Islam and Scripture: Difference between revisions

{{QualityScore|Lead=3|Structure=4|Content=3|Language=4|References=3}}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 [[Sahabah|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. [[Textual History of the Qur'an|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 Caliphs|''Rashidun'' ("rightly guided") Caliphs]] within a decade of [[Muhammad's Death|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 [[Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)|Islamic jurisprudence (''fiqh'')]].

:''Main Article:'' ''[[Qur'an]]''

====Parallelism with Extra-Biblical stories====

{{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 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.

{{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.  

 

 

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. }}

*[[Wife Beating in the Qur'an]]

*[[Mistranslations_of_Islamic_Scripture_(English)#.2867:5.29_Shooting_stars|Mistranslations of Qur'an 67:5]]

:''Main Article:'' ''[[Hadith|Hadith]]''

===Quranism and the importance of hadith===

===Uswa hasana===

In the mainstream theology of Sunni Islam, the Prophet Muhammad is known as ''al-Insān al-Kāmil'' (lit. "the perfect human") and ''uswa hasana'' (lit. "an excellent model"). This is taken to mean that his conduct in all things, from how he prayed, how he conducted himself in business and in war, his sexual relations with his wives, slaves and concubines, and even how he cleaned himself after defecation and urination is an exemplar and model for all humans to follow at all times, regardless of historical circumstance and independent of culture. This conception of Muhammad as the perfect man is the basis upon which the hadith, which describe his life, are used to formulate Islamic law and doctrine.

{{Main|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 passes the highest level of traditional methods of authentication. 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. Historians assessments of hadiths follow a different methodology and cannot be predicted reliably based on the traditional authentication given to a hadith alone, although this can be a factor (often indirectly) in their analysis.

{{Main|Daleel}}Daleel (دليل, pl. ''adillah'') is an Arabic word meaning evidence or proof, and in the terminology of [[Islamic jurisprudence]], the word refers to anything that is used to deduce and justify a ruling or [[fatwa]] from the [[Shari'ah (Islamic Law)|Shariah]], or [[Islamic Law]]. While there exist numerous specific types of daleels arranged in a hierarchy, as understood variously by the different schools of Islamic law, all generally agree today that among the most important daleels are, in order, the [[Qur'an]], [[Hadith]], Ijma (consensus of Islamic scholars or [[Muhammad]]'s [[companions]]), and some form of Qiyas (analogical reasoning).

 

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).

===Weak and fabricated hadith===

{{Main|Mawdu' (Fabricated Hadith)}}While traditional Islamic scholars have generally disallowed the very weak and fabricated hadiths from playing any role whatsoever in the formation of doctrine and law, many of them have, in varying capacities, permitted the use of unreliable hadiths in preaching, particularly where the hadith regards a topic without legal or doctrinal consequence. Examples of this include hadiths which give details about stories regarding the lives of other prophets, stories without legal consequence having to do with the life of Muhammad, and hadiths which comment on the merit or dis-merit of some deed and what its consequences will be in the hereafter. An example of the second of these three common genres is the story regarding Muhammad visiting the vicious Jew he had for a neighbor while she was sick. The last of these three genres most very often feature hadiths which say something to the effect of how many good deeds or heavenly rewards a believer gets if they recite some prayer or set of verses a given number of times.

{{Main|Contradictions in the Hadith}}While the sheer vastness of the hadith literature coupled with the large percentage of it that is admittedly inauthentic virtually necessitates the presence of contradictions, critics and historians have pointed out that even among those limited number of traditions graded as very reliable by Muslim scholars, there exist contradictions which can only be resolved through the most inventive hermeneutical techniques, which, needless to say, strain credulity. Historians have referenced these contradictions to argue that traditional system whereby Islamic scholars have tried to ascertain the reliability of hadiths is itself not reliable.{{Quote|{{Muslim|41|7005}}|

===Scientific errors===

{{Main|Scientific Errors in the Hadith}}A common criticism of the [[Hadith]], [[Scientific Errors in the Quran|as with the Quran]], is that they contain numerous [[Islam and Science|scientific]] and historical errors, with no obvious attempts to differentiate their understanding of the natural world and historical events from the common folklore and misconceptions of the people living in 7^th century Arabia. Modern responses typically appeal to metaphor, alternative meanings, or phenomenological interpretations of such hadiths. 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 guide the avoidance of statements in the Hadith 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|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars: Remarkable and Strange Islamic Traditions}}The Islamic tradition is truly vast, and covers an impressive number of different topics, often including surprising stories, anecdotes and injunctions. Some of these traditions are truly strange or noteworthy in their own right. As with contradictions, historians and critics (who also cite the scientific errors), have argued that the presence of absurd anecdotes among those hadiths that have been graded very reliable by traditional scholars directly undermines the traditional method of grading hadiths.{{Quote|{{Muslim|30|5654}}|Jabir b. Samura reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying : I recognise the stone in Mecca which used to pay me salutations before my advent as a Prophet and I recognise that even now.}}{{Quote|{{Bukhari|5|58|188}}|Narrated 'Amr bin Maimun: During the pre-lslamic period of ignorance I saw a she-monkey surrounded by a number of monkeys. They were all stoning it, because it had committed illegal sexual intercourse. I too, stoned it along with them.}}

{{Main|Tafsir}}Tafsirs are commentaries written by scholars, generally relying on 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''. Modern Islamic scholars often deflect criticism from the Qur'an by arguing that it must be read in conjunction with an authoritative tafsir. Critics have argued, in response, that referencing traditional and authoritative tafsirs often renders the passages of the Quran an even less acceptable light.

{{Main|Sirat Rasul Allah}}Sirat Rasul Allah (<small>Arabic: سيرة رسول الله, Romanization: ''Sīrat Rasūl-Allāh,'' Abv: ''Sirat''</small>), or Biography of the Prophet of Allah, refers to the collected biographies of [[Muhammad]]. It is also the title of one of the most important early Siras, namely that of Ibn Ishaq. In addition to the [[hadith]] (oral account of [[Muhammad]]'s statements and actions), the Sirat provides an integral foundation to the [[sunnah]] (example, customs, and practices) set forth by [[Muhammad]]. Throughout Islamic history, the Siras and [[Sunnah]] have established the foundation of much of [[Islamic Law|Islamic Law (Shariah)]] and [[Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)|Jurisprudence (Fiqh)]], including but not limited to the [[Five Pillars of Islam|Five Pillars of Islam]], societal code, and dietary standards. The biggest contribution of the Siras to the hadith is in their serving as a reference point whereby an attempt can be made to chronologize the events reported piecemeal in the hadiths.

===Books of fiqh===

{{Main|Fiqh}}Books of Islamic jurisprudence (فقه‎ Fiqh) are complimentary expansions of the Shari'ah (Qur'an and Sunnah), written by Islamic jurists (experts on Islamic law). ''Reliance of the Traveller: The Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law'' (''Umdat Al-Salik''), for instance, is the traditional handbook on Shafi'i law. Translations of these texts in English have been problematic, as translators have often mistranslated the texts where the prove objectionable to modern sensibilities.<ref>An example of such a mistranslation is argued for [http://www.answering-islam.org/Sharia/fem_circumcision.html here], which should be read alongside the full entry for بَظْرٌ in Lane's lexicon available [http://lexicon.quranic-research.net/data/02_b/137_bZr.html here].</ref>

==Muhammad in other scriptures==

{{Main|Muhammad in Other Scriptures}}The figure of Muhammad and the religion he founded is often depicted negatively in religious scriptures that post date him.

==See also==