L’histoire de la constitution du muṣḥaf, telle que la rapporte la tradition musulmane, est caractérisée par de nombreuses contradictions. Ce travail tente de démontrer que le ḥadīṯ des sept aḥruf, la ʿarḏa aẖīra, le principe du Nāsiẖ-Mansūẖ et le ḥadīṯ qudsī sont des concepts qui ont contribué à légitimer la vulgate ʿuṯmānienne. La place d’al-Zuhrī dans la transmission et la légitimation du récit de la collecte du Coran est examinée en détail, de même que son statut de rapporteur qui est controversé au sein même de la tradition. Selon la nomenclature du ḥadīṯ, le mode de transmission du Coran durant les premières générations aurait dû être invalidé. Ni la mémorisation intégrale du texte coranique ni son enseignement ne se sont effectués à cette époque de la façon dont l’orthodoxie musulmane le professe. Cette étude montre que les qirā‘āt canoniques sont constitués de plusieurs micro-systèmes de lecture et qu’elles ne relèvent pas d’un enseignement prophétique exclusif, mais tirent en partie leur origine du qiyās et des dialectes tribaux. Sur un plan théologique, l’histoire du corpus coranique et ses qirā’āt ont été occultées dans l’argumentaire développé par les écoles théologiques autour du statut ontologique du Coran : quelles en sont les raisons profondes ? Peut-on parler de « théologisation progressive du texte canonisé » ? Enfin, la confrontation des codex et des données de traités de qirā’āt, rasm et fawāṣil montre que des codex non ʿuṯmāniens circulaient encore à une époque où la phase de canonisation aurait dû être achevée. En définitive, cette étude de la tradition musulmane et des codex suppose une histoire du Coran différente de celle élaborée par la tradition. / The history of the constitution of the mushaf, as detailed in Muslim tradition, is characterized by numerous contradictions. This undertaking aims to show that the ḥadīṯ of the seven aḥruf, the ʿarḏa aẖīra, the principle of the Nāsiẖ-Mansūẖ and the ḥadīṯ qudsī are concepts which have contributed legitimising the ʿuṯmānian vulgate. The place of al-Zuhrī in transmission and legitimisation of the recital of the collection of the Koran is examined in details, as well as his role as a rapporteur, a source of controversy within the tradition itself. According to the ḥadīṯ’s nomenclature, the mode of transmission of the Koran during the first generations should have been discredited. Neither memorisation of the entire Koranic text nor its teaching were carried out at that time of how Muslim orthodoxy professes. This study shows that the canonical qirā‘āt comprise several reading micro-systems and that they are not the result of exclusive prophetic instruction, but are rooted in part in qiyās and tribal dialects. From a theological perspective, the history of the koranic corpus and its qirā’āt has been shrouded by the argument forwarded by theological schools on the ontological status of the Koran: what are the deeper reasons for this? Are we able to refer to a “progressive theologisation of the canonised text”? Lastly, the confrontation of the different codices and treatises from qirā’āt, rasm and fawāṣil shows that non ʿuṯmānian codices were still circulating at the time when the canonisation phase should have been complete. In short, the study of Muslim tradition and the codices suggests a different history from the Koran to the one proposed by tradition.

Magister Artium - MA / The main focus of this dissertation is a critical study of the Arabic text, titled: Lubāb al ‘Ilm Fī Sūrah al-Najm (The Kernel of Knowledge in the Chapter of the Star) by Shaykh Ahmad bin Muṣṭafā’ al-‘Alāwī. Due to the lack of research on esoteric commentaries of the Qurʾān in the English language, there is a need to embark upon an in-depth study of such texts. An important work on Shaykh al-‘Alāwī in English is Martin Lings’ A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century. This book is an excellent introduction to the life, works and thought of Shaykh al-‘Alāwī, but it does not deal with a specific text in any detail. Thus, the purpose of this dissertation is to examine closely the above-mentioned text of Shaykh al-‘Alāwī as a sample of his esoteric interpretation of the Qurʾān. For the purpose of this thesis, I shall undertake a translation of his exegesis (tafsīr) on Sūrah al-Najm (the Chapter of the Star). I will include with it explanatory notes and identification of key quotations and sources. This sample from Shaykh al-‘Alāwī’s work will form the basis of my critical analyses. It will also provide a means for comparison with some of his other works, and with Qurʾānic commentaries of the same genre by other Sufi scholars, both classical and modern. In this dissertation, I also seek to offer some answers and proofs concerning the validity of the existence of esoteric tafsīr and why it is needed. I will do this by examining key verses in the Qur’ān and the Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet Muḥammad). The distinction between esoteric and exoteric interpretations of the Qurʾān will also be dealt with in this dissertation. Although the emphasis will be on the esoteric dimension, neither the esoteric nor the exoteric dimension will be treated in a mutually exclusive way. Most Arabic commentaries on the Qurʾān tend towards the exoteric and literal meanings of the text, but the exoteric form also has an inner dimension which Shaykh al-‘Alāwī demonstrates in his commentary on Sūrah al-Najm.

