The written and Oral transmission of the Quran

What is it about?

An attempt to explore the tense relationship between the oral and written transmissions in the history of the Quran. Muslim scholars consider “orality” to be the cornerstone in the process of transmitting their holy text, but there is an argument to be made that writing, in its various forms, was a crucial element in transmitting and validating the Quran. Orality played a theological role in establishing the superiority of the Quran over the Bible. It was/is mainly used as an argumentative device to establish the integrity of the text rather than to establish the text itself.

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Photo by Malik Shibly on Unsplash

Photo by Malik Shibly on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The article sheds new light into the relationship between oral and written transmission of the Quran. It also argues that written transmission was/is more important than orality in establishing and fixing the Quranic text.