Scripts and Scripture: Writing and Religion in Arabia circa 500-700 CE

The Arabic Qur'an emerged from western Arabia during a time of religious fragmentation and lacked a established writing tradition. This volume discusses the religious concepts in Arabia before the rise of Islam, the complexities of the languages used in the region, and the early coalescence of the Qur'an, including its information on Christianity and other religions.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 287 pages
Publication date: 30 June 2022
Publisher: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

The emergence of Islam's sacred scripture, the Arabic Qur'an, from western Arabia at a time when the region was religiously fragmented and lacked a clearly established tradition of writing is a fascinating and complex topic. This volume, the proceedings of a scholarly conference, delves into various aspects of this question, shedding light on the religious concepts prevalent in Arabia in the centuries preceding the rise of Islam, which reflect the presence of polytheism and various forms of monotheism, including Judaism and Christianity.

The complexities surrounding the writing systems of the Arabian Peninsula, including Nabataean and various North Arabian dialects of Semitic, are also explored in depth. The gradual emergence of the now-familiar Arabic script from the Nabataean script originally intended to render a dialect of Aramaic is a significant aspect of this narrative.

The religious implications of inscriptions from the pre-Islamic and early Islamic centuries are carefully examined in this volume. The early coalescence of the Qur'an, the kind of information it contains on Christianity and other religions that formed part of the environment in which it first appeared, the development of key Qur'anic concepts, and the changing meanings of certain terms used in the Qur'an are all explored in detail.

The contributions of scholars from various disciplines, including history, linguistics, and religious studies, make this volume a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the origins and development of the Arabic Qur'an. The insights and perspectives offered by these experts provide a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of this important religious text and its historical context.

ISBN-13: 9781614910732