Religious Studies
Content
Ahad Maqbool 2013-2014
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1. 2.
The Quran, its history and sciences The Bible 1. Old Testament 2. Psalms 3. New Testament
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Hinduism
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Milal: Plural of Milat (singular) ◦ Divinely revealed religions (Din)
Nihal: Plural of Nihlat (singular) ◦ Non-divine non-revealed religions ()مدعاة
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Word of God revealed through the agency of Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (S) Word, Meaning, Concept are exact Divine free-willing independence to select a human being of His choosing Abilities to reform and organize society according to mores and values. Intuitional Cognition (feeling) vs. Intellectual Cognition (thought) Foundation of knowledge is revelation Revelation is authoritative Tawattur (large group of people (min.10) in each generation) – incapable of corruption Tahrif – Textual corruption of the text Recorded and transmitted orally and in written form
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Major Themes of the Quran ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
God Man as Individual Man in Society Nature Prophethood and Revelation Eschatology Satan and Evil Emergence of the Muslim Community
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Geneology ( )نسبconnected to Prophetic brotherhood and bloodline Makkah and Madinah periods
◦ 13 years in Makkah – Creed (Aqida/Iman) and Purification (Tazkiya) ◦ 10 years in Madinah
Nature of religion in Makkah, Arabia
◦ Idolatory, Polytheism ◦ Jews & Christians of Arabia & Neighbouring countries directly ◦ Zoroastrianism ◦ Manichaeanism: 7
Reason vs. Faith Quran is the Word and Speech ( )كالمof Allah ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
Revelation (ً )وحfrom Allah Embodies Will ( & )إرادةGuidance ()هداٌة Norms ( & )معٌارPrinciples ( )أصولfor life Religion – Life:
God commands method of life to lived according to Life is a means ( )ذرٌعةto an end ()هدف, not an end itself Religion is the tool to properly use life to achieve end
◦ Part of Quran‟s guidance:
Deal with multiple religions Quran has its own approach
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H.U. Weitrbretch Stanton: “No Scripture in the world teaches such a „comparative religion‟ as the Quran”. The teaching of the Quran, reprint (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1969) p.71 The term „religion‟ in the Modern West = Quranic term الدٌن و الملة و األمة Quranic worldview - Weltanschauung
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Din denotes religion in the generic sense of
the term Milla denotes religious tradition Umma denotes religio-moral & socio-political community
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ﻣﺘﺤﺪﺍﺕ ﺑﺎﻟﺬﺍﺕ ،ﻭمختلفاتان ﺑﺎﻻﻋﺘﺒﺎﺭ ،ﻓﺈﻥ ﺍﻟﺸﺮﻳﻌﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺣﻴﺚ ﺇما ﺗﻄﺎﻉ، ﺩﻳﻨﺎ ،ﻭﻣﻦ ﺣﻴﺚ إما تجمع ،ﺗﺴﻤﻰ ﻣﻠﺔ ،ﻭﻣﻦ ﺣﻴﺚ إما ﻳﺮﺟﻊ ﺇﻟﻴﻬﺎ، ﺗﺴﻤﻰ :ﹰ ﻣﺬﻫﺒﺎ ،ﻭﻗﻴﻞ :ﺍﻟﻔﺮﻕ بٌن ﺍﻟﺪﻳﻦ ،ﻭالملة ،ﻭﺍلمذهب :ﺃﻥ ﺍﻟﺪﻳﻦ ﻣﻨﺴﻮﺏ ﺗﺴﻤﻰ ﹰ إلى ﺍﷲ تعالى ،ﻭالملة ﻣﻨﺴﻮﺑﺔ إلى ﺍﻟﺮﺳﻮﻝ ،ﻭالمذهب ﻣﻨﺴﻮﺏ إلى المجتهد.
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The Period of the Prophet Muhammad‟s Life: Circa 570–632 C.E. Muslim-Christian encounters. Prior to 610 C.E., the year when the prophet Muhammad received the first Quranic revelation, his encounters with Christians probably took place during his caravan trips into greater Syria, as the tradition of his meeting with the Christian monk Bahira would indicate. There may also have been occasional encounters with Christians of unknown theological leanings passing through Mecca. The biography of the prophet Muhammad mentions other kinds of encounters, not all of which are historically verifiable. For instance, soon after 610 C.E., the Prophet met with Waraqa ibn Nawfal, who was a cousin of the Prophet‟s wife Khadija. Waraqa ibn Nawfal was a Christian scholar who confirmed the Prophet‟s mission. Another encounter is said to have occurred in 615 C.E., when early converts to Islam migrated for a short while to the Christian kingdom of Axum (Abyssinia). In 628 C.E., a delegation of Christians from the town of Najran in South Arabia came to visit the Prophet in Medina, and sometime before the Prophet died, in 632 C.E., he would have sent letters to existing rulers such as the Byzantine emperor Heraclius and the Negus of Axum, as well as the Sassanian emperor Chosroes. 12
The varieties of Quranic passages addressing Christians directly or indirectly (as people of the book, together with Jews, for example) reflect the transforming nature of the prophet Muhammad‟s encounters with them as his own status changed over time. The same applies to the other two religious systems he interacted with in Arabia: Judaism and Meccan polytheism. In all three cases, the variation in tone, from tolerance to polemics, seems to reflect the extent to which his prophetic message was being accepted or rejected at each moment of his reception of Quranic revelations, a process that lasted about twenty-three years. In terms of Christianity in particular, there is at best a conditional acceptance of Christians, and at worst a judgment associating them to both shirk (polytheism/idolatry) and kufr (unbelief). The various Christian voices referred to in the Quran are, for the most part, not reflective of the major Christian theologies that Muslims would come to encounter soon after the death of the prophet Muhammad, in 632 C.E. These misperceptions of mainstream, seventh-century Christian theologies, by being preserved in the Quran, negatively predisposed subse- quent generations of Muslim interpreters of Christianity. A contextual sociopolitical reading of these various passages, harking back in part to the old Islamic hermeneutical princi- ple of abrogation (in which later Quranic revelations must take precedence over prior ones), is one way to make sense of their variety and, at times, contradictory nature. This is especially important when the passages are juxtaposed ahistorically, either within the period of the Prophet‟s life or for contemporary ideological purposes
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When the prophet Muhammad was born in 570 C.E., Arabia, a central trade and military location, was caught in the Byzantine-Sassanian rivalry. Arabs, including Jewish Arabic- speakers, were in the armies of both sides, providing horse and camel cavalries, and each empire maintained Arab client states as buffers and bases of operation. Only around fifty years earlier, the last Jewish kingdom in southern Arabia, allied with the Persians, had been defeated, replaced by a Byzantine-supported Christian army from Abyssinia. Accord- ing to early Muslim historians, this army, led by a general named Abraha, is referred to in Surat al-Fal in the Quran.
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The Hijaz had numerous Jewish settlements, most of long standing, dating to at least the time of the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.. According to some scholars, the earliest Jewish presence in the Hijaz was at the time of Nabonidus, circa 550 B.C.E. The Jews in these settlements were merchants, farmers, vintners, smiths, and, in the desert, members of Bedouin tribes. The most important Jewish dominated city was Yathrib, known later as Medina. The Jews of the Hijaz were semi-independent, but often allied with both Byzantium and the Persians. Some made the claim to be “kings” of the Hijaz, most probably meaning tax collectors for the Persians, and for a variety of reasons, more Jews were loyal to Persian interests against those of the Byzantine empire. Jews, as well as Christians, seem to have been en- gaged in attempting to convert the Arabian population to their religious and political views, often with some success. The loyalties of the Jews and Christians to one or the other of the two empires meant that choosing either Judaism or
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Christianity meant also choosing to ally with a superpower interested in dominating Arabia. Arab sources report that at the time of Muhammad‟s birth, some Meccans had abandoned polytheism and had chosen monotheism (Ar. hanif ), in a Jewish, Christian, or nonsectar- ian form. From Quranic and other evidence, it is clear that Meccans were conversant with the general principles of Judaism and Christianity and knew many details of worship, practice, and belief. When Muhammad had his first revelation in 610 C.E., his wife, Khadija, tested the validity of his experience by seeking the advice of her cousin, Waraqa b. Nawfal, a hanif learned in Jewish and Christian scriptures. In declaring that Muham- mad was a continuation of the prophetic traditions of Judaism and Christianity, he said that he had been foretold in Jewish and Christian scripture. A central doctrine of Islam places Muhammad at the end of a chain of prophets from God, starting with Adam and embracing all the prophetic figures of Judaism and Christianity, and holds that Muhammad‟s ad- vent is announced in the Torah and Gospels. Denial of this central idea by Jews and Christians is said to be a result of the corruption of the sacred texts, either inadvertently or on purpose. This disparity of perspective underlies much of what Muslims believe about their Jewish and Christian forebears and conditions Islamic triumphalist views about the validity of Islam against the partial falsity of the other two traditions.
