Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
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A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT
2006
(Jay Smith)
2/20/2006
THE PRINCIPLE MODERN REVISIONISTS:
John Wansbrough (1977-1978):
(Qur’anic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation 1977)
(The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History
1978)
Took Schacht’s thesis even further, believing that both the
Qur’an and the later Hadith came about as a result of
Jewish & Christian Sectarian controversies, borrowed from
outside the Hijaz, then redacted back “onto an Arabian
point of origin”, so that the Qur’an was a composite, which
evolved into its canonical form at the end of the 2nd Muslim
century (Wansbrough-Qur’anic Studies 1977:20,44,49,51,79)
Looked at the Sira/Maghazi literature and noticed that Islam
developed after the Arab conquests of the Holy Land in the
mid-7th century and so on, and emerged by means of
intense debates over religion between Christians and Jews
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Find out what they claim about the
Qur’an
It is Inimitable (Therefore above criticism):
It is Superior to all other revelations
It is Stylistically perfect
It is Grammatically perfect
It is Linguistically perfect (pure Arabic)
It is Universally unique
It is Compiled perfectly
It has no Contradictions
It has no Errors
It has no History (uniquely preserved)
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INIMITABLE CLAIMS:
Muslim’s claim the Qur’an is UNIQUE:
• The Qur’an is the greatest wonder among the
wonders of the world . . . This book is second
to none in the world according to the
unanimous decision of the learned men in
points of diction, style, rhetoric, thoughts and
soundness of laws and regulations to shape
the destinies of mankind.
Hadith (Mishkat III, pg. 664)
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Muslim
Muslim’s’s claim the Qur ’an is SUPERIOR to
Qur’an
all other pieces of literature
literature::
• Will they say, ‘Muhammad hath forged
it?’ Answer: ‘Bring therefore a chapter
like unto it, and call whom ye to your
assistance, besides Allah, if ye speak
truth.’
(Suras 10:37-38; 2:23; 17:88)
• “Mother of Books” (Sura 43:3)
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Muslim
Muslim’s’s claim the Qur’an has perfect
Qur’an
literary style …yet, Compare:
style…yet,
• a) sura 76:29-30 (or sura • a) I Timothy 2:4, Luke 15:3-4,
16:93) John 10:14,18.
• b) sura 111 • b) Francis of Assisi's prayer
(see Nehls, Christians Ask
Muslims, 1987, pg.75, no.11)
• c) suras 4:74,84; 5:33; 48:16- • c) Matthew 5:3-12
17
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However, Al-Kindi, a Christian polemicist employed
in the Caliphal court (830 A.D.) said:
• Violence:
• Suras 4:74,84; 5:33; 8:39; 9:5,29; 33:49;
47:4; 48:16-17
• vs. Bible: Matthew 5:38-44; 26:52….
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Starting with the ‘Peace’ Verses:
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The most common verse on Peace:
Sura 2:256 = “Law of Abrogation”
(Suras 2:106,
“For there is no 16:101)
compulsion in
religion” (Revealed between
622-624 AD, so
revealed early, thus
abrogated by over
100 Medinan Sword
verses)
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A further Peace Verse?
A Moderate Interpretation:
Sura 5:32 (raven, and blood of Abel)
“we ordained for the Children of
Israel that if anyone slew a
person…it would be as if he slew
the whole people; and if anyone
saved a life, it would be as if he
saved the life of the whole
people...”
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A Radical Interpretation:
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The Sword Verses:
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Methodology of Sword Verses:
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• .Parts of the Qur’an have been forgotten.
We used to recite a surah which resembled in length and
severity to (Surah) Bara’at. I have, however, forgotten it
with the exception of this which I remember out of it:
“If there were two valleys full of riches, for the son of Adam, he
would long for a third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach
of the son of Adam but dust”. (Sahih Muslim, [d. 875 AD] Vol.
2:2286, p.501).
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• While others are now missing.
