Oakes2013.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: • This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. • A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. • This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. • The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. • When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. The Cross of Christ: Islamic Perspectives W. Richard Oakes, Jr. Ph.D. – The University of Edinburgh – 2013 THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH AABBSSTTRRAACCTT OOFF TTHHEESSIISS Regulation 3.1.14 of the Postgraduate Assessment Regulations for Research Degrees refers These regulations are available via: http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/academic- services/policies-regulations/regulations/assessment Name of W. Richard Oakes, Jr. Candidate: Address : 31535 Lindero Canyon Road #12 Westlake Village, CA Postal Code: 91361 USA Degree: PhD Title of The Cross of Christ: Islamic Perspectives Thesis: No. of words in the main text of 85,716+/- Thesis: As Muslims and Christians have encountered each other over the centuries, the nature of the person of Jesus along with His mission and death have regularly been the subject of intense discussion. This is because these global religions teach different Christologies and because Jesus is an important figure to the adherents of both faiths. It is the death of Jesus that is the subject of this thesis. The question that this thesis seeks to answer is: Does the Qur’an deny the crucifixion of Jesus? Part I provides a background on the Jesus of Islam. Part II documents the majority opinion about the crucifixion that is exemplified through the tafsīr of al-Ṭabarī. Part III analyses about twenty minority opinions expressed by medieval Muslim scholars. The Cross of Christ: Islamic Perspectives Tenth-Century Crucifix from Nīshāpūr Illustration 200 of Charles K. Wilkinson, Nīshāpūr: Pottery of the early Islamic period (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1974), 362. The Cross of Christ: Islamic Perspectives Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................ xvii Acknowledgments ............................................................................................. xix Conventions ..................................................................................................... xxiii Abbreviations ................................................................................................... xxv Chapter 1-Introduction ...................................................................................... 27 1.1 The purported Qur’anic denial of the crucifixion of Jesus ..................................... 27 1.2 Literature review ................................................................................................ 31 1.3 The aims and original contribution of this thesis .................................................. 40 1.4 Organisation of this thesis .................................................................................. 43 1.5 Limitations ......................................................................................................... 44 Part I- A summary and analysis of how Jesus is treated in early Arabic primary sources .............................................................................................................. 47 Chapter 2-A summary of how Jesus is treated in the Qur’an ............................... 53 2.1 Family history ..................................................................................................... 53 2.2 Nativity narrative ............................................................................................... 55 2.2.1 Parallels within nativity narratives .................................................................................... 55 2.2.2 Variations between nativity narratives.............................................................................. 57 2.3 The mission and miracles of Jesus ....................................................................... 58 2.4 Qur’anic explanation of terms associated with Jesus ........................................... 63 2.4.1 Jesus is a prophet and a messenger .................................................................................. 63 2.4.2 Jesus is the ‘son of Mary’ ................................................................................................... 66 2.4.3 Jesus is the Messiah ........................................................................................................... 67 2.4.4 Jesus is a spirit ................................................................................................................... 68 2.4.5 Jesus is the word ................................................................................................................ 68 2.4.6 Jesus is a sign ..................................................................................................................... 69 2.4.7 Jesus is a servant of Allah .................................................................................................. 70 The Cross of Christ: Islamic Perspectives 2.5 Observations on Jesus as depicted in the Qur’an and in the Canonical Gospels ..... 70 Chapter 3-A summary of how Jesus is treated in ḥadīth compilations ................. 79 3.1 The Night Journey ............................................................................................... 81 3.2 Judgment Day ..................................................................................................... 82 3.3 A physical description of Jesus ............................................................................ 87 3.4 Comparisons between Jesus and Muhammad ..................................................... 89 3.5 Observations on Jesus as depicted in the ḥadīths ................................................ 90 Chapter 4-A summary of how Jesus is treated in the Sīrat rasūl Allāh.................. 97 4.1 Sūra 3 ................................................................................................................. 97 4.2 The Negus of Abyssinia ...................................................................................... 101 4.3 The Night Journey .............................................................................................. 103 4.4 Miscellaneous reports concerning Jesus ............................................................. 103 4.5 Observations on Jesus as depicted in the Sīra ..................................................... 105 Chapter 5-A Summary of how Jesus is treated in the Ta’rīkh of al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923) .......................................................................................................... 111 5.1 Jesus’ time in history ......................................................................................... 111 5.2 Nativity narrative .............................................................................................. 112 5.3 Jesus’ miracles ................................................................................................... 114 5.4 Oaths sworn in the name of Jesus ...................................................................... 115 5.5 The Negus of Abyssinia ...................................................................................... 116 5.6 Observations on Jesus as depicted in the Ta’rīkh of al-Ṭabarī .............................. 117 Chapter 6-A summary of how Jesus is treated in the Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā’ ................ 121 6.1 A few confusing definitions and cases of confused identity ................................. 122 6.2 The genealogy and merits of the family of Jesus ................................................. 124 6.3 Nativity narrative .............................................................................................. 126 The Cross of Christ: Islamic Perspectives 6.4 Miracles ............................................................................................................ 132 6.5 Judgment Day .................................................................................................... 137 6.6 Miscellaneous qiṣaṣ about Jesus ........................................................................ 138 6.7 Observations on Jesus as depicted in the Qiṣaṣ al-anbiyā’ ................................... 139 Chapter 7-A summary of how Jesus is treated in stories that explain the ‘occasions of revelations’ (Asbāb al-nuzūl) ......................................................................... 147 7.1 Observations on Jesus as depicted in the asbāb al-nuzūl ..................................... 151 Reflections on the works discussed in Part I ....................................................... 155 Part II-The received wisdom of the consensus (ijmā‘) of medieval Muslim scholarship concerning the crucifixion of Jesus .................................................. 165 Chapter 8-The Jāmiʿ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl al-Qurʾān of al-Ṭabarī (d. 310/923)