The Quran and The Challenge to Newsweek

[Alouddin]

On July 28, 2003, Newsweek published yet another article presumably targeting the authenticity of the Quran, entitled "Challenging the Quran." The article focused on a German scholar with the pseudonym Luxenberg. (http://forum.asrasia.org/viewtopic.php?p=100#100)

[wyxpat]

Observer, shu iloji boricha asrasia.org'ga link berasiz, sssaaal sekinroda server'i :)

[Alouddin]

=) bilmadim =) lekin shu kirib-kirib turing =)

[Royal]

Observer,

Assalomu alaykom,

Bu taqsir Siz kuzatgan narsani biz ham kormoqchi edik, lekin bergan link ishlamiyapti, shuni tanish-bilish lar orqali mas shu toppa togri bersayiz hamma korardi deyman, a, nima dediyiz?

[Alouddin]

On July 28, 2003, Newsweek published yet another article presumably targeting the authenticity of the Quran, entitled "Challenging the Quran." The article focused on a German scholar with the pseudonym Luxenberg.

During and after the revelation of the Quran, critics and hostile enemies of Islam have attempted to undermine the foundation of faith of all Muslims, i.e., the authenticity of the Quran. By simple observation, the Quran has passed the test of time: Arabic manuscripts of the Quran can be found over a thousand years apart and be identical. It has also passed the test of distance: a Quran from Kuala Lumpur is read from exactly the same Arabic manuscript as a different print from Sarajevo. Finally, if one billion people believe in the authenticity of a document, then it is a matter of faith. Even all the different followers of Islamic schools of thought read from exactly the same Quran, something that Protestants and Catholics cannot experience when reading their differing versions of the Bible. What varies is the interpretation of the text, not the text itself. But opportunists have come and gone who attempt to diminish the Quran as incomplete, erroneous or fabricated.

Muslim scholars, including the products of the Muatazelite school, along with towering figures such as Imam Zamakhshari and Al-Tabari, and countless scholars (of various readings of the Quran) have written on the
language and history of the Quran.

The Newsweek article surmises, "translations of the Quran are never considered authentic." Translations are judged as either accurate or inaccurate. No translation is authentic. When you translate Shakespeare into French or Voltaire into English, you may or may not be accurate but
the work will never be authentic, simply because it is not what was originally expressed by the author. To make this sound like a peculiarity for the Quran or a particular Islamic school of thought lacks academic objectivity.

Luxenberg's chief hypothesis is that the original language of the Quran was not Arabic, but "something close" to Aramaic. What is the meaning of something close? What is it? Where is it? Who would understand it? Who will understand something close to English or German? He asserts that Arabic as a language and system of writing was not developed until 150 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad. However there are volumes of writings in classical Arabic that long predate Islam, and it is in
these volumes that one may look to find a solid pre-Islamic reference of classical Arabic euphemisms and grammar. These writings allow one to better comprehend the Arab culture of that time and, in doing so, put
certain aspects of Islamic history into perspective, thereby furthering one's understanding of Islam.

This poetry includes seven famous pieces that students study in middle schools throughout the Arab world, known as "Al Muallaqaat." This refers to poems that were hung on the walls of the Kaaba as exhibitions of the best literary work in the pre-Islamic era. (The Arabs have always
dedicated the Kaaba, a cubic structure, to the Patriarch, Prophet Abraham.) It also contradicts the Encyclopedia of Literature by Merriam-Webster, which states, "The intermittent revelations to Muhammad were first memorized by followers and used in ritual prayers, although verses
were later written down during the Prophet's lifetime."

Then he talks about houris which are allegorically symbolic beings of bliss in paradise, as actually referring to raisins and fruits. It is his prerogative
but this does not provide anything supernatural to look forward to the life of eternity.

It seems that what he was referring to as raisins is kawaa'ib. He challenges what he claims as the Arabic meaning of "beings with swollen breasts," while had he known Arabic, he would have understood the term as "beings of distinction." For this translation, we refer him to a
renowned Austrian scholar on the language of the Quran, Muhammad Asad (refer to The Message of the Quran).

A similar case can be made for the arguments around the word "revelation." The author had to go to Aramaic or what he calls "something closer to Aramaic" to inform us that it actually means "teaching" of the ancient scriptures. He may be referring to the Arabic word wahy, which can mean teaching, revelation, suggestion, setting instinct, putting the law of order to things, intuitive ideas, outbursts of thoughts and creativity. Wahy has been used to describe scriptures, the nature of the heavens and earth, the instinct of the bees, the flow of
poetry, etc.

What has confused many, including Orientalists, is the difference between compilation and copying. While the Quran was compiled at the time of the Prophet, the mass scale of copying of the Quran began officially at the time of Abu Bakr, the first Caliph (reigned 632-634 C.E.). During revelation of the Quran, several of the Prophet (saw)'s companions had a complete set of the Quranic verses, which they had arranged according to their reading schedule with their own notes. Some were complete and others were not. It was at the time of Abu Bakr that an official copy of the Quran was made from the master copy, that of Hafsa bin Omar. Most books of hadith (the sayings and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) record that the people who were responsible for copying the Quran
from the master returned the original to Hafsa after ensuring the authenticity of the scriptures.

Several early Muslim historians and writers even tried to count the number of copies of the Quran that were distributed to different parts of the world where Islam had reached. For instance, there were about 100,000 copies of the Quran circulating in different parts of the world
during the time of the second Caliph, Omar ibn al-Khattab (634-644). It is possible that several people may have made copies at that time. Hence, when the third Caliph, Uthman ibn al-Affan (644-656), asked a group of Quranic scholars to review the existing copies of the scriptures,
there were minor discrepancies. Consequently, he asked people to destroy the imperfect copies in circulation and to preserve those that matched the original.

One can only surmise that articles and speeches today attacking the authenticity of the Quran are not destined to destroy the Quran, for the Quran has been preserved for time immemorial. What opportunists aim to do is to undermine the confidence of Muslims in the Quran. That strategy will likely backfire, for the weak hearted will leave the faith but the strong will remain and sharpen their focus on the Quran to serve the interests of humanity.

[Royal]

Bu bor narsa !
Va shunday deyishimga bolgan sabab ham har bir halq oz she'evasiga va talafuziga ega , shu orinda hurmatli "IslomSofHolida" forum qatnashchimiz qoygan topikda ham tushunarli berilgan Tawheed (http://www.forum.uz/viewtopic.php?t=13963)
arabchada ba'azi harf talaffuzi bir hilda etilsa pokistonda boshqacha talaffuz etishadi. Shunga binoan mumkinki ba'azi sozlarni ma'anolari ozgarsa, ozim bunda chuqur bilim egasi bolmaganim uchun buni Sizlarni etboringizga havola etaylik va Sizlarni fikrlaringizni bilaylik...

Balkim meni gaplarim notogri bolishi mumkin , olloh ozi kechirsin , agarda togrisini yozib post qilsangizlar yanada hursand bolardik, deb


Hurmat ila

Royal