Allah sent Muhammad (saw) with the Truth and revealed the Holy Book to
him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the Rajam
(the stoning of married persons, male and female, who commit adultery)
and we did recite this Verse and understood and memorized it.
Allah’s Apostle (saw) did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did we
after him. I am afraid that after a long time has passed, somebody will
say, ‘By Allah, we do not find the Verse of the Rajam in Allah’s Book’,
and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation which Allah has
revealed. (Sahih al-Bukhari, [d. 870AD] Vol. 8:817, pg.539).
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• Some verses which have been changed.
Abu Yunus, freedman of Aishah, Mother of Believers, reported:
Aishah ordered me to transcribe the Holy Qur’an and asked
me to let her know when I should arrive at the verse Haftdhuu
alaas-salaati waas-salaatiil-wustaa wa quumuu lillaahi qaanitiin
(2.238). When I arrived at the verse I informed her and she
ordered: Write it in this way, Hafidhuu alaas-salaati waas-
salaatiil-wustaa wa salaatil ‘asri wa quumuu lillaahi qaanitiin.
She added that she had heard it so from the Apostle of
Allah (may peace be upon him). (Muwatta Imam Malik, [d.795
AD] p.64).
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*Cain and Abel (Sura 5:31):
• Sura 5:31 • Targum of Jonathan-ben-
Then Allah sent a raven, who Uzziah (150-200 A.D.)
scratched the ground, to Adam and Eve, sitting by the
show him how to hide the corpse, wept not knowing
shame of his brother. `Woe what to do, for they had as
is me!' said he; `Was I not yet no knowledge of burial.
even able to be as this raven, A raven came up, took the
and to hide the shame of my dead body of its fellow, and
brother?' Then he became having scratched at the
full of regrets. earth, buried it thus before
their eyes. Adam said, `Let
us follow the example of the
raven,' so taking up Abel's
body, buried it at once.
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Cain & Abel (Sura 5:32)
• Qur'an- sura 5:32 • Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5 (5th c.)
• We find it said in the case of Cain
• On that account: We who murdered his brother, `the
ordained for the voice of thy brother's blood crieth
Children of Israel that if out' [this latter is a quote from the
Bible, Genesis 4:10], and he says,
anyone slew a person - `it does not sayeth he hath blood
unless it be for murder in the singular, but bloods in the
plural.'
or for spreading • Thou was created single in order
mischief in the land- it to show that to him who kills a
would be as if he slew single individual, it should be
reckoned that he has slain the
the whole people: and if whole race. But to him who has
anyone saved a life, it preserved the life of a single
would be as if he saved individual, it is counted that he has
preserved the whole race.
the life of the whole
people...
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Solomon & Sheba - sura 27:17-44
• Qur'an-
Qur'an- sura 27:17-
27:17-44
• (aya 17) And before Solomon were marshalled his hosts-hosts-of
Jinns and men, and birds, and they were all kept in order and • II Targum of Esther (2nd c.)
ranks. • "Solomon...gave orders...I will send King and armies
• (aya 20) And he took a muster of the Birds; and he said: against thee...(of) Genii [jinn] beasts of the land the birds
`Why is it I see not the Hoopoe? Or is he among the of the air.
absentees? • Just then the Red-
Red-cock (a bird), enjoying itself, could not
• (aya 21) I will certainly punish him with a severe penalty, or be found; King Solomon said that they should seize it and
execute him, unless he bring me a clear reason (for bring it by force, and indeed he sought to kill it.
absence). • But just then, the cock appeared in the presence of the
• (aya 22) But the Hoopoe tarried not far: he (came up and) King and said, "I had seen the whole world (and) know
said: `I have compassed (territory) which thou hast not the city and kingdom (of Sheba) which is not subject to
compassed, and I have come to thee from Saba with tidings thee, My Lord King. They are ruled by a woman called the
true. Queen of Sheba. Then I found the fortified city in the
• (aya 23) I found (there) a woman ruling over them and Eastlands (Sheba) and around it are stones of gold and
provided with every requisite; and she has a magnificent silver in the streets." By chance the Queen of Sheba
throne... was out in the morning worshipping the sea, the scribes
prepared a letter, which was placed under the bird's wing
• (aya 27) (Solomon) said: `Soon shall we see whether thou and away it flew and (it) reached the Fort of Sheba.
