Historical Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

→‎Unknown words in the Quran: Added another reference to an article on the false ascribing of unknown words to earlier Islamic figures in exegetical reports by Joshua Little.
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(→‎Pharoah as a name and not a title: Sharpened up previous post slightly to make the point and wording clearer :))
(→‎Unknown words in the Quran: Added another reference to an article on the false ascribing of unknown words to earlier Islamic figures in exegetical reports by Joshua Little.)
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To take another verse we see where a singular noun 'lord' (rabbi) is used without the definite particle 'al', it is followed by (of) the worlds (l-ʿālamīna) to designate the title.
To take another verse we see where a singular noun 'lord' (rabbi) is used without the definite particle 'al', it is followed by (of) the worlds (l-ʿālamīna) to designate the title.
{{Quote|{{Quran|43|46}}|Certainly We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his elite. He said, ‘I am indeed an apostle of the Lord of all the worlds.’}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|43|46}}|Certainly We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his elite. He said, ‘I am indeed an apostle of the Lord of all the worlds.’}}
If replaced with another title like 'Queen' in Q43:46 we get the odd '''Certainly We sent Moses with Our signs to Queen and his elite…'' '
If replaced with another title like 'Queen' in Q43:46 we get the odd '''Certainly We sent Moses with Our signs to Queen and her elite…'' '


The idea that this is a mistake has further support by the fact that some prominent Christian Preachers post-bible but pre-Islam such as Gregory of Nyssa (d. 394) made the same mistake.<ref>Gregory of Nyssa, ''[http://www.newhumanityinstitute.org/pdf-articles/Gregory-of-Nyssa-The-Life-of-Moses.pdf Life of Moses 1.24].''  
The idea that this is a mistake has further support by the fact that some prominent Christian Preachers post-bible but pre-Islam such as Gregory of Nyssa (d. 394) made the same mistake.<ref>Gregory of Nyssa, ''[http://www.newhumanityinstitute.org/pdf-articles/Gregory-of-Nyssa-The-Life-of-Moses.pdf Life of Moses 1.24].''  
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Some people sometimes get more than one messenger.
Some people sometimes get more than one messenger.
{{Quote|{{Quran|36|14}}|When We sent to them two but they denied them, so We strengthened them with a third, and they said, "Indeed, we are messengers to you."}}
{{Quote|{{Quran|36|14}}|When We sent to them two but they denied them, so We strengthened them with a third, and they said, "Indeed, we are messengers to you."}}
We see this too with the Jews having many prophets (though many classical commentaries have interpreted the other prophets in the previous verse ({{Quran|36|14}}) as being Jesus's followers, who is also a Jewish prophet),<ref>E.g. View the classical tafsirs on [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/36.14 ''verse 36:14''] on quranx.com</ref> and the Arabs with Abraham coming before Muhammad (Quran 3.96 - 3.97). Some of these messengers are extremely powerful kings such as Suliman, who were are told a kingdom like his will not be given to anyone else ({{Quran|38|35}}), and Dhul Qarnayn ({{Quran|18|84}}), who is given authority over the earth and rides to the rising and setting of the sun.  
We see this too with the Jews having many prophets (though many classical commentaries have interpreted the other prophets in the previous verse ({{Quran|36|14}}) as being Jesus's followers, who is also a Jewish prophet),<ref>E.g. View the classical tafsirs on [https://quranx.com/tafsirs/36.14 ''verse 36:14''] on quranx.com</ref> and the Arabs (and Meccans specifically) with Abraham coming before Muhammad (Quran 3.96 - 3.97), and his son Ishmael supposedly building the Ka'ba (Quran 2.125). Some of these messengers are extremely powerful kings such as Suliman, who were are told a kingdom like his will not be given to anyone else ({{Quran|38|35}}), and Dhul Qarnayn ({{Quran|18|84}}), who is given authority over the earth and rides to the rising and setting of the sun.  


