ACADEMIC STUDIES PRESS 28 Montfern Ave., Brighton, MA 02135, USA ● tel: 617.782.6290 ● [email protected]
The Struggle for Jerusalem and the Holy Land: A New Inquiry into the Qur’an and Classic Islamic Sources on the People of Israel, Their Torah, and Their Links to the Holy Land
By Nissim Dana
ISBN: 9781618113795 Price: $55.00 USD Pages: 262 pp. Publication Date: June 2014
Summary:
In recent generations, the Muslim and Arab world has been suffused with publications on the subject of the People of Israel, its Torah, and this people’s affinity to the Land of Israel. Most of these publications are tendentious, written with a hostile attitude toward Jews and Judaism; indeed, some of them are tainted with antisemitism. The Qur’an, the Holy Scripture of the Muslims, also deals with the question of the status of Eretz Israel, the Land of Israel. Many of its exegetes, following in the tracks of Islam’s holy book, have done so as well. Somewhat surprisingly, perhaps, these Islamic sources express an approach asserting that this land is promised exclusively to the People of Israel. This book explores these sources and discusses them in light of the recent develop‐ ments.
Praise for The Struggle for Jerusalem and the Holy Land:
“I thoroughly enjoyed this book.... It is a Copernican study: pioneering, fascinating, and carefully reasoned.”
—Zeev Maghen, Chair, Department of Middle Eastern Studies, Bar‐Ilan University
“In an era in which “hearts and minds” are turned through disinformation and propaganda, through the use of shallow, unreliable channels of communication, great importance attaches to this deep, profound book.”
—Moshe (Bogi) Yaalon, Minister of Defense, Israel
About the Author
Nissim Dana (Ph. D. Dropsie College, Philadelphia) is a chairman of the Multi‐Disciplinary Department of Social Sciences and Humanities at Ariel University. He has served for decades as Head of the Department for Religious Minorities in Israel’s Ministry of Religions.
Professor Dana taught in Bar‐Ilan University (1982‐2011) and Haifa University (1996‐2002). Among his publications are The Druze, A Religious Community in Transition (Jerusalem‐London‐Montreal: Turtledove Publishers, 1980), Sefer Ha‐Maspik Le’Ovdey Hashem (Kitab Kifayat al‐‘Abidin) of Rabbi Abraham ben Moshe ben Maimon (Jerusalem: Bar‐Ilan University Press, 1989, in Hebrew), The Druze (Jerusalem: Bar‐Ilan University Press, 1998, in Hebrew), and The Druze in the Middle East (Sussex: Sussex Academic Press, 2003). ACADEMIC STUDIES PRESS 28 Montfern Ave., Brighton, MA 02135, USA ● tel: 617.782.6290 ● [email protected]
List of Figures xi Foreword xv Scope of the Work xvii Methodology—Order of Chapters (Suras) in the Qur’an xix
Part One: Status of the Holy Land, Jerusalem, and the Temple Mount according to the Qur’an and Its Exegetes
Chapter 1 Historical Background of the Period and History of the Jews of Arabia (Hijaz) ...2 Historical Background of the Period ...2 Muhammad, Prophet of Islam ...5 The Jewish Population of Arabia ...8 Muhammad and the Jews of Arabia ...18
Chapter 2 Judaism and Islam on the Question: To Whom Does the Holy Land Belong? ...35 Modern Islamic Outlook on the Jewish People and on Their Affinity to the Holy Land ...35 Jewish Sources on the Affinity of the People of Israel to the Holy Land ...47 The Qur’an and Classic Islamic Sources on the Question: To Whom Does This Land Belong? ...50 The Qur’an and Its Exegetes Determine: The Holy Land for the People of Israel ...54 Egypt too Is an Inheritance for the People of Israel, according to the Qur’an and Its Exegetes ...59 The Qur’an and Its Exegetes on the Boundaries of the Land of Israel ...63 The Sin of the Spies: The Biblical Description and the Quar’anic Description ...66 The Prohibition Imposed on the Prophet Muhammad on Crossing into the Holy Land ...73 Exile and Redemption ...74
