A Critical Analysis of William Montgomery Watt’s View on the Mythical Reading of the Qur’an

Document Type : Original Article

Author

. Assistant Professor, Institute for Research in Islamic Sciences and Culture, Research Center for Quranic Culture and Teachings, Qom, Iran;

10.22034/jqopv.2025.19276.1397

Abstract

The concept of myth in the Qur’an and the mythologization of Qur’anic propositions and concepts are among the topics that Orientalists have addressed using various approaches and methods. William Montgomery Watt is one such Islamic scholar who has examined Qur’anic ideas and propositions, seeking to explain them through a mythical reading. He interprets the description and explanation of the truth of religion and its propositions in secondary language as myth, considering their impact on the lives of believers as the criterion for their reality. Watt relies on the methodological principles of the phenomenological approach to investigate this topic. These principles include the autonomy or independence of the sacred and the use of historical and empirical methods. This article aims to evaluate Watt’s view on myth in the Qur’an, considering these principles, through a case study. The topics critiqued and examined in this article include: 1. Symbolic and figurative language; 2. Proposing a different criterion for assessing the reality of a proposition, interpreted as the fruits of religion; 3. Offering a different definition of revelation and the revelatory nature of the Qur’an, leading to its blending with the context and experiences of the Prophet.

Keywords

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References

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  • Receive Date: 21 August 2024
  • Revise Date: 25 August 2024
  • Accept Date: 27 October 2024

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