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Narratives of Tampering in the Earliest Commentaries on the Qurʾān History of Christian-Muslim Relations

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Narratives of Tampering in the Earliest Commentaries on the Qurʾān History of Christian-Muslim Relations Narratives of Tampering in the Earliest Commentaries on the Qurʾān History of Christian-Muslim Relations Edited by David Thomas, University of Birmingham Tarif Khalidi, American University of Beirut Gerrit Jan Reinink, University of Groningen Mark Swanson, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago VOLUME 13 Narratives of Tampering in the Earliest Commentaries on the Qurʾān By Gordon Nickel LEIden • boston 2011 Cover illustration: painting from the Akbarnāma depicting the visit of Fathers Rudolph Acquaviva and Anthony Monserrat to the Mughal court in Fatehpur-Sikri in response to the emperor Akbar’s request to “send me two learned Fathers, and the books of the Law, especially the Gospel, that I may know the Law and its excellence [. .]” (1579). ©By permission of The Trustees of Chester Beatty Library, Dublin. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nickel, Gordon D. Narratives of tampering in the earliest commentaries on the Qur’an / by Gordon Nickel. p. cm. — (History of Christian-Muslim relations ; v. 13) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-19238-6 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Koran—Criticism, interpretation, etc.—History. 2. Koran—Criticism, Textual. I. Title. II. Series. BP130.45.N53 2011 297.1’22609021—dc22 2010044682 ISSN 1570-7350 ISBN 978 90 04 19238 6 (hardback) ISBN 978 90 04 19239 3 (e-book) Copyright 2011 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. 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. CONTENTS Foreword ............................................................................................. ix Chapter One Islamic Accusations of Falsification in Scholarly Perspective .................................................................... 1 Link Between Accusation and Qurʾān? ..................................... 6 Development Within Early Commentaries .............................. 9 Tampering Portrayed Through Narrative ................................. 11 Chapter Two The Doctrine of Corruption as a Polemical Theme .............................................................................................. 15 Tampering with Meaning, Tampering with Text .................... 21 Verses Connected to the Tampering Theme ............................ 26 Exegesis During the Formative Period of Islam ...................... 30 Chapter Three Qurʾānic References to the Earlier Scriptures ........................................................................................ 37 References to Earlier Scriptures in the Qurʾān ......................... 39 Scriptures Mentioned by Name .............................................. 39 “The Book” ................................................................................. 42 Other Writings .......................................................................... 45 The Word of God ..................................................................... 46 The Claim of Confirmation ..................................................... 47 Characterizations of the Earlier Scriptures ........................... 48 The Semantic Field of Tampering .............................................. 50 Labasa, to confound ................................................................. 52 Verbs of Concealing: katama, asarra, akhfā ........................ 53 Baddala, to substitute ............................................................... 56 Ḥ arrafa, to tamper with ........................................................... 57 Lawā, to twist ............................................................................ 59 Nasiya, to forget ........................................................................ 60 The Operation of the Semantic Field ......................................... 61 Conclusions .................................................................................... 65 vi contents Chapter Four Muqātil Ibn Sulaymān on the Qurʾānic Verses of Tampering ..................................................................... 67 Muqātil’s Style of Exegesis ........................................................... 68 Muqātil’s Commentary on Verses Containing Verbs of Alteration .................................................................................... 73 Q 2:58, 59 ................................................................................... 73 Q 2:75 .......................................................................................... 74 Q 2:211 ........................................................................................ 77 Q 4:46 .......................................................................................... 78 Q 5:13 .......................................................................................... 80 Q 5:41 .......................................................................................... 82 Q 7:162 ........................................................................................ 87 Muqātil’s Commentary on Verses Containing Verbs of Concealment .............................................................................. 88 Q 2:42 .......................................................................................... 88 Q 2:77 .......................................................................................... 89 Q 2:140 ........................................................................................ 90 Q 2:146 ........................................................................................ 90 Q 2:159 ........................................................................................ 91 Q 2:174 ........................................................................................ 92 Q 3:71 .......................................................................................... 92 Q 3:187 ........................................................................................ 93 Q 4:37 .......................................................................................... 94 Q 5:15 .......................................................................................... 95 Q 6:91 .......................................................................................... 95 Muqātil’s Commentary on Verses Containing Other Verbs of Tampering ............................................................................. 96 Confounding .............................................................................. 96 Twisting ...................................................................................... 97 Forgetting ................................................................................... 99 Muqātil’s Commentary on Verses Containing Expressions of Action ..................................................................................... 100 Write the Book with Hands .................................................... 100 Sell for a Little Price ................................................................. 101 Throw Behind Backs ................................................................. 103 Invent a Lie Against God ........................................................ 103 Analysis of Muqātil’s Exegesis .................................................... 105 Muqātil’s Understanding of the Alteration Verses ................. 105 Adding Words to a Verbal Report ........................................ 105 Abusing the Prophet and Slandering Religion .................... 106 contents vii Refusing to Acknowledge the Truth ...................................... 107 Setting aside a Torah Command ............................................ 108 Substituting One Saying for Another .................................... 111 Muqātil’s Understanding of the Concealment Verses ............ 112 Muqātil’s Understanding of Other Tampering Verses ........... 113 Muqātil’s Understanding of Verses Containing Expressions of Action ..................................................................................... 114 Conclusion ...................................................................................... 116 Chapter Five Ṭabarī on the Qurʾānic Verses of Tampering ... 117 Ṭabarī’s Commentary on Verses of Alteration ........................ 120 Description: Wide Variety of Exegetical Traditions ........... 120 Q 2:75 ..................................................................................... 120 Q 4:46 ..................................................................................... 123 Q 5:13 ..................................................................................... 126 Q 5:41 ..................................................................................... 129 Q 2:59 and 7:162 ................................................................... 136 Q 2:211 ................................................................................... 137 Analysis: Emphasis on Failure to Apply the Torah ............ 138 Verbal Changes
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