Historical Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

Historical Errors in the Quran (view source)

Revision as of 20:54, 29 August 2024

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→‎Surah of the elephant: I have added a section on the historical Jesus, with historical-critical research from biblical scholars not matching the Qur'anic version. So far I have covered 1 consensus aspect (imminent apocalypse), though I certainly plan to add more including apocalyptic teachings, John the Baptist, and other incompatible early beliefs. I've left longer footnotes than usual as it's a topic not many will be familiar with - so please let me know if you want them shortened. Thanks

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 And finally, there is no archaeological evidence for the dead soldiers (numbered in tens of thousands in some Islamic traditions)<ref>Maududi - Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi - Tafhim al-Qur'an. [https://quranx.com/Tafsir/maududi/105.1 ''Tafsir on Surah of the elephant / 105.'']  </ref> in bits of baked clay as found in the Qur'an. Critics argue that this, along with the contemporary records showing a different story of a similar attack in the region, the severe lack of evidence for elephant(s) including no mentions from contemporary historians or inscriptions, no recording of the Meccan invasion, the muddling of the dates, along with practical problems, makes the whole account unreliable.
 Historian Arthur Jeffrey, citing Italian orientalist Carlo Conti Rossini, states that the Axumites did not use war elephants, and suggests that the Abraha-elephant legend developed from a misunderstanding of the name of Abraha’s royal master, Alﬁlas, which when the ending was dropped, sounded like al-Fil, ‘the elephant.’ <ref>Jeffery, Arthur. ''The Koran: Selected Suras (Dover Thrift Editions: Religion)'' (p. 30). Sura 105  Dover Publications.</ref>
+=== The Historical Jesus ===
+The Qur'an includes references to [[:en:Isa_al-Masih_(Jesus_Christ)|Jesus (called as Isa in Islam)]], acknowledging him as a prophet of Allah and the Messiah. Unlike the Christian Bible, the Qur'an portrays Jesus as a human being similar to other messengers, not the son of God (E.g. {{Quran|4|171}}, {{Quran|17|111}} and {{Quran|2|116}}). He was also allegedly not actually crucified {{Quran|4|157}}.
+It states that Jesus preached the Gospel (Injeel) but suggests it has been corrupted, and though what these means exactly is debated (''see: [[:en:Qur'an,_Hadith_and_Scholars:Corruption_of_Previous_Scriptures|Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars: Corruption of Previous Scriptures]]'' and  ''[[Corruption of Previous Scriptures]])'', however the current mainstream Sunni view is that the Christian Scripture (known as the New Testament which contains 4 'gospels'), does not reflect Jesus's original Islamic teachings.<ref>[https://islamqa.info/en/answers/47516/what-do-muslims-think-about-the-gospels What Do Muslims Think about the Gospels?] IslamQA. 2023. </ref>
+While Muslims reject the Christian view of Jesus based on theological grounds, secular scholarship has also long sought to reconstruct the historical Jesus through critical methods rather than faith-based one's, of which the results differ greatly from the Qur'anic portrayal.
