Trends of Western Studies of the History of the Qur’an; Critical Approach to New Skepticism

Until the 1970s in Western Studies the Qur’an was to be a book of reconstructing the history of revelation and the edition of the Qur’an in the first century AH. Wansbrough’s Qur'anic Studies and Crown and Cook’s the Hajarism were considered as a turning point towards a skeptical trend regarding the Qur’an as a historical source of Arabic literature from the middle of the second century. The present paper, based on the historical analysis method, introduces these trends, as well as the issue and their general assumptions, and the most important critiques of the modern skepticism are discussed here. Before the skepticism on the historical authenticity of the Qur’an, four approaches are to be mentioned there: Descriptive, Source-critical, Tradition-critical, and Skeptical approaches in Islamic sources. Then, new revisionists and skeptics’ views, those who believe that the Qur’an was compiled since the middle of the second century, and that narratives of Islamic sources are “salvation history”, are mentioned. Scholars have pointed to inscriptions, Qur’anic codices and recently found coins in criticizing the skeptics’ views. In addition to these sources, two other ways to criticize skeptics are emphasized here as well: “isnād-matn analysis” about narratives, and “the need for a presumption of conspiracy or broad consensus”.