Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
. Level Three, Department of Tafsir and Quranic Sciences, Fatimah al-Zahra Seminary, Isfahan, Iran, “Corresponding Author"
2
Assistant Professor, Institute for Research in Islamic Sciences and Culture, Research Center for Philosophy and Islamic Theology, Department of Ethics Philosophy, Qom, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, Baqir al-Uloom University, Department of Foreign Languages and Intercultural Studies, Isfahan, Iran;
10.22034/jqopv.2025.18301.1370
Abstract
Form criticism, which bridges the gap between historical and literary approaches, is one of the most widely used methods for understanding the Qur’an, particularly among Orientalists. In this study, conducted using a descriptive-analytical and library-based method, the authors aim to understand the foundations and outcomes of applying form criticism to the analysis of the Qur’anic text. They first examine the conceptual framework, objectives, and stages of this method, and then, in the second stage, explore its application to the Qur’an by Angelika Neuwirth. In her form-critical analysis of the Qur’an, Neuwirth focuses on “attention to the oral aspect of the Qur’an,” “isolating units and determining literary genres,” and finally “reconstructing historical conditions.” In the stage of “isolating units and determining literary genres,” the demarcation of Qur’anic units is achieved through “typology of verses” and attention to “repetition of verses.” According to her, Qur’anic verses are divided into single-part, multi-part, and verses with concluding clauses, with single-part verses including oath clusters and monotheistic invocations. The stage of “reconstructing historical conditions,” in Neuwirth’s view, is carried out in four parts: reconstructing the historical conditions of the early Meccan, middle Meccan, late Meccan, and Medinan surahs. While the application of form criticism to the Qur’an can be beneficial, critiques of this method include its neglect of ideological complexities in the historical context of the text or the assumptions of interpreters, its oversight of the characteristics of long and complex oral literary units, insufficient information about the social context of the text and the formation of unfounded hypotheses, its disregard for biographical or psychological interpretations, and its neglect of the final form of the text and rhetorical criticism.
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