hast told the truth or lied! Seeing the letter under its wing (Sheba) opened it and
• (aya 28) Go thou, with this letter of mine, and deliver it to read it.
them: then draw back from them, and (wait to) see what • "King Solomon sends to you his Salaams. Now if it
answer they return." please thee to come and ask after my welfare, I will set
• (aya 29) (The queen) said: "Ye chiefs! Here is-is-delivered to thee high above all. But if it please thee not, I will send
me-
me-a letter worthy of respect. kings and armies against thee."
• (aya 30) It is from Solomon, and is (as follows): `In the • The Queen of Sheba heard it, she tore her garments,
name of Allah, most Gracious, Most Merciful: Be ye not and sending for her Nobles asked their advice. They knew
arrogant against me, but come to me in submission (to the not Solomon, but advised her to send vessels by the sea,
true Religion).'" full of beautiful ornaments and gems...also to send a letter
• (aya 32) She said: "Ye chiefs! Advise me in (this) my affair: to him.
no affair have I decided except in your presence." • When at last she came, Solomon sent a messenger...to
• (aya 33) They said: "We are endued with strength, and given meet her...Solomon, hearing she had come, arose and sat
to vehement war: but the command is with thee; so consider down in the palace of glass. When the Queen of Sheba
what thou wilt command." saw it, she thought the glass floor was water, and so in
• (aya 35) She said..."But I am going to send him a present, crossing over lifted up her garments. When Solomon
and (wait) to see with what (answer) return (my) seeing the hair about her legs, (He) cried out to her..."
ambassadors."
• (aya 42) So when she arrived, (aya
(aya 44) she was asked to
enter the lofty Palace: but when she saw it, she thought it
was a lake of water, and she (tucked up her skirts),
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uncovering her legs. He said: "This is but a palace paved
smooth with slabs of glass "
The Palm Tree: (Sura 19:22-26)
• Qur'an- sura 19:22-26 • The Lost Books of the Bible
• So she conceived him [Jesus], and (2nd c.)
she retired with him to a remote • Now on the third day after Mary
place. was wearied in the desert by the
• And the pains of childbirth drove heat, she asked Joseph to rest for
her to the trunk of a palm tree: a little under the shade of a Palm
She cried (in her anguish): `Ah! Tree. Then Mary looking up and
would that I had died before this! seeing its branches laden with fruit
would that I had been a thing (dates) said, `I desire if it were
forgotten and out of sight'! possible to have some fruit.' Just
• Then [the babe ‘Isa (Jesus)] cried then the child Jesus looked up
unto her from below her, saying: (from below) with a cheerful smile,
`Grieve not! for thy Lord hath and said to the Palm Tree, `Send
provided a rivulet beneath thee: down some fruit.' Immediately the
tree bent itself (toward her) and so
• And shake towards thyself the they ate. Then Jesus said, `O
trunk of the palm tree; it will let Palm Tree, arise; be one of my
fall fresh ripe dates upon thee. Father's trees in Paradise, but with
• So eat and drink and cool (thine) thy roots open the fountain
eye. (rivulet) beneath thee and bring
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water flowing from that fount.'
*Jesus's Childhood:
-Baby Jesus talking- S.19:29-33
= The first Gospel of the Infancy of
Jesus Christ (2nd c.)
-Creating birds from clay- S.3:49
= Thomas' Gospel of the Infancy of
Jesus Christ (2nd c.)
---------------------------------------
• Poetry in the Qur’an (Meccan Suras)
=Gunther Lűling: traced the poetry to
pre-Islamic Christian Syriac hymns,
written in the 6th c., with Arab themes added
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CONTRADICTIONS:
1) If Allah’s words cannot be changed (6:34,115; 10:6), then how does Allah “substitute one
revelation for another” (2:106, 16:101)?
