[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-38743-en":3,"doc-seo-38743-105":29,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":90},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":20,"is_downloadable":20,"audit_status":20,"page_count":21,"language":22,"language_code":23,"site_id":24,"html_lang":23,"table_of_contents":25,"faqs":26,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":27,"read_time":28},38743,687197207919,"Theodora","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/a000253d6f5f7c60be?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1779446848396160552",9,"Religion & Spirituality","Introduction to the Qur'an","A foreword to the revised edition of Richard Bell’s Introduction to the Qur’an by W. Montgomery Watt. It explains the motivations and challenges behind updating a major scholarly work, including Watt’s areas of disagreement and the decision to write in his own name when differing from Bell. The revision reframes expressions about Muhammad’s authorship of the Qur’an to better suit contemporary Christian–Muslim relations, while retaining scholarly integrity. It also outlines changes in transliteration, Qur’anic citation conventions, and introduces a new Qur’an index tailored to modern interests.","ISLAMIC SURVEYS 8  \nBELL'S  \n# INTRODUCTIONTO THEQUR’AN\n\ncompletely revisedand enlargedby  \nW.MONTGOMERY WATT  \nEDINBURGH  \nat the University Press  \n◎W.Montgomery Watt 1970Edinburgh University Press22 George Square,EdinburghFirst published 1970Paperback edition 1977,  \nreprinted 1990,1991,1994,1997,2001,2002,2003,2005,2007,2008,2010,2011,2015  \nPrinted and bound in Great Britain byCPI Group(UK)Ltd,Croydon,CRO4YYBritish Library Cataloguing  \nIn Publication Data  \nWatt,W.Montgomery(William Montgomery)1909—Introduction to the Qur'an.  \n1.Islam.Koran.Critical studies  \nI.Title.II.Bell,R.II.Series  \n297'.1226  \nISBN 9780748605972ISBN 9781474497008(EPDF)  \nFOREWORD TO THE REVISED EDITION  \nWhen the suggestion of a revised edition of Richard Bell'sIntroduction to the Qur'an was first made in discussions withthe Secretary of Edinburgh University Press,I was attractedby the idea of doing something to maintain the influence of agreat scholar,and was emboldened by the success of TheodorNöldeke's pupils in revising and continuing his work.Thetask,however,as I soon realized,is not without its difficulties.Richard Bell was my greatly respected teacher under whom Idid much of my study of Arabic and who guided me in thepreparation of the thesis which eventually appeared as FreeWill and Predestination in Early Islam.On one or two points,however,I am unable to accept his theories about the Qur'an,as I indicated in the article‘The Dating of the Qur’an:a re-view of Richard Bell's Theories’(Journal of the Royal AsiaticSociety,I957,46-56).Consequently it seemed best that,fol-lowing the example of Friedrich Schwally(see p.175 below),I should speak in my own name throughout and refer to Bellin the third person,especially where I disagreed with him.The sincerest tribute to such a scholar is to take his viewsseriously and criticize them frankly.It is my hope that thepresent revision will enable a new generation of scholars toappreciate the importance of Bell's painstaking analysis ofthe Qur'an.  \nDespite the fact that I speak in my own name and that thereare few paragraphs without some slight changes,the core ofthe book is still essentially Bell's work.Though I have studiedparts of the field in connection with the biography of Muham-mad,and have here and there looked at some of the issuesraised by Bell,I have undertaken no special research in thepreparation of this revision.The additions are mostly elemen-tary matters that seemed appropriate to an ‘introduction’,such as a more extensive bibliography.I have also tried toarrange the material more logically.I believe Bell's originaltext to have been based on his lectures to students,which hebrought together and lightly revised shortly before his death  \nwhen literary activity was becoming difficult.  \nOne major change in the form of expression has seemeddesirable.Bell followed his European predecessors in speakingof the Qur'an as Muhammad's own,at least in his Introduction.Various remarks he made to me,however,lead me to thinkthat he would have had a considerable measure of sympathywith the views I have expressed about Muhammad's prophet-hood,most recently in Islamic Revelation in the ModernWorld.With the greatly increased contacts between Muslimsand Christians during the last quarter of a century,it hasbecome imperative for a Christian scholar not to offendMuslim readers gratuitously,but as far as possible to presenthis arguments in a form acceptable to them.Courtesy and aneirenic outlook certainly now demand that we should notspeak of the Qur'an as the product of Muhammad's consciousmind;but I hold that the same demand is also made by soundscholarship.I have therefore altered or eliminated all expres-sions which implied that Muhammad was the author of theQur'an,including those which spoke of his'sources'or of the'influences'on him.On the other hand,I believe we are justi-fied in speaking of the ‘influences'of the external world onthe Arabian environment(cf.p.185);and that we are likewisejustified in no","cbCaimncP303BReY","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimncP303BReY","pdf",9982319,1,297,"English","en",105,"# Foreword to the Revised Edition\n## Purpose and scholarly approach\n## Revisions in expression and transliteration\n## Index and referencing conventions","[{\"question\":\"Why did W. Montgomery Watt undertake a revised edition of Richard Bell’s Introduction to the Qur’an?