Biblical Prophets in the Qur)An and Muslim Literature
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BIBLICAL PROPHETS IN THE QUR)AN AND MUSLIM LITERATURE Roberto Tottoli CURZON First Published in 2002 by Curzon Press Richmond, Surrey http://www.curzonpress.co.uk D 2002 Roberto Tottoli This is a translation of: I profeti biblici nella tradizione islamica, Paideia, Brescia 1999 Translation: Michael Robertson L 2001 Typeset in Baskerville by LaserScript Ltd, Mitcham, Surrey Printed and bound in Great Britain by 1J International, Padstow, Cornwall All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publimtion Data A catalogue record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-7007-1394-8 to Francesca Contents Preface IX Preface to the English Edition Xlll PART I THE STORIES OF THE PROPHETS IN THE QUR'AN 1. The function and meaning of the stories of the prophets in the Qur'an 3 1. The stories of punishment 4 2. Mul)ammad and the Biblical tradition 7 3. How the Qur'an defines the stories of the prophets 11 2. The Biblical prophets in the Qur'an 17 1. Adam 18 2. Noah 21 3. Abraham 23 4. Lot 27 5. Joseph 28 6. Moses 31 7. David and Solomon 35 8. Jesus 39 9. Job, Jonah, Elijah, Elisha and others 42 10. The "unnamed" prophets 44 11. The "Arabian" prophets 45 3. Prophets and messengers according to the Qur'an 71 VII Biblical Prophets in the Qur'an and Muslim Literature PART II THE BIBLICAL PROPHETS IN MUSLIM LITERATURE 4. Introduction 83 5. Storytellers and converts 86 1. The role of the storytellers ( qwf~ti~) 86 2. The converts; Ka'b al-Ahbar 89 6. The Biblical prophets in Qur'anic exegesis 97 1. The origins of exegetical literature 97 2. The commentary of Ibn Jarlr al-Tabarl 101 7. The Biblical prophets in the sayings of Mul).ammad 110 1. The prophets and Mul).ammad Ill 2. The sayings regarding the ascension into heaven and the intercession 114 3. The sayings about the Biblical prophets and Jesus 117 8. The Biblical prophets in historiography 128 1. The origins of historiography 128 2. The Biblical prophets in Muslim historiography 131 9. The literary genre of the stories of the prophets 138 1. Wahb ibn Munabbih 138 2. Isl).aq ibn Bishr and 'Umara ibn Wathlma 141 3. al-Tha'labl 146 4. al-Kisa'l 151 5. al-Tarafi 155 10. The Biblical prophets in medieval and modern literature 165 1. The stories of the prophets in the middle ages 165 2. The reaction of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Kathlr 170 3. The twentieth century; Mul).ammad 'Abduh 175 4. The rejection of the isra'fliyyat in contemporary literature 180 5. The stories of the prophets today 183 Bibliography 197 Index of Names 209 V111 Preface he Qur'an and all types of Muslim religious literature often T mention the names and experiences of the characters from the Old and New Testaments, from the patriarchs to Jesus and the Apostles. These characters constitute the historical context in which the community of believers must see itself and the prophet MuJ:tammad as bringing to a conclusion and sealing the Biblical tradition. All this is naturally presented from a specifically Islamic perspective, as set out in the Qur'an, according to which all these characters were messengers and prophets, sent to their respective peoples, to spread the same belief that would then be preached by MuJ:tammad in the 7th century after Christ. For this reason the Qur'an regards Abraham, Moses and Jesus- together with all the other characters mentioned- as prophets of the Muslim tradition, in this way claiming the one and true interpretation of the significance of their mission and, in consequence, of their story. The Old and New Testaments, as a consequence, are texts which, according to Muslim opinion, have been corrupted and which only the Qur'anic interpretation, the word of God, can bring back to their original significance. In this way, therefore, the Qur'an simplifies the historical picture: all of the prophets that came before MuJ:tammad had more or less the same function. The monotheism they preached was the same as that preached by the Arab Prophet and their stories are simply the descriptions of the vicissitudes that they were subject to with their respective peoples. For this reason, the extra canonical exegetical tradition could not do other than follow in this established pattern, thus leaving very little room for alternative interpretations. The prevalent exegetical tradition in IX Biblical Pmphets in the Qur'iin and Muslim Literature fact never viewed favourably symbolic interpretations or theological and philosophical interpretations in which the role of the prophets in relation to Mul).ammad was re-interpreted, because all of this had already been