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The Quran and the Sira, the traditional biography of Muhammad, present ambivalent attitudes toward Jews and Christians, reflecting the varied experience of Muhammad and the early community with Jews and Christians in Arabia. Christians are said to be nearest to Muslims in “love” in Quran 5:82, but Muslims are not to take Jews or Christians as awlilya, “close allies or leaders” in Quran 5:51. The Quran sometimes makes a distinction between the “Children of Israel,” that is, Jews mentioned in the Bible, and “Jews,” members of the Jewish tribes in Arabia during Muhammad‟s time. This distinction is also present in the Sira and other histories, and one sees some Jews as hostile to Muhammad and his mission, while others become allies with him. The so- called Constitution of Medina, which Muhammad negoti- ated with the Ansar, the Muhajirun, and the Jews of Medina, include Jews in the umma, allowing them freedom of associa- tion and religion in return for the payment of an annual tax, originally called the kharaj. This agreement and the subse- quent treaties negotiated by Muhammad with the Jews of Khaybar, Tayma, and other cities in the Hijaz, establish the precedent of including “people of the book” (Ar. ahl al-kitab) in the umma. As the armies of conquest encountered commu- nities of Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians, the model of Muhammad‟s accommodating behavior extended the origi- nal notion to incorporate all these recipients of God‟s revela- tion as ahl al-dhimma, or dhimmi.
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The death of Muhammad and the subsequent expansion of Islam out of Arabia brought about a break with the Jewish Arabian communities, so that subsequent relations are built on Jewish and Christian interactions with Muslims who knew the Prophet‟s actions only as idealized history. During the first Islamic century, the period of the most rapid expansion of Islam, social and religious structures were so fluid that it is hard to make generalizations. Jews and Christians were theo- retically expelled from Arabia, or, at least, the Hijaz, but later evidence shows that Jews and Christians remained for centuries afterward. As late as the eighteenth century, for example, Jewish Bedouin roamed Northwestern Arabia, terrorizing pilgrims.
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Bible is comprised of: ◦ Old Testament – Moses Tanach (Jewish Written Law) Talmud (Jewish Oral Law)
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O.T. 18I will
Book Duetronomy, Chapter 18, Verse 18 raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21And if thou say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. 20
N.T. (Book of John, Chapter 14, Verse 7) “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you”
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Ibn Hazm places Judaism in the 6th of his religiophilosophical worldviews Category includes: ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
Oneness of the Eternal Creator Createdness of the World Prophecy Revealed Books Accept some Prophets while rejecting others Ibn Hazm adopts Quranic term: Ahlu Hadhihi al-Millah (the people of this religious community)
◦ Sabians ◦ Magians
Both rejected Christian notion - Trinity
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Ibn Hazm divided the Jews into 5 sects: 1. Al Samiriyyah (Samaritans)
1. Do not accept Jerusalem as the holy city 2. Their Torah is different than rest of Jews 3. Do not accept Prophets after Moses and Joshua
(10) Simon, David, Solomon, Isiah, Elisha, Elias, Amos, Habbakuk, Zachariah & Jeremiah
4. Disbelief in Resurrection 5. Live in Syria and consider it illegitimate to move away from there
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Al Saduqiyah (Sadducees)
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Associate with Saduq (Zadok) Uzayr as the son of God Live in Yemen
Al-Ananiyyah (Ananites-Qaraites-Karaites) ◦ Followers of Anan al-Dawudi al Yahudi ◦ Claim they do not transgress the laws and commandments of Torah + Enjoined in Books of the Prophets ◦ Do not accept interpretations of Rabbis (Mikhna)
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Al-Rabbaniyyah (Rabbanites) ◦ Follow the Rabbis (Mikhna) ◦ Represent majority of Jews
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Al- Isawiyah (Isuites) ◦ Followers of Abu Isa al-Isfahani ◦ Jew belonging to Isfahan ◦ Believe in Prophethood of Isa b. Maryam + Muhammad ◦ Isa b. Maryam was sent to Bani Israel as a Prophet as attested by Injil ◦ Isa is one of the Israelite Prophets ◦ Muhammad is a Prophet sent with Revelation of the Quran ◦ Sharia to Banu Ismail and to the rest of the Arabs ◦ Share with the majority of Jews: Ayyub (Job) was sent as Prophet to Banu Ays Balam to Banu Muwab
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Major difference between Islam and Judaism: ◦ Rejection of Muhammad (S) Prophethood
Islam - Doctrine of „succession of messengers‟ ◦ Naskh (abrogation) of previous Sharias‟ with Sharia of Muhammad
Jewish response: Philosophical rejection ◦ Some accept abrogation in principle
Reason: Implies a change in the mind of God Prescription – Abrogation means that God is devoid of foreknowledge and lacks prescience
◦ Some deny it occurred
Reason: Possible to happen but did not occur No historical evidence
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Ibn Hazm both views: ◦ On the grounds of Philosophical + Scriptural Scriptural: Marriage to an Aunt; to 2 sisters
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BOOK EXODUS: CHAPTER 32: VERSE 1-14 1And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 5And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 6And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 7And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. 11And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. 28
Prophet (S) Salaf (Community – Sahaba+Tabiun+Tabi Tabiun) Classical Period (4th C-6th C) Medieval Period (7th C-9th C) Post Medieval + Premodern Period (10th C – 12th C) Modern Period (13th C – 15th C) Prophet
Salaf
Classical
Antiquity Dark Ages Middle Ages Modern Period (Renaissance/French Revolution Scientific Revolution/Enlightenment /Reformation/Counter Reformation Industrial Revolution Postmodernist Period Medieval
Modern
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Start of Revelation on 27/9/610 in Cave of Hira, outside of Mecca ان ٱلَّ ِذ ۤي أ ُ ْ ْ ْ ِّ ْ ُ ُ َّ َ َ ٰ ً رْ رْ ُ ٍ ِّ ُ آنُ ان ق ف ٱل و َى د ه ٱل ِّن م ت ا ن ٌ ب و اس ن ل ل ى د ه ق ٱل ه ٌ ف ل ز ن ِ ِ َ َ َ َ َ ض َ َش ْه ُر َر َم َ ِ ِ ِ َ َ َّام َف َمن َش ِه َد ِمن ُك ُم ٱل َّشه َْر َف ْل ٌَصُمْ ُه َو َمن َك َ ان َم ِرٌضا ً أ ْو َعلَ ٰى َس َف ٍر َف ِع َّدةٌ مِّنْ أٌ ٍ ٱَّلل ُ ِب ُك ُم ْٱلٌُسْ َر َوالَ ٌ ُِرٌ ُد ِب ُك ُم ْٱلعُسْ َر َولِ ُت ْك ِملُو ْا ْٱل ِع َّد َة َولِ ُت َك ِّبرُو ْا ََّ أ ُ َخ َر ٌ ُِرٌ ُد َّ ٱَّلل ُون (البقرة)185 : َعلَ ٰى َما َهدَا ُك ْم َولَ َعلَّ ُك ْم َت ْش ُكر َ
إِ َّنا أَ َ ف ك َما لَ ٌْلَ ُة ْال َق ْد ِر لَ ٌْلَ ُة ْال َق ْد ِر َخ ٌْ ٌر مِّنْ أَ ْل ِ نز ْل َناهُ فًِ لَ ٌْلَ ِة ْال َق ْد ِر َو َما أَ ْد َرا َ َشه ٍْر َت َن َّز ُل ْال َمال ِئ َك ُة َوالرُّ و ُح فٌِ َها ِبإِ ْذ ِن َرب ِِّهم مِّن ُك ِّل أَمْ ٍر َسال ٌم ِه ًَ َح َّتى َم ْطلَ ِع ْال َفجْ ِر
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ص ِّدقا ً لِّ َما َبٌ َْن ٱَّلل ُم َ ان َع ُدوّ اً لِّ ِجب ِْرٌ َل َفإِ َّن ُه َن َّزلَ ُه َعلَ ٰى َق ْل ِب َك ِبإِ ْذ ِن َّ ِ قُ ْل َمن َك َ ٌن (البقرة)97 : ٌَ َد ٌْ ِه َو ُه ًدى َو ُب ْش َر ٰى لِ ْلم ُْإ ِم ِن َ ٌن (الشعراء)194 : ون ِم َن ْٱل ُم ْن ِذ ِر َ َعلَ ٰى َق ْل ِب َك لِ َت ُك َ ٱَّلل ُ ٌَ ْخ ِت ْم َعلَ ٰى َق ْل ِب َك َو ٌَمْ ُح َّ ٱَّلل َك ِذبا ً َفإِن ٌَ َشإِ َّ ون ٱ ْف َت َر ٰى َعلَى َّ ِ أَ ْم ٌَقُول ُ َ ٱَّلل ُ ور ( الشورى)24 : ت ٱل ُّ اط َل َو ٌُ ِح ُّق ْٱل َح َّق ِب َكلِ َما ِت ِه إِ َّن ُه َعلٌِ ٌم ِب َذا ِ ْٱل َب ِ ص ُد ِ
