Review

Reviewed Work(s): Fables of the Ancients? Folklore in the Qur'an by Alan Dundes
Review by: Mustansir Mir
Source: Journal of Islamic Studies , May 2008, Vol. 19, No. 2 (May 2008), pp. 247-251
Published by: Oxford University Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26200674

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Journal of Islamic Studies 19:2 (2008) dp. 247-301

BOOK REVIEWS

Fables of the Ancients? Folklore in the Qur'an

By Alan Dundes (New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publi
Inc.), 104 pp. Price HB $75.00. ISBN 0742526712.

This book, though some of its premises and conclusions are questionab
entirely without merit. It presents—to my knowledge, for the first
massive body of organized data to highlight the extent to which the
language is, as author Alan Dundes puts it, formulaic. And it raises
theoretical questions about the presence in the Quran of previously
folktales. It is not the first book to make the point about the formulaic
the Qur'an or point out the presence of folktales in it. Nevertheless, the
a trained folklorist who confesses ignorance of the Arabic language an
no acquaintance with Quranic hermeneutical literature, history, or m
ogy, makes some interesting points, especially with reference to what he
folkloristic element in the Qur'an.
That the Quran contains a lot of reiterated material is well known. D
concerned with the reiteration at the level of language. Of the three main
of the book, the second, 'Oral Formulas in the Qur'an', consists of pain
compiled catalogues of formulas found in the Qur'an. These catalogue
the highly mechanical nature of Dundes' approach. Oral-formulaic t
he maintains, can be applied to any genre, oral or written, that conta
fiable formulas: 'Accordingly, one could imagine oral-formulaic studie
everyday forms as introductions of speakers, graduation addresses, book
obituary notices, personal want ads, and various types of letters, such as
condolences and letters of recommendation' (p. 20). This statement is a
as long as one remembers that a book review is not the same as an
notice. That the use of formulas is common to book reviews and obituary
is, at best, a half-truth—its other half being that a book review (or the
book reviews) is qualitatively different from an obituary notice (or t
of obituary notices). It would be grossly reductive to argue that the R
Center is no different from the gas station a few blocks away since the s
and mortar, or the same lumber or steel, were used to construct both bu
And this is the crux of the matter: Is it sufficient to identify the ex
formulas in the Qur'an or is it also necessary to explain what functio
formulas perform in the particular Quranic contexts in which they o
needs to know what sets the Qur'an apart, what gives it its distinctive
along with the so-called formulas in it. Apart from the fact that the
serve to focus attention on the salient features of the Qur'anic world

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies 2
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248 BOOK REVIEWS

ideation—a point noted (pp. 69-70), though perhaps not f

the author—it frequently happens that an identical or n
used in two different contexts, will have a different me
Quranic exegesis deals with the general issue of reiterati
exist dedicated works that, using a terminology somew
Dundes', address issues that, according to Dundes, appli
oral-formulaic theory raises. Incidentally, an important ma
by the author is whether orality is monochromatic. In o
rather short period of revelation of the Qur'an, the fact th
it lacks a precedent in pre-Islamic Arabia, and that the Q
calls itself a book, can one say that Qur anic orality is su
Homeric or Biblical orality to admit of the application t
suited to the latter?

Dundes remarks that several Quranic formulaic phrases refer to 'the negative
connotations of folk narratives', and he cites (pp. 53-4) the phrase 'fables of the
ancients' (6. 25 and elsewhere), used by the Quran's opponents. This remark
illustrates his preoccupation with the formulaic nature of the Qur'an language
in disregard of the idea or thought that occasions the use of such language.
Even a brief review of the exegesis on the above-quoted phrase would have
shown that the phrase has nothing to do with the Qur'an's purported
disparagement of folk narratives as such. In narrating the stories of earlier
nations, the Qur'an focuses on the religious and moral lessons of those stories
and evinces no interest in relating stories for their own sake. In calling the
Quranic stories 'fables of the ancients', the Qur'an's opponents sought to draw
attention away from precisely what the Qur'an was drawing attention to—
namely, the purposive nature of those stories, and they sought to do so by
equating the Qur'anic stories with the common, entertaining stories that were
part of the repertoire of tradition handed down from earlier times. At issue was
the character of the Qur'anic stories, the Qur'an affirming, and the Qur'an's
opponents denying, the moral and religious character of those stories. The phrase
'fables of the ancients', thus, represents a defensive remark and, as such, could
only be put in the mouths of the Qur'an's opponents, the Qur'an citing
this phrase of theirs without comment precisely because it invites sensible people
to decide for themselves whether the stories in question belong in the category of
fables of the ancients, as alleged by the Qur'an's opponents, or whether
they illustrate the several important lessons that the Qur'an seeks to highlight.
This, then, is the background to the occurrence of the phrase 'fables of the
ancients' in the Qur'an. To Dundes, however, the phrase is just one more datum
to be added to the list of formulas. Incidentally, what does it really mean to say
that the Qur'anic use of the phrase 'fables of the ancients' is a formula? If the
phrase occurs in the Qur'an several times, then this only suggests the likelihood
that the issue to which its use points must have arisen on more than one occasion
and in more than one context, in which case the Qur'an had to repeat the phrase
to refer to each occasion or context in question. To ignore the need for the
reiteration of the phrase and focus only on the fact of it is to sacrifice substance
at the altar of theory.

