Kronologi Al-Qur’an Periode Makkah: Analisis Internal Teks Theodor Nöldeke dalam Penyusunan Kronologi al-Qur’an Periode Makkah

Abstract

Muslim scholarships have a wide interest on the nature of Quranic chronology theme. They studied Qur’an based on tartīb an-nuzūl and the frame of time, place, and language style. It generates two main stages of Qur’anic chronology: Meccan Period and Medinan Period. The main basis in determining the period of Mecca and Medina is based on traditional Islamic data in the form of historical history and interpretation. However, this source is considered to have various weaknesses, such as doubtfulness of the sources, there are many inconsistencies, and is vulnerable to criticism even at the sanad level. The efforts made by Muslim scholars later, received attention from Western scholars, one of which was Theodore Nöldeke who attempted to reconstruct chronologically the letters or verses of the Qur'an. Nöldeke's interesting offer for compiling the chronology of the Qur'an lies in the internal analysis of the text, namely examining the style of language and the form of diction in determining the calendar of a letter or verse of the Qur'an. Based on an internal analysis of the text -as well as using the traditional materials of Muslim scholars- Nöldeke divides the Qur'anic chronology of the Meccan period into three parts, covering the early, middle, and late Meccan periods. This paper attempts to examine the characteristics of the three Meccan periods offered and to see the methodology of the internal analysis of the Nöldeke text towards the reconstruction of the chronology of the Qur'an.