Despite these prophets supposedly visiting all pre-Islamic people and some ruling mighty empires, there is no trace of their monotheistic mission in any society (the two rulers mentioned only appear in biblical writings<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/question/When-was-the-Bible-written ''When was the Bible written?''] Britannica Entry. www.britannica.com</ref> and separate Christian literature (''see: [[Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance]]'') written centuries after the events supposedly happened; and are absent from contemporary writings and archaeological evidence). This is extremely odd that the entire administration of the empires (or surrounding one's) had not a left a trace of a monotheistic religion or their message as a warner - which assumingly they would as prophethood became the rulers life's purpose.
Despite these prophets supposedly visiting all pre-Islamic people and some ruling mighty empires, there is no trace of their monotheistic mission in any society (the two rulers mentioned only appear in biblical writings<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/question/When-was-the-Bible-written ''When was the Bible written?''] Britannica Entry. www.britannica.com</ref> and separate Christian literature (''see: [[Dhul-Qarnayn and the Alexander Romance]]'') written centuries after the events supposedly happened; and are absent from contemporary writings and archaeological evidence). This is extremely odd that the entire administration of the empires (or surrounding one's) had not a left a trace of a monotheistic religion or their message as a warner - which assumingly they would as prophethood became the rulers life's purpose.
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{{Quote|Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 1: Early Meccan Suras: Poetic Prophecy (p. 61-62). Yale University Press.|V. 3 wa-arsala ʿalayhim ṭayran abābīl] <b>Abābīl</b>, a word that is not attested elsewhere, cannot be explained etymologically (for the hypotheses up to now, see FVQ, 44f.). An instance in Umayya ibn abī l-Ṣalt (Schulthess 1911: fragment 4.3) appears to draw from the Qur’an, and therefore should be considered inauthentic. The translation “herds, swarms” would correspond most probably to the intended sense of the verse (cf. Bell 1991: 585).  
{{Quote|Neuwirth, Angelika. The Qur'an: Text and Commentary, Volume 1: Early Meccan Suras: Poetic Prophecy (p. 61-62). Yale University Press.|V. 3 wa-arsala ʿalayhim ṭayran abābīl] <b>Abābīl</b>, a word that is not attested elsewhere, cannot be explained etymologically (for the hypotheses up to now, see FVQ, 44f.). An instance in Umayya ibn abī l-Ṣalt (Schulthess 1911: fragment 4.3) appears to draw from the Qur’an, and therefore should be considered inauthentic. The translation “herds, swarms” would correspond most probably to the intended sense of the verse (cf. Bell 1991: 585).  


V. 4 tarmīhim bi-ḥijāratin min sijjīl] The defense of the opponents from Mecca, which is presented in the Qur’an as a miracle, has no parallels in the historical tradition. <b>Sijjīl</b>, another hapaxlegomenon in the Qur’an, is a loan formation according to Jeffery (FVQ, 164), derived from Liat sigillum (cf. Robinson 2001; Frolov 2005). The recourse to a loan word serves to enigmatize, and thus heighten the significance of, the act of annihilation, which is presented in sura’s text as a miraculous intervention by the God worshipped in the local sanctuary.}}
V. 4 tarmīhim bi-ḥijāratin min sijjīl] The defense of the opponents from Mecca, which is presented in the Qur’an as a miracle, has no parallels in the historical tradition. <b>Sijjīl</b>, another hapaxlegomenon in the Qur’an, is a loan formation according to Jeffery (FVQ, 164), derived from Liat sigillum (cf. Robinson 2001; Frolov 2005). The recourse to a loan word serves to enigmatize, and thus heighten the significance of, the act of annihilation, which is presented in sura’s text as a miraculous intervention by the God worshipped in the local sanctuary.}}In many cases we see completely contradictory reports of the meaning of words, often with the origin of the alleged meaning being ascribed to the same member of earlier generations of early Islamic figures, showing these are personal inferences being extrapolated back to earlier respected figures rather than genuine historical memory.<ref>[https://islamicorigins.com/explaining-contradictions-in-exegetical-hadith/ Explaining Contradictions in Exegetical Hadith.] Islamic Origins Blog. Joshua Little. 2023.</ref>


==== Unknown religion in the Qur'an ====
==== Unknown religion in the Qur'an ====
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