Using/Abusing the Qur’an in Jocular Literature: Blasphemy, Qur’anophilia, or Familiarity?

Jokes found in the popular and widely circulated nawadir (anecdote) collections make use of partial or full quotations from the Qur’an. Some of these quotations are acknowledged, while others are not identified as such. Medieval theorists recommended quoting from the Qurʾān for serious prose writers, orators, and authors. But such quotations were also used in jokes and anecdotes, some of which were raunchy, sexually explicit or borderline blasphemous and exceeded the recommended limits set by the theorists. This chapter discusses the development of iqtibās (direct quotation from the Qur’an), followed by an examination of a number of anecdotes from medieval sources, focusing on what has been termed as frivolous iqtibās from the Qur’an. The reasons for the use/abuse of the Qur’an are analysed, with a specific focus on its motives, demonstrating that this particular Qur’anic usage was deliberate, albeit very carefully done.