Structural Dividers in the Qur'an (ed. Marianna Klar), 2020
This essay proposes a preliminary catalogue of fifteen suggested sajʿ structures, with representa... more This essay proposes a preliminary catalogue of fifteen suggested sajʿ structures, with representative Qur’anic examples. The basic rules that govern Qur’anic sajʿ have already been carefully elucidated by Devin Stewart in a series of articles on this subject. Stewart has also provided some exploratory illustrations of where individual sajʿahs might combine to form consecutive strings of sajʿ units. Yet the statement of the medieval rhetorician Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn ibn al-Athīr (d. 637/1239) that it is only the occasional need for “brevity” (ījāz) and “concision” (ikhtiṣār) that precluded the Qur’an from having been written entirely in sajʿ suggests that, at some point, many more of the Qur’an’s rhetorical features must have been seen as having being informed by the rules and the rhythms of sajʿ than the current perception of Qur’anic sajʿ in the Western Academy might lead one to imagine. The idea that Qur’anic sajʿ might in fact operate within a deliberate give and take of sajʿ’s three distinct parameters—end rhyme, accentual beat patterning, and grammatical parallelism—proved to be a fruitful one in categorizing a number of the passages highlighted by Ibn al-Athīr as illustrative of the phenomenon of sajʿ in the Qur’an. Using this methodology it was possible to create a number of strings of consecutive sajʿahs that would otherwise have fallen outside of the parameters of sajʿ as it is currently understood.
The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies (ed. Mustafa Shah and Muhammad Abdel Haleem), 2020
The Qur'anic corpus is characterised by a pervasive technique of deploying narratives as exempla ... more The Qur'anic corpus is characterised by a pervasive technique of deploying narratives as exempla relevant to its own addressees. Minimal or more expanded references to Biblical figures such as Noah and Moses are utilised in order to illustrate key exhortatory themes in a large number of suras, a feature that has struck readers of the Qur'an from ancient times to the present. Recent scholarship has replaced a search for straightforward parallels in narratives from the Judeo-Christian tradition with a growing trend for a re-evaluation of the Qur'an’s contextual framework, and a rethinking of the references to other literatures and religious traditions included therein.
Islamic Studies Today: Essays in Honor of Andrew Rippin (ed. Walid A. Saleh and Majid Daneshgar), Nov 2016
Recent scholarship on Sūrat al-Kahf has proposed that the surah be divided at a variety of junctu... more Recent scholarship on Sūrat al-Kahf has proposed that the surah be divided at a variety of junctures, and a number of unifying themes have been suggested in order to justify the surah’s progression through a series of textual blocks. Scholarly focus has tended to concentrate on the surah’s narratives, and there is some agreement on borders of Q. 18:9–26 for the Companions of the Cave pericope, and Q. 18:60–82 for the Moses material, although the close of both blocks remains more ambiguous than their evident openings: at ‘Do you find the Companions’ and ‘Moses said to his servant’ respectively. James Muilenburg, in his programmatic 1969 essay ‘Form Criticism and Beyond’, highlights the disagreement between commentators on the limits and scope of a literary unit within Biblical texts. He states that ‘more often than not, no defence is offered for the isolation of the pericope. It has even been averred that it does not really matter’; as he goes on to comment, however, ‘on the contrary, it seems … to be of considerable consequence’ [Muilenberg 1969:9]. Following Muilenburg, I would like to argue that insufficient attention has similarly been paid to the limits of the text units that make up Sūrat al-Kahf, and reinvestigate the evidence for their attribution to specific narrative blocks. This is especially true of the hypothetical divisions that punctuate the central section of the surah (from verses 27 to 59), and the proposed thematic structure of the material that follows the Moses pericope: Q. 18:83–110. A general tendency for scholars to prioritise, in their readings of the surah, the unique Companions, Moses, and Dhū’l-Qarnayn narratives, is evident in this; it will also be argued that Angelika Neuwirth’s suggestion of a tripartite, typically mid- to late-Meccan structure for al-Kahf (in which a central narrative section is flanked by an introduction and a concluding piece) has been influential in how the surah is imagined.
The bulk of the cited anecdotes in the most immediately relevant section pertaining to the Fall o... more The bulk of the cited anecdotes in the most immediately relevant section pertaining to the Fall of Adam within al-Ṭabarī’s History consist solely of material that is duplicated in al-Ṭabarī’s commentary on But Satan made them slip in Q. 2:36. The duplicated material is not presented in the same order across the two works, but the extent of the overlap between the two sources is intriguing. In his introduction to the Tafsīr, published (in the form of public lectures) from 270/883–884 onwards, al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923) gives a definition of his own methodology; the introduction to his History, the first volume of which was made public some twenty years later in 294/906–907, announces meanwhile a focus on the history of kings. Yet al-Ṭabarī does not provide any explicit elucidation of what this difference might entail. In areas where al-Ṭabarī’s subject matter spans both texts such a question seems especially pertinent.
