Month: September 2017

Louie Horning

Professor Sharon Albert

Religion 285

25 September 2017

Contextualizing The Qur’an

Regardless of religious belief, the vast significance of the Qur’an and its content is undeniable. With over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world today, it is difficult to overestimate the impact that the Qur’an has had and continues to have on the world. Yet, despite so many looking to the text for guidance, the Qur’an is a difficult document to read and requires outside sources in order to be understood. One of the many difficulties present in the Qur’an is the challenge of determining the context of its suras, as the Qur’an does not provide historical context and scholars are forced to rely questionable reports outside of the Qur’an when attempting to interpret it.

Understanding the context of the Qur’an and its suras can change the meaning of a verse entirely. As Carl. W Ernst states in Following Muhammad, “Religion can be understood only with respect to context: we have to understand the actors, the time, the place, and the issues in order to avoid making serious mistakes” (Ernst 38). Yet, determining the context of the suras of the Qur’an is a challenge in and of itself. As Ingrid Mattson explains in The Story of the Qur’an, “The suras roughly ordered according to length, not chronology…one reason why the Qur’an cannot be organized chronologically is that the exact timing of the revelation of each verse is unknown” (Mattson 27). Furthermore, the Qur’an provides little information into its own context: “References to individuals and events as well as allusions to conflicts and victories are scattered throughout the Qur’an; however, the Qur’an contains no detailed or coherent historical narrative about the first Muslim community.” (Mattson 28) Without this historical context, certain verses of the Qur’an may be misinterpreted or misrepresented. One such example of this is a verse which states: “We will put terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. They serve other gods for whom no sanction has been revealed. Hell shall be their home” (3:149). Taken out of context, this verse makes the Qur’an appear as a text that not only condones violence, but encourages it against non-Muslims. However, when given its proper historical context, the meaning of the verse changes entirely. As Ziauddin Sardar explains in Reading the Qur’an, this verse was revealed to the prophet during the battle of Uhud in 625, wherein the Prophet was “concerned with the outcome of the battle” (Sardar 27), and the verse is not “a general instruction to all Muslims, but a commentary on what was happening at the time” (Sardar 27), which promised the prophet “that the enemy will be terrified by the Prophet’s unprofessional army” (Sardar 27). In this way, the context of a verse in the Qur’an can change the meaning entirely. Rather than being a message to all Muslims condoning violence against those are not of faith, the passage is a direct revelation to Mohammed himself prior to a battle, referencing a particular set of nonbelievers of whom Mohammed would soon have to fight. When taken at face value, the verse appears violent and wrathful, but when considered through the lens of history, the true purpose of the verse becomes clear.

This context, however, is not necessarily easy to determine, making interpreting the Qur’an even more of a challenge. In order to determine the context of the verses of the Qur’an, scholars must look to preserved documents detailing the life of Muhammad, such as the hadith. While these reports are essential to understanding the Qur’an, such documents are heavily flawed and the fabrication of reports is not unheard of. “Within the first century of Islam, some Muslims raised concerns that reports about the prophet were being fabricated.” (Mattson 29). Indeed, so prevalent were these fabrications that the development of a “sophisticated science of hadith analysis” (Mattson 29) was developed by early Muslims.  This traditional science of determining the authenticity of a report requires the analysis of “[the report’s] content (the matn)” (Mattson 30) and “the chain of transmission of the report (the isnad)” (Mattson 30), as well as many other factors. However, even this traditional method of determining the context of the Qur’an is questionable, as the success of this science has been “challenged by other schools of thought in the premodern period” (Mattson 30), making historical context even more difficult for the reader or scholar to determine. Furthermore, even if a document may be fundamentally true, it can still not be interpreted to be without error. As Mattson points out, “even the best historical narrative, even the most vivid memory, collective or individual, is necessarily selective.” (Mattson 32) Thus, even if a document may be deemed valid, its significance is still subject to debate, furthering the difficulty of scholars in determining the meaning of the Qur’an and its suras.