Parole sans contexte évident ni trame narrative, le texte fondateur de l’islam ne dévoile pas aisément ses origines. Cette thèse examine un code de lecture particulier qui a pour effet de contextualiser le texte sacré de l’islam dans ce qu’on imagine avoir été son contexte premier. La lecture chronologique consiste à déterminer l’inscription temporelle de chaque sourate ou énoncé coranique par rapport, d’une part, aux autres énoncés et, d’autre part, à la carrière prophétique de Muḥammad. En (ré-)introduisant une dimension temporelle et narrative, l’interprétation du Coran est facilitée. Ce dernier est ainsi en mesure de raconter, sinon son histoire, du moins une histoire. La chronologie coranique structure à la fois l’exégèse musulmane prémoderne et la recherche universitaire occidentale sur le Coran. Dans cette thèse, nous examinons ces deux domaines de production de savoir, non pas en opposition l’un avec l’autre mais comme deux moments de la réception du texte coranique. Cette approche inclusive permet, à travers l’étude d’une problématique spécifique, d’entamer une réflexion sur les convergences et les divergences entre l’érudition islamique et la recherche occidentale. Notre point de départ et fil conducteur est la liste chronologique des sourates, qui circule dans la Tradition musulmane avant d’être reprise et retravaillée par des universitaires occidentaux. La quête de la séquence originelle du Coran a engendré des débats autant parmi les exégètes que dans la recherche historico-critique. Nous retraçons ces débats et portons une attention particulière à la « textualité » du Coran, qui en fait un texte particulièrement difficile à ancrer dans un contexte. / Devoid of a clear context and a narrative frame, the founding text of Islam does not easily reveal its origins. This thesis examines a particular reading code that contextualises the Muslim scripture in what is imagined to have been its original context. A chronological reading aims at determining the temporal position of each sura or qur'ānic passage in relation to, on the one hand, the rest of the text and, on the other hand, the prophetic career of Muḥammad. By (re-)introducing a temporal and narrative frame, the interpretation of the Qur’ān is facilitated. The text is thus allowed to tell its own story or – in any case – a story. The issue of qur’ānic chronology structures both pre-modern Muslim exegesis and Western academic research on the Qur’ān. In this thesis, we examine these two fields of knowledge, not in opposition to one another but as representing two moments in the Qur’ān’s reception. This inclusive approach enables a reflection on the continuities and discontinuities between the Muslim scholarly tradition and Western research. The chronological list of suras, transmitted by Muslim tradition and examined by Western academics, provides the starting point and the connecting thread of the thesis. The search for the original sequence of the Qur’ān has generated debates, both in exegetical circles and in historical-critical research. We explore what is at stake in these debates and pay specific attention to the textuality of the Qur’ān, which, we argue, does not easily allow us to inscribe the Muslim Scripture in a clear context.

This thesis is a translation of a chapter that examines the role of Muslim women in politics during the early Islamic period and their engagement with religious and political discourses. This subject raises a combination of provocative challenges for Islamic discourse as Muslim women have had a complex relationship with their religious tradition dating back to the very inception of Islam. Despite Qur’ānic injunctions and Prophetic affirmations of the egalitarian status of Muslim women, social inequality and injustice directed at women remains a persistent problem in Muslim society. In the translated text Abū Shaqqah goes about re-invoking the normative tradition in order to affirm the role of Muslim women in politics. Furthermore the translation is prefaced by a critical introduction outlining the contours of the 20th century landscape, which attempts to describe the struggle of Muslim women in Abū Shaqqah’s time. / Religious Studies and Arabic / M.A. (Arabic)