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Islam and Scripture: Difference between revisions
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When discussing the applicability of the commands of the Qur'an in modern times, some modern Islamic scholars have argued that the less agreeable verses contained in the Quran apply only to their original revalational circumstances. However, such ideas regarding the evolution and changing of Islamic law are generally considered heresy in traditional formulations of orthodox Sunni Islam, which adjudicates that the relevance and applicability of Quranic verses is 'by the generality of the word (''umoom al-lafdh'') and not by the specificity of the circumstance (''khusus al-sabab'')". With more than a millennium of tradition militating against this revisionary perspective, it is perhaps unsurprising that the overwhelming majority of Islamic scholars have been unwelcoming to attempts at historicizing parts of the Quran. | When discussing the applicability of the commands of the Qur'an in modern times, some modern Islamic scholars have argued that the less agreeable verses contained in the Quran apply only to their original revalational circumstances. However, such ideas regarding the evolution and changing of Islamic law are generally considered heresy in traditional formulations of orthodox Sunni Islam, which adjudicates that the relevance and applicability of Quranic verses is 'by the generality of the word (''umoom al-lafdh'') and not by the specificity of the circumstance (''khusus al-sabab'')". With more than a millennium of tradition militating against this revisionary perspective, it is perhaps unsurprising that the overwhelming majority of Islamic scholars have been unwelcoming to attempts at historicizing parts of the Quran. | ||
====Parallelism with | ====Parallelism with Extra-Biblical stories==== | ||
{{Main| | {{Main|Parallels Between the Qur'an and Late Antique Judeo-Christian Literature}}The thematic and narrative contents of Islamic scripture (and hence Islam) draw heavily on the Abrahamic tradition as it existed in and around Arabia in late antiquity. Where the contents of scripture diverge from or even directly contradict (at times pointing out the disagreement) this heritage, Islamic scholars hold that this is due to the [[Corruption of Previous Scriptures|corruption of the previous scriptures]] which Muhammad's revelation only seeks to correct. Historians, however, do not see the Islamic scriptures as in any way correcting the biblical narratives so as to make them more historically accurate (Indeed, the stories that comprise the Abrahamic tradition are, for the most part, of very limited historical merit to begin with). Instead, historians hold that Quran makes use of relatively late extra-Biblical sources (stories found in Judeo-Christian apocrypha and legends, the Talmud and Mishnah, and Syriac Christian homilies), adaptating them to the theological stance of its author. | ||
Specific items that appear in | Specific items that appear in the Quran which draw on and develop what is covered in the extra-Biblical sources include: the story of Satan's refusal to prostrate before Adam, the boiling waters of Noah's flood, the story of the Abraham and the idols, the story of Jesus and the clay birds, and the story of Mary delivering Jesus involving a palm tree. | ||
===Contents of the Quran=== | ===Contents of the Quran=== | ||
====Al-Fatiha==== | ====Al-Fatiha==== | ||
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{{Main|Scientific Errors in the Quran}}A common criticism of the [[Quran]], [[Scientific Errors in the Hadith|as with the Hadith]], is that it contains numerous [[Islam and Science|scientific]] and historical errors, with no obvious attempts to differentiate its understanding of the natural world and historical events from the common folklore and misconceptions of the people living in 7<sup>th</sup> century Arabia. Modern responses typically appeal to metaphor, alternative meanings, or [[w:Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenological]] interpretations of such verses. They also argue that the wording needed to be acceptable to people of its time. Critics typically argue that an all-knowing, perfect communicator would nevertheless have been able to avoid statements in the Quran that reinforced misconceptions of the time, caused future generations to have doubts about its perfection, and on a scale that critics contend is an overwhelming weakness. | {{Main|Scientific Errors in the Quran}}A common criticism of the [[Quran]], [[Scientific Errors in the Hadith|as with the Hadith]], is that it contains numerous [[Islam and Science|scientific]] and historical errors, with no obvious attempts to differentiate its understanding of the natural world and historical events from the common folklore and misconceptions of the people living in 7<sup>th</sup> century Arabia. Modern responses typically appeal to metaphor, alternative meanings, or [[w:Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenological]] interpretations of such verses. They also argue that the wording needed to be acceptable to people of its time. Critics typically argue that an all-knowing, perfect communicator would nevertheless have been able to avoid statements in the Quran that reinforced misconceptions of the time, caused future generations to have doubts about its perfection, and on a scale that critics contend is an overwhelming weakness. | ||
