The Qur'ān’s dietary tetralogue: a diachronic reconstruction

Journal article

An important characteristic that sets the Medinan Qurʾān apart from the Meccan sūras is its preoccupation with the precise and quasi-legal regulation of specific aspects of the Qurʾānic Believers’ social interactions and their ritual life. This general contrast is disrupted by the fact that two sūras that are generally considered to be Meccan — namely, Sūras 6 and 16 — contain passages setting out a group of four dietary taboos, here labelled the Qurʾān’s “dietary tetralogue.” The article argues in favour of the view that the two passages in question are Medinan insertions, and goes on to reconstruct a relative chronology of all Qurʾānic pronouncements on the topic, discerning a development leading from an attitude encouraging the unrestricted consumption of God’s provisions to a partial reinstatement of Biblical food taboos. The conclusion explores a number of important theological themes — such as the lightness of Qurʾānic law as well as God’s munificence and general permissiveness — with which the dietary tetralogue is intimately bound up.

Authors: Sinai, N

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Max Schloessinger Memorial Foundation
• Journal: Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam
• Volume: 46
• Pages: 113–146
• Publication date: 2020-02-21
• Acceptance date: 2018-02-02
• ISSN: 0334-4118
• Language: English
• Keywords: Medinan insertions; Qur'ān; dietary rules; Bible