and other disciplines, twentieth century scholarship in traditional Muslim lands has contributed a developing interest in the integrity and coherence of the suras. In the newly emerging approaches suras are treated as whole literary units, as opposed to previous, atomistic, verse-by-verse treatments.1 Some suras were relatively easy to treat as a whole, particularly the smaller Meccan ones, which are associated with the first years of the prophet‘s mission, when he was based in the city of Mecca. The work of scholars in the field, such as Angelika Neuwirth, on their structure and composition,2 has lead to the widely promulgated notion that these suras form coherent units. However, this is not the case for the longer Medinan suras, which are associated with the later years of the prophet‘s mission, when he lived in the city of Medina. These suras can often appear confusing 1 Hawting and Abdul-Kader A. Shareef (eds), (London: Routledge, 1993), pp. 211-224. Reprinted in Colin Turner (ed.), The Koran: Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies: Translation and Exegesis (4 vols.