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 BOOK REVIEWS 249

In the Preface, which explains the author's motivation for writing this book, he
mentions the discreet reluctance of scholars to undertake a study of the formulas
in the Qur'an. He also speaks of his colleagues' attempt to dissuade him from
undertaking a possibly dangerous project. Elsewhere, he writes: 'Western
scholars who are in theory free to study whatever they like tend to value their
association with Arab colleagues and consequently have refrained from
examining the Quran from a folkloristic viewpoint as a matter of respect for
their colleagues' (p. 22). It has to be said that, academic freedom in the West
notwithstanding, there are many subjects other than the Qur'an that Western
scholars refrain from examining and writing about, either from considerations of
respect for their colleagues (and not only Arab or Muslim ones) or to avoid
unpleasant consequences: there certainly is a thing called expedient self
censorship. Yet, the fact is that the Qur'an has hardly been a sacred cow in
Western academic precincts—several writers have dealt with it in a rather 'bold'
fashion, citing, understandably, the principle of academic freedom.
'What is the Qur'an?' (pp. 1-15), the first main section of the book seems of
limited relevance to its subject. It discusses the following issues: the Prophet's
'illiteracy'; piecemeal revelation of the Qur'an and the order of the suras;
Makkan and Madinan suras; Qur'anic codices and standardization of the text;
the doctrine of the inerrancy of the Qur'an; the Prophet's many marriages; the
notion of abrogation and the issue of contradictions in the Qur'an; the
untranslatability of the Qur'an; Muslim reservations about the applicability of
'critical methods' to the Qur'an, and the fate in Muslim societies of those who
dared to use such methods (Nasr Hamld Abu Zayd, Taha Husayn, Khalafallah);
non-Muslim scholars' reluctance to apply 'higher criticism' to the Qur'an; the
Qur'an as a replica of an original residing in the heavens; the original orality of
the Qur'an.
A college student who read this section with a view to finding an answer to
'What is the Qur'an?' is likely to remain unenlightened. Nor is this section
integrally tied to the book's main theme—formula and folklore in the Qur'an—
even if the discussion of the application of literary and critical methods to it
paves the way for a comment on the difficulty of undertaking a folkloristic study
of the Qur'an (pp. 13-14). Unfortunately, the main impressions one gets from
reading this section is that the Qur'an is at odds with Western literary tastes and
that Muslim societies do not hesitate to persecute intellectuals who uphold the
Western-style ideal of free inquiry.
In the modern period, both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars have already
subjected to extensive critical scrutiny views about the Qur'an that represented
the Western medieval mindset. In this book, however, a sense of discovery attends
the citation of such views. For example, the author cites, without reporting any
historical discussion pertaining to it, the view that hallucination or epilepsy
produced the Prophet's revelational experience (p. 6). Likewise, the issue of
translation or that of the presence of foreign vocabulary in the Qur'an (pp. 9-10)
have been dealt with in detail in literature on the Qur'an and diverse views are
known to exist on each issue. One more example: Dundes finds it odd that
the Qur'an should forbid the drinking of wine in this world but allow it in the