+'''Imminent Apocalyptic Preacher'''
+Analysis of the sources written closest to Jesus's life, has lead to a consensus view that Jesus and his original followers believed the 'apocalypse',  i.e. judgment day in Islam, would happen within his lifetime.<ref>While it would be futile to do full justice to the many academic works and their respective arguments in this small webpage section, this area will cover some of the key findings. For those who want to read more, some scholars that accept that Jesus expected a final judgment in the near future include: Bart Ehrman, Thom Stark, EP Sanders, Johannes Weiss,  John P. Meier, Albert Schweitzer, David Madison, Krister Olofson Stendahl and Paula Fredriksen, some whose works are directly cited below here.</ref>
+As biblical scholar Albert Schweitzer famously pointed out in his seminal 1906 work ''<nowiki/>'The Quest of the Historical Jesus''', Jesus’s failed prophecy was not a one-off or trivial tradition but a core part of his preaching.<ref>Schweitzer, Albert. ''The Quest of the Historical Jesus (E.g. see pp. 358-368).'' Jovian Press. Published 1906 in German. Officially translated in 1910 to English.</ref> Only in later writings did this message begin to be subverted for a metaphorical kingdom of Earth of those who join Jesus's followers believing in salvation and the resurrection; I.e. only the later books in the New Testament cannon began to reinterpret these apocalyptic messages as the expected return of Jesus didn’t materialize, suggesting a more spiritual interpretation of the "Kingdom of God." This reinterpretation is seen as an attempt to reconcile early Christian beliefs with the reality that the world didn't end as expected.<ref>Ehrman, Bart D.. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium (p. 130-131). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.</ref>
+Jesus was estimated have lived between before approximately 4BCE,<ref>Ehrman, Bart D.. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium (pp. 11-12). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.
+''..as related by both Matthew and Luke in the New Testament—then he must have been born no later than 4 BCE, the year of..''</ref> and died around the year of 30 CE (for Jesus’ crucifixion).<ref>[https://www.bartehrman.com/when-did-jesus-die/#:~:text=According%20to%20Bart%20Ehrman%2C%20the,30%20CE%20for%20Jesus'%20crucifixion. When Did Jesus Die? Unveiling the Month & Year of His Crucifixion.] Joshua Schachterle, Ph.D. 2024. Bart Ehrman.com </ref> The books that make up the New Testament, documenting Jesus's life and teachings, (and believed by Christians to be divinely inspired writings to cover his teachings, death and salvation) are in mostly consensus to be written in order of seven authentic letters of Paul followed the first Gospel, Mark (~C. 70 C.E), two more inauthentic (source) letters from Paul, followed by The Gospel of Matthew and then The Gospel of Luke, (both~ 80-90 C.E.), five more inauthentic letters attributed to Paul, followed by The Gospel of John (~90-100 C.E.), with the Book of Revelations and several more inauthentic letters attributed to Paul after that.<ref>[https://www.bartehrman.com/bible-in-chronological-order/ Bible in Chronological Order (Every Book Ordered by Date Written)]. Marko Marina, Ph.D. 2024. Bart Ehram.com.  </ref> These books/letters and their approximate dates are in order as follows:
+{| class="wikitable"
+|+
+|1 Thessalonians C. 49 C.E.
+|Galatians C. 49-51 C.E.
+|1 Corinthians C. 54-55 C.E.
+|2 Corinthians C. 55-56 C.E.
+|Romans C. 56-57 C.E.
+|Philemon 55 C.E. or 61-63 C.E.
+|-
+|Philippians C. 59-62 C.E.
+|The Gospel of Mark C. 70 C.E.
+|2 Thessalonians 70-90 C.E.
+|1 Peter 70-110 C.E.
+|The Gospel of Matthew 80-90 C.E.
+|The Gospel of Luke 80-90 C.E.
+|-
+|The Acts of the Apostles 80-90 C.E.
+|Colossians 80-100 C.E.
+|Ephesians 80-100 C.E.
+|The Epistle to the Hebrews 80-100 C.E.
+|The Epistle to James 80-100 C.E.
+|The Gospel of John 90-100 C.E.
+|-
+|The Epistle of Jude 90-100 C.E.
+|The Book of Revelation C. 96 C.E.
+|1, 2, and 3 John C. 100 C.E.
+|1 and 2 Timothy 90-120 C.E.
+|Titus 90-120 C.E.
+|2 Peter 110-140 C.E.
+|}
+New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman also reports that the great majority of biblical scholars hypothesize there was also an earlier but lost earlier Gospel known in scholarship 'Q' (named after the German word for “source” Quelle) to have existed, based off shared stories between the Gospels of Luke and Matthew which do not come from the earliest Gospel of Mark, which may shared sayings appear to come from.<ref>[https://ehrmanblog.org/and-then-there-was-q/ And then there was Q.] Bart Ehmran blog. 2017.