Narrated Aisha the mother of the faithful believers: The commencement of the divine inspiration to Allah's apostle was in the form of good dreams which came like bright daylight (i.e. true) and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He used to go in seclusion in the Cave of Hira', where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food likewise again, till suddenly the truth descended upon him while he was in the Cave of Hira'. The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied 'I do not know how to read'. The Prophet added, 'The angel caught me (forcibly) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, "I do not know how to read". Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read, but again I replied, "I do not know how to read" (or what shall I read?). Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said: "Read, in the name of Your Lord, who created, created man from a clot. Read! And Your Lord is the most bountiful"
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Narrated Aisha, the mother of the faithful believers: Al-Harith bin Hisham asked Allah's apostle: 'O Allah's apostle. How is the divine inspiration revealed to you?' Allah's apostle replied, 'Sometimes it is "revealed" like the ringing of a bell, this form of inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says'
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The first revelation that the Prophet Muhammad received is in the first verses from Sura al-'alaq (96:1 3, according to others 1-5): 'Read in the name of your Lord, who created, created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is most bountiful. (He who taught) the use of the pen taught man which he knew not.' The remainder of Sura 96, which now has 19 ayat, was revealed on some later occasion. 35
After the first message thus received, revelation ceased for a certain period (called fatra) and then resumed: Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah Al-Ansari while talking about the period of pause in revelation reporting the speech of the Prophet, 'While I was walking, all of a sudden I heard a voice from the heaven. I looked up and saw the same angel who had visited me at the Cave of Hira' sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I got afraid of him and came back home and said "Wrap me (in blankets)" and then Allah revealed the following holy verses (of the Qur'an): O you covered in your cloak, arise and warn (the people against Allah's punishment) ... up to "and all pollution shun".' After this revelation came strongly and regularly
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The second portion of the Qur'an revealed to the Prophet Muhammad was the beginning of Sura al muddaththir (74:15). It now consists of 56 verses, the rest revealed later, and begins as follows: 'O you, covered in your cloak, arise and warn, thy Lord magnify, thy raiment purify, pollution shun ..
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Many hold that Sura al-muzzammil (73) was the next revelation. According to others, Sura al-fatiha (1) was the third sura to be revealed. (20) Among other early revelations, which the Prophet declared in Makka, are, according to some reports, Sura 111, Sura 81, Sura 87, Sura 92, Sura 89, etc. Then revelation continued, 'mentioning Paradise and Hell, and until mankind turned to Islam, then came revelation about halal and haram ... ' (21) Revelation came to the Prophet throughout his lifetime, both in Makka and Madina, i.e. over a period of approximately 23 years, until shortly before his death in the year 10 after Hijra (632).
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Many Muslim scholars agree that the last revelation was Sura 2, verse 281: 'And fear the day when ye shall be brought back to God. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned and none shall be dealt with unjustly.' Some also say that it was 2:282 or 2:278. (22) It has also been suggested that all three verses were revealed on one occasion. The Prophet died nine nights after the last revelation. Others hold that Sura 5:4 was the last to be revealed: 'This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.' The opinion that this verse was the last revelation is not sound according to many scholars, since it was revealed during the last pilgrimage of the Prophet. This information is based upon a hadith from 'Umar. Suyuti explains concerning the verse in Sura 5 that after it nothing concerning ahkam and hal'al and haram was revealed, and in this sense it is the 'completion' of religion. However, revelation reminding man of the coming day of judgement continued and the last such revelation is the above verse.
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The Qur'an was revealed in stages over a period of 23 years, and not as a complete book in one single act of revelation. There are a number of reasons for this; most important are the following: To strengthen the heart of the Prophet by addressing him continuously and whenever the need for guidance arose. Out of consideration for the Prophet since revelation was a very difficult experience for him. To gradually implement the laws of God. To make understanding, application and memorisation of the revelation easier for the believers.
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Ahmad von Denffer writes in his Ulum al-Quran: The proper approach to the Qur'an, in my humble view, can be described in three stages. You must: ◦ first, receive the message of the Qur'an, by hearing or reading it; ◦ second, understand the message of the Qur'an by reflecting upon it and studying its meanings; ◦ third, apply the message of the Qur'an by ordering your personal life as well as the life of society according to its message. Muslims have from earliest times, applied themselves not only to the message from Allah the Qur'an but also to its setting and framework, and the preoccupation with these ultimately developed into the 'sciences' of or 'knowledge' about the Qur'an, known as "ulum al-qur'an'. According to a general definition, 'ulum al-qur'an [Sabuni, Muhammad 'Ali: al-tibyan fi 'ulum al-qur-an, Beirut, 1970, p. 10.] denotes studies concerned with the book of revelations sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, [The customary blessings on the Prophet (Allah's blessings and peace beupon him) each time his name is mentioned will not be repeated in the text, but the reader is kindly requested to observe this Muslim tradition.] namely:
● Its revelation. ● Its collection. ● Its order and arrangement. ● Its writing down.
● Information about the reasons and occasions of revelation. ● About what was revealed in Makka and what in Madina. ● About the abrogating and abrogated verses. ● About the 'clear' and the 'unclear' verses. The term also covers Qur'an-related studies, such as: ● The explanation of verses and passages by the Prophet himself, his Companions, their followers and the later exegetes of the Qur'an. ● The methods of explanation.
● The scholars of exegesis and their books.
41
The Qur'an can be defined as follows: The speech of Allah, sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, through the Angel Gabriel, in its precise meaning and precise wording, transmitted to us by numerous persons (tawatur), both verbally and in writing. Inimitable and unique, protected by God from corruption. The Arabic word „Quran' is derived from the root qara'a, which has various meanings, such as to read, (4) to recite, (5) etc. Qur'an is a verbal noun and hence means the 'reading' or 'recitation'. As used in the Qur'an itself, the word refers to the revelation from Allah in the broad sense and is not always restricted to the written form in the shape of a book, as we have it before us today. However, it means revelation to Muhammad only, while revelation to other prophets has been referred to by different names (e.g. taurat, injil, kitab, etc.).