This article seeks to contribute to a more detailed understanding of how concepts of genre affected the material that was included by al-Ṭabarī in the History and the Tafsīr, and to expose the author’s editorial techniques, with specific reference to the parallel versions of the story of Adam and the Fall al-Ṭabarī provided. It draws upon the preceding historical account of the Creation of Eve, and the material that frames the repentance narratives. It also seeks to ascertain whether the individual context of each Qur’anic pericope affected the presentation of material within the Tafsīr itself.
The thesis of a single pillar or axis around which the longer Medinan suras are structured has be... more The thesis of a single pillar or axis around which the longer Medinan suras are structured has been highly influential in the field of sura unity, and scholarship on the structure and coherence of Surat al-Baqara has tended to work towards charting the progress of a dominant theme throughout the textual blocks that make up the sura. In order to achieve this, scholars have divided the sura into discrete blocks; many have posited a chain of lexical and thematic links from one block to the next; some have concentrated solely on the hinges and borders between these suggested textual blocks. The present article argues that such methods, while often in themselves illuminating, are by their very nature reductive. As such they can result in the oversight of important elements of the sura. From a starting point of the Adam pericope provided in Q. 2:30–9, this study will focus on the recurrence of a number of its lexical items throughout Sūrat al-Baqara. By methodically tracing the passage of repeated, loosely Fall-related, vocabulary, it will attempt to widen the contextual lens through which the sura’s textual blocks are viewed, and establish a broader perspective on its coherence. Via a discussion of the themes of ‘gardens’, ‘parable’, ‘prostration’, ‘covenant’, ‘wrongdoing’ and finally ‘blindness’, this article will posit ‘garments’, not as a structural pillar, but as a pivot around which many of the identified repeated lexical items of the sura rotate.
Sacred Tropes: Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur’an as Literature and Culture (ed. Roberta Sterman Sabbath), Aug 2009
Verse 24 to 25 of sura 38 (Sad) of the Qur'an tell us 'David realized that We had been testing hi... more Verse 24 to 25 of sura 38 (Sad) of the Qur'an tell us 'David realized that We had been testing him, so he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down on his knees, and repented: We forgave him [his misdeed]. His reward will be nearness to Us, a good place to return to'; verse 34 to 35 of the same sura tell us 'We certainly tested Solomon, reducing him to a mere skeleton on the throne. He turned to Us and prayed: 'Lord, forgive me! Grant me such power as no one after me will have -- You are the Most Generous Provider', then, at verse 40, 'His reward will be nearness to Us, a good place to return to'. Yet the medieval Muslim historiographical tradition presents very different narratives, and very different personalities, in elucidation of these two episodes. The two questions that will be addressed in this essay are: restricting our focus to communication patterns and how God is presented in the narrative, how do these two narratives differ? And, secondly, can we find reasons in the text of the Qur'anic passages themselves for why they differ?
This paper focuses on Q. 38:34 from the perspective of early and medieval works of Islamic histor... more This paper focuses on Q. 38:34 from the perspective of early and medieval works of Islamic historiography and collections of tales of the prophets: the early tenth century works of 'Umara b. Wathima and Tabari, the eleventh century Tales of the Prophets by Tha'labi, the twelfth century folkloric collection of Kisa'i, along with Ibn 'Asakir's History of Damascus, the thirteenth century world history by Ibn al-Athir, and the fourteenth century historiographical work by Ibn Kathlr. These various works are viewed not as any particular stage in the development of a genre, but as variations on a (Qur'anic) theme, and the avenue of medieval historiographers and storytellers is utilised as a bridge to explore various possible interpretations of the Qur'anic passage. Historiographers and storytellers provide us with an illustration of how lessons of admonition implied in the Qur'anic text were perceived in medieval Islamic society. They also, as will become clear, provide a picture of Solomon that is consistent with the Qur'anic figure as a whole.
Dissertation for MPhil examination in Oriental Studies. Pembroke College, Cambridge, August 31st ... more Dissertation for MPhil examination in Oriental Studies. Pembroke College, Cambridge, August 31st 1994.
Al-Tha’labi was a renowned Qur’anic scholar of the fifth/eleventh century, and his ‘Ara’is al-maj... more Al-Tha’labi was a renowned Qur’anic scholar of the fifth/eleventh century, and his ‘Ara’is al-majalis is arguably the finest and most widely consulted example of the Islamic qisas al-anbiya’ genre.
