Formulation of the claim
Qur’anic stories need a structural analysis that reveals the way they operate mythically and linguistically, rather than being read only as historical accounts.
Explanation
Arkoun believes that historical criticism alone is not enough to understand Qur’anic stories, because these stories do not function merely as accounts of the past, but as formulations with a specific structure. He therefore adds structural analysis to historical reading in order to understand how the stories are constructed and what they mean within the text.
This analysis makes it possible to examine the relationship between linguistic form and narrative function, and the effect the story produces in the recipient, without restricting it to the question of whether it happened historically. In this framework, Qur’anic stories become a field for understanding the way discourse works, not just the content of the tale.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom comes within Arkoun’s approach in Readings in the Qur’an toward going beyond the traditional exegetical reading, and opening the text to new analytical tools that combine history, structure, and language. It aligns with his broader thesis about the need to rethink ways of reading the Qur’an as a composite discourse, not a text that can be interpreted by literal meaning alone.
Limits of the claim
This atom does not mean eliminating history from the reading of Qur’anic stories, nor does it make structural analysis a complete substitute for other tools of understanding. Nor should it be taken as a final judgment on the truth of the stories or a denial of them, because it focuses on the mode of construction and signification.
Brief evidence
Page 174
Regis says, as Blancher, “speculations about the conditions and circumstances in which the text was fixed . Thirdly, verses 27 to 59 do not relate to the preceding story nor to the following story 59 to 27, except through the signs of speech and common expression around the recurring themes mentioned in verses 60 to 98) The Qur’anic discourse as a whole. As we mentioned previously, the first verses from 1 to 8, are The common general Qur’anic address directed sometimes personally to the Prophet and at other times through him to human beings, believers/infidels from 12 to 32) in the relevant group of verses, we discover a nucleus made up of 12 verses. . grapes