+''Some scholars have called into question this hypothetical document Q — especially my friend and colleague at Duke, Mark Goodacre, who is on the blog.  But its existence is still held by the great majority of scholars as the most likely explanation for the accounts, mainly sayings,  of Matthew and Luke not in Mark...''
+''...Matthew and Luke obviously share a number of stories with Mark, but they also share with each other a number of passages not found in Mark.  Most of these passages (all but two of them) involve sayings of Jesus — for example, the Beatitudes and the Lord’s Prayer.  Since they didn’t get these passages from Mark, where did they get them?  Since the 19th century scholars have argued that Matthew did not get them from Luke or Luke from Matthew (for reasons I’ll suggest below); that probably means they got them from some other source, a document that no longer survives…''</ref> It is believed they both used Mark as a key source too.<ref>Ibid.
+''...Most scholars think that Q must have been a written document; otherwise it is difficult to explain such long stretches of verbatim agreement between Matthew and Luke.  It is not certain, however, that Matthew and Luke had Q in precisely the same form: they may have had it available in slightly different editions.  The same, I should add, could be true of their other source, the Gospel of Mark.''</ref>
+Ehrman (2001) notes, through careful examination of the earliest and most likely authentic material (e.g. multiply and independently attested, avoiding anachronisms, dissimilarity (unlikely to be added by later Christians)<ref>Ehrman, Bart D.. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium (p. 92). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.
+''“Dissimilar” traditions, that is, those that do not support a clear Christian agenda, or that appear to work against it, are difficult to explain unless they are authentic. They are therefore more likely to be historical.''</ref> and matching the contemporary context), we can see early Christians believed in and recorded the beliefs and saying of Jesus's imminent apocalyptic sayings.<ref>Ehrman, Bart D.. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium (p. 128). Oxford University Press.
+''Throughout the earliest accounts of Jesus’ words are found predictions of a Kingdom of God that is soon to appear, in which God will rule. This will be an actual kingdom here on earth. When it comes, the forces of evil will be overthrown, along with everyone who has sided with them, and only those who repent and follow Jesus’ teachings will be allowed to enter. Judgment on all others will be brought by the Son of Man, a cosmic figure who may arrive from heaven at any time.''</ref> Allison (2009) comes to the same conclusion using different methods.<ref>Dale C. Allison Jr.. The Historical Christ and the Theological Jesus. 2009. (Kindle Location 720 - 796). Kindle Edition.  (Chapter 3) How to Proceed: The Wrong Tools for the Wrong Job)
+''...Results, one might suppose, are determined by method. In my case, however, different methods, with and without criteria of authenticity, have produced the same result...'' (Kindle Location 796)
+</ref>
+Beginning with the earliest writings on Jesus, the authentic [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pauline_epistles letters of Paul], we see some explicit references, Paul writes (~C. 49 C.E.):
+{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Thessalonians%204%3A15-17&version=NIV 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17]|2=15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.}}
+I.e. Paul considers himself and his contemporaries to be among those who will still be alive when Christ returns. Paul further advises time is short as the world in its present form is passing away  (~C. 54-55 C.E.).
+{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%207%3A29-31&version=NIV 1 Corinthians 7:29-31]|2=29 What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; 30 those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; 31 those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.}}
+This sense of urgency of the end being imminent is continued in the Gospels (which did not use Paul as a source),<ref>Sanders, E.. The Historical Figure of Jesus (p. 202). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
+''..The synoptic authors did not copy Paul, since they wrote before his letters were published..''
