The Case of variae lectiones in Classical Islamic Jurisprudence: Grammar and the Interpretation of Law

Abstract

Abstract:The qirā āt or variae lectiones represent the vast corpus of Qur ānic readings that were preserved through the historical processes associated with the textual codification and transmission of the Qur ān. Despite the fact that differences among certain concomitant readings tend to be nominal, others betray semantic nuances that are brought into play within legal discourses. Both types of readings remain important sources for the history of the text of the Qur'ān and early Arabic grammatical thought. While some recent scholars have questioned the historical function and nature of the corpus of qirā āt, others have argued that specific types of variant readings were the resultant products of attempts to circumvent legal inconsistencies which were found in text of the Qur ān or were generated through legal debates. Following a preliminary review of the historical framework of the genesis of qirā āt through reference to early grammatical literature, an attempt will be made to shed some light on the role that semantic variation among concomitant readings played in the synthesis and interpretation of law. The aim will be to draw attention to the subtle theoretical frameworks employed by jurists for their contextualization and analysis. This will also include a review of attitudes towards the forms of qirā āt that classical scholarship designated as being anomalous or shādhdha.Key words: qirā āt; variae lectiones; interpretation of law and the Qur ān; grammar; classical Islamic legal discourses; shādhdha Historical ContextConstellated around the skeletal text of the Qurʾān, the body of qirāʾāt (sing. qirāʾa) or variae lectiones represent the integrated corpus of Qurʾānic readings that were viewed in the traditional sources as being preserved through the protracted processes associated with the textual codification and transmission of the Qurʾān.1 These sources intimate that while the Qurʾān was the subject of exploratory textual editions by his predecessors, the caliphs Abū prophetic tradition ʿUthmān was implored by a companion to 'save this nation before they descend into disagreement over scripture in the same way the Jews and Christians differed', although opposition to his endeavour is also chronicled in the same sources. 4 Still, the sources mostly proclaim the efforts of ʿUthmān, confirming that the imposition of a standardised text endures as one of achievements. It was even dramatically exclaimed that had it not been for the endeavour of ʿUthmān and his imposition of a standard text, the community would have turned its attention more so to the recitation of poetry. 5Having established a definitive text which was granted the imprimatur of community consensus, the caliph ʿUthmān ordered that eventually existing copies of the Qurʾān which conflicted with the new official version were to be either burnt or shredded;other anecdotes refer to his having them buried. 6 Reports concerning the number of codices produced by ʿUthmān differ: some state that his committee produced four principal codices: a copy w...