Evaluating Wansbrough's View on Prophetical Logia, in His Qur’anic Studies

According to Wansbrough, the Qur'anic canon is the result of the juxtaposition of “prophetical logias” that appeared due to the sectarian requirements in various communities and were organized following the socialization process using a limited number of rhetorical rules. The verses related to “Shoaib's mission”, “the description of the four gardens of Paradise” (Al-Rahmān: 46-76) and “the story of Ja’far and Najāshī” are examples of “prophetical logia”. Denying the historical authenticity of Shoaib's story, emphasizing the allegorical function of this story and adapting some of its themes from the Testaments, emphasizing the compilation of the verses 62-76 (description of the second two gardens) before verses 46-60 (description of the first two gardens), insisting the imaginary report of the emigration to Abyssinia and Ja’far's conversation with Najāshī, the fabrication of the verses related to this story and its adaptation from describing the necessities of the new religion in the words of Christian missionaries, are Wansbrough's claims about these three examples. Since he has studied the issue with the method of literary analysis, this article also uses the same method to evaluate his views.