Drawing on primary Arabic sources, Klar applies modern critical methods in order to explore the nature of al-Tha’labi’s ‘Ara'is al-majalis within its historical and literary context, and thereby produces a compelling examination of the stories of Noah, Job, Saul and David as portrayed in the key historiographical and folkloric texts of the medieval Islamic period. Via a close analysis of the relevant narratives, the book considers a number of universal aspects of the human condition as they are displayed in these tales, from first a religious, then a familial, and finally a social perspective. Touching upon the benefits and limitations of the application of biblical studies and literary motifs to Islamic materials, the book investigates the possibilities of interpretation raised by a primarily psychoanalytical reading of the tales of the four individuals in question. As such, this text will be of great interest to scholars of the biblical prophets, Qur’anic studies, Islamic historiography, folklore and literary criticism.
Structural Dividers in the Qur'an (ed. Marianna Klar), 2020
This essay proposes a preliminary catalogue of fifteen suggested sajʿ structures, with representa... more This essay proposes a preliminary catalogue of fifteen suggested sajʿ structures, with representative Qur’anic examples. The basic rules that govern Qur’anic sajʿ have already been carefully elucidated by Devin Stewart in a series of articles on this subject. Stewart has also provided some exploratory illustrations of where individual sajʿahs might combine to form consecutive strings of sajʿ units. Yet the statement of the medieval rhetorician Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn ibn al-Athīr (d. 637/1239) that it is only the occasional need for “brevity” (ījāz) and “concision” (ikhtiṣār) that precluded the Qur’an from having been written entirely in sajʿ suggests that, at some point, many more of the Qur’an’s rhetorical features must have been seen as having being informed by the rules and the rhythms of sajʿ than the current perception of Qur’anic sajʿ in the Western Academy might lead one to imagine. The idea that Qur’anic sajʿ might in fact operate within a deliberate give and take of sajʿ’s three distinct parameters—end rhyme, accentual beat patterning, and grammatical parallelism—proved to be a fruitful one in categorizing a number of the passages highlighted by Ibn al-Athīr as illustrative of the phenomenon of sajʿ in the Qur’an. Using this methodology it was possible to create a number of strings of consecutive sajʿahs that would otherwise have fallen outside of the parameters of sajʿ as it is currently understood.
The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies (ed. Mustafa Shah and Muhammad Abdel Haleem), 2020
The Qur'anic corpus is characterised by a pervasive technique of deploying narratives as exempla ... more The Qur'anic corpus is characterised by a pervasive technique of deploying narratives as exempla relevant to its own addressees. Minimal or more expanded references to Biblical figures such as Noah and Moses are utilised in order to illustrate key exhortatory themes in a large number of suras, a feature that has struck readers of the Qur'an from ancient times to the present. Recent scholarship has replaced a search for straightforward parallels in narratives from the Judeo-Christian tradition with a growing trend for a re-evaluation of the Qur'an’s contextual framework, and a rethinking of the references to other literatures and religious traditions included therein.
Islamic Studies Today: Essays in Honor of Andrew Rippin (ed. Walid A. Saleh and Majid Daneshgar), Nov 2016
Recent scholarship on Sūrat al-Kahf has proposed that the surah be divided at a variety of junctu... more Recent scholarship on Sūrat al-Kahf has proposed that the surah be divided at a variety of junctures, and a number of unifying themes have been suggested in order to justify the surah’s progression through a series of textual blocks. Scholarly focus has tended to concentrate on the surah’s narratives, and there is some agreement on borders of Q. 18:9–26 for the Companions of the Cave pericope, and Q. 18:60–82 for the Moses material, although the close of both blocks remains more ambiguous than their evident openings: at ‘Do you find the Companions’ and ‘Moses said to his servant’ respectively. James Muilenburg, in his programmatic 1969 essay ‘Form Criticism and Beyond’, highlights the disagreement between commentators on the limits and scope of a literary unit within Biblical texts. He states that ‘more often than not, no defence is offered for the isolation of the pericope. It has even been averred that it does not really matter’; as he goes on to comment, however, ‘on the contrary, it seems … to be of considerable consequence’ [Muilenberg 1969:9]. Following Muilenburg, I would like to argue that insufficient attention has similarly been paid to the limits of the text units that make up Sūrat al-Kahf, and reinvestigate the evidence for their attribution to specific narrative blocks. This is especially true of the hypothetical divisions that punctuate the central section of the surah (from verses 27 to 59), and the proposed thematic structure of the material that follows the Moses pericope: Q. 18:83–110. A general tendency for scholars to prioritise, in their readings of the surah, the unique Companions, Moses, and Dhū’l-Qarnayn narratives, is evident in this; it will also be argued that Angelika Neuwirth’s suggestion of a tripartite, typically mid- to late-Meccan structure for al-Kahf (in which a central narrative section is flanked by an introduction and a concluding piece) has been influential in how the surah is imagined.
