Review

Reviewed Work(s): La composition du Coran: Nazm al-Qur'ân / ‫روايات‬:‫جمع القرآن وفيفيان كوميرو‬
‫مراجعة آن سيلفي بوليفو‬.‫ جمع القرآن في مصحف عثمان‬by Michel Cuypers and ‫مايكل كويبارس‬: Les
traditions sur la constitution du muṣḥaf de ʿUthmān. Beiruter Texte und Studien, Band
134 by Viviane Comerro
Review by: Anne-Sylvie Boisliveau
Source: Journal of Qur'anic Studies , 2013, Vol. 15, No. 2 (2013), pp. 153-162
Published by: Edinburgh University Press on behalf of the Centre for Islamic Studies
at SOAS

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/24280445

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 Book Reviews 153

La composition du Coran: Nazm

2012. Pp. 199. €35.00.
Les traditions sur la constitut
Beiruter Texte und Studien, Ban
Erlon Verlag, 2012. Pp. 219. €4

The two recently-published book

both relate to the way the text
different approaches: the first dea
the second with the evolution of
constitution.

La composition du Coran is de
deconstructing (and reconstmc
rhetoric analysis', as the author M
has been (and continues to be
exploration of ancient Semitic la
of marks (analogies or opposit
reconstruction of the non-linear
when composing the text. As a re
a more reliable and easier key to

Michel Cuypers, a Belgian resear

Studies) in Cairo, has been apply
text for years, publishing severa
suras.1 Methodologically he relie
Meynet as outlined in his Rhetor
Cuypers' work came to the fore
publication of his book Le Fe
Lethielleux, 2007), translated in
Fifth Sura of the Qur'an (Paris: C
of this method to Sürat al-Mä'id
connections of the sura with Bi
than its rigorous demonstration o
the longest suras of the Qur'an,
be the last one to have been r
hypotheses - the last one to have
hypothesis of the whole Qur'ani

Le Festin has been diversely rec

some of them probably due to th
in Biblical scholarship - either f
that the Qur'anic text has its ow

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154 Journal of Qur'anic Studies

studies methods. Others, considering the method from a distan

very strict framework that would impose on the text rigid sec
inflexible and complex construction. Some also wonder if the s
text by Cuypers is not, in the end, universal to all expression
Other scholars are more enthusiastic about this new method of
interpretations of a founding text that has crucial implications. F
Le Festin did not go unnoticed. Then, encouraged by the u
scholars of a younger generation and also by misunderstandings
felt the need to write a new book that would provide a th
and methodological guidance to the application of Semitic
the Qur'an. La composition du Coran, he writes, aims to 'syste
number of ways of redaction ('procédés d'écriture') that insure
of the Qur'an (p. 9, my translation).

In Cuypers' view, this method is a step forward in Qur'anic s

feature of the Qur'an that has never been exposed in toto, alth
the Semitic structure of the Qur'an had already been mention
Cuypers mentions these in his first chapter, for instance those
thereby situating his method within the general quest for
coherence of the Qur'anic text.

Chapters Two to Six are devoted to the method itself. C

'binarity and paratax', features of the Qur'anic text that help i
reconstructing its structure. By the word 'binarité', Cuypers r
component of the Qur'an's rhetoric that would more properly
pairing', as in the title of an article by Sabine Schmidtke in t
the Qur°än. This meaning differs from my own use of the term
as the limitation of the vocabulary to only two possibili
binary language. Moreover, whereas the author rightly points
many juxtapositions of sentences ('parataxes') are used withou
exact relation between the two sentences, he chooses the e
the particle wa- but seems to omit the fact that wa- does not
according to Arabic grammar (p. 31-2). Nevertheless, his r
he notes that the lack of clear tools expressing the relation b
is a feature of the Qur'an and of Arabic in general, in con
subsequently European and Western) ways of writing: 'le G
propose' (p. 34).

