Book Review: Daniel A. Madigan: The Qurʾan’s Self-Image: Writing and Authority in Islam’s Scripture

Islam is frequently characterized as a "religion of the Book". Many scholars consider it the most developed example of this kind of religion, probably because the words of scripture occupy a more central position in the faith and practice of Muslims than in other religions. Yet, there is no physical book at the center of Islamic rituals. Muslims' approach to their scripture is almost totally oral. Many recite the whole sacred text from memory, and it was years after the Prophet's death that it was first put in book form. What does the Qur'an mean, then, when it insistently calls itself kitab, a term that is usually translated as 'book' or 'scripture'? In order to answer this question, Daniel Madigan reexamines this key term, kitab, as it occurs in the Qur'an's own discourse about itself. The main task of The Qur'an's Self-Image is, hence, to bring to light the complex connotations of the Qur'an's 'book' and 'writing' language as "it is allowed to interpret its own concepts and speak for itself " (p. 9).

To discern the Qur'an's particular conception of kitab, Madigan adopts a dual strategy: to reevaluate a consensus long held both by Muslim and Western scholars of Islam about the way the Qur'an views itself, and to outline an alternative approach not only for the expert in the study of Islam but also for anyone interested in the comparative study of scripture and hermeneutics. From the outset, Madigan makes it clear that he treats the Qur'anic text as a coherent whole "because that is the way it functions within the community that canonizes it and that looks to it for guidance. The notion of kitab is the overarching theme that proclaims and maintains that coherence" (p. 11).
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Journal of Islam & Science, Vol. 2 (Winter 2004) No. 1

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Yamine Mermer
Indiana University, Bloomington