critical study in the book Syriac-Aramaic Reading of the Qur’an by Christoph Luxenberg

Several contemporary orientalists have advanced the theory that the Holy Qur’an was not originally written in Arabic but a mixture with Syriac, the dominant spoken and written language in the Arabian Peninsula through the eighth century. Among them, the author of the book The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran: A Contribution to the Decoding of the Language of the Qur’an (German edition 2000, English translation 2007) who goes by the pseudonym of “Christoph Luxenberg”. He introduces himself as a German orientalist who argues that the language the Qur’an, an estimated thirty percent, was substantially developed from Syriac and that it is practically impossible to comprehend the meaning of the Holy Qur’an without studying its roots in that particular language.

The current study has translated Luxenberg’s 2007 most critical arguments in Arabic language for the first time, which helped the researcher create a more solid foundation for expressing his views and criticisms given the significance of countering possibly ill-concieved representation or deliberate manipulation of verses of the Qur’an.

The researcher has approached the matter through the analytical, inductive and critical methodology; separately studying and finding scholarly weaknesses in arguments and conducting the required assessments.

In accordance with the study, the researcher has developed a couple of broad recommendations including:

• Most orientalists’ researches have one underlying theme; to cast doubt on the al-Nubuwwa and its roots to divine sources, misrepresent the Prophet (a)’s message, and undermine Muslims’ beliefs.