Chapter Three presents the levels of the text's organ

composition'), corresponding to textual units, which the resea
one after the other. Whereas in Chapter Six Cuypers provides
how to identify these levels, in Chapter Three he describes ea

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 Book Reviews 155

smallest to the biggest: 'terme' (w

(member), 'segment', 'morc
(sequence), 'section' and finally
'sous-sections' can be added as
somewhat arbitrary, but it is of p
what he means by each of them, b
He expresses his hope that oth
would indeed render any further
avoid the difficulties confronted
unfortunately developed their ow

In the same chapter, Cuypers men

ignorance of which is, in my view
of the critics of this methodo
(lit. 'cutting up', 'division') he ope
according to themes and 'from
based on a close examination of
hierarchy of each level from
bottom-up analysis (p. 35). What
(clues of composition) which c
patterns, even homography) or
of composition' are the marks in
composition'.

Cuypers describes the various 'fi

total symmetry, these are 'com
spéculaires' (mirror compositi
compositions); and in the case of
'termes initiaux', 'termes finaux
centraux', each of them being p
figures of composition, the resea
each level of composition, startin
of the concentric compositions
'Lund's rules' (derived from the o
scholar N.W. Lund; these rules h
concentric compositions (p. 11
observation that in the Qur'an
quotations, i.e. reported speech,

Chapter Six will certainly prove

rhetoric methodology: it sets out
'rewriting' is to take place durin

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 156 Journal of Qur'anic Studies

composition; proceeding by tentative divisions, the researcher

between this level and the immediately superior levels until he
fits all the levels: 'L'analyse devra sans cesse osciller entre le n
les niveaux supérieurs ... jusqu'à ce qu'elle aboutisse à la cohérence la plus
satisfaisante à tous les niveaux textuels, lesquels se commandent les uns les autres'
(p. 143). He then rewrites the correct division of each level, enabling the visualisation
of the results of the method and their subsequent exploitation on the way to
interpretation. The general principles of analysis laid out here can be situated as more
general principles to be respected for any scholarly analysis of the Qur'anic text. This
chapter also provides many examples of the types of diagrams he introduces so as to
expose results in a clear layout.

Chapter Seven is devoted to techniques of interpretation. Cuypers stresses that, after

the lexicological and grammatical data, the first element to take into account
when commenting a verse or a passage is its context. By 'context', he means first the
smallest textual unit in which the verse or passage is situated, then the one
immediately superior, etc., up to the highest level (i.e. the whole Qur'an). Here finally
the usefulness of the Semitic rhetoric method becomes apparent: it enables the
commentator to understand the verse within its exact contexts at each level of

composition, i.e. the very contexts in which the 'author' (or redactor) of the Qur'an
placed this very verse (at member level, segment level, piece level, etc.). Cuypers
insists that, in contrast to the tafsïr al-Qur'än bi'l-Qur'än approach to interpreting
the text, in which the commentator arbitrarily chooses to which other Qur'anic verse
he links the commentated verse, Semitic rhetoric analysis, by focusing first on the
smallest unit and relying on objective rules to determine to which other verses the
verse relates, is a guarantee of objective understanding (p. 161).

Then, the second element to take into account when interpreting a verse is the
intertextual data, i.e. the possible existence of similar topics in Biblical and para
Biblical texts. Cuypers provides a few (but meaningful) examples in which the
Semitic rhetoric method, in combination with intertextuality, enables an interpretation
based on more objective elements than the traditional interpretation. Such is the
case for the 'verse of abrogation' (Q. 2:106) (p. 165-7) and for Sürat al-cAlaq (Q. 96).
The first part of Q. 96 is usually explained by traditional interpretations as the call to
prophethood addressed to Muhammad in the Cave of Hira, to which a later revelation,
the second half of the sura, was joined. But, application of Semitic rhetoric
methodology concludes that the sura is built as a unity, clearly showing that the whole
sura is indeed a call to prayer. Intertextuality reinforces this conclusion: it leads
Cuypers to propose that the verb iqra° originally means 'invoke the name of your
Lord', thus a call to perform prayer, and was long misunderstood (p. 168-72). The
conclusion that the sura is a call to prayer, says Cuypers, relies on several elements,
whereas traditional interpretation relies on only one element: the fact that the verb

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 Book Reviews 157

iqra° is in the imperative form.

back to the text its universality
the text had thrown away' (p. 1
occasions that his results lead to
less-known classical Muslim com
interpreters.