2) How can the Qur’an confirm the Bible (S. 4:136; 5:47-52,68; 10:95; 21:7; 29:46), yet
contradict it (S. 5:73-75,116; 19:7; 28:9)?
3) Does Allah's day equal to 1,000 human years (22:47, 32:5) or 50,000 human years (70:4)?
4) Was the earth created in 6 days (7:54; 25:59) or 8 days (41:9-12)?
5) If Bible is authoritative (4:136; 5:47-52,68; 10:95; 21:7; 29:46), then why contradicted by
Qur’an (5:73-75,116; 19:7; 28:9, etc...)?
6) Is the punishment for adulteresses life imprisonment (4:15) or 100 strokes by flogging
(24:2)?
7) Why are Homosexuals let off if they repent (4:16), but heterosexuals are not (24:2; 4:15)?
8) Did Abraham smash the idols (21:51-59), or simply shut up and leave the area once he
confronted the people (19:41-49, 6:74-83)?
9) Were there 9 plagues, or signs (17:101), or only 5 plagues, or signs (7:133)?
10) If Jesus is raised to Allah, (4:158), and stationed near to him (3:45), but worshiped by
millions of Christians, will he not burn in hell, since “the (false) gods that ye worship
besides Allah are (but) fuel for Hell!” (21:98)?
11) Did Jesus only rise (4:157-158) or did he die and rise again (19:33)? [note:sura 19:15,
repeats the same words for Yahya]
12) If wine is Satan's handiwork. (5:90; 2:219); then why are rivers of wine, Satan's
handiwork, in paradise (47:15; 83:25)?
ERRORS:
(Historical Anachronisms and Scientific problems)
1) Cross: S.7:124 = Moses’s Pharaoh -1447BC,
12:41 = Joseph’s Baker - 1800BC:
1st crucifixions = Darius = 519BC (900 & 1,300
yrs later).
2) (Sura 19:7) Yahya is a name unique to John the
Baptist; what about (2Kings 25:23)?
3) (S.19:28; 66:12; 20:25-30) How was Mary, Jesus’
mother, Aaron’s sister and Imran’s daughter,
as she lived 1,570 years later?
4) (S.20:85-87, 95-97) Samaritan built ‘golden calf’
in 1447 BC, Samaritans began in 722 BC, or 725
years later.
5) (S.28:38; 29:38; 40:25,38) Can Haman be an
Egyptian who builds a tower to God, as this name
is Babylonian, & the tower was built 750 years
earlier.
• 6) (S.18:96) Where is Alexander the Great’s iron and brass
wall between two mountains, in 330 BC? No Record!
• 7) Mountains (S.16:15; 21:31; 31:10; 78:6-7; 88:19) are not
tent-pegs to keep earth from shaking, due to volcanoes
& tectonic plates
• 8) Bad Math (S.4:11-12) Inheritance for widow =1/8 + 3
daughter =2/3 +2 parents =1/3, totalling 1&1/8 or
112.5%!?
Or (S.4:11-12 & 176) My mother = 1/3, my wife = 1/3, my
two sisters = 2/3 totalling: 4/3rds, or 133%!!
• 9) (S.86:5-7) Does Semen really originate in the back or the
kidney or is this simply borrowing from 5th century B.C.
Hippocrates?
• 10) Dirham (S.12:20) ‘a few dirham counted out’ for Joseph,
yet coins created in 7th cent. BC by Lydians. Drachmas
from 590-650 AD, but Dirhams not minted till 642 AD, by
Caliph Umar; vs. Gen.37:28 = Shekels = 0.2 kgs. of
silver!
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20th-21st Century Polemics:
Revisionists
• The Revisionist’s Prime Concern:
• To Reassess the Classical Model
• Their principle Conclusions:
• Islam, as we know it, did not exist in the 7th century,
but evolved over a period of 200-300 years.
