Islam and Scripture

Islam acknowledges two primary varieties of scripture, the Quran and the hadith. The Quran is believed to be directly spoken, eternal, and yet "uncreated" word of Allah, while the hadith comprise reports of varying authenticity from Muhammad's companions (the sahabah), transmitted through various members of successive generations regarding specific actions, statements, or 'tacit approvals' of Muhammad. The 'tacit approvals' of Muhammad include any event where Muhammad was present or regarding which Muhammad was aware of or made aware of and against which he did not protest - his silence in these cases is held to count as his approval. The textual history of the Quran is complex and subject to interminable debate, but it is generally agreed that some final version of the Quran was compiled and authorized by the Rashidun ("rightly guided") Caliphs within a decade of Muhammad's death, with all competing versions being outlawed and destroyed. While a select few hadiths were written down in the first century after Muhammad's death, these were, as a rule, not recorded with their chains of transmission (pl. asaneed, s. Isnad). Vastly more hadiths were compiled in writing in the period 150-200 years following Muhammad's death. While Islamic scholars to this day place great faith in the historicity and preservation of the sahih ("reliable") hadith and especially the Quran, the traditional narrative regarding the preservation of either has been increasingly challenged by professional historians. The hadith in particular have been subjected to wide-ranging criticism and are said to bear the clear marks of early sectarian influence, hagiographic idealization, and the competing fancies of early scholars of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh).

The two most authoritative, sahih collections of hadith are Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

The Quran

Main Article: Qur'an

The Qur'ān (القرآن) is the central religious text of Islam and is held to be the final and perfect guidance for all of mankind.^[1][2] The text in its original Arabic is believed to be the literal word of Allah^[3] revealed by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel) to Prophet Muhammad over a period of twenty-three years.^[4][5]

Textual history of the Quran

The textual integrity of scripture is an important topic in Islamic circles that has been subject to ongoing debate among scholars in both religious and academic circles. Western research on the textual history of the Quran, conducted in the recent past, has reinvigorated these debates and shed unwelcome light on some of the problems inherent in traditional accounts of the Quran's early compilation by bringing details generally ignored by traditional, religious scholarship to the forefront.

Diacritical marks

As Arabic writing system was still in development during the time of Muhammad, the Qur'an was originally written without the diacritical and phonetic marks that today appear in virtually all printed versions of the scripture. These markings were added years after 'the final Qur'anic revelation' and Muhammad's death. Historians and critics have continually noted that the late addition of these markings is problematic for a traditional narrative which argues for the preservation of the Quran, since various sets and arrangements of diacritical markings can and do significantly impact the meaning of the Arabic text.

Organization

Excepting the first surah, al-Fatiha ("The Opener"), the surahs (chapters) contained in the Quran are, broadly speaking, arranged in order of diminishing length. The longest sura is surah 2 (al-Baqarah, "The Cow") and the (second) shortest is surah 114 (al-Nas, "The People"). While standard prints of the Qur'an make no distinction between passages revealed to the prophet in Mecca or Medina, Islamic scholarship and professional historians generally agree that a part of the Qur'an was revealed before and a part after the prophet's hijra, or flight, from Mecca to Medina.

Chronological order

This page lists the chronological (or revelational) order of the Qur'an. Whereas the earlier Meccan verses of the Qur'an focus on matters of belief and general behavior, the later, Medinan verses of the Qur'an, revealed during the prophets political and military campaign in and reign over Arabia, focus a great deal more on matters of Islamic law and jihad. In this order, over time, the revelations also shifted from a poetic and morally exhortative style in Mecca to a more prosaic and often aggressive style in the later years in Medina.

Abrogation

Main Article: Abrogation (Naskh) and List of Abrogations in the Qur'an

The messages of later Medinan Qur'anic revelations frequently changed, contradicted, and revised earlier Meccan ones. As a result the Qur'an, read in its non-chronological organization, appears at surface-level to support a wide variety of doctrines, many of which are mutually exclusive (such as the complete prohibition of alcohol, partial prohibition of alcohol, and outright praising of wine-producing vineyards). To reconcile these differences, drawing on Quran 2:106 and similar verses, developed the doctrine of Abrogation (Naskh). While the specifics and application of the doctrine have been and continue to be widely contested by Islamic scholars, with some denying it outright (including, most recently, Sh. Jasser Auda^[6]), it is accepted by most Islamic scholars as operative at at least some, minimal level, since it is difficult to otherwise justify the contradictory messages found throughout the text.

Revelational circumstances

Main Article: Asbab al-Nuzul (Revelational Circumstances of the Quran); See also: Convenient Revelations

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 the Bible

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 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 Islamic scriptures present adaptations of pre-existing ideas to fit the needs and beliefs of Islam.

Specific items that appear in Islamic scriptures which draw on and develop what is covered in the Bible include: the story of the talking baby Jesus, the character(s) of Mary and Miriam, the contents of Sanhedrin 37a, the story of the burial of Abel and the raven, the trinity, the story of Jesus and the clay birds, the story of Mary's upbringing and her relationship with Zachariah, the story of Mary delivering Jesus involving a palm tree, the story of Satan's refusal to prostrate before Adam, the story of the queen of Sheba, the story of the wealth of Korah, and the story of Abraham and the idols.

