Muslim Perceptions and Receptions of the Bible: Texts and Studies

by Camilla Adang, Sabine Schmidtke

Overview

The articles brought together in this volume deal with Muslim perceptions and uses of the Bible in its wider sense, including the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament as well as the New Testament, albeit with an emphasis on the former scripture. While Muslims consider the earlier revelations to the People of the Book to have been altered to some extent by the Jews and the Christians and abrogated by the Qurʾān, God's final dispensation to humankind, the Bible is at the same time venerated in view of its divine origin, and questioning this divine origin is tantamount to unbelief. Muslim scholars approached and used the Bible for a variety of purposes and in different ways. Thus Muslim historians regularly relied on biblical materials as their primary source for the pre-Islamic period when discussing the creation as well as the history of the Israelites and the prophets preceding Muḥammad. Authors seeking to polemicize against Jews and Christians were primarily interested in the presumed biblical annunciations of Muḥammad and his religion and / or in perceived contradictions and cases of internal abrogation in the Bible. These various concerns resulted from and had an impact on the ways in which Muslim authors accessed the scriptures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781948488204
Publisher:	Lockwood Press
Publication date:	08/15/2019
Series:	Resources in Arabic and Islamic Studies , #11
Pages:	496
Product dimensions:	6.97(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Camilla Adang is professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at Tel Aviv University. Sabine Schmidtke is professor of Islamic intellectual history at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton.

Table of Contents

Series Editors' Preface vii

Preface ix

Surveys

1 Torah C. Adang 1

2 Medieval Muslim Polemics against the Jewish Scriptures C. Adang 15

3 Muslim-Jewish Polemics C. Adang S. Schmidtke 39

The Sunni Tradition

4 The Muslim Reception of Biblical Materials: Ibn Qutayba and His Alam al-Nubuwwa S. Schmidtke 49

5 Some Hitherto Neglected Biblical Material in the Work of Ibn Hazm C. Adang 73

6 A Jewish Reply to Ibn Hazm: Solomon b. Adret's Polemic against Islam C. Adang 83

7 Abu 1-Husayn al-Basri and His Transmission of Biblical Materials from Kitab al-Din wa-l-Dawla by Ibn Rabban al-Tabari: The Evidence from Fahr al-Din al-Razi's Mafatih al-Gayb S. Schmidtke 113

8 Abu 1-Husayn al-Basri on the Torah and Its Abrogation S. Schmidtke 129

9 The Muslim Reception of the Bible: Al-Mawardi and His Kitab A&lhookipa;lam al-Nubuwwa S. Schmidtke 145

10 A Fourth/Tenth Century Tunisian Mufti on the Sanctity of the Torah of Moses C. Adang 167

The Si&lhookipa;i Tradition

11 The Chronology of the Israelites according to Hamza al-Isfahani C. Adang 183

12 A Rare Case of Biblical "Testimonies" to the Prophet Muhammad in Mu&lhookipa;tazili Literature: Quotations from Ibn Rabban al-Tabari's Kitab al-Din wa-l-Dawla in Abu l-Husayn al-Basri's Gurar al-Adilla, as Preserved in a Work by al-Himmasi al-Razi C. Adang 203

13 Mu&lhookipa;tazili Discussions of the Abrogation of the Torah: Ibn Hallad (Fourth/Tenth Century) and His Commentators C. Adang S. Schmidtke 229

14 Biblical Predictions of the Prophet Muhammad among the Zaydis of Iran S. Schmidtke 249

15 Biblical Predictions of the Prophet Muhammad among the Zaydis of Yemen (Sixth/Twelfth and Seventh/Thirteenth Centuries) S. Schmidtke 281

16 An Arabic Translation of the Pentateuch in the Library of the Twelver Si&lhookipa;i Scholar Radi al-Din &lhookipa;Ali b. Musa Ibn Tawus (d. 664/1266) S. Schmidtke 297

The Ottoman World

17 The Rightly Guiding Epistle (al-Risala al-Hadiya) by &lhookipa;Abd al-Salam al-Muhtadi al-Muhammadi: A Critical Edition S. Schmidtke 327

18 Guided to Islam by the Torah: The Risala al-Hadiya by &lhookipa;Abd al-Salam al-Muhtadi al-Muhammadi C. Adang 355

19 Ahmad b. Mustafa Taskubrizade's (d. 968/1561) Polemical Tract against Judaism C. Adang S. Schmidtke 371

20 A Polemic against Judaism by a Convert to Islam from the Ottoman Period: Risalat Ilzam al-Yahud fima za&lhookipa;amu fi l-Tawrat min qibal &lhookipa;ilm al-kalam C. Adang 397

21 Epistle Forcing the Jews [to Admit Their Error] with Regard to What They Contend about the Torah, by Dialectic Reasoning (Risalat ilzam al-yahud fima za&lhookipa;amu fi l-tawrat min qibal &lhookipa;ilm al-kalam) by al-Salam &lhookipa;Abd al-&lhookipa;Allam: A Critical Edition S. Schmidtke 411

Bibliography 417

Index of Personal and Group Names 455

Index of Book Titles 466

Index of Place Names 470

Index of Manuscripts 473

Index of Scriptural Passages 475

Editorial Reviews

"This collection shows that Adangs and Schmidtkes work is still fresh and crucial for the ongoing conversation on Jewish Muslim relations. The first three chapters are surveys that provide the reader with sufficient background material on the Torah in the Quran and early traditional Muslim views of the corruption (taḥrīf) of the Hebrew Bible and of Judaism itself. These chapters would offer graduate students a sound guide for entry into this field. An extensive and impressive bibliography of all the works previously listed in the individual articles has been assembled with both primary and secondary sources, providing researchers with an excellent resource to begin or continue their own work in this field." David D. Grafton, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, February 17, 2022

From the Publisher