(Humphreys 1991:71,83-89)
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THE PRINCIPLE MODERN REVISIONISTS:
• John Wansbrough (1977-1978):
(Qur’anic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation 1977)
(The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation
History 1978)
• Took Schacht’s thesis even further, believing that both
the Qur’an and the later Hadith came about as a result
of Jewish & Christian Sectarian controversies, borrowed
from outside the Hijaz, then redacted back “onto an
Arabian point of origin”, so that the Qur’an was a
composite, which evolved into its canonical form at the
end of the 2nd Muslim century (Wansbrough-Qur’anic
Studies 1977:20,44,49,51,79)
• Looked at the Sira/Maghazi literature and noticed that
Islam developed after the Arab conquests of the Holy
Land in the mid-7th century and so on, and emerged by
means of intense debates over religion between
Christians
2/20/2006 and Jews
• Michael Cook (1975, 1983):
(Muhammad, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1983)
(Hagarism, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1977)
• Took an even more radical approach, rejecting
the traditional view on early Islamic history
almost entirely (i.e. that of the Sira, Hadith,
Tafsir, Ta’rikh), due to their late compilation:
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• Thus, “if knowledge of the life of Muhammad was
transmitted orally for a century before it was reduced
to writing, then the chances are that the material will
have undergone considerable alteration in the process”
(Cook 1983:65)
• So, he went to Greek, Syriac, and Armenian sources
from the 7th-8th c. & found a contrasting picture to the
Islamic Traditions.
• Along with Patricia Cröne, they sought to step outside
the Islamic Traditions and start again, piecing together
an original account from non-Islamic sources of
Muhammad’s time. The two together wrote
“Hagarism”…a sort of “What if” in 26 pages, supported
by 226 notes in a further 27 pages (Robinson 1996:47)
• Conclusion: suggested that the history of Islam, at
least to the time of the caliph Abd al-Malik (685-
704AD), is a later fabrication.
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Qibla (Archaeological Evidence)
• Creswell & Fehervari on ancient mosques
in the Middle East
Umayyad mosques in Iraq (670-680)
Wassit mosque
‘Kufa’ mosque
Fustat (outside Cairo)
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Asia Minor Middle East
Baghdad
Jerusalem
Kufa
Cairo
Egypt
Medina
Arabia
Mecca
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• Qibla (Documentary Evidence)
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Dome of the Rock
• Built by ‘Abd al-Malik in 691 AD, and rebuilt by al
Zaher Li-L’zaz in 1022 after an earthquake
• Third most holy site after Mecca & Medina
• Built to commemorate the night when Muhammad went
up to heaven to speak with Moses and Allah concerning
the number of prayers required of the believers (known
as the Mi’raj)
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•But, no Qibla (Suras 17:1 & 2:145-149)
•Inner Ambulatories have Qur’anic
inscriptions which do not parallel the Qur’an
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• Patricia Cröne (1975, 1987):
(Slaves on Horses, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1980)
(Meccan Trade and the Rise of Islam, Princeton University Press,
1987)
(“The First-Century Concept of Higra”, Arabica, XLI, E.J.Brill,
Leiden, 1994)
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• Mecca
1. “Mecca is the center of Islam,
and the center of history.”
2. “The first sanctuary appointed
for mankind was that at Bakkah
(Mecca)” Sura 3:96
3. Mecca is the “mother of all
settlements.”
Sura 6:92 & 42:5
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• Earliest reference to Mecca’s existence:
Apocalypse of pseudo-Methodius
Continuatio Byzantia Arabica
Early reign of caliph Hisham (724-743 AD)
• Cröne in her work points out that the Greek
trading documents refer to the towns of Ta’if
(which is close to present-day Mecca), and to
Yathrib (later Medina), as well as Kaybar in the
north, but no mention of Mecca.
