The stranger at the sea: Mythopoesis in the Qur'ân and early tafsîr

Abstract

This study's point of departure is a famous statement issued by Charles Adams in 1967 that contends that the History of Religions and Islamic Studies are essentially incompatible. In revisiting Adams' claim, this study examines the use of myth and mythopoesis in the Qur'ân. For within this sacred scripture there exist many mythemes that connect it, both linguistically and structurally, to wider and deeper semiotics of meaning. The particular focus is on Qur'ân 8:60-82, which recounts Moses' encounter with a mysterious stranger at "the place where the two seas meet." After some methodological reflections, I examine the Qur'ân's ability to absorb, transform, and subsequently erase previous near eastern narratives. Following this, I examine the way in which Tabari, a 10th-century exegete, attempted to make sense of this passage in such a manner as to connect it explicitly back to these earlier narratives.