The bulk of the cited anecdotes in the most immediately relevant section pertaining to the Fall o... more The bulk of the cited anecdotes in the most immediately relevant section pertaining to the Fall of Adam within al-Ṭabarī’s History consist solely of material that is duplicated in al-Ṭabarī’s commentary on But Satan made them slip in Q. 2:36. The duplicated material is not presented in the same order across the two works, but the extent of the overlap between the two sources is intriguing. In his introduction to the Tafsīr, published (in the form of public lectures) from 270/883–884 onwards, al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923) gives a definition of his own methodology; the introduction to his History, the first volume of which was made public some twenty years later in 294/906–907, announces meanwhile a focus on the history of kings. Yet al-Ṭabarī does not provide any explicit elucidation of what this difference might entail. In areas where al-Ṭabarī’s subject matter spans both texts such a question seems especially pertinent.
This article seeks to contribute to a more detailed understanding of how concepts of genre affected the material that was included by al-Ṭabarī in the History and the Tafsīr, and to expose the author’s editorial techniques, with specific reference to the parallel versions of the story of Adam and the Fall al-Ṭabarī provided. It draws upon the preceding historical account of the Creation of Eve, and the material that frames the repentance narratives. It also seeks to ascertain whether the individual context of each Qur’anic pericope affected the presentation of material within the Tafsīr itself.
The thesis of a single pillar or axis around which the longer Medinan suras are structured has be... more The thesis of a single pillar or axis around which the longer Medinan suras are structured has been highly influential in the field of sura unity, and scholarship on the structure and coherence of Surat al-Baqara has tended to work towards charting the progress of a dominant theme throughout the textual blocks that make up the sura. In order to achieve this, scholars have divided the sura into discrete blocks; many have posited a chain of lexical and thematic links from one block to the next; some have concentrated solely on the hinges and borders between these suggested textual blocks. The present article argues that such methods, while often in themselves illuminating, are by their very nature reductive. As such they can result in the oversight of important elements of the sura. From a starting point of the Adam pericope provided in Q. 2:30–9, this study will focus on the recurrence of a number of its lexical items throughout Sūrat al-Baqara. By methodically tracing the passage of repeated, loosely Fall-related, vocabulary, it will attempt to widen the contextual lens through which the sura’s textual blocks are viewed, and establish a broader perspective on its coherence. Via a discussion of the themes of ‘gardens’, ‘parable’, ‘prostration’, ‘covenant’, ‘wrongdoing’ and finally ‘blindness’, this article will posit ‘garments’, not as a structural pillar, but as a pivot around which many of the identified repeated lexical items of the sura rotate.
Sacred Tropes: Tanakh, New Testament, and Qur’an as Literature and Culture (ed. Roberta Sterman Sabbath), Aug 2009
Verse 24 to 25 of sura 38 (Sad) of the Qur'an tell us 'David realized that We had been testing hi... more Verse 24 to 25 of sura 38 (Sad) of the Qur'an tell us 'David realized that We had been testing him, so he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down on his knees, and repented: We forgave him [his misdeed]. His reward will be nearness to Us, a good place to return to'; verse 34 to 35 of the same sura tell us 'We certainly tested Solomon, reducing him to a mere skeleton on the throne. He turned to Us and prayed: 'Lord, forgive me! Grant me such power as no one after me will have -- You are the Most Generous Provider', then, at verse 40, 'His reward will be nearness to Us, a good place to return to'. Yet the medieval Muslim historiographical tradition presents very different narratives, and very different personalities, in elucidation of these two episodes. The two questions that will be addressed in this essay are: restricting our focus to communication patterns and how God is presented in the narrative, how do these two narratives differ? And, secondly, can we find reasons in the text of the Qur'anic passages themselves for why they differ?