Contents of the Quran

Al-Fatiha

The best-known chapter of the Qur'an is al-Fatiha ‘The Opening’. This surah is recited as part of all the mandatory daily prayers and repeated within each prayer. A faithful Muslim who said all their prayers would recite this surah at least seventeen times a day, and over five thousand times a year. The hadith literature make negative references to the Jews and Christians in connection with this surah. Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan and Dr. Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali incorporate this within their translation. Ayah 6-7 thus reads; "Guide us to the Straight Way. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace, not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger (such as the Jews), nor of those who went astray (such as the Christians)." It is remarkable that the daily prayers of every Muslim, part of the core of Islam, include a rejection of Christians and Jews as misguided and objects of Allah’s wrath.

Child marriage

The Qur'an permits pedophilia. The following Qur'anic verse allows sex with pre-pubescent girls who have not yet menstruated.

What is being discussed is the Iddat (العدة‎), which is a waiting period a female must observe before she can remarry. According to this verse, the stipulated waiting period for a divorced girl who has not yet menstruated is three months.

The final message of the Quran

Chapter 9 of the Qur'an- Al Taubah (Repentance) is considered to be the closing remarks of Allah. The only Surah (chapter‎) said to have been revealed after this is Al Nasr (Victory), which consists of only a few verses. That this chapter is openly militant, containing some of the most controversial verses regarding Jihad, while also being something to the effect of "God's closing statement", would seem to make militant and expansionist interpretations of Islam understandable. The chapter encourages the narrative of dividing the world into the domain of believers (Dar al-Islam) and unbelievers (dar al-kufr) or war (dar al-harb), with the apparent aim of preserving endless enmity between the two. Given its historical context and contemporary importance, this chapter of the Qur'an proves to be essential reading for those interested in understanding Islam, its doctrine's, and it's ultimate world view.

Muqatta'at

Muqatta`āt (Arabic): مقطعات, are unique letter combinations that begin certain chapters of the Quran. Muqatta`āt, literally, means abbreviated or shortened. They are also known as Fawātih (فواتح) or openers as they form the opening verse of the respective chapters. In Arabic language, these letters are written together like a word, but each letter is pronounced separately. None of these combinations actually form a meaningful Arabic word. These letters appear joined together. Muqatta'at have been and continue to be a topic of intense research and academic discussions in Islamic literature and Quranic studies.

Criticism of the Quran

Contradictions

Main Article: Contradictions in the Quran

This section deals with contradictions in the Qur'an. It is no secret that the Qur'an contains contradictions, as Islamic scholars are familiar with the Abrogation laws within Islam. Below, you will find a large amount of discrepancies. Even when compared with the alleged discrepancies within the Bible, the list is huge. This is especially apparent when you consider the Qur'an is less than a third of the size, and is supposed to have been narrated by a single individual, rather than be a collection of several books authored by various individuals, and compiled over the course of many years.

Scientific Errors

This page lists various types of scientific errors found in the Qur'an. The subjects of these errors include; Evolution, Astronomy, Biology, Geology, Zoology and many others which are often confirmed by the hadith.

Misinterpretation of the Quran in English

Many use paraphrased or outright distorted misinterpretations of Qur'anic verses to propagate Islam in the West. Below is one example.

These pages discuss a few of the more popular distortions, and provides accurate translations and the accompanying orthodox interpretations.

Mistranslations of the Quran in English

Some of the most prominent and officially recognized English translators of the Qur'an (like Yusuf Ali, Dr. Rashad Khalifa and Muhammad Asad) have often mistranslated the most controversial and problematic verses in Qur'an. That these inaccurate translations are most common with verses that would be considered barbaric, unscientific, or crude in the West suggests that these mistranslations were not unintentional or due to some unique difficulty of the Arabic words used in these verses. These pages discuss a few of the more popular ones in detail, and provides you with the correct translations.

The hadith

Main Article: Hadith

The Hadith (الحديث ahadith, plural) are traditions of Muhammad, giving us important information about him and his life. They are usually narrations about a certain incident in which he said, did, or tacitly approved of something. Unlike the Qur'an, they typically follow a chronological order, and most of them are compiled by category (i.e. Jihad, Nikah, etc.). The Hadith is where Muslims derive the majority of Islamic law from and determine the Sunnah (or way‎) of the prophet, which is all based on Muhammad's words, actions, and practices. This is key to Islam since Muslims are commanded to obey and emulate him, so even the most insignificant of actions on his part have an effect upon the doctrines and laws of Islam.

The Importance of Hadith

The Qur'an, often presented as the exclusive domain of God's commands, also contains numerous injunctions from Muhammad himself, and indeed commands obedience of Muhammad.