42
Scholars of the Quran and exegesis have identified the names of the Quran and have categorized them into three groups: Group 1: Names that indicate the very being and reality of the book:
1. The Book: al-Kitab (Joseph 12:1 - A.L.R. These are the symbols (or Verses) of the perspicuous Book.) 2. Oft Recited : al-Quran (Children of Israel 17:9 - Verily this Qur‟an doth guide…) 3. Word of Good: Kalam ul-Allah (Repentance 10:6 – (…so that he may hear the word of God…) 4. Spirit: al-Ruh (Counsel 42: 52 - And thus have We inspired in thee (Muhammad) a Spirit of Our command…) 5. Sent down: Tanzil (The Poets 26:192 - Now, behold, this [divine writ] has indeed been bestowed from on high by the Sustainer of all the worlds) 6. Command: al-Amr (Divorce 65:5 - [for] all this is God‟s commandment, which He has bestowed upon you from on high. 7. Saying: al-Qawl (The Story 28:51 - NOW, INDEED, We have caused this word [of Ours] to reach mankind step by step, so that they might [learn to] keep it in mind. 8. Revelation: al-Wahi (The Prophets 21:45 - SAY [unto all men]: "I but warn you on the strength of divine revelation!“)
43
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7.
8. 9.
Noble/Honorable: Al Karim (The Event 56: 77 - That this is indeed a Qur‟an most Honourable) Glorious: Al Majid (The Mansions of the Stars 85:21 - Day, this is a Glorious Qur‟an) Exalted Power: Al Aziz (The are Expounded 41:41 - And indeed it is a Book of exalted power) Most High and full of wisdom: Al Alii & Al Hakim (And verily, it is in the Mother of the Book, in Our Presence, high (in dignity), full of wisdom) Truth: Al Sidq (The Troops 39:33 - And he who brings the Truth and he who confirms (and supports) it - such are the men who do right.) True: Al Haqq (Family of Imran 3:62 - This is the true account: There is no god except God; and God-He is indeed the Exalted in Power, the Wise) Full of Blessings: (Sadd: 29 - Here is a Book which We have sent down unto thee, full of blessings, that they may mediate on its Signs, and that men of understanding may receive admonition.) Marvelous: (Jinn: 1 - Lo! we have heard a marvelous Qur‟an) Knowledge: (The Thunder: 37 - Thus have We revealed it, a decisive utterance in Arabic; and if thou shouldst follow their desires after that which hath come unto thee of knowledge, then truly wouldst thou have from Allah no protecting friend nor defender.)
44
1.
2. 3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Guidance: Al Huda Cow: 2 – (This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil)) Mercy: Al Rahma Luqman: 3 - A guidance and a mercy for the good Reminder: Al Dhikr (Family of Imran 3:58 - This (which) We recite unto thee is a revelation and a wise reminder.) Admonition: Al Mauiza ( Family of Imran 3 :138 - This is a declaration for mankind, a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil) Healing: Al Shifa (Children of Israel 17:82 - And We reveal of the Qur‟an that which is a healing and a mercy for believers though it increase the evil-doers in naught save ruin.) Admonishment: Al Tazkira (The Cloaked One: 54 - Nay, verily. Lo! this is an Admonishment.) Manifest: Al Mubin (Joseph 12:1 - Alif Lam Ra. Those are the signs of the Manifest Book.) Delivered: Al Balagh (Ya-Sin: 17 - but we are not bound to do more than clearly deliver the message [entrusted to us].“) Good tidings and Warnings: Al Bashir wa-l Nathir (to be a herald of glad tidings as well as a warning.) Inner sight: Basair (Crouching 45: 20-This [revelation, then,] is a means of insight for mankind, and a guidance and grace unto people who are endowed with inner certainty.) Explanation: Bayan (Family of Imran 3:138 - this [should be] a clear lesson unto all men, and a guidance and an admonition unto the God-conscious.) Light: Nur (Table Spread 5: 15 - now hath come unto you light from Allah and plain
45
Schematic of Quranic Sciences
Revelation )(تنزٌله
Recitation )(ترتٌله
Compilation )(تدوٌنه
Interpretation )(تؤوٌله
Evidentiary )(تدلٌله
46
Revelation
1 - Manner of its revelation upon the Prophet (S) vocally )(كٌفٌة
2 - Circumstances )(ظروف
3 - Reasons of Revelation (إسباب )النزول
4 - Chronology )(ترتٌب
5 - Overall Conditions )(مجمل أحوال
47
1 - Manner of revelation upon the Prophet (S)
Revealed by the Angel and his representation
With the elevation of the Prophet (S) )ً(بارتقاء النب
Revealed once
Revealed once
Revealed repeatedly
Revealed repeatedly 48
2 - Circumstances of Revelation )(ظروف
With respect to Event
Revealed prior to Hijra (Meccan)
With respect to Place
Revealed after Hijra (Madina)
Exclusively in Mecca
Exclusively in Madina
Not in Mecca
Not in Madina
Terrestrial
Resident
Celestial
Travelling
With respect to Time
Day
Night
Mecca
Hudaibiyah
Summer
Madina
Arafat
Winter
Juhfa
In the army
Al Bayda
Tabuk
49
3 - Occasions of Revelation )(أسباب النزول
First Revelation
Revealed for a reason
Reason prior to revelation )(تقدم سببه
Singular Reason
Reason after revelation )(تؤخر سببه
Multiple Reasons
Question
Occurrence
Corroboration 50
4 -Chronology of Revelation
First revelation
Last revelation
In Mecca
Last Ayah revealed
In Madina
Last Surah revealed
Particular/Specific
Particular/Specific 51
5 - Overall conditions of its revelation
Complete Revelation (نزوله )جملة
Revealed periodically (نزوله )ً منجما
Group
Singularly
ً مشٌعا
ً مشٌعا
ً غٌر مشٌعا
ً غٌر مشٌعا 52
Concept of Man, God and the Universe Concept of Satan Concept of other religions Ethical foundation of Islam: Islam, Iman and Taqwa
53
54
ولكل جعلنا موالً مما ترك الوالدان واألقربون والذٌن عقدت أٌمانكم فآتوهم نصٌبهم إن هللا كان على كل شًء شهٌدا – نساء33 : ال ٌإاخذكم هللا باللغو فً أيمانكم ولكن ٌإاخذكم بما كسبت قلوبكم وهللا غفور حلٌم – مائدة89: و ال تعزموا عقدة النكاح حتى ٌبلغ الكتاب أجله – بقرة235: ع+ق+د = عــــــــــقــــــــــــــد The root word is present in the Quran ) andأحكام( Revolves around Commandments )توثٌق( affirmation Connection between two things Literal meaning = tying of a rope into a knotعقد الحبل ◦
55
Adherence to beliefs, doctrine, dogma or article of faith The connection between a religious adherent‟s heart and an idea or concept or opinion or specific method This conviction is extremely strong, powerful and commanding and permanence, continuance and adamancy Aqida is that which is affirmed with conviction by the heart and placidity in the conscience combining to engender certainty that is free from doubt Aqida is belief in a group of issues related to truth on the basis of popular opinion ( )سمعand intellect ()عقل and instinct ()فطرة
56
Basic article of faith: شهادة Quran and Hadith sources for Aqida Deduction and formulation of Aqida from the Quran and Hadith Sectarian divide due to difference in Aqida deduction and formulation from Quran and Hadith Formulators of Aqidah were identified by a sect, school or an individual Founders of Sunni Aqida: Abu Hanifa, Fiqh al
Akbar
◦ Became distinct from the Khawarij, Shia and Jahmiyya
57
In early Islamic History, creedal schools developed to address the formulation of creed In later Islamic History, theological schools developed to address particular doctrines comprising the established creed Creedal differences began in the time of Ali (R)‟ – Shia and Khawarij
◦ Khawarij: while initially supporting the authority of the final Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, then later rejected his leadership. They first emerged in the late 7th century, concentrated in today's southern Iraq, and are distinct from Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims. With the passing of time the Kharijite groups fell greatly in their numbers and their beliefs did not continue to gain any traction in future generations.
58
◦ Shia: The Shia شٌعةrepresent the second largest sect of Islam after Sunni Islam and comprise approximately 1525% of Muslims worldwide. Adherents of Shia Islam are called the Shi'a as a collective or Shi'i individually.[1] "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī (ً)شٌعة عل, meaning "followers", "faction", or "party" of Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin Ali, whom the Shia believe to be Muhammad's successor in the Caliphate. ◦ Khawarij justice according to the Scripture the supreme principle, while the Shia looked for a leader from the household of Muhammad ◦ First two centuries were polarized by Religion and Politics
59
1
1. 2.
The Quran, its history and sciences The Bible 1. Old Testament 2. Psalms 3. New Testament
3.
