The Qur’an makes extensive use of older religious material, stories, and traditions that predate the origins of Islam, and there has long been a fierce debate about how this material found its way into the Qur’an. This unique book argues that this debate has largely been characterized by a failure to fully appreciate the Qur’an as a predominately oral product. Using innovative computerized linguistic analysis, this study demonstrates that the Qur’an displays many of the signs of oral composition that have been found in other traditional literature. When one then combines these computerized results with other clues to the Qur’an’s origins (such as the demonstrably oral culture that both predated and preceded the Qur’an, as well as the “folk memory” in the Islamic tradition that Muhammad was an oral performer) these multiple lines of evidence converge and point to the conclusion that large portions of the Qur’an need to be understood as being constructed live, in oral performance. Combining historical, linguistic, and statistical analysis, much of it made possible for the first time due to new computerized tools developed specifically for this book, Bannister argues that the implications of orality have long been overlooked in studies of the Qur’an. By relocating the Islamic scripture firmly back into an oral context, one gains both a fresh appreciation of the Qur’an on its own terms, as well as a fresh understanding of how Muhammad used early religious traditions, retelling old tales afresh for a new audience.

"This book’s success resides in its methodology. . . .This book will be beneficial to both Islamic scholars and in particular to students of orality." - Journal of Folklore Research

"This fascinating book has the potential of reviving the debate regarding orality and literacy in the late antique Near East…. Bannister’s work sets the premise for a serious discussion about the role of orality in late antique societies, including seventh-century Arabia, pushing against a certain methodological conservatism in the field. The author constructively provokes scholars to explore different approaches and narratives…. The data presented in the book compellingly shows the richness and sophistication of formulaicity in the Qur’ān, and the author is perceptive in pointing out the most interesting or apparently problematic findings…. [This] study raises insightful questions on style, composition and redaction that invite the attention of all scholars in the field." - Review of Qur'anic Research