The author of the second book p

de Prémare, Professor of Islami
National Institute for Oriental L
can study all sorts of non West
la constitution du mushafde cUth
of Islamic traditions (ahâdïth) of
single written version, named th
Islamic view is that the Qur'an w
of the Prophet and mainly after,
(d. 35/656) in a single version cop
being believed to reproduce it
revelation. But what did the early
text? This is the question Comerr
of the CAPES et Agrégation d'ar
in Arabic language in French acad
present book published with the s
investigated are of all types, fro
official canonisation of ahâdïth in
canonised hadïth collections such
and Muslim (d. 261/875) (ch. 5
(ch. 2), to some Shfï hadïth coll
end of the ninth/fifteenth centur
by Ibn Shihâb al-Zuhri, (d. 124/
al-Tabari on this topic go back. B
Collection of the Qur'an: A Reco
Methodological Developments'3) t
not aim at dating the earliest possi
Qur'an. Her goal, she states, is to
of these traditions. That is, she
composed, when, where and by
about these events has later been
inserted into specific contexts, e

Chapter Three is devoted to the

in the canonised versions and

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158 Journal of Qur'anic Studies

previous traditions. These narrative patterns have been selected

hadlth collector according to his own goals. For instance, al-B
choices concerning the role played by Zayd b. Thäbit in the co
A question was: did Zayd know the text of the Qur'an by hea
Muhammad, as stated in certain traditions, or on the contrary
the recitation of the Qur'an by other Companions in order to wri
other ahâdïthl Al-Bukhârî supported the doctrine of the crea
(p. 100): he then used traditions stressing the technical work
by Zayd, emphasising the elements of human initiative and e
avoided traditions mentioning divergent recitations between Ira
probably due to his concern for unity. Chapter Four analyses
others related to the 'art of composing' practiced by al-Bukhârî,
he was never just a passive transmitter.

Chapter Five compares al-Bukhârî's traditions with those tran

highly canonical collector of hadïth: Muslim. Flowever, Musli
precise event of the composition of the mushaf of cUthmän: C
other related themes described in Muslim's SahJh, such as the
the 'seven ahrüf.

Chapters Six and Seven are devoted to later periods. Chapter S

related to the history of the mushaf after its fixation, such
(qirä'ät). Chapter Seven explains how theological ideas have fav
of particular versions of the history of the composition of t
also shows that a role possibly played by cÄ3isha (ch. 8) and b
constitution of the mushaf has been excluded from the mainst
even though clues of the role of cÄ°isha still appears in the S
for instance.

The last chapter is a synthesis of the conclusions of each questio

making clear that a real 'progressive theologisation of the his
corpus' of the Qur'an took place (p. 204). In other words, the inf
in Sunn! classical Islam about the way the Qur'an was collected
by step, been accorded to the dogma defining the Qur'an. Wh
scholars, for example Ibn Shabba, have listed all possible inform
others did very systematically choose and organise the tradit
in order to tune them to mainstream theological ideas, s
uncreatedness of the Qur'an.

The critical argumentation of Comerro could have been made c

of diagrams showing the lines of transmission of the tradition
lines of G.HA. Juynboll's diagrams for instance), as would a tab
transmitters with their date of death and place of residence hav

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 Book Reviews 159

within the text of the Arabic tra

translation is provided in footnote

The contribution to Qur'anic stud

to different methods (philologica
and tafslr), is, in my view, signif
framework necessary in order for
Semitic rhetoric analysis. Possibly
the author to openly expect other r
book can be seen above all as a hu
methodology, sharing it with tran
like him, all the advantages of this
to fix a clear terminology to be use
will render work on these questio
this he only repeats the conclusion
to Semitic analysis, cannot be desc
Comerro's work is, likewise, a seri
constitution of the mushaf attrib
study of the way this history was
that the history of 'what happe
transmission of ideas about 'what