Hinduism
2
Milal: Plural of Milat (singular) ◦ Divinely revealed religions (Din)
Nihal: Plural of Nihlat (singular) ◦ Non-divine non-revealed religions ()مدعاة
3
Word of God revealed through the agency of Angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (S) Word, Meaning, Concept are exact Divine free-willing independence to select a human being of His choosing Abilities to reform and organize society according to mores and values. Intuitional Cognition (feeling) vs. Intellectual Cognition (thought) Foundation of knowledge is revelation Revelation is authoritative Tawattur (large group of people (min.10) in each generation) – incapable of corruption Tahrif – Textual corruption of the text Recorded and transmitted orally and in written form
4
Major Themes of the Quran ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
God Man as Individual Man in Society Nature Prophethood and Revelation Eschatology Satan and Evil Emergence of the Muslim Community
5
6
Geneology ( )نسبconnected to Prophetic brotherhood and bloodline Makkah and Madinah periods
◦ 13 years in Makkah – Creed (Aqida/Iman) and Purification (Tazkiya) ◦ 10 years in Madinah
Nature of religion in Makkah, Arabia
◦ Idolatory, Polytheism ◦ Jews & Christians of Arabia & Neighbouring countries directly ◦ Zoroastrianism ◦ Manichaeanism: 7
Reason vs. Faith Quran is the Word and Speech ( )كالمof Allah ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
Revelation (ً )وحfrom Allah Embodies Will ( & )إرادةGuidance ()هداٌة Norms ( & )معٌارPrinciples ( )أصولfor life Religion – Life:
God commands method of life to lived according to Life is a means ( )ذرٌعةto an end ()هدف, not an end itself Religion is the tool to properly use life to achieve end
◦ Part of Quran‟s guidance:
Deal with multiple religions Quran has its own approach
8
H.U. Weitrbretch Stanton: “No Scripture in the world teaches such a „comparative religion‟ as the Quran”. The teaching of the Quran, reprint (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1969) p.71 The term „religion‟ in the Modern West = Quranic term الدٌن و الملة و األمة Quranic worldview - Weltanschauung
9
Din denotes religion in the generic sense of
the term Milla denotes religious tradition Umma denotes religio-moral & socio-political community
10
ﻣﺘﺤﺪﺍﺕ ﺑﺎﻟﺬﺍﺕ ،ﻭمختلفاتان ﺑﺎﻻﻋﺘﺒﺎﺭ ،ﻓﺈﻥ ﺍﻟﺸﺮﻳﻌﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺣﻴﺚ ﺇما ﺗﻄﺎﻉ، ﺩﻳﻨﺎ ،ﻭﻣﻦ ﺣﻴﺚ إما تجمع ،ﺗﺴﻤﻰ ﻣﻠﺔ ،ﻭﻣﻦ ﺣﻴﺚ إما ﻳﺮﺟﻊ ﺇﻟﻴﻬﺎ، ﺗﺴﻤﻰ :ﹰ ﻣﺬﻫﺒﺎ ،ﻭﻗﻴﻞ :ﺍﻟﻔﺮﻕ بٌن ﺍﻟﺪﻳﻦ ،ﻭالملة ،ﻭﺍلمذهب :ﺃﻥ ﺍﻟﺪﻳﻦ ﻣﻨﺴﻮﺏ ﺗﺴﻤﻰ ﹰ إلى ﺍﷲ تعالى ،ﻭالملة ﻣﻨﺴﻮﺑﺔ إلى ﺍﻟﺮﺳﻮﻝ ،ﻭالمذهب ﻣﻨﺴﻮﺏ إلى المجتهد.
11
The Period of the Prophet Muhammad‟s Life: Circa 570–632 C.E. Muslim-Christian encounters. Prior to 610 C.E., the year when the prophet Muhammad received the first Quranic revelation, his encounters with Christians probably took place during his caravan trips into greater Syria, as the tradition of his meeting with the Christian monk Bahira would indicate. There may also have been occasional encounters with Christians of unknown theological leanings passing through Mecca. The biography of the prophet Muhammad mentions other kinds of encounters, not all of which are historically verifiable. For instance, soon after 610 C.E., the Prophet met with Waraqa ibn Nawfal, who was a cousin of the Prophet‟s wife Khadija. Waraqa ibn Nawfal was a Christian scholar who confirmed the Prophet‟s mission. Another encounter is said to have occurred in 615 C.E., when early converts to Islam migrated for a short while to the Christian kingdom of Axum (Abyssinia). In 628 C.E., a delegation of Christians from the town of Najran in South Arabia came to visit the Prophet in Medina, and sometime before the Prophet died, in 632 C.E., he would have sent letters to existing rulers such as the Byzantine emperor Heraclius and the Negus of Axum, as well as the Sassanian emperor Chosroes. 12
The varieties of Quranic passages addressing Christians directly or indirectly (as people of the book, together with Jews, for example) reflect the transforming nature of the prophet Muhammad‟s encounters with them as his own status changed over time. The same applies to the other two religious systems he interacted with in Arabia: Judaism and Meccan polytheism. In all three cases, the variation in tone, from tolerance to polemics, seems to reflect the extent to which his prophetic message was being accepted or rejected at each moment of his reception of Quranic revelations, a process that lasted about twenty-three years. In terms of Christianity in particular, there is at best a conditional acceptance of Christians, and at worst a judgment associating them to both shirk (polytheism/idolatry) and kufr (unbelief). The various Christian voices referred to in the Quran are, for the most part, not reflective of the major Christian theologies that Muslims would come to encounter soon after the death of the prophet Muhammad, in 632 C.E. These misperceptions of mainstream, seventh-century Christian theologies, by being preserved in the Quran, negatively predisposed subse- quent generations of Muslim interpreters of Christianity. A contextual sociopolitical reading of these various passages, harking back in part to the old Islamic hermeneutical princi- ple of abrogation (in which later Quranic revelations must take precedence over prior ones), is one way to make sense of their variety and, at times, contradictory nature. This is especially important when the passages are juxtaposed ahistorically, either within the period of the Prophet‟s life or for contemporary ideological purposes
13
When the prophet Muhammad was born in 570 C.E., Arabia, a central trade and military location, was caught in the Byzantine-Sassanian rivalry. Arabs, including Jewish Arabic- speakers, were in the armies of both sides, providing horse and camel cavalries, and each empire maintained Arab client states as buffers and bases of operation. Only around fifty years earlier, the last Jewish kingdom in southern Arabia, allied with the Persians, had been defeated, replaced by a Byzantine-supported Christian army from Abyssinia. Accord- ing to early Muslim historians, this army, led by a general named Abraha, is referred to in Surat al-Fal in the Quran.
14
The Hijaz had numerous Jewish settlements, most of long standing, dating to at least the time of the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.. According to some scholars, the earliest Jewish presence in the Hijaz was at the time of Nabonidus, circa 550 B.C.E. The Jews in these settlements were merchants, farmers, vintners, smiths, and, in the desert, members of Bedouin tribes. The most important Jewish dominated city was Yathrib, known later as Medina. The Jews of the Hijaz were semi-independent, but often allied with both Byzantium and the Persians. Some made the claim to be “kings” of the Hijaz, most probably meaning tax collectors for the Persians, and for a variety of reasons, more Jews were loyal to Persian interests against those of the Byzantine empire. Jews, as well as Christians, seem to have been en- gaged in attempting to convert the Arabian population to their religious and political views, often with some success. The loyalties of the Jews and Christians to one or the other of the two empires meant that choosing either Judaism or
15
Christianity meant also choosing to ally with a superpower interested in dominating Arabia. Arab sources report that at the time of Muhammad‟s birth, some Meccans had abandoned polytheism and had chosen monotheism (Ar. hanif ), in a Jewish, Christian, or nonsectar- ian form. From Quranic and other evidence, it is clear that Meccans were conversant with the general principles of Judaism and Christianity and knew many details of worship, practice, and belief. When Muhammad had his first revelation in 610 C.E., his wife, Khadija, tested the validity of his experience by seeking the advice of her cousin, Waraqa b. Nawfal, a hanif learned in Jewish and Christian scriptures. In declaring that Muham- mad was a continuation of the prophetic traditions of Judaism and Christianity, he said that he had been foretold in Jewish and Christian scripture. A central doctrine of Islam places Muhammad at the end of a chain of prophets from God, starting with Adam and embracing all the prophetic figures of Judaism and Christianity, and holds that Muhammad‟s ad- vent is announced in the Torah and Gospels. Denial of this central idea by Jews and Christians is said to be a result of the corruption of the sacred texts, either inadvertently or on purpose. This disparity of perspective underlies much of what Muslims believe about their Jewish and Christian forebears and conditions Islamic triumphalist views about the validity of Islam against the partial falsity of the other two traditions.
