FACTS, FICTION, OR FABLES 1. Muslims regard the Quran as their main religious text. 2. Muhammad is only mentioned 4 times by name in the Quran (3:144; 33:40; 47:2; 48:29) 3. There are no original manuscripts or fragments of the Quran. (earliest copies are from the 8th Century. 4. There are no eye- witnesses among the Quran writers. 5. Earliest writers of Muhammad’s history are from the 8th and 9th Century. 6. Ibn Ishaq’s “Life of God’s Messenger” c.767 AD is lost, no copies remain. 7. Ibn Hisham and Al- Tabari quote Ibn Ishaq’s sira (biography) 9th Century. 8. Muhammad’s crusades (conquests) are recorded by al- Waqidi – 9th Century. 9. Muslim’s accepted the earliest biographies without question. The earliest non- Muslim sources 1. Byzantine sources indicate that both Jews and Christians saw Muhammad as a false prophet. Theophanes, a 9th Centuy Greek writer, records them as Arabs (not Muslims). 2. The earliest Syriac source is the 7th- century writer John bar Penkaye. 3. Medieval Jewish writers referred to Muhammad as ha- meshuggah . Separating fact from fiction or fable is very difficult when there are no original manuscripts, no eye- witnesses and a continual enhancing of legends. Writers have a tendency to project current terminology and traditions backwards into the earlier setting causing misunderstandin g and confusions. Theophanes references to the Arabs suggests Islam was not yet a religion but an invasive foe. So, when did Islam become a religion? When was the Quran actually written? Who made Muhammad a prophet? When the fables become fact and when the traditions become the religion? Graphic below from 1307: Illustration of Muhammad receiving his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. From the manuscript Jami al-tawarikh by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, Ilkhanate period.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 05:00:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015