The Quran is viewed to be the scriptural foundation of Islam and is believed by Muslims to have been sent down by Allah (God) and revealed to Muhammad by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel). Muslims have not used historical criticism in the study of the Quran, but they have used textual criticism in a similar way used by Christians and Jews.Religions of the world Lewis M. Hopfe – 1979 "Some Muslims have suggested and practiced textual criticism of the Quran in a manner similar to that practiced by Christians and Jews on their bibles. No one has yet suggested the higher criticism of the Quran." It has been practiced primarily by secular, Western scholars such as John Wansbrough, Joseph Schacht, Patricia Crone, and Michael Cook, who set aside doctrines of the Quran's divinity, perfection, unchangeability, etc., accepted by Muslim scholars, and instead investigate the Quran's origin, text, composition, and history.
Scholars have identified several pre-existing sources for some Quranic narratives.Leirvik 2010, p. 33. The Quran arguably assumes its readers' familiarity with the Christian Bible and there are many parallels between the Bible and the Quran. Aside from narratives from the Christian Bible, the Quran includes legendary narratives about Dhu al-Qarnayn, apocryphal gospels,Leirvik 2010, pp. 33–34. and Jewish legends.
Some philosophers and scholars such as Mohammed Arkoun, who emphasize the mythological content of the Quran, are met with rejectionist attitudes in Islamic circles. In the Muslim world, scholarly criticism of the Quran can be considered an apostasy. Scholarly criticism of the Quran is thus a nascent field of study in the Islamic world.Christian-Muslim relations: yesterday, today, tomorrow Munawar Ahmad Anees, Ziauddin Sardar, Syed Z. Abedin – 1991 For instance, a Christian critic engaging in textual criticism of the Quran from a biblical perspective will surely miss the essence of the quranic message. Just one example would clarify this point.Studies on Islam Merlin L. Swartz – 1981 One will find a more complete bibliographical review of the recent studies of the textual criticism of the Quran in the valuable article by Jeffery, "The Present Status of Qur'anic Studies," Report on Current Research on the Middle East Another relatively new interpretation of historical figures in the Qur'an is that the characters mentioned are not historical figures but certain typologies of evil people such as Nimrod (the king who humiliated and imprisoned Abraham), Haman, Qarun and Pharaoh, which Muslims should understand as concepts related to human beings.
Textual criticism
In Sunni tradition, it is believed that the first caliph Abu Bakr ordered Zayd ibn Thabit to compile the written Quran, relying upon both textual fragments and the memories of those who had memorized it during Muhammad's lifetime, with the rasm (undotted Arabic text) being officially canonized under the third caliph Uthman ibn Affan (r. 644–656 CE), leading the Quran as it exists today to be known as the Uthmanic codex. Some Shia Muslims believe that the fourth caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib was the first to compile the Quran shortly after Muhammad died.
The canonization process is believed to have been highly conservative, although some amount of textual evolution is also indicated by the existence of codices like the Sanaa manuscript. Beyond this, a group of researchers explores the irregularities and repetitions in the Quranic text in a way that refutes the traditional claim that it was preserved by memorization alongside writing. According to them, an oral period shaped the Quran as a text and order, and mentioned repetitions and irregularities were remnants of this period.Bannister, "Retelling the Tale", 2014: p.1-4
Some revisionist western scholarsHerbert Berg(2000), p.83 question whether the holy book existed in any form before the last decade of the seventh century (Patricia Crone and Michael Cook).Patricia Crone, Michael Cook, and Gerd R. Puin as quoted in Others argue that it is a "cocktail of texts", some of which may have existed a hundred years before Muhammad, that evolved (Gerd R. Puin)THE HISTORY OF THE QUR’ANIC TEXT FROM REVELATION TO COMPILATION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS by Muhammad Mustafa Al-A’zami, Leicester: UK, page 12; Al-A’zami quotes a letter that was published in the Yemeni newspaper ath-Thawra, 11 March 1999Querying the Koran , by Abul Taher, The Guardian, 8 August 2000 or was redacted (J. Wansbrough)Quranic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation (1977) and The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History (1978) by Wansbrough. to form the Quran.
It is also possible that the content of the Quran itself may provide data regarding the date and probably nearby geography of writing of the text. Sources based on some archaeological data give the construction date of Masjid al-Haram, an architectural work mentioned 16 times in the Quran, as 78 AH an additional finding that sheds light on the evolutionary history of the Quranic texts mentioned, which is known to continue even during the time of Hajjaj, in a similar situation that can be seen with al-Aksa, though different suggestions have been put forward — contrary to some of the hadiths of Muhammad's ascension, which indicate that these places are architectural structures — to explain. These structures, expected to be somewhere near Muhammad, which were placed in cities like Mecca and Jerusalem, which are thousands of kilometers apart today, with interpretations based on narrations and miracles, were only a night walk away according to the outward and literal meaning of the verse. (See also:Bakkah)
Early manuscripts
In the 1970s, 14,000 fragments of Quran were discovered in the Great Mosque of Sana'a, the Sana'a manuscripts. About 12,000 fragments belonged to 926 copies of the Quran, the other 2,000 were loose fragments. The oldest known copy of the Quran so far belongs to this collection. According to Sadeghi and Bergmann, the results indicated that the parchment had a 68% (1σ) probability of belonging to the period between 614 CE to 656 CE. It had a 95% (2σ) probability of belonging to the period between 578 CE and 669 CE. The carbon dating was applicable to the lower text. But paleography suggest a date from mid to latter half of the 7th century CE. Upper text dated between end of 7CE and beginning of the 8CE.
