Three sources

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Motzki scrutinizes every generally accepted claim, and walks through his argument step by step. He begins by questioning the established view that “the Qur’an contains the revelations which Muhammad announced during the first third of the 7th century AD at Mecca and Medina” and asks from where does this information come? (2). In order to answer this question in an “empirically scientific way,” which appeals to the non-Muslim scholars, Motzki looks at three sources: early manuscripts of the Qur’an, the text of the Qur’an, and the Islamic tradition, i.e. hadith science.

The Three Sources:

1. Early manuscripts of the Qur’an—insufficient evidence from early manuscripts; need an autograph of the author in order to prove that they date back to the Prophet; not conclusive due to fragmentary nature of these manuscripts.

2. The text of the Qur’an—Motzki asks if “the Qur’an contains clear indications as to its author or its collectors?” (3). Not enough evidence.

3. The Islamic tradition, i.e. hadith science— Motzki uses hadith science to expose the methodological errors of non-Muslim scholars.