The corpus coranicum eludes familiar categories and resists strict labels. No doubt the threads
woven into the fabric are exceptionally textured varied and complex. Accordingly the
introductory chapter of this book demonstrates the application of form criticism to the text.
Chapter two then presents a form-critical study of the prayer genre. It identifies three
productive formulae and addresses distinct social settings and forms associated with them. The
third chapter begins by defining the liturgy genre vis-à-vis prayer in the Qur an. Drawing a
line between the hymn and litany forms this chapter treats each in turn. Chapter four
considers the genre classified as wisdom literature. It identifies sapiential formulae and
sheds light on wisdom contexts. The fifth chapter examines the narrative genre writ large. It
also surveys narrative blocks of the long saga. The subsequent chapter on the proclamation
genre inspects a set of vocative formulae which occurs in the messenger situation. The
concluding chapter looks at the corpus through synchronic and diachronic lenses. In the end
Qur anic genres encapsulate the form-critical elements of formulae forms and settings as
well as an historical dimension.
