The History of the Qur’ānic Text, Second Edition

Title Copyright Contents Prologue Preface PART I: THE HISTORY OF THE QURʾĀNIC TEXT CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER TWO: EARLY HISTORY OF ISLAM: A BRIEF LOOK 1. Pre-Islamic Arabia i. The Geo-Political Condition ii. Ibrāhīm and Makkah iii. Quṣayy Gains Full Control of Makkah iv. Makkah: A Tribal Society v. From Quṣayy to Muḥammad vi. The Religious Conditions in Arabia 2. Prophet Muḥammad (53B.H.-11A.H./571-632C.E.) i. The Birth of Muḥammad ii. Muḥammad, the Amīn iii. Muḥammad the Messenger of Allāh iv. Abū Bakr and his Acceptance of Islam v. The Prophet Preaches Openly vi. Quraish Offers Muḥammad Great Temptations vii. Quraish Boycotts Muḥammad and his Clans viii. The Pledge of ʿAqaba ix. The Plot to Assassinate the Prophet x. Muḥammad in Madinah xi. Prelude to the Battle of Badr xii. The Execution of Khubaib bin ʿAdī al-Anṣārī xiii. The Conquest of Makkah 3. Death of the Prophet and Accession of Abū Bakr i. Abū Bakr Handles Widespread Apostasies ii. Military Advances in Syria 4. The Countries and Provinces Conquered During the Reigns of ʿUmar and ʿUthmān 5. Early Muslim History in Non-Muslim Sources 6. Conclusion CHAPTER THREE: REVELATIONS AND THE PROPHET MUḤAMMAD 1. The Creator and some of His Attributes i. The Purpose Behind Mankind’s Creation ii. The Message of the Prophets 2. The Final Messenger 3. Receiving the Revelations i. The Beginning of Waḥy and the Miracle of Qurʾān ii. The Impact of the Prophet’s Recitation on the Polytheists 4. The Prophet’s Roles Regarding the Qurʾān 5. Recitation of the Qurʾān in Turns with Jibrīl 6. A Few Remarks on Orientalist Claims 7. Conclusion CHAPTER FOUR: TEACHING THE QURʿĀN 1. Incentives for Learning, Teaching and Reciting the Holy Qurʾān 2. The Makkan Period i. The Prophet as Teacher ii. The Companions as Teachers iii. The Outcome of this Educational Policy in the Makkan Period 3. The Madanī Period i. The Prophet as Teacher ii. Dialects used by the Prophet for Teaching in Madinah iii. The Companions as Teachers 4. The Fruit of Educational Policy: The Ḥuffāẓ 5. Conclusion CHAPTER FIVE: THE RECORDING AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE QURʾĀN 1. During the Makkan Period 2. During the Madanī Period i. Scribes of the Prophet ii. The Prophet’s Dictation of the Qurʾān iii. Recording the Qurʾān was Common Practice Among Companions 3. The Arrangement of the Qurʾān i. The Arrangement of Verses Within Sūras ii. The Arrangement of Sūras iii. The Arrangement of Sūras in Some Partial Muṣḥafs 4. Conclusion CHAPTER SIX: THE WRITTEN COMPILATION OF THE QURʾĀN 1. Compilation of the Qurʾān During Abū Bakr’s Reign i. Appointment of Zaid bin Thābit as Compiler of the Qurʾān ii. Zaid bin Thābit’s Credentials iii. Abū Bakr’s Instructions to Zaid bin Thābit iv. How Zaid bin Thābit Utilized the Written Materials v. Zaid bin Thābit and the Use of Oral Sources vi. Authentication of the Qurʾān: The Case of the Last Two Verses from Sūra Barāʾa vii. Placement of the Ṣuḥuf into the State Archives 2. ʿUmar’s Role in the Spread of the Qurʾān 3. Conclusion CHAPTER SEVEN: ʿUTHMĀN’S MUṢḤAF 1. Disputes in Recitation and ʿUthmān’s Response 2. ʿUthmān Prepares a Muṣḥaf Directly from the Ṣuḥuf 3. ʿUthmān Makes an Independent Copy of the Muṣḥaf i. Appointing a Committee of Twelve to Oversee the Task ii. Arranging for an Autonomous Copy iii. ʿUthmān Retrieves the Qurʾānic Parchments from ʿĀʾisha for Comparison iv. ʿUthmān Retrieves the Ṣuḥuf from Ḥafṣa for Verification 4. The Sanctioning and Distribution of ʿUthmān’s Muṣḥaf i. The Final Copy Read to the Companions ii. The Number of Certified Copies Made iii. ʿUthmān Burns All Other Manuscripts iv. ʿUthmān Sends Reciters Along with Muṣḥafs v. ʿUthmān’s Instructions with the Muṣḥafs He Sent 5. Al-Ḥajjāj and His Contributions to the Muṣḥaf 6. Muṣḥafs in the Marketplace 7. Conclusion CHAPTER EIGHT: THE EVOLUTION OF READING AIDS WITHIN THE MUṢḤAF 1. Sūra Separators 2. Āyah Separators 3. Conclusion CHAPTER