16
The Quran and the Sira, the traditional biography of Muhammad, present ambivalent attitudes toward Jews and Christians, reflecting the varied experience of Muhammad and the early community with Jews and Christians in Arabia. Christians are said to be nearest to Muslims in “love” in Quran 5:82, but Muslims are not to take Jews or Christians as awlilya, “close allies or leaders” in Quran 5:51. The Quran sometimes makes a distinction between the “Children of Israel,” that is, Jews mentioned in the Bible, and “Jews,” members of the Jewish tribes in Arabia during Muhammad‟s time. This distinction is also present in the Sira and other histories, and one sees some Jews as hostile to Muhammad and his mission, while others become allies with him. The so- called Constitution of Medina, which Muhammad negoti- ated with the Ansar, the Muhajirun, and the Jews of Medina, include Jews in the umma, allowing them freedom of associa- tion and religion in return for the payment of an annual tax, originally called the kharaj. This agreement and the subse- quent treaties negotiated by Muhammad with the Jews of Khaybar, Tayma, and other cities in the Hijaz, establish the precedent of including “people of the book” (Ar. ahl al-kitab) in the umma. As the armies of conquest encountered commu- nities of Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians, the model of Muhammad‟s accommodating behavior extended the origi- nal notion to incorporate all these recipients of God‟s revela- tion as ahl al-dhimma, or dhimmi.
17
The death of Muhammad and the subsequent expansion of Islam out of Arabia brought about a break with the Jewish Arabian communities, so that subsequent relations are built on Jewish and Christian interactions with Muslims who knew the Prophet‟s actions only as idealized history. During the first Islamic century, the period of the most rapid expansion of Islam, social and religious structures were so fluid that it is hard to make generalizations. Jews and Christians were theo- retically expelled from Arabia, or, at least, the Hijaz, but later evidence shows that Jews and Christians remained for centuries afterward. As late as the eighteenth century, for example, Jewish Bedouin roamed Northwestern Arabia, terrorizing pilgrims.
18
Bible is comprised of: ◦ Old Testament – Moses Tanach (Jewish Written Law) Talmud (Jewish Oral Law)
19
O.T. 18I will
Book Duetronomy, Chapter 18, Verse 18 raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him. 20But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. 21And if thou say in your heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? 22When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. 20
N.T. (Book of John, Chapter 14, Verse 7) “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you”
21
Ibn Hazm places Judaism in the 6th of his religiophilosophical worldviews Category includes: ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
Oneness of the Eternal Creator Createdness of the World Prophecy Revealed Books Accept some Prophets while rejecting others Ibn Hazm adopts Quranic term: Ahlu Hadhihi al-Millah (the people of this religious community)
◦ Sabians ◦ Magians
Both rejected Christian notion - Trinity
22
Ibn Hazm divided the Jews into 5 sects: 1. Al Samiriyyah (Samaritans)
1. Do not accept Jerusalem as the holy city 2. Their Torah is different than rest of Jews 3. Do not accept Prophets after Moses and Joshua
(10) Simon, David, Solomon, Isiah, Elisha, Elias, Amos, Habbakuk, Zachariah & Jeremiah
4. Disbelief in Resurrection 5. Live in Syria and consider it illegitimate to move away from there
23
Al Saduqiyah (Sadducees)
2.
◦ ◦ ◦ 3.
Associate with Saduq (Zadok) Uzayr as the son of God Live in Yemen
Al-Ananiyyah (Ananites-Qaraites-Karaites) ◦ Followers of Anan al-Dawudi al Yahudi ◦ Claim they do not transgress the laws and commandments of Torah + Enjoined in Books of the Prophets ◦ Do not accept interpretations of Rabbis (Mikhna)
4.
Al-Rabbaniyyah (Rabbanites) ◦ Follow the Rabbis (Mikhna) ◦ Represent majority of Jews
24
Al- Isawiyah (Isuites) ◦ Followers of Abu Isa al-Isfahani ◦ Jew belonging to Isfahan ◦ Believe in Prophethood of Isa b. Maryam + Muhammad ◦ Isa b. Maryam was sent to Bani Israel as a Prophet as attested by Injil ◦ Isa is one of the Israelite Prophets ◦ Muhammad is a Prophet sent with Revelation of the Quran ◦ Sharia to Banu Ismail and to the rest of the Arabs ◦ Share with the majority of Jews: Ayyub (Job) was sent as Prophet to Banu Ays Balam to Banu Muwab
25
Major difference between Islam and Judaism: ◦ Rejection of Muhammad (S) Prophethood
Islam - Doctrine of „succession of messengers‟ ◦ Naskh (abrogation) of previous Sharias‟ with Sharia of Muhammad
Jewish response: Philosophical rejection ◦ Some accept abrogation in principle
Reason: Implies a change in the mind of God Prescription – Abrogation means that God is devoid of foreknowledge and lacks prescience
◦ Some deny it occurred
Reason: Possible to happen but did not occur No historical evidence
26
Ibn Hazm both views: ◦ On the grounds of Philosophical + Scriptural Scriptural: Marriage to an Aunt; to 2 sisters
27
BOOK EXODUS: CHAPTER 32: VERSE 1-14 1And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 5And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 6And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 7And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: 8They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 9And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 10Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. 11And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? 12Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. 13Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. 14And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. 28
Prophet (S) Salaf (Community – Sahaba+Tabiun+Tabi Tabiun) Classical Period (4th C-6th C) Medieval Period (7th C-9th C) Post Medieval + Premodern Period (10th C – 12th C) Modern Period (13th C – 15th C) Prophet
Salaf
Classical
Antiquity Dark Ages Middle Ages Modern Period (Renaissance/French Revolution Scientific Revolution/Enlightenment /Reformation/Counter Reformation Industrial Revolution Postmodernist Period Medieval
Modern
Post Medieval + Premodern 29
Start of Revelation on 27/9/610 in Cave of Hira, outside of Mecca ان ٱلَّ ِذ ۤي أ ُ ْ ْ ْ ِّ ْ ُ ُ َّ َ َ ٰ ً رْ رْ ُ ٍ ِّ ُ آنُ ان ق ف ٱل و َى د ه ٱل ِّن م ت ا ن ٌ ب و اس ن ل ل ى د ه ق ٱل ه ٌ ف ل ز ن ِ ِ َ َ َ َ َ ض َ َش ْه ُر َر َم َ ِ ِ ِ َ َ َّام َف َمن َش ِه َد ِمن ُك ُم ٱل َّشه َْر َف ْل ٌَصُمْ ُه َو َمن َك َ ان َم ِرٌضا ً أ ْو َعلَ ٰى َس َف ٍر َف ِع َّدةٌ مِّنْ أٌ ٍ ٱَّلل ُ ِب ُك ُم ْٱلٌُسْ َر َوالَ ٌ ُِرٌ ُد ِب ُك ُم ْٱلعُسْ َر َولِ ُت ْك ِملُو ْا ْٱل ِع َّد َة َولِ ُت َك ِّبرُو ْا ََّ أ ُ َخ َر ٌ ُِرٌ ُد َّ ٱَّلل ُون (البقرة)185 : َعلَ ٰى َما َهدَا ُك ْم َولَ َعلَّ ُك ْم َت ْش ُكر َ
إِ َّنا أَ َ ف ك َما لَ ٌْلَ ُة ْال َق ْد ِر لَ ٌْلَ ُة ْال َق ْد ِر َخ ٌْ ٌر مِّنْ أَ ْل ِ نز ْل َناهُ فًِ لَ ٌْلَ ِة ْال َق ْد ِر َو َما أَ ْد َرا َ َشه ٍْر َت َن َّز ُل ْال َمال ِئ َك ُة َوالرُّ و ُح فٌِ َها ِبإِ ْذ ِن َرب ِِّهم مِّن ُك ِّل أَمْ ٍر َسال ٌم ِه ًَ َح َّتى َم ْطلَ ِع ْال َفجْ ِر
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31
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ص ِّدقا ً لِّ َما َبٌ َْن ٱَّلل ُم َ ان َع ُدوّ اً لِّ ِجب ِْرٌ َل َفإِ َّن ُه َن َّزلَ ُه َعلَ ٰى َق ْل ِب َك ِبإِ ْذ ِن َّ ِ قُ ْل َمن َك َ ٌن (البقرة)97 : ٌَ َد ٌْ ِه َو ُه ًدى َو ُب ْش َر ٰى لِ ْلم ُْإ ِم ِن َ ٌن (الشعراء)194 : ون ِم َن ْٱل ُم ْن ِذ ِر َ َعلَ ٰى َق ْل ِب َك لِ َت ُك َ ٱَّلل ُ ٌَ ْخ ِت ْم َعلَ ٰى َق ْل ِب َك َو ٌَمْ ُح َّ ٱَّلل َك ِذبا ً َفإِن ٌَ َشإِ َّ ون ٱ ْف َت َر ٰى َعلَى َّ ِ أَ ْم ٌَقُول ُ َ ٱَّلل ُ ور ( الشورى)24 : ت ٱل ُّ اط َل َو ٌُ ِح ُّق ْٱل َح َّق ِب َكلِ َما ِت ِه إِ َّن ُه َعلٌِ ٌم ِب َذا ِ ْٱل َب ِ ص ُد ِ
