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Muslim-Christian Polemics across the Mediterranean History of Christian-Muslim Relations Editorial Board David Thomas (University of Birmingham) Sandra Toenies Keating (Providence College) Tarif Khalidi (American University of Beirut) Suleiman Mourad (Smith College) Gabriel Said Reynolds (University of Notre Dame) Mark Swanson (Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago) volume 23 Christians and Muslims have been involved in exchanges over matters of faith and morality since the founding of Islam. Attitudes between the faiths today are deeply coloured by the legacy of past encounters, and often preserve centuries-old negative views. The History of Christian-Muslim Relations, Texts and Studies presents the surviving record of past encounters in authoritative, fully introduced text editions and annotated translations, and also monograph and collected studies. It illustrates the development in mutual perceptions as these are contained in surviving Christian and Muslim writings, and makes available the argu- ments and rhetorical strategies that, for good or for ill, have left their mark on attitudes today. The series casts light on a history marked by intellectual creativity and occasional breakthroughs in communication, although, on the whole beset by misunderstanding and misrepresentation. By making this history better known, the series seeks to contribute to improved recognition between Christians and Muslims in the future. The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/hcmr Muslim-Christian Polemics across the Mediterranean The Splendid Replies of Shihāb al-Dīn al-Qarāfī (d. 684/1285) By Diego R. Sarrió Cucarella LEIDEN | BOSTON Cover illustration: Reference to the Liber responsorum & quæsitorum de Religione by Ibn Edrisi Sanhagÿ (Aḥmad ibn Idrīs al-Ṣanhājī al-Qarāfī) in: Johann Heinrich Hottinger, Promtuarium, sive Bibliotheca orientalis (Heidelberg: Adrian Wyngaerden, 1658), p. 203. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sarrió Cucarella, Diego R. Muslim-Christian polemics across the Mediterranean : the Splendid Replies of Shihāb al-Dīn al-Qarāfī (d. 684/1285) / by Diego R. Sarrió Cucarella. pages cm. — (History of Christian-Muslim relations, ISSN 1570-7350 ; volume 23) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-28551-4 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-28560-6 (e-book) 1. Islam— Apologetic works—History and criticism. 2. Islam—Relations—Christianity. 3. Christianity and other religions—Islam. 4. Qarafi, Ahmad ibn Idris, –1285. Ajwibah al-fakhirah ‘an al-as’ilah al-fajirah. I. Title. BP170.S385 2014 297.2’93—dc23 2014042383 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 1570-7350 isbn 978-90-04-28551-4 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-28560-6 (e-book) Copyright 2015 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill nv incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill nv provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, ma 01923, usa. Fees are subject to change. This book is printed on acid-free paper. In memoriam Joseph (Sjef ) Donders, MAfr (1929–2013) ∵ Contents Some Matters of Usage xi Acknowledgements xii Introduction 1 1 Islam, Irrelevant for Christianity? 2 2 The Church Has Also a High Regard for the Muslims 6 3 The Exclusionary Dimension of Religious Identity 10 4 Carl Schmitt and the Inescapability of the Political 12 5 Freeing Religion from Social Antagonism 14 6 The New Comparative Theology and Christian-Muslim Polemics 15 7 The Mirror of the Other 19 8 Outline 25 1 A Scholarly Life in Defense of Islam 27 1 The Political Context: A World in Convulsion 28 2 Muslim-Christian Interaction in Egypt during the Thirteenth Century 30 3 A Scholarly Life 36 3.1 Primary and Secondary Sources 36 3.2 Biographical Data, Education, and Teaching Posts 37 3.3 In Defense of Islam 41 4 Al-Qarāfī’s Contacts with the People of the Book 45 5 Al-Qarāfī in Previous Scholarship 47 5.1 The Jurist and the Theologian 47 5.2 The Polemicist 51 6 Concluding Remarks 57 2 A Handbook for Polemics 60 1 Date of Composition 60 2 A Christian Argumentation from the Qurʾān 62 3 Structure and Contents: A General Overview 65 4 A Handbook for Polemics 67 viii contents 5 Written Sources 69 5.1 Paul of Antioch’s Risāla ilā baʿḍ aṣdiqāʾihi alladhīna bi-Ṣaydā min al-muslimīn 69 5.2 Al-Jaʿfarī’s Takhjīl man ḥarrafa al-Tawrāh wa-l-Injīl 74 5.3 Al-Qurṭubī’s al-Iʿlām