The Qur’an before the book History and concepts of Qur’anic variants (qira’at)‎

الملخص EN

Purpose: This paper addresses methodological issues related to the concept of ‘Qur’anic variants and readings' (qira'a pi.

qira’at and harf pi.

ahruf, respectively).

I investigate the way they have been de- picted in early Islamic narratives, developed in the field of medieval Islamic Qur'anic sciences (culum al-Qur’an), and discussed in Western Qur'anic studies scholarship in the last two decades.

Methodology: The paper proceeds chronologically by discussing variants in the three aforemen- tioned fields: early narratives, classical Islamic Qur'anic sciences (culum al-Qur'an), and modern Western scholarship.

Findings: The paper shows the necessity of generating a new approach to studying the history of the Qur'an and its main concepts.

The epistemological tools used in Western Qur'anic studies on the history of the text of the Qur'an need to be renewed.

Originality: The paper addresses epistemological issues related to Western Qur'anic studies.

It seeks to assess the progress in the field and offers a new perspective on the study of specific topics: Qur'anic variants and readings.