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• “Muslim” & “Islam”
Magaritai (Greek papyri 642), Mahgre or
Mahgraye (Syriac letters 640)
-Athanasius in 684 AD termed Mahgrayes
Jacob of Edessa in 705 AD mentions them as
Hagarenes (descendants of Abraham &
Hagar)
‘Muhajirun’ (those who took part in the hijra
or exodus)
‘Islam’ doesn’t appear until late 7th century -
sense of ‘submission to God’, now ‘peace’
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Yehuda D. Nevo (1994)
“Towards a Prehistory of Islam,” Jerusalem Studies in Arabic
and Islam, vol.17, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1994
• Arabic Inscriptions
• Caliphal Protocals (Sufyani and Marwanid Periods, upto
‘Abd al-Malik – 691)
• -no ”Muhammad Formula”
-----------------------------------------------------------------
• G.R. Hawting (SOAS)
The First Dynasty of Islam, The Umayyad Caliphate AD
661-750, London, Groom Helm, 1986
• Andrew Rippin
Muslims, Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, vol. 1,
London, Routledge, 2003
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Critique of the Manuscripts
Manuscript Evidence for the Qur’an
• 1. ‘Ma'il’ 7th-9th century (Medina and Mecca),
or ‘Hijazi’. (2165 Brit.Lib. & Sanaa
Manuscript)
• 2. ‘Mashq’ 7th century onwards.
• 3. ‘Kufic’/Abbasid (Eastern) 8th-11th
century, begins with Abbasid dynasty in 749
AD, see coins for chronological script evolution
(needs landscape format).
• 4. Naskh 11th century till today
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Topkapi Manuscript
(Topkapi Palace,
Istanbul, Turkey)
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Ma’il Qur’an
(2165)
British Library
(Ridblatt Gallery)
Hijazi Script,
dated 8th c.
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Jam’ al-Qur’an & Islamic Coins
Quran Manuscripts in the Early Almail Script
Umayyad coins
Abdul Mallek (Mashq script? 697-700 AD)
(British Museum)
7.1
7.2
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(Kuwait National Museum)
Topkapi MS
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Samarqand Kufic Codex (9th century)
Early Abbasid coins (Kufic script 750 AD)
11.2
11.1
11.3
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(Preserved in Tashkent, former Soviet Union)
Sana’a Manuscript (705 Æ):
Karl-Heinz Ohlig (1981-Present):
•Qur’an began to be compiled
in the last two decades of the
7th century, with other versions
continuing until the 9th century
•Different numeration,
and sura
arrangements found
i.e. suras 19-22 ----->
26-37-36-38...67-
71-72-51
•Difference in scripts,
showing evolution in
text.
(Puin 1996:111)
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•“Difference is even
meaningful in a
theological sense”
i.e. ‘Qalu’ to ‘Qul’ ->
• Sometimes
Abraham (S.2),
sometimes Ibrahim
• ‘Qalu’ 50% with
alif b/w Qaf-Lam,
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Palimpsests
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Manuscript Variants
(extant mss. available to Western researchers)
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4. Mecca was not only unknown as a
viable city until the end of the seventh
century, but was not even on the
international trade route
5. The Dome of the Rock was likely
used as a sanctuary.
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6. Muhammad was not known as God’s
universal prophet until the late
seventh century.
7. The terms ‘Muslim’/‘Islam’ were not
used until the end of the 7th C.;
terms used instead Saracen,
Mahgraye, Muhajirun, Hagarene
8. The five daily prayers as well as the
Hajj were not standardized until
after 717 A.D.; and not named until
9th century.
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9. The earliest we even hear of any
Qur’an is not until the late seventh
century, though fragments exist in
th
the late 7 c.
10. The earliest Qur’anic writings do
not coincide exactly with the
current Qur’anic text.
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From what we have seen here, w hat
what
Conclusions can we use in our polemics
today?
•The many claims Muslims make for the
‘inimitability’ of the Qur’an do not stand up under
critical scrutiny.
•The Qur’an does not have the historical
authority most Muslims desire.
•It has a history, evolving over 100-200yrs.,
much of it borrowed from other sources
•This has serious ramifications for the Radical
Muslims today, those who go to this book as the
authority for most of their theology, and practice
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