The Reading of Q. 5.60

The paper provides an analysis of the different readings of the Quranic phrase wa-ʿabada ṭ-ṭāġūta of Q. 5.60 concluding that it seems reasonable to suggest that the bewildering welter of morphological possibilities and their apparent irresponsible attribution is more a tribute to the exuberance of scholars excited by the rich stores of forms and patterns made available by generations of scholars delving into the potential of the language than to any serious regard for an oral tradition of the Quran recitation transmitted in parallel with the preservation of the written record of the muṣḥaf.