===Misrepresentations of the Quran in English=== | ===Misrepresentations of the Quran in English=== | ||
{{Main|Misrepresentations of Islamic Scripture (English)}}Critics have | {{Main|Misrepresentations of Islamic Scripture (English)}}Critics have argued that interpretations of the Quran in English in general, and particularly in evangelical and interfaith contexts, have distorted the plain meaning of the most controversial and troubling verses in the Quran while at the same time idealizing those verse which, when read a certain way, appeal to modern values, presumably to make it appear more acceptable to a Western audience. | ||
Academic and Islamic modernist scholars have argued on the other hand that medieval Islamic scholars sometimes misinterpreted the original meaning of certain verses or claimed that they had been abrogated in order to fit the imperial political context of the emerging empire. | |||
Verses most often claimed to be misused or misrepresented include {{Quran|5|32}} (which regards murder), {{Quran|2|256}} (which regards religious tolerance), {{Quran|2|195}} (which regards participation in Jihad), {{Quran|8|61}} (which regards military reconciliation), {{Quran|2|79}} (which regards the 'corruption of previous scriptures'), {{Quran|4|3}} (which regards the treatment of wives and orphans), {{Quran|2|190}} (which regards defensive Jihad), {{Quran|4|129}} (which regards the treatment of wives), {{Quran-range|109|1|6}} (which regards pluralism), {{Quran|2|62}} (which regards the salvation of 'people of the book'), and {{Quran|2|62}} (which regards the extent of Jihad).{{Quote|Qur'an as sometimes paraphrased<ref>Jacob Bender - [http://www.theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/print/jewish_muslim_dialogue_and_the_value_of_peace/ Jewish-Muslim Dialogue and the Value of Peace] - The American Muslim, July 19, 2007</ref>|“If anyone slays a person, it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.”}}{{Quote|{{Quran|5|32}}|On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if anyone slew a person - unless it be in retaliation for murder or for spreading mischief in the land - it would be as if he slew all mankind: and if anyone saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all humanity. }} | |||
===Mistranslations of the Quran in English=== | ===Mistranslations of the Quran in English=== | ||
{{Main|Mistranslations of Islamic Scripture (English)}}In some cases, published English translations of the Quran have opted for incorrect translations. Critics have suggested that this is for the same evangelical and interfaith-based reasons for which the scripture is often misrepresented in the first place. Translations with apparently deliberate errors include well known editions, such as the Yusuf Ali, Rashad Khalifa, and Muhammad Asad translations. Whereas scripture, critics argue, is frequently misrepresented in various contexts in the name of various levels of expedience, published mistranslations tend to deliberately err only in those instances where the original text poses a very acute challenge to Western values and sensibilities, particularly with respect to human rights and science. The verses most often distorted in published translations include {{Quran|4|34}} (which regards wife-beating), {{Quran|67|5}} (which regards the nature of stars, meteors, and/or comets), {{Quran|86|7}} (which regards the origin of semen), {{Quran|21|91}} & {{Quran|66|12}} (which regard the birth of Jesus), {{Quran|3|52}} (which describes Allah as 'the best deceiver'), and the various verses which employ the word ''qatal'', which means 'kill', 'massacre', or 'slaughter'. | {{Main|Mistranslations of Islamic Scripture (English)}}In some cases, published English translations of the Quran have opted for incorrect translations. Critics have suggested that this is for the same evangelical and interfaith-based reasons for which the scripture is often misrepresented in the first place. Translations with apparently deliberate errors include well known editions, such as the Yusuf Ali, Rashad Khalifa, and Muhammad Asad translations. Whereas scripture, critics argue, is frequently misrepresented in various contexts in the name of various levels of expedience, published mistranslations tend to deliberately err only in those instances where the original text poses a very acute challenge to Western values and sensibilities, particularly with respect to human rights and science. The verses most often distorted in published translations include {{Quran|4|34}} (which regards wife-beating), {{Quran|67|5}} (which regards the nature of stars, meteors, and/or comets), {{Quran|86|7}} (which regards the origin of semen), {{Quran|21|91}} & {{Quran|66|12}} (which regard the birth of Jesus), {{Quran|3|52}} (which describes Allah as 'the best deceiver'), and the various verses which employ the word ''qatal'', which means 'kill', 'massacre', or 'slaughter'. | ||