Narrated Aisha the mother of the faithful believers: The commencement of the divine inspiration to Allah's apostle was in the form of good dreams which came like bright daylight (i.e. true) and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He used to go in seclusion in the Cave of Hira', where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food likewise again, till suddenly the truth descended upon him while he was in the Cave of Hira'. The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied 'I do not know how to read'. The Prophet added, 'The angel caught me (forcibly) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, "I do not know how to read". Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read, but again I replied, "I do not know how to read" (or what shall I read?). Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said: "Read, in the name of Your Lord, who created, created man from a clot. Read! And Your Lord is the most bountiful"
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Narrated Aisha, the mother of the faithful believers: Al-Harith bin Hisham asked Allah's apostle: 'O Allah's apostle. How is the divine inspiration revealed to you?' Allah's apostle replied, 'Sometimes it is "revealed" like the ringing of a bell, this form of inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired. Sometimes the Angel comes in the form of a man and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says'
34
The first revelation that the Prophet Muhammad received is in the first verses from Sura al-'alaq (96:1 3, according to others 1-5): 'Read in the name of your Lord, who created, created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is most bountiful. (He who taught) the use of the pen taught man which he knew not.' The remainder of Sura 96, which now has 19 ayat, was revealed on some later occasion. 35
After the first message thus received, revelation ceased for a certain period (called fatra) and then resumed: Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah Al-Ansari while talking about the period of pause in revelation reporting the speech of the Prophet, 'While I was walking, all of a sudden I heard a voice from the heaven. I looked up and saw the same angel who had visited me at the Cave of Hira' sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I got afraid of him and came back home and said "Wrap me (in blankets)" and then Allah revealed the following holy verses (of the Qur'an): O you covered in your cloak, arise and warn (the people against Allah's punishment) ... up to "and all pollution shun".' After this revelation came strongly and regularly
36
The second portion of the Qur'an revealed to the Prophet Muhammad was the beginning of Sura al muddaththir (74:15). It now consists of 56 verses, the rest revealed later, and begins as follows: 'O you, covered in your cloak, arise and warn, thy Lord magnify, thy raiment purify, pollution shun ..
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Many hold that Sura al-muzzammil (73) was the next revelation. According to others, Sura al-fatiha (1) was the third sura to be revealed. (20) Among other early revelations, which the Prophet declared in Makka, are, according to some reports, Sura 111, Sura 81, Sura 87, Sura 92, Sura 89, etc. Then revelation continued, 'mentioning Paradise and Hell, and until mankind turned to Islam, then came revelation about halal and haram ... ' (21) Revelation came to the Prophet throughout his lifetime, both in Makka and Madina, i.e. over a period of approximately 23 years, until shortly before his death in the year 10 after Hijra (632).
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Many Muslim scholars agree that the last revelation was Sura 2, verse 281: 'And fear the day when ye shall be brought back to God. Then shall every soul be paid what it earned and none shall be dealt with unjustly.' Some also say that it was 2:282 or 2:278. (22) It has also been suggested that all three verses were revealed on one occasion. The Prophet died nine nights after the last revelation. Others hold that Sura 5:4 was the last to be revealed: 'This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.' The opinion that this verse was the last revelation is not sound according to many scholars, since it was revealed during the last pilgrimage of the Prophet. This information is based upon a hadith from 'Umar. Suyuti explains concerning the verse in Sura 5 that after it nothing concerning ahkam and hal'al and haram was revealed, and in this sense it is the 'completion' of religion. However, revelation reminding man of the coming day of judgement continued and the last such revelation is the above verse.
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The Qur'an was revealed in stages over a period of 23 years, and not as a complete book in one single act of revelation. There are a number of reasons for this; most important are the following: To strengthen the heart of the Prophet by addressing him continuously and whenever the need for guidance arose. Out of consideration for the Prophet since revelation was a very difficult experience for him. To gradually implement the laws of God. To make understanding, application and memorisation of the revelation easier for the believers.
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Ahmad von Denffer writes in his Ulum al-Quran: The proper approach to the Qur'an, in my humble view, can be described in three stages. You must: ◦ first, receive the message of the Qur'an, by hearing or reading it; ◦ second, understand the message of the Qur'an by reflecting upon it and studying its meanings; ◦ third, apply the message of the Qur'an by ordering your personal life as well as the life of society according to its message. Muslims have from earliest times, applied themselves not only to the message from Allah the Qur'an but also to its setting and framework, and the preoccupation with these ultimately developed into the 'sciences' of or 'knowledge' about the Qur'an, known as "ulum al-qur'an'. According to a general definition, 'ulum al-qur'an [Sabuni, Muhammad 'Ali: al-tibyan fi 'ulum al-qur-an, Beirut, 1970, p. 10.] denotes studies concerned with the book of revelations sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, [The customary blessings on the Prophet (Allah's blessings and peace beupon him) each time his name is mentioned will not be repeated in the text, but the reader is kindly requested to observe this Muslim tradition.] namely:
● Its revelation. ● Its collection. ● Its order and arrangement. ● Its writing down.
● Information about the reasons and occasions of revelation. ● About what was revealed in Makka and what in Madina. ● About the abrogating and abrogated verses. ● About the 'clear' and the 'unclear' verses. The term also covers Qur'an-related studies, such as: ● The explanation of verses and passages by the Prophet himself, his Companions, their followers and the later exegetes of the Qur'an. ● The methods of explanation.
● The scholars of exegesis and their books.
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The Qur'an can be defined as follows: The speech of Allah, sent down upon the last Prophet Muhammad, through the Angel Gabriel, in its precise meaning and precise wording, transmitted to us by numerous persons (tawatur), both verbally and in writing. Inimitable and unique, protected by God from corruption. The Arabic word „Quran' is derived from the root qara'a, which has various meanings, such as to read, (4) to recite, (5) etc. Qur'an is a verbal noun and hence means the 'reading' or 'recitation'. As used in the Qur'an itself, the word refers to the revelation from Allah in the broad sense and is not always restricted to the written form in the shape of a book, as we have it before us today. However, it means revelation to Muhammad only, while revelation to other prophets has been referred to by different names (e.g. taurat, injil, kitab, etc.).