Historical context is especially important in the consideration of the Qur’an, as without the context, the Qur’an may be wildly misunderstood as misinterpreted. Nonetheless, it is difficult to truly determine the historical context of many of the passages of the Qur’an, as the Qur’an itself provides little evidence to its own context. It is because of this lack of evidence that readers of the Qur’an are forced to examine reports outside of the Qur’an in attempts to determine proper context for its various suras. However, these reports are flawed, and it can be difficult for scholars to determine whether a report is fact or fiction, further contributing to different interpretations of the Qur’an and its verses. Yet this context is essential in determining the meaning of the Qur’an, as without this context the meaning of a verse changes entirely. Ultimately, the context of the Qur’an is essential to its content, but while the content of the Qur’an is easy to find, it is the context that reveals the Qur’an’s meaning that is difficult to find.

The Qur’an makes frequent reference to the fact that the Meccans rejected the idea of the resurrection and judgement of the dead. At the rise of Islam, it seems that most Arabs believed that a measure of immortality could be gained only by performing heroic deeds for the sake of one’s tribe, in the hope that later generations would continue to relate stories of these deeds after one’s death. In this way, the hero’s name might live on, and this was as much immortality as a man could hope for. The Qur’an indicates that Meccans were not unaware of the concept of life after death; however, they simply did not find the idea compelling. Their response to the concept seems to have been based on a combination of pragmatism and materialism: although for generations the idea of the resurrection of the dead had been professed by some individuals, until now, no one had ever witnessed a person being resurrected; rather, all they ever witnessed was the physical decay and eventual annihilation of all traces of the dead. In response, the Qur’an tries to engage their imaginations to think beyond their material experiences and to show that in their rather detached belief in a transcendent God lay the possibility of a greater purpose for humanity:

They say, “When we have died and become dust and bones will we be resurrected?

This was promised to us and to our forefathers before and it is nothing but tales of the ancients.”

Say (in response) “To whom belongs the earth and everyone who is in it if you have knowledge?”

They will say, “To God.”

Say, “Will you not then remember (Him)?”

Say, “Who is the Lord of the seven heavens and the Lord of the great throne?”

They will say “(That is) for God.”

Say, “In whose hand is the dominion of all things, and He extends protection but there is no protection from Him, if you have knowledge?”

They will say, “God.”

Say, “Then how are you bewitched?”

(Mu’minun; 23:82-89)

This passage was interesting as it presents the promise of afterlife as having not been a serious motive for the conversion of many Arabs to Islam. The belief in an afterlife is historically extremely common, and the lack thereof among Arabs in this time period shows a unique aspect of the culture.The lack of a belief in an afterlife seems surprisingly pessimistic (especially combined with a belief in God), as in many cultures religious beliefs served as motivation for heroic behavior. Furthermore, the belief that the only form of immortality that could be attained was that which lived on through tales of heroic deeds performed for the sake of one’s tribe demonstrates divisions in the Middle East at this time, as individuals worked not towards the benefit of a larger idea of a nation or ethnicity, but their own tribe. That the Meccans did not find the idea of an afterlife compelling is fascinating, as it is a historic argument that many individuals likely converted either to reap the potential rewards of an afterlife or the avoid the punishments for heresy that came with it. The Qur’an presents the idea of a larger purpose for humanity, beyond that of merely one’s own tribe. Such an idea would be especially useful in uniting people splintered and fragmented among varying tribes of differing loyalties, and as can be seen historically the Mohammed and the Qur’an helped to do just that. The lack of the belief in an afterlife must have been a common enough difficulty for Mohammed if the Qur’an itself addresses how to confront those who do not believe.

1. By the Mount.
2. And a Book inscribed.
3. In a published scroll.
4. And the frequented House.
5. And the elevated roof.
6. And the seething sea.

(Descriptions of what will occur on the day of reckoning – 6 verses)

7. The punishment of your Lord is coming.
8. There is nothing to avert it.

(Direct address to the reader – 2 verses)

9. On the Day when the heaven sways in agitation.
10. And the mountains go into motion.
11. Woe on that Day to the deniers.
12. Those who play with speculation.
13. The Day when they are shoved into the Fire of Hell forcefully.
14. “This is the Fire which you used to deny.
15. Is this magic, or do you not see?
16. Burn in it. Whether you are patient, or impatient, it is the same for you. You are only being repaid for what you used to do.”

