The Genesis of Literature in Islam

This book brings together various lines of research pursued by Gregor Schoeler over a number of years. Its central question is concerned with what 'publishing' and 'Arabic Literature' entailed in the period of Classical Islam - how were ideas transmitted, both aurally and in written form?Following a chronological line, the author begins by exploring the ways in which texts were published in the early Islamic period: official documents were written and placed in a shrine; poetry was passed on orally and aurally, through recitations, supported by rough notes to assist in the transmission. He goes on to consider the Qur'an as it became an official written document, thereby reducing the role of the Qur'anic readers who recited the text (although the importance of hearing the text remained).Further chapters consider the earliest days of Islamic religious sciences, with the systematic collection of information about the life of the Prophet and his companions, and the beginnings of 'academic teaching' and 'school literature', again with knowledge being transmitted via a combination of written texts and recitation. The court's role in the development and transmission of Arabic literature, including translations and adaptations of works from other languages is also explored. The author concludes by asking what would have influenced the development and transmission of knowledge in the early Islamic period and finds it to have been a synthesis of elements from three cultures: Arabic, Jewish and Hellenic-Christian.