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250 BOOK REVIEWS

next (p. 8). This too has been has been written upon. (Inc
impression that the Qur'an speaks of 'the celestial 'white' w
Verbal Idioms of the Qur'an (1989), as evidence (p. 8). T
source is to the heavenly 'pure' wine, not to any 'white' wi
between 'pure' and 'white,' significant in its own right, sug
question about the prohibition of wine-drinking in this wo
of it in heaven.)
In arguing his case for the presence of folklore in the
three instances of 'tale types': the story of the Seven Sle
journey of Moses in the company of an unnamed indiv
seemingly strange acts (sura 18), and Solomon's journey
Ants and his ability to understand ant language (sura 2
presence of folklore in the Qur'an—or in the Bible, fo
complicated one, and Dundes' discussion deserves a more
can be offered here. One or two points are worth making
Dundes notes (p. 64) that a Vietnamese version of the ta
language' is very similar to the Qur'anic story of Solom
obviously, no historical connection, one way or the oth
between the Vietnamese story and the Qur'anic one, it wou
even a close resemblance between two stories of two diff
not constitute evidence of one culture having borrowed
culture or of a 'legend' having migrated from one cultural
said, one can imagine that the Qur'an, which consciously an
and actually cites, for example, Biblical commandments,
the idea of citing stories from other sources—Biblical or
as doing so serves its particular purpose. Take the story
Cave. Dundes emphasizes that the Qur'an borrows the st
that is, Christian—source. But, as was noted a moment a
cite from the Bible, it can also cite from Christian history
the Qur'an's narration of incidents from earlier sources,
historical, takes place strictly on its own terms, those
thoroughly Qur'anicized in the course of the narration.
It should be noted, at least in the interest of terminologic
the context of the Qur'anic (and, one might add, Bib
supernatural or the extraordinary, since it is willed by t
the natural or the ordinary, does not necessarily mean
From one perspective, the story of Solomon comprehen
may unquestionably be tale or fiction, but, from an
may actually have happened. Of course, in the case of
Solomon and the ant, it is always possible to take the alle
are simply too many things in the Qur'an (and in t
allegorical interpretation. Regardless of what position o
we may have here two conceptions of history that, at
become irreconcilable.

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 BOOK REVIEWS

Finally, one or two minor points: The names 'Hale

'Zeid' should be listed, both in the main text and in the b
Haleem', 'Ibn Warraq' and 'Abou Zeid', and 'Qur'an' need
Mustansir Mir
Dept of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Youngstown State University
E-mail: mmir@ysu.edu
doi:10.1093/jis/etn029

The 'Constitution of Medina': Muhammad's First Legal Document

By Michael Lecker (Princeton, NJ: The Darwin Press, 2004),
111 pp. Price HB $35.00. EAN 978-0-87850-148-9.

Michael Lecker provides us with a monograph exclusively focused on a single

legal document from the time of the Prophet. Among both specialists in Islamic
studies and the general public, this document is commonly known as the
'Constitution of Madina'. Yet the creators of the document called it 'kitab'—
literally, 'a written document'. The book derives from the author's Ph.D. thesis
submitted in Hebrew to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in 1982.
Muslim historians and jurists have been familiar with this important
document for centuries, and aware of its legal and theological implications for
Islamic law. It was first brought to the attention of scholars in the West at the end
of the nineteenth century by Wellhausen, who accepted it as an authentic
document from the time of the Prophet. Since then, such leading orientalists
as Goldziher, Gil, Serjeant, Goto, U. Rubin and J. B. Simonsen have studied
various aspects of it.
Among the many scholars who have researched this document, Muhammad
Hamidullah's work has had the greatest impact on both Muslims and non
Muslims, perhaps because he 'often employed political science terminology'
(Lecker, p. 1). Hamidullah described the document, which preceded the Magna
Carta by several centuries, as 'the earliest written constitution, promulgated by a
sovereign for his own statal conduct, both in internal and foreign affairs'.
The document, the importance of which is duly emphasized by Lecker, has
many implications for Islamic law regarding constitutional rights, relations with
non-Muslims, minority rights and, in particular, freedom of religion. It is also
highly important in Islamic political theory and in discussions of the concept of
an Islamic state, about which there has been much controversy for several
decades among contemporary Muslims.
Yet the relevance of the 'Constitution of Madina' for such subjects as the
conduct of Muslim states, Islamic law and political theory are not explored in
the book, which limits itself to meticulously presenting the critical edition of the
document and its English translation. The book treats the document merely as an
historical one, although the actions of the Prophet have been the source of

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