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IBN HAZM on the Doctrine of Tahrif

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IBN HAZM on the Doctrine of Tahrif IBNHAZM . - ·. ON THE DOCTRINE OF TAHRIF. A mini-thesis sub1nitted to the Departn1ent of Religious Studies, University of Cape Town, in partial fulfilln1ent of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. SUBMITTED BY:University ABDUL RASHIED of Cape OMAR Town SUPERVISOR: DR ABDULKADER I. TAYOB r-~~~ ~··~· ~···. -~.-~.:;.•;,.7_«.::Y.":'!1--::'!"-::-~..c.:ac..t, ' The Univ rsity of C.'lpe Tr>vm h"!s t-,~,.,n r:ilvon CAPE TOWN, 1992 , tl'.e rlqht to repr,.flut:e t.1,s thw·::-:; in w!'lole ': ; or In I rt. COP'i ~,,..111 u '., ', '. ,J the i.Uth~ ~~ ' #" - ....... ~ - ~ t: The copyright of this thesis vests in the author. No quotation from it or information derived from it is to be published without full acknowledgement of the source. The thesis is to be used for private study or non- commercial research purposes only. Published by the University of Cape Town (UCT) in terms of the non-exclusive license granted to UCT by the author. University of Cape Town TABLE OF CONTENTS • Acknowledgements .................................................................................... .•................................................._ 1 • Abstract .. .'........................................................................................................................................................ ii • ANote on Methodolorg;y ............................................... ~ ............................................................................... iii • Introduction. ................................................................................................................................................... 1 CIIAPTER ONE: IBN l}AZM'S SECTARIAN MILEAU ............................................................................ 5 A. A Proftle on Ibn J:Iazm ···························································~······································································· 5 . B. Comparative Religion: An integral dimension of Ibn Ijazm's scholarship ................................ ~ .......... 8 C. Ibn I:fazm's disputed genealorg;y ·································································~·················································· 11 D . Isl amic. Spain . ' s mte. rf a1t . h rm·1 eau ................................................................................................................ 14 E. Ibn Hazm'. s interfaith encounters ................................................................................................................ 17 F. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 ·,. CHAPTER TWO: IBN HAZM'S. ELABORATION ON THE DOCTRINE OF TAHRIF. ......................... 21 A The vituperative and emphatic nature of Ibn J:Iazm's claim of Ta~rif al-Na~~ ....................................... 22 B. Ibn Hazm's dual approach in his confutation of the Torah ~d the'Gospels ........................ ~···········"°··· 24 . ·-... -- . - . C. Four basic theological premises underpinning Ibn J:Iazm's confutation of the Torah and the . - 26 Gospels ........................................................................................................................................................... D. Contradictions (Munrrqa~at) in the Torah and the Gospels: .............. ~ ................................................... 31 , 1 . ,. d . CHih) d . ; 32 1. The T orah S C aim that Adam IS a e1ty1 among e1ttes •meu.............................................. ... ·,. · . .. .... .... - · , 33 2. Sending Moses to Pharoah .................................................................... ~ ............................................ · 3 ..The Gospel's account concerning the choice of the first apostles ................................................. 34 35 4. The resurrection of the d~ughter of J airus ....... ~ ............................................................................ :...... E. Jewish and Christian responses to Ibn ij:azm's confutation of the Torah and the Gospels .................. 36 ·--··-··-··--.---..--............-=========1111111111 CHAPTER THREE: THE QU:8.'AN, IBN HAZM. AND THE DOCTRINE OF TAHRfF. ...................- 40 A. The Qur'an and Ta~ri"f: l, Tahiif ................................................................................................................................................................ 45 2.TabdTI ································································································································································ 48 3. Kitm[n ............................................................................................