The Original Sources of the Quran
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The Original Sources Of The Qur'an Its Origin In Pagan Legends and Mythology By W. St. Clair Tisdall, M.A., D.D., 1905 AD Table Of Contents Sources of Islam, Sources according to Muslims, Arabian Customs maintained in Islam, Subjects taken from Jewish Commentators, Cain and Abel, Abraham, Queen of Sheba, Hârût and Mârût, Mount Sinai, The Preserved Table Tales derived from Heretical Christian Sects, The Seven Sleepers, Mariam and Virgin Mary, Childhood of Jesus, The Heavenly Table, The Paraclete, The Balance, Abraham's Ascent to Heaven Zoroastrian Subjects, The Mirâj: Muhammad's Ascent to Heaven, Paradise and Houries, Azâzîl, the Evil Spirit, The Light of Muhammad Preface I. Introductory II. Influence of Ancient Arabian Beliefs and Practices III. Influence of Sabian and Jewish Ideas and Practices IV. Influence of Christianity and Christian Apocryphal Books V. Zoroastrian Elements in the Qur'an and Traditions of Islam VI . The Hanifs and Their Influence Upon Nascent Islam Conclusion The Original Sources Of The Qur'an PREFACE The work which is now offered to the student of Comparative Religion is the result of many years' study of various Oriental Religions ancient and modern. Except in Chapter IV, where I have made much nse of Rabbi Abraham Geiger's "Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthurne aufgenonmen?" I am not to any great extent indebted to any others who have 1aboured in the same field. Wherever I have been conscious of any indebtedness, I have fully acknowledged it in the text or notes. An investigation of the sources from which Islam has sprung would be valueless, unless based upon a thorough personal study of the various ancient records quoted. This I can honestly claim to have undertaken. All the translations I give, from whatever language, are my own, except one or two passages from the Chinese, which language I have not carefully studied. The translations which I have in every other case given are as literal as possible, in some instances too literal to be elegant. But it seemed to me necessary to be exact in order to place the reader in a position to judge for himself of the correctness or incorrectness of my arguments. In each case I have given references to the works in which the translated passages will be found in the original languages. I have used an exact system of transliteration for Arabic names (except in the case of the cities of Mecca and Medina), but it is one which to Arabic scholars will need no explanation. A storter work of mine on tihe same subject appeared in Persian in 1900 under the title of Yanabi'ul Islam. It was very favourably reviewed by that veteran scholar Sir W. Muir , to whom all students of Islam are so rnuch indebted for his able works on the history of Muhammad and his successors, and has since been translated into Urdu and Arabic. Sir W. Muir has also published an English epitome of the little book. The present work is the result of further study, and has been written at the invitation of many friends, who wished to have the whole matter treated from an English standpoint, which was undesirable when I first dealt with the subject in an Eastern tongue and therefore from an Oriental point of view. W.S.C. T. In the Nineteenth Century for December, 1900. Note. The Frontispiece is not quite the same vignette as that described and explained in pp. 203-5. 1. THE ORIGINAL SOURCES OF THE QUR'AN INTRODUCTORY There is much truth in the dictum of the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus that "Nothing has sprung from nothing." Islam, as the Religion of Muhammad is called by its adherents, is certainly no exception to that rule. The important part which that religion has played for good or ill in the history of the human race and the widespread influence which it still continues to exert in many Eastern lands render an investigation of its origin of interest to everyone who, whether from a religious, a historical, or a merely philosophical standpoint, desires to investigate one of the most important movements in the history of the human race. The labours of such writers as Sprenger and Weil in Germany and of Sir W. Muir in England enable us to know all that need be known regarding the life and character of Muhammad and the history of the Muhammadan world. With these matters therefore it is unnecessary for us here to deal. It is also a matter of common knowledge that Muhammadans profess to derive their religion directly from Muhammad himself. They assert that he was the last and greatest of the Prophets, and that their faith rests upon the Qur'an which contains the Divine Revelation which he was commissioned to deliver to men In addition to this they attach great importance to the authoritative Traditions (Ahadith) handed down orally from the lips of their Prophet through a long series of his followers, and only in much later times committed to writing. These two, the 2 The Original Sources Of The Qur'an Qur'an and the Traditions, taken together, form the foundation of Islam. Much importance is also attached to early commentators on the Qur'an, and to the deductions from it made by early jurists and doctors of the law. But in our investigation of the origin of Islamic beliefs and practices we are but little concerned with these latter, except in so far as they throw light on what is really believed by Muslims. Even the Traditions themselves play but a subordinate part in our inquiry, since their authority - from the European point of view at least - is so very uncertain. Different sects of Muhammadans, too, accept different collections of Traditions 1: and even the collectors of these Traditions themselves confess that many of those which they record are of doubtful accuracy. As the Traditions deal for the most part, moreover, with the sayings and doings of Muharnmad, we shall have occasion to refer to them only in cases in which they amplify or explain the teaching of the Qur'an on certain points. The latter book contains some obscure and difficult passages, the meaning of which requires to be explained by reference to Tradition. For example, the fiftieth Surah or chapter of the Qur'an is entitled "Qaf," and is denoted by the Arabic letter of that name. It is not possible to be quite certain what is meant by this until we consult the Traditions, which tell us what is to be believed concerning Mount Qaf 2, to which the name of the Surah is held to contain a reference. Again, when in the Sirah entitled "The Night Journey" (Surah XVII.), we read in the first verse the words, "Praise be unto Him who caused His servant to journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the More Distant Mosque," we must naturally refer to Tradition to 'understand the meaning of the verse. We thus learn all that the 'UIama of Islam know for certain regarding the journey in question, generally styled the "Ascent (al Mi'raj) of Muhammad. In dealing with the tenets and religious rites of Muslims, we shall make it our rule not to concern ourselves with any doctrine or practice which is not implicitly or explicitly taught or enjoined in the Qur'an itself, or in those Traditions which are universally accepted by all Muhammadan sects, with the partial exceptions of the Neo-Muhammadans of India, who are not recognized as Muslims by the rest of the Muhammadan world. It may be well to point out the fact that, though a measure of inspiration is supposed to belong to the genuine and authoritative Traditions, yet their authority is very different from that of the Qur'an, to which, however, they stand in the second place. This is indicated by the difference in the manner of speaking of these different forms of revelation. The Qur'an is styled "Recited Revelation," and the Traditions "Unrecited Revelation", because the Qur'an and it alone is considered to constitute the very utterance of God Himself. Hence the rule has been laid down that any Tradition how- ever well authenticated it may be, that is clearly contrary to a single verse of the Qur'an must be rejected. This rule is an important one for us to observe in dealing with matters of Muhammadan belief. It renders it unnecessary for us to involve ourselves in the mazes of the labyrinth of the controversy as to which traditions are genuine, which doubtful, and which unreliable. It is sufficient for our present purpose to note that in their written form Traditions are considerably later in date than the text of the Qur'an. Regarding the history of the latter accepted as it is by all Muslims everywhere, we have fairly full and satisfactory information. Some of the Surahs may have been written down on any materials that came to hand by some or Muhammad's amanuenses, of which we are told he had a considerable number, as soon as they were first recited by him. The knowledge of writing was not uncommon in his time among the Meccans, for we are informed that some of the latter, when taken captive, obtained their liberty by instructing certain of the people of Medina in the art. Whether written down at once or not, they were instantly committed to memory, and were recited at the time of public worship and on other occasions. During Muhammad's lifetime frequent reference was made to him when any doubt arose with regard to the proper wording of a passage.