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Scholars of the Quran and exegesis have identified the names of the Quran and have categorized them into three groups: Group 1: Names that indicate the very being and reality of the book:
1. The Book: al-Kitab (Joseph 12:1 - A.L.R. These are the symbols (or Verses) of the perspicuous Book.) 2. Oft Recited : al-Quran (Children of Israel 17:9 - Verily this Qur‟an doth guide…) 3. Word of Good: Kalam ul-Allah (Repentance 10:6 – (…so that he may hear the word of God…) 4. Spirit: al-Ruh (Counsel 42: 52 - And thus have We inspired in thee (Muhammad) a Spirit of Our command…) 5. Sent down: Tanzil (The Poets 26:192 - Now, behold, this [divine writ] has indeed been bestowed from on high by the Sustainer of all the worlds) 6. Command: al-Amr (Divorce 65:5 - [for] all this is God‟s commandment, which He has bestowed upon you from on high. 7. Saying: al-Qawl (The Story 28:51 - NOW, INDEED, We have caused this word [of Ours] to reach mankind step by step, so that they might [learn to] keep it in mind. 8. Revelation: al-Wahi (The Prophets 21:45 - SAY [unto all men]: "I but warn you on the strength of divine revelation!“)
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7.
8. 9.
Noble/Honorable: Al Karim (The Event 56: 77 - That this is indeed a Qur‟an most Honourable) Glorious: Al Majid (The Mansions of the Stars 85:21 - Day, this is a Glorious Qur‟an) Exalted Power: Al Aziz (The are Expounded 41:41 - And indeed it is a Book of exalted power) Most High and full of wisdom: Al Alii & Al Hakim (And verily, it is in the Mother of the Book, in Our Presence, high (in dignity), full of wisdom) Truth: Al Sidq (The Troops 39:33 - And he who brings the Truth and he who confirms (and supports) it - such are the men who do right.) True: Al Haqq (Family of Imran 3:62 - This is the true account: There is no god except God; and God-He is indeed the Exalted in Power, the Wise) Full of Blessings: (Sadd: 29 - Here is a Book which We have sent down unto thee, full of blessings, that they may mediate on its Signs, and that men of understanding may receive admonition.) Marvelous: (Jinn: 1 - Lo! we have heard a marvelous Qur‟an) Knowledge: (The Thunder: 37 - Thus have We revealed it, a decisive utterance in Arabic; and if thou shouldst follow their desires after that which hath come unto thee of knowledge, then truly wouldst thou have from Allah no protecting friend nor defender.)
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1.
2. 3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Guidance: Al Huda Cow: 2 – (This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil)) Mercy: Al Rahma Luqman: 3 - A guidance and a mercy for the good Reminder: Al Dhikr (Family of Imran 3:58 - This (which) We recite unto thee is a revelation and a wise reminder.) Admonition: Al Mauiza ( Family of Imran 3 :138 - This is a declaration for mankind, a guidance and an admonition unto those who ward off (evil) Healing: Al Shifa (Children of Israel 17:82 - And We reveal of the Qur‟an that which is a healing and a mercy for believers though it increase the evil-doers in naught save ruin.) Admonishment: Al Tazkira (The Cloaked One: 54 - Nay, verily. Lo! this is an Admonishment.) Manifest: Al Mubin (Joseph 12:1 - Alif Lam Ra. Those are the signs of the Manifest Book.) Delivered: Al Balagh (Ya-Sin: 17 - but we are not bound to do more than clearly deliver the message [entrusted to us].“) Good tidings and Warnings: Al Bashir wa-l Nathir (to be a herald of glad tidings as well as a warning.) Inner sight: Basair (Crouching 45: 20-This [revelation, then,] is a means of insight for mankind, and a guidance and grace unto people who are endowed with inner certainty.) Explanation: Bayan (Family of Imran 3:138 - this [should be] a clear lesson unto all men, and a guidance and an admonition unto the God-conscious.) Light: Nur (Table Spread 5: 15 - now hath come unto you light from Allah and plain
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Schematic of Quranic Sciences
Revelation )(تنزٌله
Recitation )(ترتٌله
Compilation )(تدوٌنه
Interpretation )(تؤوٌله
Evidentiary )(تدلٌله
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Revelation
1 - Manner of its revelation upon the Prophet (S) vocally )(كٌفٌة
2 - Circumstances )(ظروف
3 - Reasons of Revelation (إسباب )النزول
4 - Chronology )(ترتٌب
5 - Overall Conditions )(مجمل أحوال
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1 - Manner of revelation upon the Prophet (S)
Revealed by the Angel and his representation
With the elevation of the Prophet (S) )ً(بارتقاء النب
Revealed once
Revealed once
Revealed repeatedly
Revealed repeatedly 48
2 - Circumstances of Revelation )(ظروف
With respect to Event
Revealed prior to Hijra (Meccan)
With respect to Place
Revealed after Hijra (Madina)
Exclusively in Mecca
Exclusively in Madina
Not in Mecca
Not in Madina
Terrestrial
Resident
Celestial
Travelling
With respect to Time
Day
Night
Mecca
Hudaibiyah
Summer
Madina
Arafat
Winter
Juhfa
In the army
Al Bayda
Tabuk
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3 - Occasions of Revelation )(أسباب النزول
First Revelation
Revealed for a reason
Reason prior to revelation )(تقدم سببه
Singular Reason
Reason after revelation )(تؤخر سببه
Multiple Reasons
Question
Occurrence
Corroboration 50
4 -Chronology of Revelation
First revelation
Last revelation
In Mecca
Last Ayah revealed
In Madina
Last Surah revealed
Particular/Specific
Particular/Specific 51
5 - Overall conditions of its revelation
Complete Revelation (نزوله )جملة
Revealed periodically (نزوله )ً منجما
Group
Singularly
ً مشٌعا
ً مشٌعا
ً غٌر مشٌعا
ً غٌر مشٌعا 52
Concept of Man, God and the Universe Concept of Satan Concept of other religions Ethical foundation of Islam: Islam, Iman and Taqwa
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ولكل جعلنا موالً مما ترك الوالدان واألقربون والذٌن عقدت أٌمانكم فآتوهم نصٌبهم إن هللا كان على كل شًء شهٌدا – نساء33 : ال ٌإاخذكم هللا باللغو فً أيمانكم ولكن ٌإاخذكم بما كسبت قلوبكم وهللا غفور حلٌم – مائدة89: و ال تعزموا عقدة النكاح حتى ٌبلغ الكتاب أجله – بقرة235: ع+ق+د = عــــــــــقــــــــــــــد The root word is present in the Quran ) andأحكام( Revolves around Commandments )توثٌق( affirmation Connection between two things Literal meaning = tying of a rope into a knotعقد الحبل ◦
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Adherence to beliefs, doctrine, dogma or article of faith The connection between a religious adherent‟s heart and an idea or concept or opinion or specific method This conviction is extremely strong, powerful and commanding and permanence, continuance and adamancy Aqida is that which is affirmed with conviction by the heart and placidity in the conscience combining to engender certainty that is free from doubt Aqida is belief in a group of issues related to truth on the basis of popular opinion ( )سمعand intellect ()عقل and instinct ()فطرة
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Basic article of faith: شهادة Quran and Hadith sources for Aqida Deduction and formulation of Aqida from the Quran and Hadith Sectarian divide due to difference in Aqida deduction and formulation from Quran and Hadith Formulators of Aqidah were identified by a sect, school or an individual Founders of Sunni Aqida: Abu Hanifa, Fiqh al
Akbar
◦ Became distinct from the Khawarij, Shia and Jahmiyya
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In early Islamic History, creedal schools developed to address the formulation of creed In later Islamic History, theological schools developed to address particular doctrines comprising the established creed Creedal differences began in the time of Ali (R)‟ – Shia and Khawarij
◦ Khawarij: while initially supporting the authority of the final Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, then later rejected his leadership. They first emerged in the late 7th century, concentrated in today's southern Iraq, and are distinct from Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims. With the passing of time the Kharijite groups fell greatly in their numbers and their beliefs did not continue to gain any traction in future generations.
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◦ Shia: The Shia شٌعةrepresent the second largest sect of Islam after Sunni Islam and comprise approximately 1525% of Muslims worldwide. Adherents of Shia Islam are called the Shi'a as a collective or Shi'i individually.[1] "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī (ً)شٌعة عل, meaning "followers", "faction", or "party" of Muhammad's son-in-law and cousin Ali, whom the Shia believe to be Muhammad's successor in the Caliphate. ◦ Khawarij justice according to the Scripture the supreme principle, while the Shia looked for a leader from the household of Muhammad ◦ First two centuries were polarized by Religion and Politics
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