Both books raise new questions

Cuypers' work does not raise any
But the questions raised by Le Fes
reader of La composition du Coran
(ch. 8), Cuypers mentions a few is
structure in the Qur'an. He notes
wider cultural area; he provides th
(p. 182). He even suggests that the
be a reason for the presence of sy
with the fact that this structure
Greek or European languages expr
Semitic analysis raises the questio
mainly oral or mainly written? W
structure or not? Cuypers leaves
issues raised are huge. For some r
that the composition of the Qur'
imagining persons composing such
written support would have been a
In my personal view (which I do n
hypothesis), Cuypers' conclusions

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 160 Journal of Qur'anic Studies

composition of the text by scribes well trained in these Semitic

rules. If such is the case, who were these scribes, and when and
and how came this text to be considered the collection of oral recited texts received

from Muhammad as revelations? Is this related to the fact that the Qur'an claims for
its own definition as the oral recitation of a divine revelation to the Prophet?4

On a religious level, the text is seen as revealed by God; therefore, the questions
I mentioned would naturally not be asked, or would be asked differently. Indeed, on
the one hand, for the part of the tradition that sees no human role in deciding of the
organization of the Qur'anic corpus, it has been argued by some that Cuypers'
demonstration of a wonderfully organised structure to the Qur'an constitutes another
'proof of its divine origin: Semitic rhetoric analysis as a contribution to the dogma
of icjäz. On the other hand, in the part of the Islamic tradition which considers
some involvement of the Prophet or of his followers in deciding how to assemble
the revelation, the hypotheses of Cuypers would ask the following: did they do so
according to the rules of this Semitic structure? Yet, such a hypothesis has to be
checked if fitting concretely into the exact technique described by Cuypers. Another
issue is that of the challenge some of the interpretative findings of Cuypers' method
may represent for mainstream traditional religious exegesis. Even though he intends to
propose them in a friendly spirit, some of these findings may not find easy acceptance.
As he presented his works to religious scholars in a seminary in Damascus a few
years ago, I witnessed a sudden surge of opposition, not directed towards the method
itself, which most of the audience followed with enthusiasm to this point, but to the
conclusion that the legal theory of abrogation could not be based on the so-called
'verse of abrogation'. Maybe more academic focus on the historical plurality of trends
in classical Islamic thought could help placing findings of this method within the
diversity of the Muslim interpretative tradition.

Within academic inquiry, the question of a possible chronological development of

the text can also be seen as challenged by the discovery of a Semitic stmcture.
Nevertheless, two scenarios would help moderating the opposition between the
diachronic and synchronic hypotheses of composition of the text. First, a
chronological apparition of parts of the text could have preceded its gathering in
sura units by scribes using the 'Semitic structure rules'; the text would then have been
modified, at least its shape. Second, the Semitic rhetoric analysis is not so 'strict' as it
may look, but is quite flexible. The Semitic 'rules of writing' includes the technical
possibility of inserting blocks within an already designed structure. A second scenario
could then consist of later insertions of members or segments in an earlier text - as the
so-called Medinan insertions in Meccan suras.

On a more general ground, another question deserves to be asked: then, why did at
some point the Arabic-speaking people 'lose' the ability of composing (and of reading

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 Book Reviews 161

the structure of) texts in this Se

found some Semitic structure in
seem to have disappeared in class
rhymes and feet survived. Can w
translation of Greek sciences to A
this?

Comerro's work, on the other hand, raises less unexpected questions, as those
are common to any inquiry into the history of a trend of ideas such as a religion.
The transmission of accounts of the historical founding moments of a religion, and
more especially of its founding sources and sacred books, is necessarily related to
the dogmas of this religion. Therefore, the discovery that the canonised ahâdîth
relating the constitution of the mushaf are the result of a multiple process involving
choices made by multiple transmitters, often according to their theological views,
is not a surprise, except maybe for non-academic radical trends. Nevertheless,
Comerro's study raises more detailed questions that need to be investigated, such as:
what was the exact role of each person involved in the process of constitution
of the Qur'an? Was the Qur'an totally written and fixed before the death of the
Prophet who, according to Ibn Qutayba, did recite the whole Qur'an '(relying) on'
(cala) the mushaf of Zayd (p. 52)? What were the different theological debates related
to the Qur'an among classical Muslim scholars, when did they take place, and with
which implications? Types of sources other than, or previous to, canonised Sunn!
hadîth still need to be scanned to help us reconstruct the history of ideas at an early
period.6