NINE: THE HISTORY OF ARABIC PALEOGRAPHY 1. The Historical Background of Arabic Characters 2. Studies in Early Arabic Documents and Inscriptions i. The Blurred Line between Nabataean and Arabic Inscriptions ii. What Language Did the Nabataeans Speak? iii. The Early Arabic Language Possessed a Distinct Script and Alphabet iv. The Emergence of Various Scripts and the Issue of Dating Kūfic Muṣḥafs 3. Conclusion CHAPTER TEN: ARABIC PALEOGRAPHY AND ORTHOGRAPHY IN THE QURʾĀN 1. Writing Styles During the Time of the Prophet 2. Studies on the Orthography of ʿUthmān’s Muṣḥaf i. Irregularities in the Writing of Alif ii. Irregularities of Alif in the Ṣanʿāʾ Fragments and their Orthographic Impact 3. The Nuqaṭ (Dotting) Scheme in Early Muṣḥafs i. Early Arabic Writings and Skeletal Dots ii. The Invention of Diacritical Markings iii. Parallel Usage of Two Different Diacritical Marking Schemes 4. Sources of the Skeletal and Diacritical Dotting Systems 5. Orthographic and Paleographic ‘Irregularities’ in Early Non-Qurʾānic Script 6. Conclusion CHAPTER ELEVEN: STUDIES OF EXISTING MUṢḤAFS ASCRIBED TO ʿUTHMĀN 1. Differences Among ʿUthmān’s Six Official Muṣḥafs 2. Studies on the Muṣḥaf of Mālik bin Abī ʿĀmir al-Aṣbaḥī 3. Existing Muṣḥafs which are Ascribed to Caliph ʿUthmān i. The Copy in Tashkent ii. The Copy at Topkapi Sarayi iii. The Copy at Türk ve Islâm Eserleri Müzesi iv. The Copy at al-Mashhad al-Ḥusainī Mosque v. The Copy at the Institute of Oriental Studies 4. Differences Between ʿUthmān’s Master Copies and Existing Muṣḥafs Attributed to him 5. Other Muṣḥafs from the First Century 6. Conclusion CHAPTER TWELVE: CAUSES OF VARIANT READINGS 1. The Qirāʾat is Sunna 2. The Need for Multiple Readings: Simplifying Recitation for Unaccustomed Masses 3. Main Cause of Multiple Readings (Variants):the Orientalist View 4. Secondary Cause of Multiple Readings (Variants) 5. Altering a Word for its Synonym During Recitation 6. Conclusion CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE MUSLIM EDUCATIONAL METHODOLOGY 1. The Hunger for Information 2. Personal Contact: A Vital Element for Learning 3. Beginning and Development of the Isnād System i. The Phenomenon of Isnād: Proliferation 4. The Authentication of Isnād and Ḥadīth i. Establishing Trustworthiness ii. The Unbroken Chain iii. Supporting or Negating Evidence iv. A Test Case with a Misleading Isnād 5. The First Generations of Scholars 6. Preserving Books from Adulteration: A Unique System i. Conditions for Utilizing a Book ii. Glosses: the Addition of External Material iii. Establishing Authorship 7. Certificates of Reading i. The Importance of Reading Notes 8. Impact of Ḥadīth Methodology on Other Branches 9. Isnād and the Transmission of the Qurʾān 10. Conclusion CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE SO-CALLED MUṢḤAF OF IBN MASʿŪD 1. First Point: The Arrangement of Ibn Masʿūd’s Muṣḥaf 2. Second Point: The Text Differed from the ʿUthmāni Muṣḥaf 3. Third Point: Three Sūras were Omitted i. Analysis of the Contents of Ibn Masʿūd’s Muṣḥaf ii. Ibn Masʿūd’s Beliefs 4. When Can Any Writing be Accepted as Part of the Qurʾān? i. Principles for Determining Whether a Verse Belongs to the Qurʾān ii. Examples of Scholars Punished for Violating these Principles 5. Conclusion PART II: THE HISTORY OF THE BIBLICAL SCRIPTURES CHAPTER FIFTEEN: EARLY HISTORY OF JUDAISM: A BRIEF LOOK 1. Jewish History Prior to Establishing the Kingdom 2. Jewish History After Establishing the Kingdom i. The Divided Kingdoms ii. The Destruction of the First Temple (586 B.C.) and the Babylonian Exile (586-538 B.C.) iii. The Restoration of Jerusalem and the Founding of the Second Temple (515 B.C.) iv. The Hellenistic Rule (333-168 B.C.), the Maccabaean Revolt (168-135 B.C.) and the Destruction of the Second Temple (70 C.E.) 3. Conclusion CHAPTER SIXTEEN: THE OLD TESTAMENT AND ITS CORRUPTION 1. History of the Old Testament i. History of Torah According to Jewish Sources ii. History of the Torah According to Modern Scholars 