The Quran as a Literary Masterpiece within its Historical and Religious Milieus

Abstract

This thesis is an attempt to study the Quran as a literary work using two of the recently proposed approaches: thematic coherence of the Quran, and Semitic rhetoric. To effectively conduct this study, surah structure and literary devices are investigated, and a deep study is conducted using these approaches on Surat Yunus resulting in an exposition of ring compositions in the surah. Additionally, to gain the societal context of its contents, an attempt to date the authorship of the Quran is made, and it is concluded that it was most likely authored in the first half of the seventh century and certainly before 675 CE. Additionally, the religious culture of the near east in Arabian Peninsula at that time is explored from historical sources.