Chapter 3 The Sanctity of Jerusalem according to the Qur’an and Its Exegetes ...77 Introduction ...77 The Sanctification of Jerusalem according to Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah ...85 Conclusion ...87
Chapter 4 The Prophet of Islam’s Night Ride to the Heavens (al‐‘Isra’ wal‐ Mi’raj) ...90 Introduction ...90 Caliph ‘Umar ibn al‐Khattab’s Visit to the Temple Mount ...93 Details of the Night Ride ...98 Denying the Occurrence of the Night Ride ...101 Solomon’s Stables ...109 Conclusion ...111
Part Two: The Bible and the Qur’an
Chapter 5 The Qur’an on the People of Israel and Its Torah ...114 Abraham, Lot, and the Idols ...114 The Hebrew Patriarchs ...116
ACADEMIC STUDIES PRESS 28 Montfern Ave., Brighton, MA 02135, USA ● tel: 617.782.6290 ● [email protected]
The Israelites’ Descent to Egypt and the Start of Moses’ Mission ...119 “Let Us Appoint a Leader and We Will Return to Egypt” (Numbers 14:4): (Qur’an 2[87]:61) ...130 The Sin of the Golden Calf ...134 The Qur’an on the People of Israel ...139 The Qur’an on the Torah of Israel ...145
Chapter 6 The Order of Creation, Paradise and Hell, Noah and the Flood ...151 The Creation ...151 Cain and Abel ...154 Paradise and Hell ...154 Noah and the Flood ...161
Chapter 7 Jewish Beliefs, Prominent Biblical Figures, and Biblical Subjects in the Qur’an ...163 Jewish Beliefs in the Qur’an ...163 Prominent Biblical Figures in the Qur’an ...165 Prominent Biblical Subjects in the Qur’an ...180
Part Three: The Qur’an’s Approach to “The People of the Book” (Ahl al‐Kitab)
Chapter 8 Background to Terming Jews, Christians, and Muslims as “Monkeys and Pigs” ...186 Qur’anic Sources ...186 Opinions of Exegetes of the Qur’an ...188 Reference to the Story in the Modern Era ...191 Muslims Are to Become Monkeys and Pigs in the Future ...194 Conclusion ...196
Chapter 9 Selected Religious and Inter‐Religious Issues that Conclude the Qur’an ...200 Introduction ...200 Status of Islam and of the Muslims ...202 Crystallization of Unique Characteristics for Islam ...202 Judgment for Heretics: Death ...203 Muslims’ Attitudes toward Jews and Christians (The People of the Book—Ahl al‐Kitab) ...204 Muslim‐Jewish Relations: The Jews Are Driven from Madina ...206 The Qur’an on the Attitudes of the Jews and Christians toward Muslims and Allah’s Renewed Promise to Grant the Land to the People of Israel ...208
Chapter 10 Summary and Conclusions ...211 Muhammad and the Jews ...211 Jews and Judaism according to the Qur’an ...213 Some Issues and Surprises: The Unity of God, Adultery, Sabbath Observance, Laws of War, Marital Relations, Land of Israel—Jerusalem—Temple Mount ...214 ACADEMIC STUDIES PRESS 28 Montfern Ave., Brighton, MA 02135, USA ● tel: 617.782.6290 ● [email protected]
The Affinity of the People of Israel to Its Land according to the Qur’an ...219 Qur’an Exegetes through the Ages on the People of Israel’s Link to Its Land ...221 Qur’an Exegetes in Recent Generations on the Affinity of the People of Israel to the Holy Land ...222 General Conclusions ...227
Bibliography ...229
Indices ...232 A. General Index ...232 B. Index of Verses from the Qur’an ...240 C. Index of Jewish Sources ...248
Abstract in Arabic ...249