2. The Sources of Jewish Literary Culture i. Original Language of the Old Testament was Not Called Hebrew ii. The Early Jewish Script: Canaanite and Assyrian iii. The Sources of the Torah 3. History of the Oral Law 4. History of the Hebrew Text: The Masorah i. Only Thirty-One Surviving Masoretic Texts of the OT 5. In Search of an Authoritative Text i. The Role of the Council of Jamnia - Late First Century C.E. ii. The Old Testament Text was known in a Variety of Differing Traditions iii. Approximately 6000 Discrepancies Between the Samaritan and Jewish Pentateuchs Alone iv. Unintentional Corruptions of the Text v. No Qualms Felt in Altering the Text for Doctrinal Reasons vi. No Single Authoritative OT Text Existed Till 100 C.E. vii. Jewish Scholars Established the Text of the OT in the Tenth Century, Actively Destroying Earlier Manuscripts viii. The Masorah and Textual Integrity 6. The Jewish Revival: a Legacy of Islamic Literary Advancements i. Pointing and Vocalization Induced by Islamic Achievements ii. Masoretic Activity Flourished in the West Under Islamic Influence iii. The Talmud and Islamic Influence 7. Establishing the Date for a Fixed, Authoritative OT Text i. Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Western View ii. The Counter View:The Termina Datum of Qumran and Other Caves is False 8. God’s Covenant: Examples of Deliberate Textual Corruption 9. Conclusion CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: EARLY HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY: A BRIEF LOOK 1. Did Jesus Exist? i. References to Jesus in Non-Christian Books from the First Century ii. The Historical Christ in Christian Circles iii. Christ and His Mother-Tongue iv. Christ: the Moral Attributes of God? 2. Jesus’ Disciples 3. Jesus and his Message: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand i. Jesus and the Scope of his Message ii. Christian Creeds iii. The Implications of the Term ‘Christian’ in the Early Days 4. The Persecution of Early Christians 5. Belief Systems in Early Christianity 6. Conclusions CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE NEW TESTAMENT: ITS ANONYMOUS AUTHORSHIP AND CORRUPTION 1. The Lost Gospel Q - A Challenge 2. The Authorship of the Present Four Gospels 3. Are the Gospels Inspired? 4. Transmission of the New Testament i. The Creation of Different Text Types ii. Dates of Recensions 5. Textual Corruption i. Variant Readings in the New Testament ii. Scribal Alterations 6. The Erasmus Bible and the Comma Johanneum 7. Contemporary Corruption of the Text 8. Early Manuscripts Negate Prevalent Christian Doctrines 9. Conclusion PART III: AN APPRAISAL OF ORIENTALIST RESEARCH CHAPTER NINETEEN: THE ORIENTALIST AND THE QURʾĀN 1. The Urgency of Proving Distortions in the Qurʾān 2. Orientalist Criticism of the Qurʾān’s Compilation 3. Transmutation of Islam into Foreign Idioms 4. Allegations of Biblical Forgery i. Accusations of Botched Appropriation ii. A Counterfeited Bible 5. Deliberate Distortion of the Qurʾān i. Blachère’s Attempted Distortion of the Qurʾān ii. Mingana’s Attempted Distortion of the Qurʾān 6. Puin and the Sanʿāʾ Fragments i. Are the Sanʿāʾ Fragments the Only Proof of the Qurʾān’s Completion by the First Century? 7. Conclusion CHAPTER TWENTY: ORIENTALIST MOTIVATIONS: A STUDY OF SUBJECTIVITY 1. The Jewish Analogue i. The Validity of an Anti-Semitic Work ii. Can an Anti-Judaic Scholar be Impartial When Dealing with a Jewish Theme? iii. Are Jewish Scholars Free to Study Jewish Topics? 2. The Muslim Counterpoint i. Israeli Suppression of Palestinian History ii. An Orientalist Pioneer and Deceiver of Muslims 3. Searching for Impartiality i. A Historical Perspective: Jews, Christians and Romans ii. Impartiality in Modern Studies 4. Pressure and Purpose i. Colonialism and the Demoralization of Muslims ii. The Jewish Question and the Fabrication of a New History 5. Conclusion CHAPTER TWENTY ONE: EPILOGUE GLOSSARY TERMS BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX Back Cover