(Description of what will happen to nonbelievers – 8 verses)

17. But the righteous will be amid gardens and bliss.
18. Enjoying what their Lord has given them, and their Lord has spared them the suffering of Hell.
19. Eat and drink happily, for what you used to do.
20. Relaxing on luxurious furnishings; and We will couple them with gorgeous spouses.
21. Those who believed, and their offspring followed them in faith—We will unite them with their offspring, and We will not deprive them of any of their works. Every person is hostage to what he has earned.
22. And We will supply them with fruit, and meat; such as they desire.
23. They will exchange therein a cup; wherein is neither harm, nor sin.
24. Serving them will be youths like hidden pearls.
25. And they will approach one another, inquiring.
26. They will say, “Before this, we were fearful for our families.
27. But God blessed us, and spared us the agony of the Fiery Winds.
28. Before this, we used to pray to Him. He is the Good, the Compassionate.”

(Description of heaven – 13 verses)

29. So remind. By the grace of your Lord, you are neither a soothsayer, nor a madman.
30. Or do they say, “A poet—we await for him a calamity of time”?
31. Say, “Go on waiting; I will be waiting with you.”
32. Or is it that their dreams compel them to this? Or are they aggressive people?
33. Or do they say, “He made it up”? Rather, they do not believe.
34. So let them produce a discourse like it, if they are truthful.
35. Or were they created out of nothing? Or are they the creators?
36. Or did they create the heavens and the earth? In fact, they are not certain.
37. Or do they possess the treasuries of your Lord? Or are they the controllers?
38. Or do they have a stairway by means of which they listen? Then let their listener produce a clear proof.
39. Or for Him the daughters, and for you the sons?
40. Or do you demand a payment from them, and they are burdened by debt?
41. Or do they know the future, and they are writing it down?
42. Or are they planning a conspiracy? The conspiracy will befall the disbelievers.
43. Or do they have a god besides God? God transcends what they associate.
44. Even if they were to see lumps of the sky falling down, they would say, “A mass of clouds.”
45. So leave them until they meet their Day in which they will be stunned.
46. The Day when their ploys will avail them nothing; and they will not be helped.
47. For those who do wrong, there is a punishment besides that; but most of them do not know.

(Discussion on nonbelievers – 28 verses)

48. So patiently await the decision of your Lord, for you are before Our Eyes; and proclaim the praises of your Lord when you arise.
49. And glorify Him during the night, and at the receding of the stars.

(Instructions for believers – 2 verses)

Sura 52, “The Mount”, can be divided into three main parts. The first part of the sura takes place from lines 1-17 and gives details as to what will occur on the day of reckoning, and gives frightening imagery as to what will happen to nonbelievers on that day, who will be “shoved into the fires of hell forcefully”. This grim description, however, is then immediately juxtaposed and contrasted with Lines 17-28, which describe the experiences of a believer on the day of reckoning. It gives a description of heaven as a joyous place where parents and their children will be reunited to live amongst “luxurious furnishings” where they will be supplied “with fruit and meat; such as they desire”. However, the structure of the sura, after reassuring the believers of their place in heaven, tells them “So remind. By the grace of your lord you are neither soothsayer or a madman.”, likely calling on them to convert nonbelievers to the faith. Lines 29-47 are concerned with why an individual may be a nonbeliever and offers retorts for a believer to use against a cynic. The word “Or” is repeated numerous times in succession throughout this second half, to cover various possibilities for skepticism and occasionally these questions are juxtaposed with a direct statement as a response. These statements are brief and are punctual, giving a theme of finality to the entire passage. The passage ends by calling on believers to continue their worship.

Important:
“One of the important insights that have emerged from the study of the religion as a historical and cultural reality is the realization that religions change; they are not timeless eternal essences.” (Ernst 50)

Interesting:
“In practice, religion is defined by the state, throughout the world.” (Ernst 57)

Problematic:
“The premodern societies ruled by Muslims generally cannot, in fact, be called Islamic in any fundamental sense.” (Ernst 47)

The first quote is of great significance as religions are quite often viewed as bastions of ancient tradition that have remained unchanged despite centuries of civilization. However, Ernst’s quote draws attention to the fact that religions do in fact change over time as they are forced to adapt just as any other system of belief. While religions are often derived from unaltered holy texts, the interpretations of these texts change throughout history, resulting in differences in practice. Thus, one should not necessarily follow such interpretations of holy texts unquestioningly, as within these interpretations the initial message of the text may be lost (a problem even further exacerbated by the rigors of translation). With these multiple interpretations come different means of worship, and few means to tell which form of worship is most true to the original text. Scholars are well equipped to debate the various interpretations of holy words, but even then it would appear as though such conclusions are difficult to draw.