established in the Qur'an. In a sense all that the Qur'an sought was that its divine words be explained and where necessary supplemented with missing particulars. This book is dedicated to the stories of the Biblical prophets in the Qur'an and in Muslim literature. The division of this book into two parts is above all intended to mark the difference in importance between the sacred text itself and the extra-canonical traditions: the Qur'an is the word of God and, as such, binding, both in Mul).ammad's time and today, and its words are true milestones around which the extra-canonical traditions turn. In the first part of this text the particularities of the stories of the Biblical prophets who are mentioned in the Qur'an are discussed and described at length, prophet by prophet, indicating, when necessary, similarities to and differences from the Jewish and Christian traditions. This comparison is not carried out with the purpose of stressing the dependence or presumed inexactitude of the Qur'an in relation to the Biblical tradition, but only to explain the particularities of the contents and the form of those parts of the Qur'an dedicated to the prophets. The same investigation of contents would have also been possible for the second part of the book in which the extra canonical traditions on the Biblical prophets are examined. In all genres of Muslim literature a large number of every type of tradition about the prophets is reported, in which, as in the Qur'anic passages, the same stories as those in the Bible can be recognized, or others stories which are more or less similar to the legends that can be found in the Jewish and Christian apocryphal literatures can be seen, as well as other cases where there are original narratives. A work of that kind would have transformed this book into a comparative dictionary of narrative and traditional motifs and not an enquiry into religious literary history. I have thus opted for a history of these extra-canonical traditions about the Biblical prophets, as they were when they were first spread and which genres of literature made use of them and in which ways. In this analysis therefore a history of the literature that deals principally with the beginnings (7th-9th centuries), touching on the classical medieval period only in certain aspects, is delineated; in the concluding section the analysis embraces the great X Preface innovations that emerged in the works of the 20th century. All of the literature used derives almost exclusively from the most typical genres of the Islamic religious sciences of the Sunnl tradition, without therefore taking into consideration certain sectarian concepts or mystical or philosophical ones that, though making original contributions, have always been considered, from many points of view, marginal. Some clarification of the terminology used is necessary. Those who throughout the book and already in this preface are referred to as "Biblical prophets" include all of the characters from the Old and New Testaments. The Qur'an does not distinguish between the Patriarchs, the Prophets and Jesus but all of them are mentioned with the distinction, as discussed below, between prophets and messengers. Furthermore, it is opportune at this point to give an explanation of one of the terms mos.t often used in the second part of this book that can give rise to some misunderstanding. I refer to "tradition" and use the plural form to indicate those short stories which are usuallv attributed to the first ' Muslim generations and are subsequently quoted by the authors of the following centuries. In this sense, "traditions" is synon ymous with stories and, to a certain extent, legends. A separate category of these "traditions" are those which deal with the words and the acts of Mui)ammad, but, to avoid any confusion these are referred to with the expression "the sayings of the prophet Mui)ammad". To refer to the Arab Prophet the transcription of the Arab name Mui)ammad is always used. The chapters of the Qur'an are referred to using the Arabic word - sura -which is not italicised. As far as quotes from the Qur'an itself are concerned the translation used is that of AJ Arberry (The Koran Interpreted, 1st ed. London 1955), modified when necessary. In conclusion, I wish I make a brief reference to the story behind this book. The first elaboration of this subject arose from research undertaken at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, during the years 1993 and 1994, for my doctorate studies programme in "Studi e Ricerche su Vicino Oriente e Maghreb" (Studies and Researches on the Near East and Maghreb) undertaken at the Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli.