The Traditional Exegesis and the Framing Story

Formulating the claim

The framing story is the narrative that surrounds the verses or prophetic sayings within a temporal and spatial frame, giving them both a historical and a mythical dimension at the same time.

Explanation

The framing story works by placing the text within a scene that defines its time and place, so that the tale appears as part of the way of understanding rather than merely an external backdrop. In this way, the historical and the mythical intertwine, and it becomes a tool for directing reception and imbuing the text with meaning.

Its place in the book’s argument

This idea appears within the discussion of traditional exegesis when the text is read through a narrative frame that precedes or surrounds the meaning, rather than through an independent analysis of its historical and linguistic structure.

What the atom does not say

This page does not explain in detail how the framing story is formed, does not present specific examples, and does not discuss its effect on differences between readings.

Brief evidence

Regis Blachère says that establishing the text relies on conjectures about the conditions and circumstances in which it was produced. Verses 27 to 59 do not attach to the subsequent or preceding story, but instead belong to the orbit of the shared utterance and the marks of speech. As for the first verses of the sura, from 1 to 8, they repeat themes mentioned earlier, revealing a framing construction of the text.

Nearby links

Critique of Islamic Thought and Ijtihad