\",\"answer\":\"The revision was proposed during discussions with Edinburgh University Press and pursued to maintain the influence of a major scholar. Watt also aimed to address difficulties he encountered in accepting Bell’s theories on points related to the Qur’an.\"},{\"question\":\"What major change in wording does Watt describe regarding Muhammad and the Qur’an?\",\"answer\":\"Watt altered or removed expressions implying Muhammad was the author of the Qur’an, including references to his “sources” or “influences.” He instead discusses external influences on the Arabian environment and developments in the believers’ outlook as shaping how revelation was emphasized.\"},{\"question\":\"What new scholarly tools or technical conventions does Watt mention for this revision?\",\"answer\":\"The revision includes a novel Index to the Qur’an, modeled on an earlier index he found valuable. It also describes transliteration conventions and how verse-number references are handled when Flügel’s numbering differs from the standard Egyptian edition.\"}]",1783072224,748,{"code":4,"msg":30,"data":31},"ok",{"site_id":24,"language":23,"slug":32,"title":13,"keywords":33,"description":14,"schema_data":34,"social_meta":85,"head_meta":87,"extra_data":89,"updated_unix":27},"introduction-to-the-quran","",{"@graph":35,"@context":84},[36,53,67],{"@type":37,"itemListElement":38},"BreadcrumbList",[39,43,47,50],{"item":40,"name":41,"@type":42,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":44,"name":45,"@type":42,"position":46},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":48,"name":12,"@type":42,"position":49},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/religion-spirituality/",3,{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":42,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/introduction-to-the-quran/38743/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":23,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":61,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":62,"interactionStatistic":63},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":40,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-03",true,{"@type":64,"interactionType":65,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":66},"ViewAction",{"@type":68,"mainEntity":69},"FAQPage",[70,76,80],{"name":71,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":73},"Why did W. Montgomery Watt undertake a revised edition of Richard Bell’s Introduction to the Qur’an?","Question",{"text":74,"@type":75},"The revision was proposed during discussions with Edinburgh University Press and pursued to maintain the influence of a major scholar. Watt also aimed to address difficulties he encountered in accepting Bell’s theories on points related to the Qur’an.","Answer",{"name":77,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":78},"What major change in wording does Watt describe regarding Muhammad and the Qur’an?",{"text":79,"@type":75},"Watt altered or removed expressions implying Muhammad was the author of the Qur’an, including references to his “sources” or “influences.” He instead discusses external influences on the Arabian environment and developments in the believers’ outlook as shaping how revelation was emphasized.",{"name":81,"@type":72,"acceptedAnswer":82},"What new scholarly tools or technical conventions does Watt mention for this revision?",{"text":83,"@type":75},"The revision includes a novel Index to the Qur’an, modeled on an earlier index he found valuable. It also describes transliteration conventions and how verse-number references are handled when Flügel’s numbering differs from the standard Egyptian edition.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":86,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":88,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":24},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":91},[92,96,100,104,109,114,119,124,127,130,134],{"id":20,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":97,"show_sort_weight":98,"slug":99},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":101,"show_sort_weight":102,"slug":103},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":105,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":106,"show_sort_weight":107,"slug":108},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":110,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":111,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":120,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":121,"show_sort_weight":122,"slug":123},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":129},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":133},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":135,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":45,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":105,"slug":137},19,"General","general"]