bi-mā fī dīn al-Naṣārā min al-fasād wa-l-awhām 82 5.4 Al-Khazrajī’s Maqāmiʿ al-ṣulbān 90 5.5 Al-Samawʾal al-Maghribī’s Ifḥām al-Yahūd 94 6 Concluding Remarks 96 3 Al-Qarāfī’s Reply to the Letter to a Muslim Friend 100 1 A Blind Nation and an Ignorant Sect 101 2 Theology of Religions: Faith among Faiths 106 2.1 Muḥammad: A Prophet for the Pagan Arabs 108 2.2 The Law of Justice and the Law of Grace 114 3 Theology of the Word of God: The Qurʾānic Proof for Christianity 121 3.1 Jesus the Messiah: A Spirit of God and His Word 124 3.2 The Qurʾān and Christian Liturgy 126 3.3 That Is The Book, Wherein There Is No Doubt 127 3.4 Christians Should Not Be Considered Polytheists 128 4 Theology of Divinity: Philosophizing about God 131 4.1 If Muslims Knew What We Mean 131 4.2 Human Language and God 135 4.3 A Substance Not Like Created Substances 136 5 Concluding Remarks 137 4 Apologia Pro Religione Islamica 141 1 Jesus the Messiah, the Prophet Who Did Not Die 142 1.1 Crucifixion: Reality or Delusion? 142 1.2 The Probative Value of the Miracles of Jesus 147 1.3 The Incarnation: An Ontological Impossibility 151 2 The Qurʾān under Fire 155 2.1 Errors in the Qurʾān 155 2.2 Muslim Disputes about the Qurʾān 157 3 The Abrogation and Falsification of the Torah 161 3.1 Can God Change His Mind? 162 3.2 The Falsification of the Torah 166 contents ix 4 Miscellanea 169 4.1 The Ḥadīth of the Pen and Paper 169 4.2 The Physical Pleasures of Paradise 170 4.3 Fighting for God’s Cause: Virtue or Vice? 173 5 Concluding Remarks 176 5 Christianity and the Innovation of A Wretched God 178 1 The Christian Creed: Viler than Treachery 180 2 Christian Innovated Practice and Behavior 184 2.1 Christians and Circumcision 186 2.2 Consumption of Pork 189 2.3 The Offering of Bread and Wine 189 3 An Islamic Theologoumenon: The Corruption of Early Christianity 192 3.1 Paul’s Self-Immolation and the Ploy to Divide the Christians 193 3.2 The Cunning Jewish King 195 3.3 State-Manufactured Christianity 200 4 Christian Liturgical Prayers 201 5 Sin, Repentance, and Salvation 205 5.1 Repentance and the Obliteration of Sins 207 5.2 The Individual Nature of Sin 208 5.3 Purification by Good Deeds 209 5.4 What Salvation? 210 6 The Christian God: A Philosophical and Theological Non-starter 211 7 Concluding Remarks 213 6 The Prophet Foretold 217 1 The Proofs of Prophecy 219 2 Muslims and the Bible: An Abiding Tension 221 3 The Arabicization of Biblical History 223 4 The Falsification of Previous Scriptures 223 5 Whose Name Will Be Aḥmad 225 6 Solutions to a Paradox 229 7 Imagine a Pagan Arriving in Our Land 231 8 Structure and Sources of Chapter Four 234 9 Exegetical Themes 237 9.1 Prediction of the Islamic umma 237 9.2 Prediction of Muḥammad 239 x contents 9.3 The Promised Paraclete 242 9.4 Muḥammad’s Name and Description 244 9.5 Abrahamic Descent through Ishmael and Hagar 246 9.6 Universality of Muḥammad’s Mission 248 9.7 Subjugation of the Nations 249 9.8 Muḥammad’s Fight against Error and Unbelief 250 9.9 The Finality of Islam and the Abrogation of Prior Religion 251 9.10 Mecca’s Role and Elevated Status 252 9.11 Biblical References to Islamic Rituals 253 9.12 The Original Arab Character of Islam and the Desert Motif 253 10 Concluding Remarks 254 Conclusion: The Prospects of Christian-Muslim Theological Dialogue 258 Appendix A: Al-Qarāfī’s Literary Production 273 Appendix B: The Arguments from The Letter to a Muslim Friend 281 Appendix C: The Corruption of Early Christianity 286 Appendix D: Biblical Predictions 291 Bibliography 303 1 Main Primary Sources: Editions and Translations 303 2 Other Primary Sources: Editions and Translations 305 3 Secondary Sources 316 Biblical References 347 Qurʾānic References 350 General Index 353 Some Matters of Usage Arabic words are transliterated according to the system employed by the International Journal of Middle East Studies. The different editions of the Encyclopaedia of Islam are abbreviated as EI1, EI2, and EI3 respectively. Similarly, the Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān appears in notes as eq, and the series Christian-Muslim Relations: A Bibliographical History as cmr followed by a number indicating the volume. Double dates are given according to the Hijrī/ Common Era format. Where only one date is given, it refers to the Common Era. Non-English titles are left untranslated unless they are related to the cen- tral focus of this study.

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