Transcript History of the Qur`anic Revelation & Collection

Muhammad and the
Collection of the Quran
Life of Muhammad - Periodization
1.
Preparation for Prophecy:
1.
2.
2.
Meccan Revelations and Persecution:
1.
2.
3.
4.
3.
Early revelations in Mecca
Building up early network of followers
Persecution by Meccans
Isra’ and Mi’raj (‫)اإلسراء و المعراج‬
Emigration and War:
1.
2.
4.
Childhood: preparation for prophecy
Merchant career and marriage:
Building Medinan community, political ruler
War with Meccans, their allies, conflict with Medinan Jews
After the Conquest:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Conquest of Mecca in 8/630 CE
Receiving submission of Arabian tribes
Conquest of Arabian peninsula
Death in 632 after short illness
Preparation for Prophecy
Born around 570CE in the prominent
clan of Banu Hashim of the Quraysh
tribe – soon he is orphaned.
He is raised by foster parents in the
desert as a shepherd, where his heart
is cleansed by angels
Adopted into the home of his uncle Abu
Talib, he becomes known as al-Amin
– the trustworthy one
Preparation for Prophecy - 2
With his uncle, he goes on merchant
caravans north to Syria – where he is
recognized by the Christian monk Buhayra
At 25, the 40-year-old widow Khadija offers
him marriage and control of her business
– they have 4 daughters (one is Fatema)
As a manager, he has more time and begins
meditating in the desert and the mountain
cave of Hira
And in 610 CE….
Meccan Revelations
At first, preaches to family and friends:
Khadija, Abu Bakr and ‘Ali immediately
believe
Slowly begins preaching to the Quraysh,
who meet him with serious opposition
and mockery
Soon his preaching threatens the
tranquility of the annual hajj, and
Muhammad is smeared as a madman
Torture, killing of Muhammad’s followers –
psychological torture of Muhammad
Flight of some followers to Ethiopia for
refuge with the Christian king
Meccan Revelations 2
Boycott of Banu Hashim: no intermarriage or
trade for two years
Conversion of ‘Umar – newfound strength
Year of Sadness 9/619: new protector? Abu
Talib dies, Khadija dies, Abu Lahab new
head of Quraysh
Prophet seeks protection in Ta’if – when he
fails, Mut’im b. ‘Adi protects him.
The Night Journey and Ascension:
Muhammad finds his place among
prophets, Jerusalem is direction of prayer
Emigration to Medina and War
Deal worked out with Yathrib, and
many Muslims emigrate – eventually
only Muhammad, Abu Bakr and ‘Ali
remain
When Mut’im dies, Muhammad’s
murder is planned…
622, the tenth year of revelation,
Muhammad and Abu Bakr move to
Yathrib… the City of the Messenger of
God
Medina and War with Mecca
• Battle of Badr (624 / 2): miraculous Muslim victory,
major Quraysh leaders killed – Islam now a power to be
reckoned with.
• Battle of Uhud (625 / 3): almost ends in defeat for the
Muslims
• Battle of Khandaq (627 / 5): Meccans and their allies
besiege Medina, Muslims drive them away.
• Treaty of Hudaybiyya (628 / 6): peace established,
Muslims can visit Mecca for hajj
• Conquest of Mecca (630 / 8): after conflict breaks out
between Mecca’s allies and the Prophet’s allies,
Muhammad declares peace broken and moves to occupy
Mecca. Scales have shifted so far towards Muslims that
the conquest is peaceful. Abu Sufyan and Meccan
opponents of Islam convert to Islam.
Establishing Control in
Medina and Arabia
The Jewish Tribes of Medina:
• ‘Constitution of Medina’: Jews and Muslims
one community (umma)
• Jewish tribes gradually fall into conflict with
Muhammad, are expelled or executed
Marriage: the Prophet marries 11 women after
Khadija, mostly daughters of close
Companions or of prominent tribes
‘The Year of Delegations’ 631/10: the Prophet
accepts loyalty of Arab tribes
The Quran in Life of the Prophet
• Landmarks: first and last revelations?