Anne-Sylvie Boisliveau
DOI: 10.3366/jqs.2013.0103

NOTES

1 'Une analyse rhétorique du début et de la fin du Coran' in D. de Smet, G. de Calla

J.M.F. Van Reeth (eds), Al-Kitab : La sacralité du texte dans le monde de l'Islam (Br
Louvain-La-Neuve-Leuven, 2004), pp. 233-72 ; 'Lecture rhétorique et intertextuel
sourate al-ikhlâs', MIDEO 25-6 (2004), pp. 141-75 ; 'La composition rhétorique des so
81 à 84', Annales Islamologiques de l'IFAO 31 (2003), pp. 91-136 ; 'Structures rhétoriq
sourates 85 à 90', Annales Islamologiques de l'IFAO 35 (2001), pp. 27-100; 'Struc
rhétoriques des sourates 92 à 98', Annales Islamologiques de l'IFAO 34 (2000), pp.
'Structures rhétoriques des sourates 99 à 104', Annales islamologiques de l'IFAO 33 (
pp. 31-62 ; 'Structures rhétoriques des sourates 105 à 114', MIDEO 23 (1997); 'Stru
rhétoriques dans le Coran. Une analyse structurelle de la sourate "Joseph" et de q
sourates brèves', MIDEO 22 (1994), pp. 107-95.
2 Roland Meynet, Rhetorical Analysis: An Introduction to Biblical Rhetorics (She
Sheffield Academic Press, 1998).

3 Harald Motzki, 'The Collection of the Qur'an: A Reconsideration of Western Views i

of Recent Methodological Developments', Der Islam 78 (2001), pp. 1-34.

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 162 Journal of Qur'anic Studies

4 Cf. Anne-Sylvie Boisliveau, Le Coran par lui-même: Vocabulai

discours coranique autoréférentiel (Leiden: Brill, forthcoming 2013)
5 See for instance Roland Meynet et al., Tarïqat al-tahlïl al-balâghï w
min al-kitâb al-muqaddas wa-min al-hadlth al-nabawï al-sharïf (
Joseph & Dar el-Machreq, 1993).
6 In this vein, another recently published work in French analyses Sh
history: Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Le Coran silencieux et le Co
éditions, 2011).

Tafslr: Interpreting the Quran Edited by Mustafa Shah.

Islamic Studies. 4 vols. London and New York: Routledge, 2
pp. xxv + 570; vol. II, pp. xi + 507; vol. Ill, pp. xi + 485; v
£650.00.

Does the publication of this massive collection of reprinted (and re-typeset)

articles and chapters in the series 'Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies' mark the
arrival of tafslr studies as an established sub-discipline? These four volumes,
comprising over 2,000 pages and 81 essays, certainly make the case for this. Taking
into account that the collection is limited to works in English (two essays originally
written in German are provided in translation, reprinted from another collected
volume on tafslr), and that the oldest essay reprinted here (an extract from
Nabia Abbott) comes from 1967, it is clear that the dimensions of the scholarly
discipline (especially when considered in its full multi-lingual scope) are not
only youthful but also blossoming. The youthfulness of the discipline is
emphasised by the presence in the collection of one essay - by Suleiman Mourad
on al-Jishuml - that has not even been published yet and is announced as part of a
forthcoming book.

It is not the aim of this review to assess the quality or contribution of the individual
essays in these volumes, or to lament the absence of some or the presence of others
(a few of the included essays are my own, so such comments would clearly be
inappropriate). The printed version of the table of contents is available on the
publisher's website (http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415580748/) for
those who wish to leam the precise details of the composition of the volumes. For the
purposes of this review, however, the collection provides a vehicle for reflection on
the state of the discipline and on the way in which the academic study of tafslr has
become structured. Notably, readers are guided in that assessment of the discipline
by the extensive introduction written by the editor, Mustafa Shah. At 157 pages, this is
truly a major piece of work, far beyond what one might expect to encounter in such a
collection. An overview of the contents of the four volumes consumes 25 pages of the
introduction, while the notes to the entire chapter cover 71 pages; the latter are a

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