In 2015, a single of folio dating from between approximately AD 568 and 645, were identified at the University of Birmingham. Islamic scholar Joseph E. B. Lumbard of Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar has written in the Huffington Post in support of the dates proposed by the Birmingham scholars. Professor Lumbard notes that the discovery of a Qur'anic text that may be confirmed by radiocarbon dating as having been written in the first decades of the Islamic era, and includes variations in the “under text.” recorded in the Islamic historiographical tradition .
Quran and History
Creation narrative
The Quran contains a creation narrative and may refer to the world being created in six days (yawm), although this is highly debatable. In Sūrah al-Anbiyāʼ, the Quran states that "the heavens and the earth were of one piece" before being parted. God then created the landscape of the earth, placed the sky above it as a roof, and created the day and night cycles by appointing an orbit for both the sun and moon. Some Muslim apologists, like Zakir Naik and Adnan Oktar advocate creationism and contemporary Islamic scholar Yasir Qadhi believes that the idea that humans evolved is against the Quran. Most Muslims do not accept the theory of evolution, although there are substantial differences among countries (from <10% acceptance in Egypt to about 40% in Kazakhstan). Some Muslims point to a verse in the Quran as evidence for Evolution “when He truly created you in stages ˹of development˺?” Verse 71:14. Evolution is taught in many Islamic countries, and some scholars have tried to reconcile the Quran and evolution.
Around Moses Qārūn
Korah is also mentioned in the Quran by the name of Qārūn (). He is recognized as wealthy, and became very arrogant due to his pride and ignorance.Worldreminder.com He gave the credit for his wealth to his knowledge instead of to God.
Haman The name Haman, also appears in the biblical Book of Esther where Haman is a counselor of Ahasuerus, king of Persia and an enemy of the Jews. The relationship between the Biblical and Quranic Haman has been a topic of debate. There is evidence of someone named as Haman (hmn-htp) in the Egyptian history. Some Islamic scholars compared plot elements of the book of Esther when they elaborated on the Quranic narrative of the Exodus.
A Legendary Tower
The Quranic narrative brings together Moses, Pharaoh, Karun, Haman, and a tower made of mud bricks in the same story. While some commentators, in an attempt to harmonize these elements from different geographical and historical periods, suggest that the structure in question could be a pyramid, the architecture of Egyptian pyramids does not resemble a tower, nor is the construction material made of clay, as the Quran describes. Another interpretation of the matter is that the characters mentioned are not historical figures, but rather specific typologies.
Finally, Pharaoh's family found and took the child, who would become their enemy and a source of distress. Indeed, Pharaoh, his vizier Haman, and their soldiers were making a mistake. (Al-Qasas 8)
Pharaoh said, "I know of no god for you other than myself. O Haman, kindle a furnace for me in clay and build me a tower, perhaps I will ascend to the god of Moses, but I surely think he is one of those who lied." (Al-Qasas 38)
Samiri Quran recounts a story of the golden calf, where it mentions that Samiri, a rebellious follower of Moses, created the calf while Moses was away for 40 days on Mount Sinai, receiving the Ten Commandments.The Qur'an, Surah Ta Ha, Ayah 85 Due to the fact that as-Samiri can mean the Samaritan,Rubin, Uri. "Tradition in Transformation: the Ark of the Covenant and the Golden Calf in Biblical and Islamic Historiography," Oriens (Volume 36, 2001): 202. some believe that his character is a reference to the worship of the golden calves built by Jeroboam of Samaria, conflating the two idol-worshiping incidents into one.
Legends of Alexander the Great
Quran also employs popular legends about Alexander the Great called Dhul-Qarnayn ("he of the two horns") in the Quran. The story of Dhul-Qarnayn has its origins in legends of Alexander the Great current in the Middle East in the early years of the Christian era. According to these the Scythians, the descendants of Gog and Magog, once defeated one of Alexander's generals, upon which Alexander built a wall in the Caucasus Mountains to keep them out of civilised lands (the basic elements are found in Flavius Josephus).
The reasons behind the name "Two-Horned" are somewhat obscure: the scholar al-Tabari (839–923 CE) held it was because he went from one extremity ("horn") of the world to the other, but it may ultimately derive from the image of Alexander wearing the horns of the ram-god Zeus-Ammon, as popularised on coins throughout the Hellenistic Near East. The wall Dhul-Qarnayn builds on his northern journey may have reflected a distant knowledge of the Great Wall of China (the 12th century scholar al-Idrisi drew a map for Roger of Sicily showing the "Land of Gog and Magog" in Mongolia), or of various Sasanian Persian walls built in the Caspian area against the northern barbarians, or a conflation of the two.