People of the Book: What the Religions Named in the Qur'an Can Tell Us About the Earliest Understanding of "Islam"

De: Mikhah Ben David, Micah Naziri

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

This study will look at the sects named in the Qur'ān to demonstrate that what the Muslim holy book describes as “Islam,” a verbal activity which - along with the higher grade of “faith” (īmān) - is a general action engaged in by existing religious communities to which the Qur’ān was orated, rather than being set forth as a new religion. A major problem in unpacking what the Qur’ān means by “Islam,” in the relatively few times that it is mentioned, is that this general term for “obedience” or “submission” to God, was not used in relation to any one specific community in the passages where it appears. One way to decipher its meaning then, is to take a critical and contextual look at those historical groups named in the Qur’ānic audience. This study, therefore, endeavors to understand more about the activity of Muhammad ibn `Abd’ullāh (ca. 570/571 – 632 CE), and the meaning of “Islam,” by reviewing the historical sources on the religious groups specifically named in the Qur’ān, in order to establish the context of the Qur’ān, and thereby more appropriately elucidate its intended meaning to its original audience. TABLE OF CONTENTS Thesis Statement and Introduction 1 I. How Historical Jesus Research Can Help Us Assess the Historical Religious Milieu of the Qur’an and Muhammad’s Islam 4 The Historical-Critical “Quest” 8 The Methodology for Assessing Probability Regarding the Qur’ānic Religious Milieu 10 II. The Traditionalist and Revisionist Scholarship on Islam 16 Revisionist Methodologies 19 Modern Analysis of the Hadith Literature 21 John Wansbrough and the Sectarian Milieu 27 Criticism of Wansbrough 29 III. The Religious Milieu of the Qur’ānic Audience 33 Polemic Translations of “Those Who Turn” as “Jews” 37 Various Sectarian Expressions of Judaism 39 Hasmonean Dynastic Origins 41 The Ḥimyarite Empire of Yemen as It Relates To Islamic Origins 42 The Emergence of Pharisees 46 The Essenes “in every town” 48 Jewish Sects After The Fall of Jerusalem and into Late Antiquity 51 The Sabians (Sābi’ūna Hunafā’) 52 The Identity of the Qur’ānic Nazarenes: A Broken Off Branch 57 People of the Gospel 60 Nazarenes and the Virgin Birth 61 Qur’ānic Designations Regarding Nazarenes as Quasi-Jewish and Hebraic 63 Who Were the Qur’ānic Mushrikīn? 65 IV. Chapter 4: What Did Muhammad Mean by Islam? 68 How the Constitution of Medina can help us understand Muhammad’s Islam 74 Conclusion 83 V. Endnotes 86 VI. Bibliography 97