+</ref> in fact, the very first words Jesus utters in the first gospel (Mark ~70CE) to be written are:
+{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%201%3A15&version=NIV Mark 1:15]|2=“The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news”}}{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2013%3A3-31&version=NIV Mark 13:3-30]|2=…[after describing what will happen in the apocalypse]… 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you}}
+Jesus tells his followers that they will not die before the Kingdom of God comes into power and judgment by the Son of Man occurs. (''The Son of man was a cosmic judge for the hour.)''<ref>[https://ehrmanblog.org/at-last-jesus-and-the-son-of-man/ At Last. Jesus and the Son of Man.] Bart Ehrman Blog. 2020. </ref>
+{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%209%3A1&version=NIV Mark 9:1]|2=And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power.”}}{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%208%3A38-9%3A1&version=NIV Mark 8:38–9:1]|2=38 “Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of that one will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. 1 Truly I tell you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power” .}}
+This continues in the next Gospel, the Gospel of Matthew (~80-90CE).
+{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2016%3A28&version=NIV Matthew 16:28]|2=“Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”}}{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2010%3A23&version=NIV Matthew 10:23]|2=When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.}}
+Further statements include.
+{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024%3A3-34&version=NIV Matthew 24:3-34]|2=3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”... [after describing various signs] ...31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. 32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.}}{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%203%3A2-10&version=NLT Matthew 3:2-10]|2=2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.. ..10 Even now the axe of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.}}
+In the next Gospel of Luke, we continue to see early apocalyptic traditions, however as Ehrman (2001) and Sanders (1993) note, we also begin to see a slight 'de-apocalypting' of the message in Luke,<ref>Ehrman, Bart D.. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium (p. 130). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.
+''The earliest sources record Jesus as propounding an apocalyptic message. But, interestingly enough, some of the most clearly apocalyptic traditions come to be “toned down” as we move further away from Jesus’ life in the 20s to Gospel materials produced near the end of the first century. Let me give one example.''
+''I’ve already pointed out that Mark was our earliest Gospel and was used as a source for the Gospel of Luke (along with Q and L). It’s a relatively simple business, then, to see how the earlier traditions of Mark fared later in the hands of Luke. Interestingly, some of the earlier apocalyptic emphases begin to be muted. In Mark 9:1, for example, Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, there are some who are standing here who will not taste death until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.” Luke takes over this verse—but it is worth noting what he does with it. He leaves out the last few words, so that now Jesus simply says: “Truly I tell you, there are some who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Kingdom of God” (Luke 9:27). The difference might seem slight, but in fact it’s huge: for now Jesus does not predict the imminent arrival of the Kingdom in power, but simply says that the disciples (in some sense) will see the Kingdom. And strikingly, in Luke (but not in our earlier source, Mark), the disciples do see the Kingdom—but not its coming in power. For according to Luke, the Kingdom has already “come to you” in Jesus own ministry (Luke 11:20, not in Mark), and it is said to “be among you” in the person of Jesus himself (Luke 17:21, also not in Mark).''</ref><ref>Sanders, E.. The Historical Figure of Jesus (p. 196). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
+''Of the three gospels, Luke is most concerned to minimize and de-emphasize Jesus’ future expectation. This concern surfaces, for example, in the author’s preface to a parable, in which the readers are cautioned not to expect the kingdom immediately (Luke 19.11). Even 19.11, however, does not deny that the kingdom will come.9 Both passages (17.20f. and 19.11) are Luke’s own modifications of previously existing material. Luke 17.20f. does not appear in Luke’s source (here Mark), while 19.11 is the author’s comment on the point of a parable. The saying in 17.20f. is the author’s own attempt to reduce the significance of the dramatic verses that follow, which discuss the arrival of the Son of Man and the impending judgement.''
+</ref>  who edits some of the earlier traditions from Mark and the earlier lost 'Q' source, so that it is no longer Jesus's generation, but the next generation that the eschaton will arrive.<ref>Ehrman, Bart D.. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium (p. 130-131). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.
+''Let me stress that Luke continues to think that the end of the age is going to come in his own lifetime. But he does not seem to think that it was supposed to come in the lifetime of Jesus’ companions. Why not? Evidently because he was writing after they had died, and he knew that in fact the end had not come.''