In fact, doctrines as important as the Five Pillars of Islam lack explicit formulation in the Qur'an (as many would argue is the case with the Trinity in the Bible), and are only found in the hadith.

Uswa Hasana

Main Article: Uswa Hasana, See also Muhammad's Sunnah

In Islam, Muhammad is known as uswa hasana, al-Insān al-Kāmil. It is an Arabic phrase loosely translated, meaning, the "perfect human. We find in the Hadith, Muhammad repeatedly told his followers to follow his Sunnah (example) and in the Qur'an we see that Allah even asserts his morality as being “sublime” (68:4). This particular Islamic doctrine encourages Muslims to emulate Muhammad and his (7th century) actions as closely as they can, as a form of devotion to Allah.

Sahih

Sahih (صَحِيْح) is an Arabic word that means genuine/authentic/sound. It is used in classification of ahadith and is the highest level of authenticity given to a narration that pass the highest level of authentication. When dealing with ahadith, a sahih narration is the closest you can get to: "yes this incident definitely happened." Therefore, in orthodox Islam, when refusing to accept the content of a narration, one must generally prove that a sahih hadith is in fact inauthentic in order to reject it, since rejection based on a dislike for the attested actions/statements of the prophet is not considered a rigorous, consistent, or reliable basis for rejection.

Daleel

Daleel (دليل) is an Arabic word meaning evidence. In regards to Islamic hadith, Daleel can either be Maudu (fabricated), Da`if (weak), Hasan (good), or Sahih (authentic). Generally in Islam, only the authentic (sahih) and good (hasan) hadiths are used in deriving the rules. The weak (da`if) hadiths are of much lesser value for the purpose of formulating sharia, and the fabricated (Maudu) narrations are not even considered to be hadith at all (but can sometimes be useful as representatives of common perspectives circulating at the time of the fabricated hadith's origination).

Criticism of the hadith

Weak and Fabricated Hadith

Some have started to reject sahih (authentic) hadith, in favour of maudu (fabricated) or da`if (weak) ones. Some of these hadith are accepted as fabrications without any scriptural sources.

Contradictions

This page lists some of the contradictions that are found in Hadith collections, suggesting they cannot be treated as being categorically flawless.

Scientific Errors

This page lists various types of scientific errors found within the Hadith. The subjects of these errors include; Astronomy, Biology, Geology, Zoology and many others which often themselves disagree with the scientific claims made in the Qur'an. Some of the narrations further explain vague Qur'anic verses in ways that are scientifically problematic.

Absurdities

This page lists some of the most humorous narrations that are found in Hadith collections.

Other important texts

Tafsirs

Tafsirs are commentaries written by scholars, using the hadith collections to explain the meanings of verses in the Qur'an (as the Qur'an itself does not provide the context of its verses). The most respected and widely used being the Tafsir ibn Kathir. Many who reject the more unsavory aspects of Islam attempt to deflect criticism away from the Qur'an by claiming it can only be correctly understood when read in conjunction with an authoritative tafsir. However, more often than not, the tafsirs render the verses of the Qur'an in an even less favorable and more problematic light.

Sira

The Sirat Rasul Allah (Life of the Messenger of Allah), by ibn Ishaq is a collection of hadith that is arranged in chronological order, forming the earliest biography of Muhammad. This, along with the Qur'an and hadith, are sometimes referred to as the Trilogy of Islam, as all major doctrines are found within these three texts. The sira and hadith collectively form Muhammad's Sunnah, and with the Qur'an, they form the basis for Islamic law, or the Shari'ah.

Books of Fiqh

Books of Islamic jurisprudence (فقه‎ Fiqh) are complimentary expansions of the Shari'ah (Qur'an and Sunnah), written by Islamic jurists (experts on Islam). Reliance of the Traveller: The Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law Umdat Al-Salik is just one example of many (however, these books are often distorted in their English translations to appear less brutal or absurd to Western audiences; an example of this can be found here).

Muhammad in Other Scriptures

The figure of Muhammad and the religion he founded is often depicted negatively in other religious scriptures.

In the Bhavishya Purana, one of the eighteen major Hindu Puranas, Muhammad is depicted as a reincarnated demon, Islam as a demonic religion, and its followers as "the corrupters of religion".

In the Haran Gawaitha, a Mandaean text which tells the history of the Mandaeans and their arrival in Iraq as Nasoreans from Jerusalem, Muhammad is referred to as "the Son-of-Slaughter, the Arab", "the most degraded of false prophets", "the Seal of prophets of the Lie", who "converted people to himself by the sword".

And in the Kālachakra Tantra, a ninth century Tibetan Buddhist text, Muhammad is referred to as a demonic incarnation and a "false impostor". Muslims are described as invading "barbarians", bringing with them the barbarian religion ("mleccha-dharma"), a religion of violence ("himsa-dharma") that also advocates savage behavior ("raudra-karman").

See Also

• Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars - This section of WikiIslam lists quotations from the Qur'an, Hadith and Islamic Scholars

• Compendium of Muslim Texts

• The History of al-Tabari

References