نشریه قرآن پژوهی خاورشناسان (قرآن و مستشرقان)
سال هشتم شماره 1 (پیاپی 14، بهار و تابستان 1392)

The question of different readings and difference in recitations of the Quran has direct relation with the text of the glorious Quran inasmuch as it would entail its distortion if one proves absolute freedom in its recitation. The Orientalists such as Goldziher paid attention to this problem. Some of the profound Qur’ānic researchers, who heeded the Prophet's importance on safety of the Quran [from distortion], emphasize on one exemplary recitation and ascribe the differences of opinion in recitation of the Quran after his lifetime. According to them, the conclusions that Goldziher has drawn in his research are due to his one-sided reference to the Sunnite sources, his particular suppositions and his unilateralist approach in the study. The writer has a critical appraisal of Goldziher's opinions about the different readings of the Quran: as he ascribes unfairly all the readings of the Quran to the Prophet (PBUH and his family), he does not believe in one immutable text of the Quran, he proves full freedom for everyone to recite the Quran as he wishes, he equates the Quran with that of the Testaments and finally believes that distortion has infiltrated in the Quran as well.

The science of exegesis is a lucrative element to better understand the Quran and obey the divine teachings. To be aware of interpreter's exegetical tendencies and methods plays a key role in apprehension of the exegeses and thus has always attracted the attention of researchers. Ignaz Goldziher, a Hungarian Jew Oriental, is one of those Orientalists who have explored the exegetical tendencies of the Quran amongst the Muslims and have challenged some of the Shiite means of induction. The present paper studies the books written on exegetical tendencies among the Muslims and responds the baseless critiques developed by Goldziher on the Shiite exegesis. The writer has critically treated Goldziher's opinion on the Shiite metaphorical and symbolic styles of exegesis, his accusation that the Shiites do not rely on the Uthmanic Codex of the Quran and that they believe in distortion of the Quran. Finally, the conclusion is drawn that Goldziher has attributed the exegetical styles and theories of the Qur’ānic sciences of many Muslim sects to Shia.

The book under the title of 'The Blackwell Companion to the Quran' contains various articles by leading figures. The article 'introducing' written by Tamara Sonn constitutes the first essay of the very book. This printed work is one of the prevalent curricula of the Islamic sciences in western universities. Tamara Sonn, in his article, has dealt with the following general themes: structure of the text, voice and audience, history of the text, the relationship of the Quran to other Scriptures, themes of the Quran, role of the Quran in Islamic life: ritual and art, the Quran in law, the principles and practice of Qur’ānic interpretation. The paper after offering a report from its translation and calling attention to its positives and negatives reviews Sonn’s work in terms of its contents and structure. The author has also highlighted the difference of opinion Sonn and the Shiite exegetes have with each other. In general, he studies Sonn's views critically and provides due answers for nine cases he has dealt with in his article.

The current paper introduces and reviews the entry of 'translation and the Quran' in the Encyclopedia of the Quran edited by Oliver Leaman. This entry [article] is written by Afnan H. Fatani. The writer of the article has touched the following themes: translation and ethics, methods of translation, the referential versatility of Qur’ānic words, Qur’ānic dictionaries and translation aids and a brief history of Qur’ānic translations. Notwithstanding many positive and worthwhile arguments of the article, there are materials that can and will be critically treated on the basis of principles of translation and the conditions of translator of the Quran. According to him, the writer of the entry could not well organize his data, knew less about his material's whereabouts, his poor arguments fall short of proving his notion, offered inadequate exposition of the contents if not lacking the descriptions at all, his entry contain inaccurate facts and finally gave no way to minimal information about some of the translations.

Almost after a decade from the advent of Islam, the Christian West found the presence of Muslims in their borders assuming Islam as a political challenge for them. The Islamic civilization that was gradually on the rise in different dimensions complicated the issue further. In the meantime, the West chose to challenge Islam showing different types of reactions including the Crusades and Quranology. Concurrent to the Crusades, the theologians and defenders of the Christian beliefs emphasized on learning Islamic teachings. Thus, they began to translate the Quran so as to fully grasp the content of the Quran. Because, they assumed it as a means of intellectual and spiritual dispute [war] and as a complement to their military campaign against the Muslims. The current paper studies the Christian western Quranology and their Crusades. As such, he pointed at Dir Kluni in religious dynamism of the western society. The paper also talks about the following themes: the position of Ṭulayṭulah [presently Toledo] in respect with the translation of Islamic works, introducing those who conducted the project of 'Quranology', their motives and ends and finally the impacts of Latin translation of the Quran in Christianity.

The article at hand reviews the entry ‘Archaeology and the Quran’ in the Leiden Encyclopedia of the Quran. This article, being an interdisciplinary work on the Quran and sciences in EQ, is written by the contemporary writer Robert Schick. The writer deals with the destiny of the past nations, their archaeological works, the historical governments and many other archaeological activities of Arabian Peninsula in the light of the Quran. He while considering the socio- cultural milieu where Islam developed in, confesses that he could not derive desirable conclusions. Then, he briefly points at the archaeological studies of Bait al-Muqaddas. The author prior to his review of the paper, presents a brief account of Robert Schick's article. His archaeological view, in the very article ‘Archaeology and the Quran’, is worthwhile but his lack of attention to all sources and his doctrinal backgrounds prompted some critical mistakes which devalue his scholarly work. More precisely, the writer treats critically his following notions: the helpful methods that archaeology makes the Qur’ānic concepts clearer, casting doubts in the existence of some historical documents in present-day Saudi Arabia, special remembrance from the Thamud tribe, doubting the fact whether or not Suleiman was cotemporary to the queen of Saba, the condition of other ancient places and traces that go back to the early days of Islam and his archaeological studies of Bait al-Muqaddas.

It is almost a truism to say that theses and dissertations play a vital role in scientific development of the researches and researchers. This fact makes us pay extreme heed not only to the quantity but also to the quality of the theses. The Muslim scholars and researchers have recently begun their critical appraisal of the Orientalist's Qur’ānic activities and studies. The present paper overviews more than 80 M.A. and PhD theses that have delved into the Orientalist's Qur’ānic studies. The author gives a brief introduction of the very theses including a list from their chapters and the necessities on the Qur’ānic theses in the field of orientalism. In general, these theses can be classified according to three categories: the first covers the critique of standpoints developed by a particular orientalist. The second treats a particular topic from the Islamic teachings or Qur’ānic sciences in the light of orientalists’ view. The third studies and reviews the orientalist's stance adding complementary points to their researches