Question 1

What central issue does the review highlight about Qur’anic studies?

Accepted Answer

It highlights the relative lack of discussion about the Qur’an’s language compared with extensive debates on composition date and codification, and it evaluates competing views on how the Qur’an’s language relates to Classical Arabic and pre-Islamic poetry.

Question 2

How did Karl Vollers explain the language of the Qur’an?

Accepted Answer

Vollers argued that the Qur’an originally reflected the dialect of Mecca, later classicized by imposing features that distinguish Classical Arabic, including nominal case and verbal mood endings.

Question 3

Why does the review call for re-examining Qur’anic language and orthography?

Accepted Answer

It argues that major developments in pre- and early Islamic epigraphy and philology—such as newly available examples from the Hijaz and other regions—provide evidence that undermines older assumptions based mainly on later manuscript attestations of pre-Islamic material.