The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Koran.
Sara, Solomon I.
THE SYRO-ARAMAIC READING OF THE KORAN: A CONTRIBUTION TO THE
DECODING OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE KORAN. By Christoph Luxenberg. Berlin:
Hans Schiler. 2007. Pp. 349. $124.84.
A translation of Die syro-aramaische Lesart des Koran (2000), this
study consists of an introduction, 18 chapters, and an appendix. The
first ten chapters deal with reference works, methodology, the Arabic
script, the oral tradition, Koranic exegesis, the language of the Koran,
and the Syro-Aramaic that is found in the Koran. These chapters lay the
groundwork for the close textual study and analysis that follow.
The meaning of certain Koranic passages have been--and are
today--disputed among translators and commentators. As Luxenberg
indicates, an estimated 25 percent of the Koran is still considered
unexplained (108). To this discussion L. brings new linguistic and
cultural dimensions, lexica, and grammars, his awareness of the
Syro-Aramaic linguistic matrix within which the Koran emerged, and his
further awareness of the overall clarity these sources can lend to the
interpretation of contentious Koranic terms, when assiduously applied.
L. selects his sources and research tools well, narrowing in on
specific commentaries and translations. These are basically three: an
English version by Richard Bell (1937-1939), French by Rdgis Blachere
(1957), and German by Rudi Paret (1962). For Arabic, L. works from the
tenth-century, magisterial commentary of Al-Tabar. Of lexica and
grammars, he uses Lisan ?al-?arab for classical Arabic, and for the
Syro-Aramaic he relies on Payne Smith's Thesaurus Syriacus and
Eugene Manna's Vocabilaire Chaldeen-Arabe (well ahead of other
commentators). Among the Syriac grammars are those of Carl Brockelmann
and Theodor Noldeke. Since his arguments are primarily linguistic, these
tools are essential. In search of its original meaning, L. delivers not
a compendium of opinions but a fresh look at the text.
Since the original text of the Koran was written without dots, and
considering how similar the letters of Arabic are without these
distinguishing dots (31), mistaking one letter for another was likely.
L. further claims that the original versions of the Koran were written
in Garshuni, that is, in Arabic but written in Syriac letters. This adds
confusable Syriac letters to the mix, especially when not written with
appropriate dots. Awareness of the possibility of confusing one letter
with another, in both Arabic and Syriac, is the basis for emendations
suggested for the current Arabic text. There is no sample of an extant
Garshuni text included here. Three samples of the unmarked Arabic text
are included (348-49).
L.'s procedure is to locate an obscure passage, consult the
commentary of Al-Tabari, move to the three translations for an initial
reading, then proceed to the lexica and grammars. In the process one
looks for possible interchanges of similar letters or Syro-Aramaic
cognates. Of the Koran's 114 Suras, 69 Suras contain at least one,
but frequently several, terms that are obscure. L. offers a list of such
verses on pages seven and eight. Touching on the linguistic substance of
the Koran, the study also reaches into many of the Suras; all such
passages are listed in an appendix (340-49).
Apart from individual passages, L. makes larger claims about the
Koranic text. For him, the Koran is an Arabic lectionary on the model of
the Syro-Aramaic lectionaries of the time. Even the word
"Koran" is a reflex of the Syro-Aramaic word qoyana (70). The
original Koranic text was written in Garshuni, and the misunderstandings
and misinterpretations of terms are largely due to misunderstanding
their Syro-Aramaic originals. Not all of L.'s readers will readily
accept these claims. L. concludes with a completely new translation of
the earliest two Suras (Suras 108 and 96) with the Syro-Aramaic taken
into account.
The book is demanding. One needs to be familiar at least with
Arabic and Syriac, in addition to being at ease with phonetic
transcriptions. Unfortunately, the book has no index; neither does the
Arabic or Syriac include all the pointing and diacritics. Also, the text
is not free of typos. These are serious matters when the whole endeavor
is to correct precisely such errors. The bibliography is primarily
attentive to the German scholarship without paying much attention to
other languages. It does not even mention the new Encyclopedia of the
Qur'an edited by McAuliffe (2001). Still, the work is a meticulous,
philological, and cultural study of the Koran that clarifies many
textual obscurities. L. proceeds with the extreme care and reverence
that a sacred text deserves. Though one may not agree with some or much
of the work, one may not ignore it.
SOLOMON I. SARA, S.J.
Georgetown University, Washington