+''To deal with the “delay of the end,” he made the appropriate changes in Jesus’ predictions. This is evident as well near the end of the Gospel. At Jesus’ trial before the Sanhedrin in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus boldly states to the high priest, “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). That is, the end would come and the high priest would see it. Luke, writing many years later, after the high priest was long dead and buried, changes the saying: “from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God” (Luke 22:69). No longer does Jesus predict that the high priest himself will be alive when the end comes.''</ref>
+{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2021:7-33 Luke 21:7-33]|2=...[after talking about 'the hour'] …29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.}}
+{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%209%3A27&version=NIV Luke 9:27]|2=27 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”}}
+Jesus tells his audience to be ready because the Son of Man (and accompanying judgement) will arrive at any moment, rather than e.g. death could arrive at any moment.
+{{Quote|1=[https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2012%3A40&version=NIV Luke 12:40]|2=40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”}}
+These are very unlikely to be added by Christians after the fact, as of course didn't happen, so would not naturally be words one would want attributed to their saviour.<ref>Sanders, E.. The Historical Figure of Jesus (p. 202). Penguin Books Ltd. Kindle Edition.
+''Scholars who try to ‘test’ sayings of Jesus for authenticity will see that this tradition passes with flying colours. First, the predicted event did not actually happen; therefore the prophecy is not a fake. An unfulfilled prophecy is much more likely to be authentic than one that corresponds precisely to what actually happened, since few people would make up something that did not happen and then attribute it to Jesus.''
+</ref>
+What we do see is in the The Gospel of John writing (~90-100CE), several decades later again, and after the 40-50 years later after the first and second generations began passing away, the message of Jesus is de-apocalycised much further.<ref>Ehrman, Bart D.. Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium (p. 131). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.
+''Here, then, is a later source that appears to have modified the earlier apocalyptic sayings of Jesus. You can see the same tendency in the Gospel of John, the last of our canonical accounts to be written. In this account, rather than speaking about the Kingdom of God that is soon to come (which is never spoken of here), Jesus talks about eternal life that is available here and now for the believer. The Kingdom is not future, it is available in the present, for all who have faith in Jesus.''
+</ref> In fact, the imminent apocalyptic message is completely absent in John, as it became more apparent the prophecy was not happening, and so 'kingdom of heaven' only now becomes a metaphor for Jesus's ministry.<ref>Ibid. pp. 130-131.</ref>
+So we can trace the development of a Jewish preacher who believed the eschaton was imminent, being changed over time the further away from his message the writer is. Later apocrypha works written after the Gospel of John, and even further away from the time of Jesus, go further in it's denial, and explicitly condemn the view.<ref>Ibid. pp. 131.
+''This “de-apocalypticizing” of Jesus’ message continues into the second century. In the Gospel of Thomas, for example, written somewhat later than John, there is a clear attack on anyone who believes in a future Kingdom here on earth. In some sayings, for example, Jesus denies that the Kingdom involves an actual place but “is within..''
+Ibid. pp. 134.
+''Before moving on to a consideration of the specific criteria that historians use with the Gospel traditions, let me stress again here, in conclusion, my simple point about our rules of thumb. The earliest sources that we have consistently ascribe an apocalyptic message to Jesus. This message begins to be muted by the end of the first century (e.g., in Luke), until it virtually disappears (e.g., in John), and begins, then, to be explicitly rejected and spurned (e.g., in Thomas). It appears that when the end never did arrive, Christians had to take stock of the fact that Jesus said it would and changed his message accordingly. You can hardly blame them.''</ref> We can therefore see the the earliest sources of Jesus and his followers do not align with the Qur'anic portrayal, who of course could not have preached this given Allah would know it was not the end of the world.
 == Regarding the Traditional Historical Account of the Quran's Origins ==

Historical Errors in the Quran: Difference between revisions

Historical Errors in the Quran (view source)

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