
Before the Qur'an
Material Sources at the Advent of Muslim Scripture
Suleyman Dost(Author)
Edinburgh University Press
Will be published approx. on 31. January 2026
Book
Hardback
248 pages
978-1-3995-2864-1 (ISBN)
Description
The question of the Qur'an's geographical and cultural context has been hotly debated in the last few decades. Several authors have proposed that its place of origin may be somewhere other than the Hijaz in Western Arabia, the location stated within Islamic literary sources. Yet these theories have not engaged with the resources provided by numerous inscriptions in a wide range of ancient languages in the Arabian Peninsula and its environs.
Bracketing theological claims about Qur'anic provenance and relying solely on securely datable material evidence from before the rise of Islam, this book shows that the Qur'an emerged from the Hijaz and addressed a Late Antique Arabian audience. Suleyman Dost argues for significant religious, cultural and linguistic continuities between pre-Qur'anic Arabian sources and the Qur'an, especially highlighting underappreciated parallels with religious idioms in South Arabia and Ethiopia. This book thus challenges revisionist perspectives that situate the Qur'an outside a Western Arabian milieu.
Bracketing theological claims about Qur'anic provenance and relying solely on securely datable material evidence from before the rise of Islam, this book shows that the Qur'an emerged from the Hijaz and addressed a Late Antique Arabian audience. Suleyman Dost argues for significant religious, cultural and linguistic continuities between pre-Qur'anic Arabian sources and the Qur'an, especially highlighting underappreciated parallels with religious idioms in South Arabia and Ethiopia. This book thus challenges revisionist perspectives that situate the Qur'an outside a Western Arabian milieu.
Reviews / Votes
The author, a bright new star in the firmament of Qur'an scholarship, slices through the bramble of false assumptions and ungrounded speculation that have plagued the field. With careful historical reasoning, he establishes the cultural and geographical context for the emergence of Islam, deploying recent epigraphic and archeological findings. -- Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan and author, Rethinking the Qur'an in Late AntiquityMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
2 b/w maps and 6 b/w figures
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
526 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-3995-2864-1 (9781399528641)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Suleyman Dost is Assistant Professor of Late Antiquity and Early Islam at the University of Toronto. He works primarily on inscriptions and other documentary sources from late antique Arabia and Ethiopia. His research also covers the historical context in which the Qur'an emerged as well as the history of its textual transmission. Before joining the University of Toronto, Dr. Dost was an Assistant Professor at Brandeis University. He received his PhD from the University of Chicago.
Author
Assistant Professor of Late Antiquity and Early IslamUniversity of Toronto-Scarborough
Content
List of Figures
Note on Transliterations
Sigla of Inscriptions
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Whence the Qur'an?
Urbanism and Literacy in Pre-Islamic Arabia
Idols of Arabia in Epigraphy and the Qur'an
From Rabb to Allah: Names of God in the Qur'an
Vestiges of Pagan Arabia in the Qur'an
Religious Vocabulary of the Qur'an
Christian Terms in the Qur'an
History and Historical Geography in the Qur'an
Conclusion: What the Stones can (and cannot) Tell
Bibliography
Note on Transliterations
Sigla of Inscriptions
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Whence the Qur'an?
Urbanism and Literacy in Pre-Islamic Arabia
Idols of Arabia in Epigraphy and the Qur'an
From Rabb to Allah: Names of God in the Qur'an
Vestiges of Pagan Arabia in the Qur'an
Religious Vocabulary of the Qur'an
Christian Terms in the Qur'an
History and Historical Geography in the Qur'an
Conclusion: What the Stones can (and cannot) Tell
Bibliography