This paper focuses on Q. 38:34 from the perspective of early and medieval works of Islamic histor... more This paper focuses on Q. 38:34 from the perspective of early and medieval works of Islamic historiography and collections of tales of the prophets: the early tenth century works of 'Umara b. Wathima and Tabari, the eleventh century Tales of the Prophets by Tha'labi, the twelfth century folkloric collection of Kisa'i, along with Ibn 'Asakir's History of Damascus, the thirteenth century world history by Ibn al-Athir, and the fourteenth century historiographical work by Ibn Kathlr. These various works are viewed not as any particular stage in the development of a genre, but as variations on a (Qur'anic) theme, and the avenue of medieval historiographers and storytellers is utilised as a bridge to explore various possible interpretations of the Qur'anic passage. Historiographers and storytellers provide us with an illustration of how lessons of admonition implied in the Qur'anic text were perceived in medieval Islamic society. They also, as will become clear, provide a picture of Solomon that is consistent with the Qur'anic figure as a whole.
Dissertation for MPhil examination in Oriental Studies. Pembroke College, Cambridge, August 31st ... more Dissertation for MPhil examination in Oriental Studies. Pembroke College, Cambridge, August 31st 1994.
Al-Tha’labi was a renowned Qur’anic scholar of the fifth/eleventh century, and his ‘Ara’is al-maj... more Al-Tha’labi was a renowned Qur’anic scholar of the fifth/eleventh century, and his ‘Ara’is al-majalis is arguably the finest and most widely consulted example of the Islamic qisas al-anbiya’ genre.
Drawing on primary Arabic sources, Klar applies modern critical methods in order to explore the nature of al-Tha’labi’s ‘Ara'is al-majalis within its historical and literary context, and thereby produces a compelling examination of the stories of Noah, Job, Saul and David as portrayed in the key historiographical and folkloric texts of the medieval Islamic period. Via a close analysis of the relevant narratives, the book considers a number of universal aspects of the human condition as they are displayed in these tales, from first a religious, then a familial, and finally a social perspective. Touching upon the benefits and limitations of the application of biblical studies and literary motifs to Islamic materials, the book investigates the possibilities of interpretation raised by a primarily psychoanalytical reading of the tales of the four individuals in question. As such, this text will be of great interest to scholars of the biblical prophets, Qur’anic studies, Islamic historiography, folklore and literary criticism.
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Papers by Marianna Klar
This article seeks to contribute to a more detailed understanding of how concepts of genre affected the material that was included by al-Ṭabarī in the History and the Tafsīr, and to expose the author’s editorial techniques, with specific reference to the parallel versions of the story of Adam and the Fall al-Ṭabarī provided. It draws upon the preceding historical account of the Creation of Eve, and the material that frames the repentance narratives. It also seeks to ascertain whether the individual context of each Qur’anic pericope affected the presentation of material within the Tafsīr itself.
Books by Marianna Klar
Drawing on primary Arabic sources, Klar applies modern critical methods in order to explore the nature of al-Tha’labi’s ‘Ara'is al-majalis within its historical and literary context, and thereby produces a compelling examination of the stories of Noah, Job, Saul and David as portrayed in the key historiographical and folkloric texts of the medieval Islamic period. Via a close analysis of the relevant narratives, the book considers a number of universal aspects of the human condition as they are displayed in these tales, from first a religious, then a familial, and finally a social perspective. Touching upon the benefits and limitations of the application of biblical studies and literary motifs to Islamic materials, the book investigates the possibilities of interpretation raised by a primarily psychoanalytical reading of the tales of the four individuals in question. As such, this text will be of great interest to scholars of the biblical prophets, Qur’anic studies, Islamic historiography, folklore and literary criticism.
Conferences by Marianna Klar
This article seeks to contribute to a more detailed understanding of how concepts of genre affected the material that was included by al-Ṭabarī in the History and the Tafsīr, and to expose the author’s editorial techniques, with specific reference to the parallel versions of the story of Adam and the Fall al-Ṭabarī provided. It draws upon the preceding historical account of the Creation of Eve, and the material that frames the repentance narratives. It also seeks to ascertain whether the individual context of each Qur’anic pericope affected the presentation of material within the Tafsīr itself.
Drawing on primary Arabic sources, Klar applies modern critical methods in order to explore the nature of al-Tha’labi’s ‘Ara'is al-majalis within its historical and literary context, and thereby produces a compelling examination of the stories of Noah, Job, Saul and David as portrayed in the key historiographical and folkloric texts of the medieval Islamic period. Via a close analysis of the relevant narratives, the book considers a number of universal aspects of the human condition as they are displayed in these tales, from first a religious, then a familial, and finally a social perspective. Touching upon the benefits and limitations of the application of biblical studies and literary motifs to Islamic materials, the book investigates the possibilities of interpretation raised by a primarily psychoanalytical reading of the tales of the four individuals in question. As such, this text will be of great interest to scholars of the biblical prophets, Qur’anic studies, Islamic historiography, folklore and literary criticism.