• Obvious references: the battles of Badr
and Uhud
• Night Voyage to Jerusalem (Isra)
• Debatable: Which comes first the Quran or
Sira?
– Moonsplitting: “The hour has drawn near…”
• Skepticism: the Sira is written to explain
the Quran
– Ex. ‘The voyages of the winter and summer’
• Crucial example: Satanic verses?
Revelation and Writing of Quran
• Quran as interactive text in the Prophet’s life
– Revelation: through Gabriel?
• “Surely it is the revelation of the Lord of all beings, brought
down by the faithful spirit (al-run al-amin)”(26:192)
• “The spirit of holiness (al-ruh al-qudus) has brought it down
from your Lord in truth” (16:102)
– Recording: in Medina we know he had scribes
• Divine Protection:
– “Indeed We have revealed it, and We will safeguard
it.”
– “Do not hasten your tongue in reciting it; Indeed its
collection and recitation are upon Us.”
Compilation and Collection
• The Mushaf of Hafsa: Abu Bakr orders
collection by Zayd b. Thabit after Battle of
Yamama… copy entrusted to Umar and
then Hafsa
• Uthman b. al-Affan orders official
promulgation c. 650 CE after
disagreement in Armenia. Consonental
text written in ‘Qurayshi’ dialect. All other
copies ordered to be destroyed.
 Mushaf al-Imam
‘Readings’ of the Quran
• ‘Readings’? (qira’at)… undotted,
unvowelled
• Early Diversity: different orders and
wordings
– Ibn Mas’ud’s mushaf, Ka’b b. Ubayy’s mushaf
– Al-Hajjaj b. Yusuf, Umayyad governor of
Wasit
• Refinement in 900’s: 7 canonical readings
of Ibn Mujahid (d. 936), al-Dani (d. )
– Books of qira’at
Book of Qira’at
• Kitab Ikhtilaf masahif al-Sham wa 'l-hijaz wa 'l-Iraq by
Ibn Amir al-Yahsubī (d. 118/736)
• Kitab Ikhtilaf masahif ahl al-Madina wa-ahl al-Kufa
wa- ahl Basra by al-Kisa’i (d. 189/805),
• Kitab Ikhtilaf ahl al-Kufa wa 'l-Basra wa 'l-Sham fi 'lmasahif by Abu Zakariyya al-Farra (d. 207/822)
• Kitab Ikhtilaf al- masahif wa-jam’ al-qira’at by alMada’ini (d. ca. 231/845)
• Kitab al- Masahif by Ibn Abi Dawud (d. 316/928),
• Kitab al-Masahif of Ibn al-Anbari (d. 328/939)
• Kitab al-Masahif of Ibn Ashta al-Isfahani (d. 360/970).
Orthodox Readings
• Orthodox readings:
– Nafi’
– Abu ‘Amr
– Al-Kisa’i
- Ibn Kathir
- ‘Asim
- Ibn ‘Amir
- Hamza
• Readings today: only two “versions” are
in general use… Hafs from ‘Asim, (in 1924
was given a kind of official sanction by
being adopted in the Egyptian standard
edition), and Warsh from Nafi’
Modern Debates over the Quran
• Richard Bell’s Theory: accidental
insertions
• Revisionism: Quran produced from
liturgical material circa 800 CE
• Quran ‘misreading’ of early Muslim textual
tradition
• Early variants of the Quran?
– Sana’a find etc.
• General Consensus: the arbitrary problem
– No traces of civil wars
– Early evidence ex. Dome of the Rock
“We never sent a messenger or prophet
before thee without Satan intervening in
his desires. But God abrogates what Satan
interposes. Then God confirms his signs.
God is all-knowing, all-wise.”
- Quran 22:52
Undotted Consonants
• ‫ بيت‬house
• ‫ بنت‬daughter
• ‫ ثبت‬strong
back
Unvowelled Consonants
M-L-K
Mulk – dominion
Milk – property
Malik – King
Malak – Angel
Malaka – he owned
Mulika – it was owned
back
“ And We have divided the Quran into parts,
that you may recited to men slowly , with
deliberation. That is why We sent it down
in degrees (nazzalnahu tanzila).” 17:106