~ ................................................................. 50 4.Labs 52 5. I.,a~ ................................................................................................................................................................... 53 6. Nisyan ................................................................................................................................................................. 54 B. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER FOUR: TOWARDS A NEW CONCEPTION OF TAHRIF ..................................................... 58 CONCLUSION 68 BIBLIOGRAPHY 71-76 * OF lfitlv.fla.cleF ~~ {Qio lt(t1.l(t1.fe4 to tOl(tHffee lt(e to (U(le-Ftaie tie J->ta~ of !Jlf f ~/f(. /!t:s, tio~"!i ed!ti1" tio"!i t~dfei?tJlf(eJ 1:S, fQeff o/'/Feeia.ted. ./h{Qeu-er-, FU'/Olfiftbif'tj, foF tie /f(tJ.lff' fQeail(ei?ifei? tJ.l(d eol(t~~iria.f 9/1lff/Ol(if /ff· tie liiJ->eFta.tiol( 1:S, el(ttr-ef, /t(/ffe. * /tfa.«fa.l(a. Bfl'a.i,i/f( !fooJ->a /ff_ -::tf1{ ief/111 lt(e le/tire, : _· "tie to;h of tt4fl'ii . aJ(d O.ififl:S,t"t1f /ff tie tFO.l(cffa.tiol(cf of tie Fel'eu-tJ.l(t /(JFttOl(cf of a.th;a.f, tJ.l(d /ff · /l(Mff otier- IQ~, * cfielii !/aifUff/t(al lfoer-at Md cflel(~ cfolt(eFif ief;ul tff l!Fai!e aJrrl h-el(ei tFtJ.l(cffa.tfol(~ FU'/eetfu-eft. * #a.aka Far1il &iraei (c.fef~ (}a&/ cfate lfJF~fUffif (!larv-ard/ Md IfJrfa.f 'lffee,lf( cfolt(e/1-cf tJ.ififlj,tef /ff foeatiff/ v-af«.aJfe lt(O.teFtaf foF tJ1:S, cft«.~, rtffaf~ I a/I( eter-l(aff, ratefaf to It(? {Qi/~. cfafe1~ foF iet" /t1/ffcftdt11 ~;1irj, Md tl(J-'1:S,tel(ee _tiat I eo1Kjlfete ti1:S, lf(tffi-tiei?(:S,, · • I ABSTRACT This dissertation seeks to make a critical assessment of the Muslim doctrine of ta~rTf (the charge that the Jews and Christians corrupted their divine scriptures) via its most vociferous protagonist, the Spanish Muslim scholar, Abii Mu);iammad 'Ali Ibn ijazm (d.1064). The dissertation uses Ibn ljazm's monumental five volume work, al-Fi~al Ff al-Milal Wa al-Ahwa Wa al-Ni~al (An Analysis of World Religious Communities, Ideologies and Sects) as the primary source of reference. It consists of an introduction of four chapters and a conclusion. In the Introduction the diverse Muslim positions on the doctrine of ta9rif as well as the serious implications it has for the Muslim-Jewish-Christian dialogue is highlighted. Chapter One provides an account of the psychological as well as the socio-political factors which may have influenced Ibn ~azm's aggressive theology on Jews and Christians in general, and their scriptures (the Torah and the Gospels) in particular. Chapter Two deals directly with Ibn I:Iazm's elaboration on the doctrine of ta~rif. It notes the vituperative nature of lbn ljazm's claim of ta~rTf al-na~~· and more particularly lays bare the four basic theological premises underpinning his confutation of the J udeao..;Chris­ tian scriptures. A few significant examples of contradictions which Ibn ljazm finds within the Torah and Gospels are presented. The chapter concludes by making a brief critical assessment of Jewish and Christian responses to Ibn I:Iazm. Chapter Three attempts to critique lbn I1azm's emphatic and literal reading of the Qur'anic verses pertaining to ta~rif, by situating it within the context of the ambivalent and opposing conclusions reached by two classical commentators, Mu~ammad ibn JarTr al­ ':fabari (d.923) and Fakhr al-din al-Razi (d.1209). Chapter Four examines a number of novel and creative attempts by modern scholars to go ,beyond traditional conceptions and debates on the doctrine of ta~rTf. The dissertation concludes by arguing that modern "theologies of revelation" do provide us with a way out of the impasse that the debate on tahri'f has reached. 11 A NOTE ON METHODOLOGY This is a textual study oflbn Hazm's. kitnb al-Fisal. fial-Milal wa al-Ahwa wa al-Nihal.. The. significance of the text has been recognized by many scholars .. The text of al-Fi~al employed in his study was the 1980 Beirut edition and the 1982 Saudi edition. All translations of the text were originally done. lbn f:Iazm's views on the Muslim doctrine of ta~rif were compared and contrasted with that of two classical Muslim scholars, al-'fabari (d.923) and al-Razi (d.1209). lbn J:azm's notion of revelation, which informs his views on ta~rif were placed in a cross-cultural context and critiqued by employing notions of revelations which are derived from the Abrahamic faiths. I II INTRODUCTION One of the fundamental doctrines of the Islamic faith is the · belief that the Qur'an is the Word of God (Kalam Allah) revealed to Prophet Mu~ammad. But the Qur'an itself confirms that it is not the only Word of God, and that the true
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