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 PrintableVersion The history of the Qur'anic text from revelation to compilationLiberals used by IslamTHE HISTORY OF THE QUR'ANIC TEXT FROM REVELATION TO COMPILATION The publication of this volume demonstrates how far Islamic apologetics have come in recent years. In the 1980s and thereafter the most that English-speaking Muslims could offer in their polemics against Christianity were the tracts of Ahmed Deedat, notorious not just for their hostile tone, but for their wilful inaccuracy and distortion. This book is indicative of a growing trend towards more sophisticated approaches in Muslim attempts both to propagate their faith and debunk Christianity. The author is an Indian-born Saudi, a former Professor at a Saudi University, and an Honorary Professor at Britain's Lampeter University, a premier centre for Islamic studies. Therefore we are dealing with a work that for once engages with Western scholarship of Islamic origins, notably the critical-revisionist school of Crone, Cook and Wansborough, which Azami depicts as 'Orientalist' (p.xvff). It is clear that their studies have caused him to write the book, and since most scholars engaged in such revisionism 'are either Jews or Christians', he decided also 'to cover the histories of the Old and New Testaments'. His approach is not one of detached scholarship, but of polemical intent. For example, his statement that 'the oldest complete and dated manuscript of the Hebrew Bible belongs to the 11th century CE, and the earliest dated manuscripts of the Gospels were written in the 10th century CE' (p.xv1f) is left bare and unqualified, neglecting the mass of evidence such as the Dead Sea Scrolls (the authenticity of which he questions, p.253) and the observation of Harold Greenlee that the Scripture quotations in the works of the early church writers are so extensive that the New Testament could virtually be reconstructed from them without the use of New Testament MSS. The neglect of such evidence undermines the force of Azami's work. Traditional Sunni scholarshipThe first part of the book addresses Qur'anic textual history, and contains no surprises. It is an affirmation of traditional Sunni scholarship, expressed simply and lucidly, such that a layman could follow it. Given that Muslims are increasingly spread over the UK, this perhaps makes it imperative that Christians purchase a copy, since it may be assumed that soon they will be met by the increasingly missionary-minded Muslim youth pushing its arguments. Azami examines Arabia's pre-Islamic history, and many Christians might be surprised at the section dealing with Ibrahim (Abraham) and Makkah, which relocates the story of the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael to Arabia, and Abraham and Ishmael then build the Ka'aba at Mecca (this story is in the Hadith, the narrations of Muhammad, and in his biography, the Sirah). A brief history of Islam until the death of the fourth caliph 'Uthman follows. The weaknessAzami comments that upon his death, Muhammad left the Muslims with the Qur'an and the Sunna, revealed in the Hadith (p.39).This reveals one weakness of the book: it is written from a Sunni perspective. Few Christians are aware that the Sunnis and Shia have different and frequently competing Hadith collections, often presenting different versions of Islamic history, such as how the Qur'an was collated or who was to be successor of Muhammad. Apart from a small reference (pp.97-198), Azami pays little attention to this fact, and does not adequately present the Shi'ite position, an indication of his polemical approach. There are no surprises in his portrayal of how the Qur'an emerged, which is admirably lucid and concise. Christians in particular will find his relation of how the angel Gabriel began revealing the Qur'an to Muhammad instructive as to the differences between the Christian and Islamic views of inspiration (p.47). Refreshingly, Azami interacts with critical theorists at this point, albeit in a polemical way, rather than on the basis of historical evidence (p.53). Variant readingsAzami presents a very readable presentation of the arrangement of verses and chapters in the Qur'an, although he fails to interact with the Shi'ite position thereof, and the same is true of his relation of the compilation of the text under the caliphs. He also does not shy away from the issue of variant readings in the Qur'an (p.150ff). It is often the case that when Christians debate Muslims in the street, some Muslims will deny the existence of variant readings in their holy book while zeroing in on such in the biblical text. Criticising the BibleThe second part of this book is devoted to criticism of the Bible, a criticism that is not academic, but fervently polemical. For example, '...the OT describes increasing treachery amongst the very progenitors of God's chosen people... These stories of betrayal ... only undermine the reader's confidence in these Biblical figures...' (p.212). Islam does not believe that prophets can sin, hence Azami's a priori criticism. However, Christians would argue that the honest presentation of the all-too-human failings of God's saints demonstrates the very reliability of the text; we are not presented with a 'sexed-up' hagiography, but with credible history. Azami also misunderstands Exodus 32.14: 'God repented of the evil which He thought to do', a common Islamic complaint, which he wrongly identifies with the repentance of sinners (p.217). In his treatment of biblical text and canon, Azami demonstrates admirable acquaintance with learned scholars, but, perhaps again betraying his polemical intent, he is very selective in his choice of which academics to quote. Invariably, he ignores more conservative scholars such as Bruce, Harrison and Wenham, since his aim is an apologetic one - to prove the corruption and unreliability of the Bible. This is not an academic way of tackling either biblical or Qur'anic scholarship, and one would hope that in future works Azami would adopt a more detached, scholarly approach. It should be noted that increasingly Muslim apologists are utilising liberal biblical scholarship in their polemics against the Bible, and this demonstrates the need for Christians to have a firm grasp of biblical text and canon and early church history, as Muslim students and youth are at least aware of the existence of liberal scholarship in these fields. Anthony McRoy© Evangelicals Now - August 2004 |
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