A STUDY OF LUXENBERG'S VIEW ON SYRIAC – ARAMIC ORIGIN OF THE WORD “QURAN”

Muslim lexicographers refer to the word Qur'an as authentic Arabic, meaning "reading", "recitation" [deriven from "qiraat"]. Some Eastern scholars have termed the word non-Arabic and its origin as "Qurayana" in Syriac-Aramaic language. While acknowledging the meanings of "reading", "recitation" that Muslims have taken to mean it,  they have had different interpretations of these meanings. Christopher Luxenberg, author of the book "Syriac-Aramaic Reading of the Qur'an," argues that the Quriana refers to excerpts from texts read in worship. According to him due to the Qur'an itself, the source of these excerpts has been the Holy Book [Bible]. In this article, the term "Qur'an" has been examined using historical-comparative linguistics and the author's views have been criticized.